Darkness Trilogy (Book 2): Death In Darkness

by Alexander, Lee

  I loaded my platter up again in the mess hall, once more taking roughly three meals. I couldn't explain what was happening to me, but I was certain about one thing: I was constantly hungry.

  I greeted Ms. Ita as I passed through the lobby, and was in the lab by o-five-forty-three. I was not the first in the lab. They nodded and continued their conversation. At least nobody said I was late this time. The daily schedule was laid out, emphasizing research for the three doctors, and errands for me. There was a block in the afternoon with my name on it that just read 'conditioning'.

  I started to ask what that was about, but was sent to grab the meal for Castillo. He had been moved to Geno's max security cell. He still looked groggy, moving sluggishly about the cell. I put the tray of food through the door for him, and the wall once again went opaque.

  The rest of the morning went by in a blur of training on the different scientific instruments and endless errands spent fetching various materials for the mad scientist and his cohorts.

  We broke for an hour lunch at eleven-hundred, and I joined Linda and Eddie. They raced through their meals again, though their eyes bulged when they saw how much I ate in the same time. It was only a double portion, but I was already growing weary of the looks as I checked out. I wasn't sated, but it would have to do until dinner. I would have to find some solution, perhaps officially requesting extra rations. I just wasn't sure how to justify the request.

  When I returned to the lab, a space had ominously been cleared at a desk. In the center of the cleared space was a headset, like an old VR headset from more than ten years before. I was just reaching out to pick the headset up, when Allan stopped me.

  “Hold on now, my boy. We'll have you through that in a moment.”

  “Hey, Doc. Is that what I think it is?”

  “Depends on what you think it is. If you think it is a forced induction headset, then yes.”

  “Wasn't forced induction proven ineffective decades ago?”

  “In the old method, where the user was barraged with a mess of images and sound all at once, yes. This is different. While the user experiences roughly the same thing, there is a new technology that we use. It stimulates the memory centers of the brain, as well as a few choice other spots. The video and audio are also put in a specific order. The end result is a method that has shown remarkable results. We've seen as much as 25% adoption in exceptional cases.”

  “Well, I'm interested to see how well it works.”

  Denny guided me to a seat, then strapped my arms down and put the headset on me.

  “Why am I strapped down?”

  “Some users experience discomfort, and there was one instance where someone was injured due to a violent physical reaction- we later learned that the user was claustrophobic. Speaking of, lad, are you claustrophobic?”

  “You really are a mad scientist, Allan.” He laughed uproariously at my joke. “No, nothing like that.”

  “Excellent. I have a hunch you'll do very well, Dante. Denny, is he ready?”

  “Yes, Doctor. Which program are we doing?” Denny replied.

  “I think we'll go with all four programs, and see what sticks. What say you, Dante?”

  “Yeah, let's go for it.”

  “Do try to keep your eyes open for this. It is vital that you do, if you wish to absorb the information.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” I replied. I felt ready, strangely amped up as the headset screen lit up. A short sequence of lights flashed, presumably calibrating to my head. Then a flood of lights, color, and sound hit me. I felt myself grunt, though I was careful not to clench anything too hard. The chair creaked. I kept my eyes open.

  Less than a minute later, the torrent stopped. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face, leaving a strange tickling sensation. Denny lifted the headset, then unstrapped my arms.

  “Give it a minute. I've never seen someone ride that out so well.”

  “A bit of warning would have been nice.”

  “Would you have still gone through, if you had known it was painful like that?”

  “Probably. No way to know now.” I said with a flat expression.

  “You can try standing in a minute. You'll probably have some dizziness and nausea for a few hours. That's a normal side-effect.”

  I nodded and relaxed into the chair. Allan and Doctor Vale had already gone to the other side of the lab, working on the electron scanner. I realized I knew what the instrument was, even though it hadn't been one I trained on. I listened in on their conversation for a moment, and was astonished to discover that I could follow it now. They spoke about restructuring a virus using RNA to inject a payload, helping to isolate and stabilize the virus.

  “You should probably just go home for the day. I know it took me like two weeks to feel normal again after I went through that.”

  My attention came back to Denny as he spoke.

  “Uh... yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. I think I do have some sorting out to do.”

  He nodded, then helped me up.

  “Wow, you're a lot more solid than I thought, Dante.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I just assumed you were like two bills or so. You feel more like three, you're a big guy.”

  “Ha, no. Last I checked I was just a hair over two-ten.”

  “Well, you might want to go to the gym and weigh yourself. Actually, you might want to work out. That's one of the post-induction routines they recommend to help with information absorption.”

  “Really? Well, weird to mix that with dizziness, but I'll give it a shot. Where is the gym at? I don't remember Miss Perkins talking about it.”

  “It's on residential, take the first left at the mess hall, then it's on the left. Most people don't find it their first time, just ask around the area. You'll find it.”

  “Thanks man. I'll see you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, enjoy your day. But uh... keep a bucket next to your bed tonight. If you're anything like me, you'll need it.”

  “Ominous. Thanks.”

  He laughed, then headed over to join the other doctors. I let myself out of the lab, and walked up the stairs to residential. I eventually found the gym, which was surprisingly big. It must have been taking up a significant portion of the single female side of residential housing.

  The first room was all cardio equipment. I looked around at the shiny bikes, treadmills, stairmasters, and various other types of equipment. I even spotted a few rowing machines. Then there was an open gymnasium, with locker rooms on either side. There were sets of balls for most sports that could be played in an enclosed space like that.

  I noted the presence of hoops hanging from the ceiling, retracted at the time. There was also a volleyball and a soccer ball, but no sign of the equipment necessary to play. I figured they were somehow hidden or stored. Beyond the open room was a weight room.

  Just inside the doors I used to enter, there was a scale. I stepped on, and was deeply surprised when the scale stayed stubbornly tilted when I hit two-forty. It finally balanced out at two hundred ninety eight, making Denny suspiciously accurate. I stepped off and reset the scale, not wanting anybody to wonder why it was set so high.

  As I surveyed the room absolutely full of equipment for bodybuilding, a wild thought struck me. I had been strong before darkness fell, but I had a sneaking suspicion I was stronger now. I was thankful it was the middle of the work day. There was only one other person in the weight section of the gym, focusing on his reflection in the mirror as he did curls.

  I sat at a chest press station, figuring that was easy enough to prove strength on. I set it to my one rep max, three hundred, then sat and did my first rep.

  The handles nearly flew out of my hands, rising far too fast. I failed to slow them on the return enough, and the arms crashed down against the frame. The guy doing curls paused, looking in my direction through the mirror. I raised my hand to wave, apologizing for the noise. He shrugged and went back to it.

  I looked to how ma
ny plates I had put on. I counted out three forty-fives on each side, with a five to top them.

  “Fuck it.”

  I stood and quietly started stacking forty-fives on. By the end, it looked like something a champion would leg press. I counted seven forty-five plates on each side. There was little room to place anything else. I sat down and took a deep breath. I braced myself, hands on the grips. Then I pushed, and had to slow myself before I lost control again. I could feel my eyes bulge even as my jaw fell a little slack. I hadn't been working out, but an overnight increase of hundreds of pounds on this was not something that ever happened for any reason.

  I set the bars back down, then just as quietly pulled the weights off, storing them away again. I couldn't work out on this equipment, it was too light. I had never seen anything like it. I didn't even feel strained.

  “What the fuck is going on...” I breathed out. Curly was still looking at his form. I rolled up my sleeve, noting that while my arms weren't visibly bigger, there was a lot more definition than there had been the day before. Veins stood out on my arms. That was new⸺ I had never been below twelve percent body fat before. Not as an adult, at least. It was looking like I had already dropped below ten percent, in just a single day. But I felt amazing.

  “Should probably talk to somebody about this.” I mused as I walked out of the weight room. I paused, then on a whim got on the biggest treadmill I could find. I started it low, a fast walking pace at four miles per hour. Then I worked my way up. The machine started beeping angrily at twenty miles per hour, then flat out refused to go higher at thirty. I was sprinting at above an Olympic level pace, and hadn't broken a sweat. I wasn't even breathing hard. I slowed the machine, then brought it to a stop.

  I had a lot of thinking to do. I headed back to my room, and took a shower. I had to duck slightly to get my head under the shower spray. I laid on the bed, and it creaked again. I let my mind drift, covering everything that had happened over the course of the day. I tried to relax, and the lights descended over me again.

  “Hey babe.”

  I opened my eyes to find Linda standing next to the bed. She had a hand caressing my cheek. Somehow I hadn't noticed her approach.

  “Hey, you're home early.”

  “I could say the same to you. Why are you home already?”

  “Did some training in the lab. They say it works better if I get some rest, so sent me home. Forced induction stuff, trying to get a college level knowledge in my head in just one minute.”

  “Does that stuff even work? I thought it was debunked as a method years ago.”

  “It was, but they use some weird methods. Felt my brain tingling while it was working. Guess we'll have to wait and see.”

  “Okay. I'll let you get some sleep⸺”

  “No, that's fine. What would you like to do? I think we have a few hours before Eddie gets home.” I waggled my eyebrows at her, putting on my sexiest grimace. She slapped my shoulder playfully.

  “None of that! He could be home any time. He's in school about the same amount of time I work the hospital. He's probably playing in the atrium with his new friends.”

  “Oh, that's so good. I'm glad he's got friends here.”

  “Mostly just the kids from the office, but there are a few their age here as well.”

  “Well, we can relax on the couch, watch something? And tell me what you do at the hospital, I can't believe they need people there full time.”

  She nodded, then grabbed my hand to help me stand. I laughed as she pulled without much effect.

  “Holy crap, what are you made of? Have you put on weight?”

  “Yeah, nothing to worry about, I think.”

  “You think?” she asked skeptically.

  “Hey, if it becomes worrying, you're the first person I'll talk to.”

  “Fine. What movie do you want to watch?”

  “Something with bad physics. Kung Fu anything.”

  “Sounds like fun, and mindless so we can talk too.”

  She led me to our living room, and sat on the couch. She turned on the TV and started surfing through our options. Thankfully, the catalog was unusually large. I settled down, causing the couch to lurch slightly, creaking. She looked at me with a hint of concern. I waved her off, knowing there was no easy way to explain what was going on. I would figure it out first, then talk to her.

  “So, what do you do at the hospital?”

  She continued to idly browse for a good movie while she thought it over.

  “Well, we are inside a large military base. We have hundreds of personnel, and you know what that means. People are always sick, with allergies or the flu, or any number of other things. So we're constantly making sure there's no spread of infection. We also handle immunizations, which seems mostly pointless now. Tetanus I get, but diptheria? Ebola? I really don't think anybody is going to come down with dengue fever either. But, it's work.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Plus, someone needs to be around in case of accidents, right?”

  “Yeah! We had someone come in just today with a broken arm!”

  “Yikes, how did that happen?”

  “Working in one of the trees, said they suddenly got dizzy, then fell.”

  “Weird. I hope they're okay.”

  Our conversation continued, mostly small talk about work, what little I could talk about, and settling into life on base. We joked and laughed, making fun of the old slapstick comedy movie featuring a bumbling guy sold a ridiculous manual about some form of Buddhist kung fu. Hours passed, and Eddie came home just in time for us to go for dinner. It was feeling like an ordinary life. Until I had to get special dispensation again for my meal.

  Chapter 10

  Darkness +23, 2033

  Greater Seattle Area, Washington, USA

  Location Undisclosed, Base 13, Project Osiris

  -63°F

  1200 Hours

  I walked into the suite for lunch, massive tray piled high with food. It had become easier for me to eat in seclusion due to my new caloric requirements. The door swung shut and I hustled over to the couch, ready for a show and meal. I put the tray down and started to sit, but fell back into the couch as it gave with a loud crack. I was suddenly sitting much lower, with the couch bowed around me.

  “Fuck!”

  I stood, grumbling to myself as I cleaned up the mess. The couch had split the frame right in the middle, at the weakest part. Linda would absolutely notice the six inch sag in the center of the couch. The cushions on the back were sewn in place, making them crumple with the pressure from the sides.

  “Fucking fuck. How do I fix this?”

  I hadn't been keeping up with my weight, since I didn't bother with the gym. I was getting stronger and heavier all the time, even though I wasn't doing anything to warrant it. I also suspected I was getting taller, because my frame was slightly wider, but I didn't look like I weighed hundreds of pounds more than I had when I entered the base.

  Just that morning, I had accidentally bent the housing on a machine by placing my hand on it too roughly. I had to be exceptionally careful around people now. None of the doctors had noticed any change yet, but I was fairly certain they would struggle to notice a fire in the lab in a timely manner.

  Bending the steel housing of the machine actually gave me an idea that I capitalized on. I stopped by the lab to explain I needed to take the rest of the day off. Allan was kind and understanding, as always. I wasn't sure how he ended up in a military research lab, he was completely out of place.

  After I ducked back out of R&D, I set about into the storage caverns. There were hundreds to choose from, but luckily I had used the computer system to identify the one I needed. Fifteen minutes of jogging later, I was in a far off section of the base.

  For whatever reason, all of the construction materials were kept far out of the way. Seemed like a terrible choice to me, but I could remember being in the military. Some butter-bars probably thought it best to consolidate and did it too l
ate. Their stupidity was my gain, as I opened the door. They didn't even have electronic locks this far into the facility.

  As soon as the door opened, lights flickered to life. Massive shelves lined the walls, and I realized I had found my new gym. Thousands of pounds of steel were stacked in orderly rows, with a large space near the door for workshopping. I looked around and found parts I was sure would fit the couch. I laid them out, trying to determine what I would need. The problem I ran into was that I had no tools. I would likely have to fashion the frame myself.

  I took a seven foot length of steel stock, and carefully bent it about a hand-width from the end. It quickly formed a soft 'L' shape, surprising me. I checked the stock section it had come from to double check. It was quarter-inch plate, three inches wide. It would work perfectly for the couch, if I could get it to shape nicely. Then it occurred to me that the bed had been creaking as well. I put the deformed length of steel down, then went and found several lengths of eight foot plate in quarter inch.

  Carrying the lot back was awkward, not because of the weight but because of the length and trying to explain why I was able to carry almost two hundred pounds of steel without effort. Just to help disguise the fact that I wasn't struggling, I carried the eight pieces in both hands, even though it was completely unnecessary. Thankfully, I didn't encounter anybody in the hallways. I returned to the suite, and set them in the entry way.

  I tipped the broken couch on its back, then reset the broken lengths of wood. After that, I took the first length and shaped it along the first foot. I bent and molded it by hand, pressing until I heard the metal bite and the wood creak. I finished shaping it, careful to make sure no metal was exposed to the outside edges. Once it was formed into place, I let the couch sit onto its legs again.

  The couch crashed down, muffled slightly by the carpet. The extra thirty or so pounds made the couch much heavier than it had been. I cringed, hoping nobody had heard the sound. I went around the couch and rolled it forward. The metal brace was very evident now, gleaming dully in the light. I took the next length and repeated the process of shaping it. The metal didn't bite into my hand like I expected it to, instead deforming like soft plastic under my grip. I finished placing the metal and let the couch down softly.