6

Chapter 6 of Disease

Thor himself could not have asked for a better champion, and it was only fitting that he would christen the hero after himself. But what of the consequences? What of the aftermath of Thurman’s actions? Shall no recompense exchange hands for the many services he rendered? Surely, he is indeed a hero.

But no hero should leave destruction as his legacy.

Robert and William looked around, stunned at the normal scene before them. Moments before they had been in a black room, surrounded by black dust, and now they were back. Back in the cell, with Bai lying typically in his bed.

“What took you so long?” Bai asked, without looking up from his book. “I’ve managed to get through about half of this crap before you two got back.” He nodded towards the door of the cell, where there were two guards re-locking the door. “You guys sure know how to make them angry. I figured you would have more sense than that.”

Robert and William looked at each other, and Robert let out a snort. William countered with a chuckle, and Robert responded in kind. Soon they were both rolling on the floor, laughing with the full force of their diaphragms, while Bai looked upon them with a quizzical look.

“They beat you two pretty bad, didn’t they?” He asked, raising his eyebrow. This only served to make Robert and William writhe on the ground, sounding like a pack of hyenas. After several moments, with the last guffaw let out, Robert and William sat up and looked at Bai.

“What time is it?” Robert asked, while his stomach growled obnoxiously.

Bai nodded at his abdomen. “Time for you to get some food, son. Cafeteria just opened.” Let’s go get some grub.” He stood up slowly, leaning on a walking stick. He waved away Robert and William’s attempts to aid him. “I’m fine, just a little weak from that dang poison.”

William raised an eyebrow, but sad nothing. Robert remembered that it had been two months for the man, and Bai had been completely recovered when he had been here last. That meant that they were back in the present, or at least the present for Robert.

Robert’s mind was reeling from both the encounter with Hunt and the subsequent  “banishment”. How exactly had that worked? And why did Hunt appear to be so normal?

Indeed, Senor Thurman. Why indeed. A voice said, speaking only so Robert could hear. Robert stopped dead in his tracks.

Who are you? He asked, feeling a little strange in talking to a voice in his head.

A member of the Caeleste, the voice answered. But that does not matter, just as the name of our organization does not matter. I am here to monitor you and your friends. See how you are responding to our tests. You will hear from one of my brethren in the future.

Silence filled Robert’s ears, and he looked up to see Bai and William staring at him.

“Robert, are you alright?” William asked, walking over and checking him for problems. Robert nudged him away, muttered affirmations, and pushed past them to get to the cafeteria.

“Robert, welcome to the Mush Pit. Dreariest room in the whole place.” Bai announced, taking his hand off his walking stick to gesticulate proudly. “But at least the food is decent.” He walked over to the counter, grabbed a tray, and proceeded to be served by a gruff looking security guard.

Robert looked around, trying to take in as much as he could. The last time he was here, he was too dazed, too confused to observe fully.

“Hey buddy! You gonna get some grub, or stay in dreamland? You’re holding up the line!” The cafeteria worker yelled, his Brooklyn accent easy to hear over the din of the room. Robert shuffled over to the counter and grabbed a tray, still trying to observe his surroundings.

“Alright, so whaddya want? We got meatloaf, pizza, or sandwiches. What’ll it be?” The guy asked, gesturing to the food. Robert pointed to the meatloaf, and received a generous helping in return. He mumbled some thanks, and then walked over to the table where William and Bai were seated. He sat down, his tray clattering against the metal table.

“Hey.” A deep voice said behind him, and Robert turned around. An unnaturally (or, at least unnatural for this place) big Mexican man stood there, and he did not look happy. “I was gonna sit there,” he said accusingly. Robert looked around, pleading with his eyes for help from any of the staring inmate. Not a one said anything, let alone came to his aid. Suddenly, he felt the man’s hands around his collar, pulling him to his feet. The man yanked him even closer, to the point where their noses touched. “I wanted to sit there.” He said again, anger creeping into his voice.

All of the sudden, it was happening again. Red began to seep into Robert’s vision, and he slowly pried the man’s hands off his clothes. The man’s scrunched his eyebrows, and his fists began to clench.

“You wanna go, little man?” He whispered, face turning red and shaking.

Robert responded with a well-aimed punch to the face, reveling in the squish of the man’s face beneath his knuckles.

The man toppled backward, crashing into and overturning the table behind him. Trays, dishes, and food clattered all over the floor, and the men sitting there whirled around to glare at Robert, their expressions oozing hatred and malice. He raised his eyes, as if challenging the men to have a go. They all yelled, and charged at Robert.

He screamed, springing up into the air with a thrust of his powerful legs. His leap seemed to be unnaturally high, as he soared over the men and onto another table, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. The men there jumped out of their seats, staring dumbly at the legs that had sprouted out of their lunch. One man yelled gleefully, and began flipping over tables, cackling hysterically as they toppled. The ruckus spread like a tidal wave across the cafeteria, and a riot began to ensue. The more unstable men were running around and screaming, while the saner ones actually managed to put up a fight. William and Bai joined in to help Robert, screaming and fighting. William and another man were having a boxing match, both of them circling and weaving and ducking. Bai and his opponent were locked in tight embrace, neither willing to let go of the other. The man that Robert had punched had gotten up and was tearing though the crowd, looking for his enemy. Meaning Robert. The Man himself was in the middle of a crowd of ten men, spinning and punching like a hurricane. He ducked and jumped and bent, always retaliating with a punch of his own. He was feverish and much too fast for hi opponents to even come near him.

What’s going on? He thought, as he ducked a man’s uppercut and jabbed him in the face. The man crumpled to the ground, clutching his broken nose and shrieking. Two men grabbed spoons and began whacking him over the head, screaming “You a bad man, you a bad man!” over and over again. Robert weaved underneath two men’s attempts to grab him, and slammed both of his fists into their backs. With red vision, he could see William and Bai slowly succumbing, moving slower and slower with each missed blow. Robert slowly began to fight his way toward his friends, whirling and lashing at anyone in his path. Soon he reached his friends, and they stood back to back in a triangle formation.

“What’s the plan?” Bai shouted, knocking a man down with a hit to the jaw. “We can’t really reason with guys who aren’t right in the head!” He dodged a right hook, elbowing the man in the ear.

“Where is security?” William yelled, blocking a punch of his own. He was answered by an immense ringing throughout the hall, and the hiss of a sprinkler system being activated.

Sprinklers? Robert wondered, staring up at the ceiling.

Insight flashed through his mind, and he ducked his head quickly. He dropped to the floor, yanking Bai and William down with him. He crawled quickly under a table, making room for his friends. William looked at him strangely, breathing heavily.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, but Robert just pointed at the other prisoners.

They were all on the ground, writhing in agony. Their skin had turned red and shiny, and some had bones showing through their skulls. William and Bai gaped in horror and disgust, before turning to Robert with amazement in their eyes.

“How did you know?” Bai asked quietly, genuine amazement showing on his wrinkled face. Robert began to answer him, tell him about AD-952 and the horror it caused, but stopped when a pair of boots appeared in front of them. The table was lifted up and thrown away, and standing before them was a security guard with a pistol in his hands.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” He asked with an evil grin, right before shooting Bain and William in the arm. Red darts sprouted from their shoulders, and in moments they lay in crumpled heaps on the floor. Robert looked at the man, who grinned even wider.

“You’re in big trouble, Señor Thurman.”

Robert was left in confusion as the man shot him in the leg, knocking him out in an instant.

Robert waited in traffic for hours before it cleared up sufficiently for him to exit and turn around, speeding back to his wife and daughter. The entire drive home he kept checking his hand, horrified at what the natural event had done. What had suddenly caused the oldest nurturer of all to suddenly turn vicious? He was almost home when he got it.

AD-952.  That was the only explanation. It was the only thing that had changed since that day and the day before. Some how, some way, the bacteria must have mutated and become ravenous enough to attack human flesh.

When he walked in the door, he found Jessica wailing and screaming, while Elaine tried to help her. Robert walked closer and saw the cause of the ruckus. Jessica’s entire face was red, as were her hands. He looked at Elaine questioningly, concern alighting his mind.

“She says she was walking to school when she saw it was going to rain, so she went out to dance in it, She says that it started to burn and hurt her, so she dove under a tree to call me and ask me to get her. I could barely understand her, she was screaming so loudly.” She explained, dabbing at Jessica’s face with a cloth and medicine.

“How long was she out?” Robert asked, looking at Jessica with sadness.

“She said for maybe a second. I don’t understand! Maybe she had an allergic reaction to something earlier and just began to notice it?” Elaine answered, panic in her voice. Robert tapped her on the shoulder and wordlessly showed her his hand. She gasped, grabbing his hand to examine it. She brushed her fingers against it, and it was then that Robert remembered how much it hurt. He suppressed the urge to groan, and walked over to the kitchen to soak it in cold water.

“Robert, what’s happening? What’s going on?” His wife nearly screamed. He looked at her, grabbed his keys and a large overcoat, and started walking back out the door.

“The stuff they shot into the sky. I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s dangerous. Whatever you do, stay out of the rain!” He yelled, before walking out the door to his car. He needed to get to the lab. He shrugged on his coat and a pair of plastic gloves to protect himself from the now deadly liquid.

As we walked down his driveway, the sight before him nearly caused him to trip over himself. His lawn and flower beds were completely gone. Not a trace of plant life was left, not even a single blade of grass. Robert gaped at the sight, barely even noticing the rain dripping dangerously close to his face. He used his sleeve to brush it away, and continued to stare at the wasteland that his lawn had become.

The implications were staggering. What if something like this had happened throughout the country, or throughout the world? Crops would be wiped out in minutes, and any animal that managed to survive would be left without a source of food. Robert shuddered. This very well may be the end of life as they knew it.

Which made what he was going to do all the more important. He quickly ran to his car, opened the door, and started rummaging through it. After a moment, he managed to find a test tube from an old experiment.

Bingo, he thought. He held it out in the rain, filling it about halfway before he capped it and stuck it in his pocket. He now had a sample of the bacteria to work with. Maybe he could find a way to neutralize the stuff. First, though, he had to get to his lab.

The roads were strangely clear as he drove, and he managed to average ninety without getting pulled over. Consequently, he made it to his workplace in about two-thirds of the time it would normally take him. All the better for it. Robert parked his car right next to the building and hopped out, taking care not to get water on himself. He speed walked to the building, pulled open the steel door, and went inside. The lab was virtually empty, with only a few lab assistants milling around.

“Guys! What’s going on?” Robert shouted in exasperation, gesturing to the gale outside. A few of them shrugged.

“All of the technicians and doctors left in a hurry once someone said the rain was burning people. We think that once it stops raining, people will actually turn their brains on and calm down. Seriously, man, it’s stupid. Rain can’t be that bad.” One of the more indifferent-looking ones said, waving his arms in a noncommittal gesture. Robert walked over to him, grasped his shoulders, and shook him madly.

“Whoa man, calm down!  It’s not like it’s the end of the world!” The kid shouted, pulling away with disgust on his face. Robert glared at him, anger rising in his chest. Did this kid not know what was going on? Life might stay the same for a little bit, but little by little the food supply would dwindle until there was virtually nothing left. And when countries didn’t have any food left, all other industries would collapse. The world would fall into chaos. Was this kid stupid?

Robert forced himself to calm down, thinking that this kid was just a stupid twenty-something year old who thought himself to be invincible. Maybe this disaster would clear his head a little. Whatever the case, Robert didn’t have time to deal with him. He needed to start working on this right away. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

Robert took off for his lab, desperate to get the work started. The world might be hanging on his discoveries. He wouldn’t let them down.

Robert slowly came to life again, marveling at how many times a person could get knocked out in one week. And all the things he’d been through in said week. Was it at all possible for him to get one restful day out of this life?

Not since the Burst. Restful has become a four-letter word, he thought to himself, chuckling bitterly. He wished his life could go back to the way he had it before, where his worst worry was whether he would pay his mortgage on time or not.

Ah yes, but those times are gone, Mr. Thurman. You must now play with the cards you're dealt. Perhaps you might be able to win a hand with them. Robert heard Hunt’s voice say in his head, and his eyes narrowed. He could sense that Hunt knew so much more than he was telling, and he wanted to know what. So much of his life had been spent operating in the dark, and it had killed the people he loved.

It had killed Jessica.

“Well, man, looks like you just can’t seem to get a handle on that ol’ temper of yours. I’m hoping you can take care of it in the future, or you might have to be ‘taken care of’.” Julius said to Robert, and he finally opened his eyes. He was back in the completely white room he had been in when he first woke up. Only now there was one difference. Julius sat beside him, a grim look on his face.

“I’m not kidding, Robert. That’s strike number two, and that’s taking into account that someone VERY high up in this system like you. Most guys don’t get past strike one.” His eyes narrowed. “You had better not make any mistakes. I do not want to have to put the guy who can save the world down. It would most definitely not be the highlight of my career.”

Robert was puzzled. What did he mean, the guy who would save the world?

Suddenly it all clicked into place. All the little hints, and the little nuances of the man came together in Robert’s mind, and he gasped in shock.

The man before him was Julius, the technician from the lab that Robert worked in to discover the cure for AD-952. The shy one in the back, the one the Terrence always made fun of.

The one who was burned.

“That’s right, Robert. You aren’t the only one here.” Julius said with a smile, but Robert just gawked at him.

“Wh-what happened? Last time I saw you, you were…” Robert said, but he trailed off at the last part. He didn’t want to bring up that event in Julius head.

Julius just sighed, and reached around to the back of his head. He seemed to press a button there, and the air in front of him went hazy. When it cleared, Robert almost screamed.

Julius had been burned. Badly. His entire face and neck were covered with them. His skin was blackened almost all over, and the parts that weren’t were deep crimson. He had no hair, and his scalp was black and red too. The worst was his face. His face had been burned to the point where Robert could see the tendons in his jaw, and is teeth were constantly showing. But his eyes, his eyes! They were white and out of place on the charred body, forever staring at Robert. Reminding him of the horror and pain Julius had went through. Julius reached back around with stumps for fingers and pressed the button again. The air hazed, then cleared, leaving Julius sitting there with his new body.

“I don’t remember much of what happened, since I know that’s what you were thinking of. I remember pressing the alarm, the jets popping out, and then all of the sudden I was in this big black room, with two chairs in the middle. For a couple of minutes I just stood there, wondering what the frack had happened, when I finally looked down at my body and saw this. I nearly screamed in revulsion, and waited for wave after wave of pain to wrack my body.”

“But it never came. I just stood there staring at my body, when I heard a small cough come from the center of the room. I looked over at the chairs, and I saw a guy sitting in one of them. He was small, weedy, and had the blackest hair you’d ever see. He waved me over, and I walked over to the other chair and sat down. Immediately, I felt a sharp jolt of pain at the base of my skull, and I grabbed at my neck. I felt a little switch there. I looked over at the guy, and before I could even ask him what that was, he nodded and motioned at the back of my head. So I pressed the little switch, and in a second it transformed me into what you see now.”

“I stared at the guy, joy twinkling in my eyes, and he smiled. But it wasn’t a happy smile. It was a smile with mischief in his eyes, and he locked his fingers together before he talked to me. He said, ‘Now our work can begin.’ I had no idea what the Shed he was talking about. Here I was, just saved from certain death, and he was speaking in Bursting riddles. I glared at him, and I said, ‘You had better make some sense, weirdo. Or I might have to sock your lights out.’”

“he just laughed at me, and said, ‘Now Julius, is that anyway to treat your Savior? The Caeleste have chosen you for something very important. It doesn’t involve danger, and you could use a rest. Are you ready? Your other choice, of course, is to be returned to the place and time I plucked you from. So choose.’ I just looked at him, but I started to think about what he was saying. It wasn’t a hard choice. It was basically his way, or die. So I told him, ‘What do you think I’ll choose? Whatever you say, I’ll do.’ He smiled more, and said simply, ‘Excellent.’”

“At that moment, this weird black dust started falling, and I got really dizzy. The moment I screamed though, it all went away and I found myself in this prison, somehow knowing exactly who I was acting as what I needed to do.”

At this point, Julius fell silent. Robert looked at him intently.

“So what exactly are you supposed to be doing?” Robert asked. Julius smiled wanly.

“That’s one thing I am not allowed to say. But boy, is it a good one. I love it.” He said, patting Robert on the back and standing to leave.

“Wait, where are you going?” Robert said, surprised that Julius would leave after such a revelation.

“I do have more of that mission to fulfill. And you need to get ready for the consequences of your little episode. Strike two isn’t without a punishment.” Julius replied, and then he opened the door and stepped out, closing the door gently behind him.

It had barely been closed a second when two male nurses walked in, goofy smiles plastered on their faces.

“Hey Mr. Thurman, we’ve got a fun thing for you to do!” The first one said in an obnoxiously singsong voice. The second one looked at the other with disdain for a second, then immediately put his smile back on.

“Yes we do!” He said in the same voice. “You get to come take care of more patients with us! How does that sound?” They looked at him expectantly.

Robert thought for a second about mashing them into a pulp, but he thought that he would like strike three to come a little later than this. So he mirrored their smiles and said, “Super duper!” They smiled wider, and pulled in a wheelchair. Robert let them help him into it, and then they wheeled him out of the room.

Throughout the little ride, Robert kept thinking about the mysterious Caeleste. What were they? A band of thieves, men trying to steal knowledge and keep others from stealing it back? Or maybe even evil men, who wanted to take over the minds of these people for their own purposes. They did seem to have the power to do it.

But Robert kept thinking back to how time passed so quickly in the caves, and what William told him about the bones that had matched Robert’s DNA. How the Shed were they able to do something like that? Teleportation is one thing, but synthesizing the DNA of another human being was quite a stretch.

But it had spurred William to come looking for him, and together they found Hunt. And he hadn’t killed them. He had sent them back, back in time and back to the cells. Why? To make William and Robert aware that he was not to be trifled with? Or to have them see what kind of a man he really was? Samuel Hunt may have been many things, but he was most definitely not insane. Why then would he have done the things he had done?

Robert nearly fell out of his chair as he realized something important. If the bones that been found outside the cave were synthesized, that meant the people whom Hunt had kidnapped were still alive. Still alive and down in the caverns.

Something was going on. Something big, and those caves were part of it. Robert had to find some way to get himself and William back to those caverns, so they could find out. But how?

“Mr. Thurman, we’re here!” The first nurse said, still speaking in that ridiculous singsong voice. It made Robert want to get up and slap that smile off of his face. But, being the supposed insane man that he was, he just nodded and grinned.

They had wheeled him into a sort of hospital with patients strewn all about in different beds and gurneys. Some patients were very calm, content to just lie on their bed and stare at the ceiling. Others were thrashing and wailing, with the restraints that held them in place on the verge of collapse. They looked as if they were trying to escape, and many were saying things to confirm this idea.

“No, you have to let me go!” said one. “I have to get back to my husband and dog! They need me!”

Another was screaming right in the face of his attendant, face beet-red from the strain. “I am a General of the United States Army, you incompetent twit! I demand that you release me at once so that I can get back to killin’ more Nazis!”

Robert was slightly amused at the insane ravings of the assorted people. He had never known that insane people could be so darn funny.

One of his nurses scoffed, goofy smile and voice gone. “Look at the moron. He thinks these guys are funny. Well, wait until he has to spend every hour of every day taking care of their ‘bodily waste’. Trust me, he’ll be screaming like the rest of them when he’s through.”

Robert could begin to see their point. As they passed one of the more comatose patients, the most terrible stench arose from his sheets, making Robert and the nurses gag. All of the humor of the situation was gone, replaced by disgust and horror. This was not a place that Robert would want to spend another second in, let alone several days. He could see why this was a punishment.

Finally, though, the nurses wheeled him to a quiet room away from all the others.

“All right, Mr. Thurman. This is the lady you’ll be taking care of for us. Ready to meet her?” The nurse asked, looking at Robert for an answer. Robert nodded his head vigorously, trying to look as insane as possible.

‘Okay. Here we go.” The nurse opened the door, and wheeled Robert inside. The room smelled deeply of disinfectants, and it was completely white. There was no color whatsoever. No flowers, or decorations could be seen. The room as blank as a room could be. Even the woman in the bed was dressed in a white gown, and had the palest skin Robert had ever seen.

Even in such a state, Robert had to admit that she was strikingly beautiful. Her blonde hair fell across her body gracefully, and her face was perfect. Her eyes were the brightest blue, and they swiveled about, as if taking in everything they could see. The only things that marred her were the many tubes and wires coming out of her body, connected to cold, white machines. Robert saw a heart rate monitor, an IV drip, a humidifier, and other gadgets that he couldn’t even recognize.

Robert went back to studying the woman, and he kept on being surprised at how she looked. It was amazingly similar to-

No. He thought. It can’t be.

“Say hello to your new patient, Mr. Thurman” The nurse said, singsong voice ringing about like always. “Her name is Elaine.”

Robert gasped, and immediately looked at his wife. Her eyes swiveled around like normal, just the way he had always remembered. She was almost exactly the same from the last time he remembered. There was only one difference.

Right now, she was alive.

He wheeled himself a little closer to her bed, and he put his hand on hers. She immediately pulled it away, the blue eyes wheeling around and meeting his. They went wide, and she began stuttering.

“R-R-R- Robert?” She said quietly. Her voice rang in Robert’s ears, and he forced himself to hold back the many tears that sprang to his eyes. It had been too long.

Suddenly, Elaine’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

Reviews

[Cielle Merbien]

"...but sad nothing." "said"?
"...subsequent “banishment”." Extra space?
"...from any of the staring inmate." "inmates"
"...cards you're dealt." "you've"
"“he just..." "He"
"...acting as what..." Should there be an "and" in between "as" and "what" or am I just reading that wrong??