Cellular Activity- The Djinn

by Francesco Mazzotta

  The vehicle arrives slowly, almost on the alert. Albeit from afar, Brimley has seen what happened to the other cars on the way back from the site of the Boeing crash and even he isn't sure of who or what awaits him at the base.

  The truck stops about two meters from one of the canisters, casting long shadows with the high beam headlights.

  One of the marines, with his assault rifle raised, approaches the truck, while staying at a safe distance.

  «Brimley, I'm Hawk, come down, slowly and with your hands in plain view.»

  A few moments of silence go by.

  «Brimley, can you hear me?»

  The truck door opens slowly. A figure comes out, dropping to the ground. Its shape is indistinct, overshadowed by the truck's high beams.

  «Come here slowly, move aside, where we can see you well.»

  No response, the man simply stands there, hidden in the shadow zone.

  Hawk raises his gun, but the cone of light projected from the lamp under the barrel can't scratch the darkness around the soldier, it seems to be absorbed.

  «Brimley don't be a moron, come on, now!»

  «I didn't do anything!» The voice of the soldier sounds frightened and uncertain. «What the hell is going on?»

  «Don't worry, Keith, is just a precaution», Macready intervenes. «We just want to be sure we have no surprises.»

  The man doesn't move, the atmosphere is tense.

  «How is McKinnock?», the Major asks, to keep the dialogue going and to defuse the growing tension.

  Hearing the words of their leader, Brimley seems to be convinced and takes a few steps toward Hawk. The spotlight of his weapon illuminates him in the face, then it moves down to scroll over his trunk and limbs.

  «McKinnock's not fine at all, Major. He has not regained consciousness since the accident. He's heavily wounded, a lot of cuts and abrasions, caused by the fall.»

  «He seems okay, Major», Hawk speaking.

  The other soldiers approach slowly, but all stay at a distance from each other, and they look around suspiciously.

  Nobody trusts anybody anymore now, and they are all very tired.

  * * *

  Cold on the skin and through the bones...

  Silence, suspect...

  Fear.

  The sky clears faintly on the horizon, while the monotonous shapes of the great sea of sand come alive from the darkness of the night.

  The survivors are standing arranged in a circle. Emily Moore is between Macready and Ironside. The only absentee is McKinnock, still unconscious. The marines have taken him out from the cab of the truck driven by Brimley and they put him in the back of the armored vehicle, where Matt Serum medicated his multiple wounds.

  «Listen well», exclaims Macready addressing the group. «We all want to end this thing once and for all. Some of us are injured, needing urgent care. But we can't allow anyone to leave this place. Not until we are absolutely certain that he isn't infected. Same thing with regard to the rescue teams. Before their arrival, we need to know if any of us is one of those creatures.»

  Silence, while the looks of the men flit from face to face. The tension is palpable, anyone of them could be a dangerous bloodthirsty predator.

  «Dr. Moore and Dr. Ivanov had the opportunity to study the creature, devising a test.»

  That said, with a gesture of the hand, Macready asks Moore to take the floor. The woman steps forward, clearing her throat.

  «The test developed in the laboratories involved the use of chemicals and equipment that unfortunately we don't have anymore. However, Dr. Ivanov has mentioned the possibility of using electricity to conduct an alternative test.»

  Moore waits for a moment, choosing her words before going on. «A strong electric discharge should destabilize the creature, urging her to come out.»

  A murmur rises from the survivors.

  «Are you saying we should electrocute ourselves, to see if one of us is one of those monsters?»

  Matt Serum, the only surviving doctor, has a nervous voice.

  «We don't need a deadly discharge, but it must be strong. We have no valid alternatives.»

  «Of course we have», the doctor insists. «We take the helicopter, we go to the nearest hospital and, once there, they will do all the necessary tests.»

  The man looks around, looking for confirmation and support from other soldiers. However his reticence only adds to the suspicion towards him. More than one moves away from him. Ironside and one of the soldiers raises his assault rifle, pointing it in his direction.

  «Let's try to stay calm, drop your weapons. Down the weapons, I said!», Macready intervenes, lowering Ironside's rifle with his hand.

  «Let me put it this way: those who don't want to take the test, will be bound and put in preventive quarantine.»

  The doctor is going to say something, but the thought of ending up tied together with potential creatures terrifies him.

  «Well», Macready goes on. «Brimley and Hawk, take the batteries of the cars in the hangar, so no one will try to slip away. There should also be others in reserve. Take them out and connect them in the way that Dr. Moore will tell you. Make sure that the two poles are connected to long enough cables.»

  The soldiers haste to their job, while Macready, Ironside and two other men predispose an area for testing.

  * * *

  «This is the best we could arrange, given the limited resources that we have today. Here are two electrical cables connected to these metal bars. And these...» the muscles of Macready's arms are shiny with sweat, while he puts on the ground two big plastic containers. The other survivors have taken out their bio-hazard suits, preferring more freedom of movement to the dubious value of those suits against the creature. «... are ten gallons of our beloved napalm. The test is simple: those who agree to deal with it will have to take the two steel bars, one in each hand. When everything is ready, we will close the circuit from a safe distance. Your body will be crossed by an electric discharge. If all goes well, as I hope, after a while we will open the circuit again, and you can hold you lucky to come home with a couple of brand new blisters on the hands. If something else happens... we will shoot the canisters full of napalm. If there are no questions we can proceed. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can relax and think how to handle the situation.»

  «This is madness», bursts Matt Serum. «Who tells us that we won't die electrocuted?»

  «I'll go first», Macready echoes him, walking toward the cables that lye on the ground within fifteen meters. «So all of you will be assured of what I already know. If anything happens to me, Mr. Ironside and Dr. Moore will take command, and you will obey them as you would me.»

  Ironside comes forward, reaching Macready briskly. «I better go, Albert. It's necessary that you keep control of your men.»

  Moore approaches too.

  The Major lets a bitter smile. «With all due respect, sir...»

  «John», Ironside corrects him, «it's John.»

  The Major raises an eyebrow at that unexpected gesture of confidence, then he steps closer to what he thought was a desk politician, and has instead proved to be more badass and smarter than many soldiers he has known in his career. Macready's voice is low, while resting a hand on the shoulder of Ironside. «Do you have a family, John?»

  The marine gives a pair of pats on the shoulder of Ironside, without waiting for an answer. «Yes you have it. I know that you have someone waiting for you at home, in America. My God, how this word looks sweet. America... Well, put it this way: I have no one left since at least thirty years, John. This makes things a lot easier. The men will follow you, they have seen what you're capable of. You have their respect, and mine as well.»

  The two spend a moment looking into each other eyes, then Macready turns around, crossing for a moment Moore's gaze. Her eyes shine with deep sadness. She follows him with her gaze as he turns, walking toward the electrodes lying on the ground.

  His interest in the fate of the American m
en of the outpost wiped out in Antarctica...

  The yellowed photo in his room...

  This is for my brother...

  I have no one left since at least thirty years...

  Moore realizes the truth behind the mild look of those ice-colored eyes. She would like to tell him something, but there are no suitable words. Sometimes one glance is enough to share thoughts and deep feelings, without the need to express them verbally.

  Macready reaches the position, ready for testing. He slips a folded piece of cloth between his teeth, then he bends down, picking up the two electrodes from the ground. The man opens his arms in a cross, nodding to the group of men about twenty meters away.

  Thomas Hawk, wearing heavy gloves, closes the circuit contacts. The switch emits a loud pop and sparks.

  The body of Macready is shaken, while the electric current passes through it. The voltage, elevated by a circuit with a spare ignition coil, is high and the amperage is substantial. The man's eyes are closed, the seconds count down damn slowly.

  «7... 8... 9...» John Ironside counts mentally. At ten he nods to Hawk, which opens the circuit again. Macready is still standing and still holding the electrodes. Moore and Ironside join him. The man's eyes are closed, and he breathes deeply. After a while he spits away the piece of cloth with the marks of the bite and he opens his hands. The heavy metal rods fall on the ground, while the man opens his eyes and takes a deep breath, watching the woman.

  «I hope it was worth it.»

  Then it's Ironside's turn. He also passes the test without complaint, standing.

  Hawk follows, then Brimley and two other soldiers, the last of which shouts and faints during testing.

  «Damn you, this is downright torture, and doesn't prove anything!», Matt Serum shouts while taking care of the unconscious soldier.

  «You are free to abstain, Matt», Macready's answer.

  «Now it's my turn», Moore.

  «It's not necessary», replies the Major. «I'll guarantee for you. I know you're human.»

  The woman looks puzzled for a few moments with an unreadable expression.

  «Thank you Major», she says flatly. «But I want to be sure. There has been some time when I fainted while fleeing from the first basement. Moreover, Ivanov took me by the hand, while escaping from your room. There was a physical contact with one of the creatures.»

  Hearing those words other soldiers step back from the woman, whose gaze moves back, as to observe the horizon. Only Macready stays in place, in front of her. Few tense seconds go by in the silence. They can only hear the slight wind noise.

  Macready starts to say something, when Moore closes her eyes and swallows, raising her good hand. Her voice is barely a whisper.

  «If I abstain from the test, despite the respect that your men have for you, they would never trust me one hundred percent.»

  Macready's lips contract in a grimace, then he goes away without saying a word and heading to Hawk, who is ready to close the contacts.

  The woman bends, she collects one of the electrodes with the good hand, and pushes it in contact with the skin next to the bandage that wraps around her left arm just below the elbow. Then she bites the right lapel of her lab coat, clutching it strongly between her teeth. She takes the other electrode, stretching her arms sideways.

  The woman glances at Macready, nodding her head, before closing her eyes.

  «Do it.»

  Hawk obeys, and Moore's body is crossed by the electric current. A moan reaches the ears of the soldiers. The Major focuses in the mental count. At ten the woman faints, and the electrode slips from hands as she collapses to the ground.

  Macready shouts to Hawk to open the contact, and he rushes to the rescue of the scientist lying lifeless on the ground.

  He leans toward her.

  Not breathing.

  «Matt, bring your ass here», Macready shouts.

  «Stand back Major, for God's sake!», it's the response of the terrified doctor.

  The Major doesn't answer, cursing mentally and thinking to send the doctor to meet God in person at the first opportunity.

  Macready checks the pulse of the woman, her eyes open showing white: no beat.

  Heedless of the fact that the scientist may have been infected by the creature, he bends down to give her artificial respiration, alternating with series of vigorous pressures on her chest.

  Wake up...

  He has seen many men die, he has lost the base, his brother, that little bit of serenity that he tried to put together over the years...

  Please, breathe...

  He doesn't want to loose anybody else. Not after seeing that unnamed horror making a massacre and an almost total devastation in a matter of hours.

  Live!...

  While working frantically to revive the woman, Macready clings with all the forces of his spirit to every little piece of something for which it's worth to exist: positive mind, innocence to the brutal side of the world and to the war, to deal with big and small problems with a smile and good will, despite of their own faults, and also their fears. The hope that the best is yet to come.

  «Christ!», the Major shouts, after having felt the pulse of the woman for a second.

  On the third attempt to blow air into the woman's body, her chest rises and her back is arched backwards giving the impression that the entire body is peeling off from the ground.

  «Be careful, Major!», one soldier shouts nervous.

  After the spasm, Moore's body relaxes again on the ground. The man gets away, just enough to look at the face of the scientist. She coughs, then opens her eyes, looking at him for a few moments with a bewildered air. Suddenly the awareness flashes in her eyes and her skin turns red. With a quick movement of her right hand she gives a loud slap to the soldier.

  Macready looks surprised for a moment, pretending to fix his jaw, purposely exaggerating his movements.

  «Anyway, it was worth it», he concludes squeezing one eye. She is about to reply, but her mouth opens in a contagious smile that turns quickly in a short laugh release.

  He smiles too.

  «Come on, let's finish this thing once and for all.»

  * * *

  It's the turn of Samuel Bishop.

  The soldier is strangely shy and quiet, apparently in a bad mood. Macready has noticed immediately.

  Understandable...

  Nobody reacts the same way, and each of us has been through a lot...

  The Major congratulated him for having saved the life to the surviving team, succeeding in piloting the helicopter. The man replied with a nod, keeping his eyes down and retreating to the sidelines.

  Now Bishop approaches the two electrodes, taking them from the ground. He stands up silently, spreading his arms like the others before him.

  At a command by Macready, Hawk closes the circuit.

  The man's body shakes violently. Eyes open, his jaw clenched with the effort. The time seems to run very slowly. At ten seconds, the current is stopped. Bishop is still standing, although at first glance he doesn't seem to be breathing.

  Macready approaches him.

  «You all right Sam?»

  The other looks at him by three-quarters, nervous. Bishop takes a deep breath and finally seems to relax, moving his head to loosen the neck muscles. His vertebrae crack while rotating the head.

  «It's all right sir», he says, snapping his tongue. «But I'd rather have another kind of shake, or at least one of Ugo's coffee cups.»

  Bishop walks, moving away with his head bowed. His joke draws a bitter smile on Macready's face, who turns to look toward the deserted and silent hangar. It seems impossible that Ugo, the eccentric Italian cook, the boys in the cafeteria service, always smiling and ready for a tug of war challenge, the other people who worked at the base and many of his soldiers, colleagues and friends don't exist anymore.

  The only remaining thing is an inhuman silence, so indifferent to our pain...

  Suddenly the cries of Matt Serum draw
Macready's attention, distracting him from his sad thoughts.

  «It's useless, can't you see? This test doesn't prove a fucking thing.»

  «Come on Matt», Hawk's answer. «You are a marine, you can't act this way!»

  «The woman doesn't have our training, but she passed the test without a blinking», Brimley intervenes.

  «Keith is right», Hawk continues, «that woman has two balls way bigger than yours.»

  The doctor is going to reply, when his gaze locks in one direction.

  The others turn to look, noticing that someone appeared on the threshold of the side door of the armored vehicle.

  McKinnock observes the scene for a few seconds, then jumps to the ground, walking toward the group. The soldier is pale, his skin glistening with sweat. His face is full of scratches and abrasions, and so are his hands.

  The soldier reaches the group, stopping a few meters away.

  Macready is the first to approach.

  «How are you feeling, Terry?»

  The voice of the soldier sounds hoarse and slurred.

  «Apart from the feeling of having been trampled by a herd of horses I would say well, sir.»

  Macready in a few words updates the man on the latest events after his jumping out of the truck.

  «That beast grabbed Wilford and pulled him away with such a force that his uniform was torn as I tried to hold him back. There was something monstrous in the car in which there had to be Brody and White. The last thing I remember is the sight of tentacles that plucked off the door and invaded the cockpit. The rest is confusing and foggy, but I think I fled away. I had no choice.»

  The man tells Macready his experience with haunted eyes, as if in his mind he is constantly reviewing those scenes.

  «You are hurt, Terry, and in poor condition. We have prepared a test that... well it isn't a walk in a park. If you don't want to do it, no one will blame you», Macready exclaims. «But I'll have to tie you anyway. We are only a few left now, we can't allow ourselves to be complacent, whatever the cost. I'm sorry.»