by Lim, Candice
Assunta’s face twisted in abject horror at Axon and Vaxine. “They think we’re the Infected.” She yelled out the window. “Hey, stop! We’re not the Infected.”
Vaxine pushed Assunta out of the window and yelled out, “You’re the only one who can stop this pandemic right now! If you don’t believe us, watch the news. Why would the leader of the Council and Asia Nova lift the restrictions at the height of the Cranax pandemic? There’s only one reason!”
The ATP stopped. Vaxine held her breath and looked at the two. Her eyes twinkled with faint hope. Either what she said convinced the ATP agents or enraged them.
The two armored men turned around and returned to the window. “If the three of you keep making unnecessary noises, we won’t hesitate to put you to sleep and write it off as high risk and unstable.”
Vaxine sucked in a breath. “Look. We’re not Infected. You don’t have to believe me, but you have to believe yourself. Why would the President ask you to do this? Why would they send off all the high members of the Community to some isolated islands no one can find?”
The ATP punched the grills with his hard knuckle gloves, clanking noisily. Vaxine stepped back in shock. “Cut the crap! We know what you Infected are capable of. President Professor Peyton knew these people have caught the virus all along and were scheming against him. You should be grateful you’re sequestered until a cure is found rather than being ended right away.”
“Father of Science! Peyton is the one with the friggin virus and he’s conned the whole world into his wicked scheme!” Axon slammed his fist against the metal door, no longer holding back the frustration and angst brewing within him.
Vaxine sucked in a breath. “Look, gentlemen. You don’t have to trust us. Read the news. Look into your heart and ask your conscience. You pledged allegiance to the Council, to the Ethics. Not Peyton. If his orders are against the Ethics, it becomes treason and his words are no longer valid.”
The ATP agents traded glances. “Why should we trust you?”
“Because the President has gone cray-cray and we’re the only one who can stop the whole nation from catching the same virus,” said Axon. “Look, you can go on and do whatever Peyton asked you to do but when the virus finally takes over the whole Asia Nova, we might be long dead to help you.”
The ATP pursed his lips and turned to his companion. “This guy’s right. The President’s orders were getting absurd and over-the-top these days. I suspect he did catch the virus.”
His companion didn’t speak immediately. “But what if these guys are Infected instead? That’s the whole reason why President Peyton told us to sequester these guys here.”
“What?” Vaxine frowned at Axon and Assunta, who had the same idea. Then, she turned to the ATP. “What did the President tell you about these guys?”
The second ATP stepped forward. “All the Community members have caught the virus and showed no signs of it. But he couldn't let go of the big shots just like that. So we were told to sequester them in the rehab islands.”
“And let them die?” cried Assunta.
“No, that’s why they were separated, to stop them from eating each other,” said the ATP.
“He did this so we couldn't work together and plan an escape while he’s out there screwing up the nation under the disguise of saving the economy. Think!” Axon slammed his fists on the metal door. “Why would any sane man call for lifting the borders when there are Infected lurking around in every corner of the world?”
The ATP agents shared another glance, their faces rose with a dubious look.
“Listen, the people the President called for quarantine are not Infected. They’re the nation's top scientists who can stop the Cranax pandemic. But that’s not what the President wants because he’s an Infected. He is controlled by a mind-bending virus that takes over his brain and turns him against his people and nation. We’re the only one who can help stop it,” said Vaxine.
With a sigh, the ATP reached for the keys and unlocked the door. “Damned if I do.”
His companion raised his hand and dropped with resignation. The three inmates exchanged optimistic smiles.
When Vaxine pushed the door open, the ATP held it back and glared at the inmates in turn. “If you betray our trust, we won’t hesitate to shoot your heads off.”
7
ROXY
The mental pictures of a futuristic glass-coated building formulated in my head while I stared at the highway blurring past. My thoughts floated to my parents. I was waiting for the perfect time to drop the question. I had to do it soon.
My train of thoughts derailed when the car suddenly pulled up in front of an archaic building that appeared to be built over a century ago. “Are we stopping for washroom break?” asked Mandy next to me in the backseat.
Sam killed the engine and pulled the key. “We’re here.”
The confused look on Mandy’s face reflected mine. “It doesn’t look like what it looks like in my head.”
We got out of the car and overlooked the moss-infested red brick building that would pass as a museum rather than a research center. The arched window still preserved the architecture and design of the past looked gloomy, devoid of inhabitants.
“Feels like we’re going back in time to find out what happened,” I said.
“Blot my gel...” Ronin made towards the double wooden door left ajar. “Someone has been here before us.”
How many more important labs in Asia Nova had been infiltrated?
Sam, Mandy, and I traded wary glances and groped for our Zappers. Ronin flattened himself on the wall next to the door and peeked through the slit. With the barrel of his Zapper, he gently pushed the door.
The door creaked open. A gust of chilled air blustered through my hair, bristling them. Ronin shone his tablet light into the darkness and let it guide him down the dark alley.
The thoughts of how this place used to be before it turned into an Infected wasteland were dancing in the garden of my mind. Hazmat suited professionals bustling down the hallways. Though this research center had been in use until recently, its vintage setup appeared to be abandoned for decades.
I shone my flashlight into every window I walked past, overlooking the empty chambers left in a hurry by its previous occupants. I came to an abrupt stop when my gaze fell on the shiny golden plaque that read, ‘Prof. Quillon Riley’ on the door.
The mental images of my grandfather breezing around in his lab coat and reading journals at the desk. I’d never seen this side of him. He never talked much about his projects or life in science. I could understand why. But the images of him in the lab were so vivid in my head as if he was right in front of me.
What Botty had told me in Hershey’s lab flounced in my head. This might have been the very place Quillon had conducted his sick experiment with Hershey.
Suddenly, grandpa’s eyes snapped in my direction. They were glowing in red. Except it wasn’t Quillon Riley. “Rawwwrr!” The Infected sprang to the window.
My heart reeled to my throat. “Father of Science!” I shrieked and stepped back, slamming against the wall behind me. I felt for my Zapper when Sam latched the door from outside, locking the Infected in.
“You okay?” Sam and Mandy took my side.
My hand flew to my chest where my heart raced. The Infected’s bloodshot eyes bounced between us, snarling and scratching on the glass. He dressed in a frayed and stained lab coat, suggesting he might be a staff here.
“Blot my gel!” Ronin rejoined the group and gasped at the sight at the window. “That’s Robert.”
“Who?” Mandy shrugged.
“Robert used to be my intern whom I’ve nurtured since from an undergraduate to his doctorate from ANNUS. Then, Quillon poached him to work for him at Vector.” Ronin spat the last bit as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. “Come on. We don’t have much time. The labs are upstairs.”
Mandy followed him up the staircase. She turned aro
und at the top of the first flight of stairs at Sam and I. “You guys coming?”
“Hey, let’s go, Roxy.” Sam placed his hand on my shoulder, urging me to go.
The thoughts of how Robert’s life would be working for my grandpa whirled in my head. Certain envy for him coursed through me, for knowing this part of my grandfather more than I did. I sighed and caught up with the group. The wooden step creaked beneath my feet with each step, threatening to give in and collapse at any time.
We’d whipped out our phones for a source of light. The columns of light pierced the darkness. The mustiness of the old building mixed with the familiar smell of chemicals thickened in the air. Even if Ronin hadn’t known where the labs were, we would’ve guessed it by now.
On the first floor, Ronin turned to us. “We’ll comb through the floor and see what we can find here.”
Ronin and Mandy went to the left while Sam and I took the right turn. I held onto my Zapper in one hand and guided the way down the hallway with the light from my phone. My eyes darted in all ways, but I was looking in the wrong direction.
Instead of searching for hints of Cranax or watching out for the Infected, I scoured for any traces of my grandpa’s life in the lab, trying to feel some connection with his past life.
But everything in the lab felt foreign and distant, like every time I stepped into one. Since my parents had gone missing, the memories of my childhood and my life before the Community slowly strayed in the labyrinth of my mind.
“Hey, Roxy—”
I pulled up and raised my hand, knowing exactly what Sam was trying to tell me. “Don’t! I know you’re trying to convince me to stop. As much as I want to, I can’t be this selfish.”
Sam’s eyes interlocked with mine. “This isn’t about being selfish, Roxy. This is about you. You’ve changed so much since you’ve got into the Community, I almost can’t recognize you.”
“It’s called growing up, Sam. You should try sometimes,” I snapped, unable to hold back the frustration brewing within me. Not sure why I felt this way. I turned to walk away when Sam grabbed me by the hand.
“This is not growing up, Roxy. This is losing yourself. Remember who you were in high school? You were intelligent, enthusiastic, full of life and look at yourself now. You called this growing up? You didn’t peak in high school, did you?”
I scowled and flung his hand off. “What do you know about me, Sam? Have you lost your family? Everything you’ve worked for? Ronin is the only person who knows my parents’ whereabouts. I can’t leave.”
“Then, ask him. That’s what you need to do. You’re staying for the wrong reason.”
I wanted to say something but I lost my voice and will. Sam was right after all. I stayed in the Community for all the wrong reasons. All because I used to be an all-star student and probably my grandpa had endorsed me too.
Turning around, I walked down the hallway. This time, Sam didn’t stop me and went through the door into a lab.
Not getting much sleep didn’t help to make me stay focused. I made it towards the end of the hallway to the arched window where the natural light streamed through the fogged glass. I turned off my flashlight, pocketed my phone, and looked out at our car parked in the parking lot in front of the building.
The city diminished into a dot on the horizon and looked minuscule from a distance. I didn’t realize how far we were from the city center or how high we were on top of the hill. With the forest that surrounded the area, this became a prime spot for a high-risk research lab.
The quietness and serenity felt as if the pandemic had never happened. Was this the same view that feasted Quillon Riley’s eyes whilst he worked here? Perhaps, he would be too preoccupied with lab work to admire the beauty his surroundings had offered.
I sighed and tore from the view. My gaze fell on the black plaque on the wooden door next to me. The gold leaf read ‘Riley’. I arched my brow. It was uncharacteristic for someone of his status and background to not have his title and name printed out in bold for the whole world to learn.
I reached for the knob and twisted it. My stomach lurched when the door creaked open. Raising my Zapper, I pushed the door wide open. No signs of life. The tension uncoiled from my chest. I entered the room.
A musty smell whiffed into and flared my nostrils. I went straight to the built-in bookshelf wall and browsed through the dust-coated tomes. Were they for references or mere decorations?
I looked at each title. Most about the history and techniques of genetic engineering. My eyes fell on the corner of a folded paper sticking out between two books. I pulled it out and unfolded it to a yellowed poster of Professor Zelda Rose, the founder of Asia Nova.
The edges and the creases had faded, showing the age of the poster. Her autograph signed in black marker had bled. Zelda Rose wore a lab coat with her arms crossed over her chest. ‘In Reason We Trust’ read in a bold vintage font. Now I knew where Adenine Cash had got the idea for her poster. Not even original.
I thought of keeping it to replace the blank wall in my room where Adenine Cash’s poster used to be. I stared at Zelda Rose’s face. My thoughts went to Cash. I didn’t know Zelda Rose personally. Maybe she was a selfish elitist like Cash, like Hershey. The people I used to look up to turn out to be the opposite of what I thought they were.
I tucked the poster back between the books and looked away. Nothing else caught my attention.
I went around the escritoire and plopped on the brown leather chair that squeaked under my weight. I flipped through piles of journals and folders, seeking something that might jump out at me.
I scoured through the papers and found a key between them. I arched my brow with interest and picked it up to examine. I looked around the escritoire and at the pedestal underneath it. None had a keyhole. Too big for a drawer anyway. Perhaps for a door? I pocketed the key and dug around in the drawers when I found a leather-bound journal in it.
I opened it and immediately recognized the handwriting. The same elegant cursive script had graced the birthday cards I’d received every year until my grandpa passed. I traced my finger across every word written in black ink, trying to picture the moment the pen was put to paper.
Looking over the journal, I lightly ran my fingers across the hardwood escritoire, feeling the same surface my grandpa had touched when he worked here. A certain uncanny nostalgia and regret swelled in me. Perhaps, the realization that I knew him on a deeper level now that he was gone.
The questions plagued my head. How did Quillon’s journal end up here? If he had retired, how did he still have his belongings here? Maybe he didn’t retire. Maybe he was still alive? But I went to his funeral. I saw him in the coffin. The day remained fresh in the back of my mind.
“Roxy?” The voice coming from outside the room shattered my thoughts. I tucked the journal into my backpack and pushed the chair back into the escritoire.
Once out of the room, I reunited with Ronin, Mandy, and Sam. “We thought you went missing,” said Mandy. “Did you find anything interesting?”
I shook my head, trying not to make eye contact with Sam. “Did you find anything exciting?”
“We managed to salvage some hard disks from the lab computers,” said Sam. “We don’t know what kind of information we’ll get until we extract them.”
I nodded matter-of-factly, still in the headspace of my grandpa’s room.
“Let’s get outta here then,” said Ronin.
We were heading back towards the staircase when my phone vibrated. Axon.
I pointed my phone on a bare wall where Vaxine’s hologram materialized. “Great news, guys. We’ve got mostly everybody back online. We managed to recruit some ATP agents back on our side. Things are looking great at the moment.”
“Excellent work, Vaxine. We shall see you shortly.” A faint smile graced Ronin’s face, reflecting a sliver of hope.
“We shall meet back at the safehouse.” Vaxine turned to me. “You know whe
re to go.”
☣☣☣☣☣☣
Ronin Yamashita, Axon Zack, Vaxine, Sam Maximoff, Mandy Berger, and I gathered around the pantry bench overlooking the hologram of the e-meeting room. The rest of the lights in Hershey’s lab had been turned off for a better resolution and a dramatic effect. All our faces were lit up by the blue light from the hologram.
The Cranax emergency coalition came back online. Axon and Vaxine managed to salvage most of the members and sent them home. Now, we were connected via an end-to-end encrypted platform from the comfort and safety of their homes.
“Sci-Comms, the national news channel has been compromised and sending out dangerous misinformation to the public.” Ronin’s face tensed with seriousness. “You have to recover access and block all unauthorized access. All information must come from the coalition only.”