Chapter 16 The End Feels Near [The End]

The largest one, the one standing directly over her, tilted its head. Its glowing eyes blinked. Its mouth opened, revealing those needle-thin teeth.

And it smiled.

"Happy wants to share," it whispered.

They jabbed her. All of them. Massive syringes plunged into her arms. Her legs. Her chest. Her neck.

The liquid burned.

Cold and hot at the same time. Spreading through her veins like fire, like ice, like nothing she had ever felt.

She opened her mouth to scream.

Her vision went white.

Then red.

Then black.

-------------------------

Aris opened her eyes.

White ceiling. Fluorescent lights. 

She was lying in a bed. Soft sheets. A pillow beneath her head. An IV in her arm.

She tried to move. Her body felt heavy. Tired.

"She's awake, sir."

"You may go. Leave us, no one enters."

A man stepped into her field of vision. He was older, sixty, maybe older, with grey hair, a square jaw and a uniform covered in medals. 

"Ah! Dr. Thorne. You're finally awake! It is an honor to finally meet you. I'm General Ross. And yes, you're safe now."

"Where...?"

"Field hospital. About two klicks north of the Warren Center. You've been unconscious for three days."

Aris closed her eyes. Opened them.

"Three days... The others," she whispered. "Leo. Chen. Sarah. The people in the—"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Thorne. When we arrived, there were not many who can be called survivors. We recovered your biometric data. Your vital signs were the only ones we could call normal. Everyone else... the rest 200 people on that bunker... not so much."

 He paused.

 "The Mutagen X Finch created was too aggressive. Too fast. By the time our teams reached the lower levels, there was nothing left to save. And the few people we were able to extract... they soon showed symptoms. And turned. Happy Virus took over. We could not help them."

"Mutagen X? Happy Virus?"

"That's what we're calling it. We don't know exactly what Finch was working on. The Mayfly project was off-book. Unauthorized. He kept most of his research in his head. But we know this much. The compound he created, the one that leaked, it caused rapid cellular mutation. Transformations. The people in that facility didn't stand a chance."

"But rest assured. We stopped it before it could infect the world. We have sealed the bunker," Ross continued. "A special robot is delivering a small nuclear pack to the lower levels as we speak. In approximately four hours, the entire facility will be destroyed. Every trace of Finch's work. Every sample. Every memory. And the Happy Virus—"

"Destroyed?"

"It's the only way to be sure. This mutagen can't be allowed to spread. The whole world is at the risk. And it is not the risk we can take."

Aris nodded slowly. Her mind was still foggy.

"The investors," she said. "The board. They'll want—"

"You don't need to worry about anything, Miss Thorne. The board has already approved a cover story. Terrorist attack. Several groups have volunteered to take the blame. The public will never know what really happened."

Ross paused.

"But your research, Dr. Thorne. That survived. We recovered all of your data from Lab 69. Your work on telomere restoration. The aging reversal documents. It's all intact. You can rest assured."

 "You... recovered my data?"

"Yes, mam. Every file. The board was very clear about that. Your research is too valuable to lose, at least that's what I was told. But... enough talk for now, you should rest. When you're ready, there are people who want to speak with you. About continuing your work. About the future.

 And... I know it's a bit late. But... I'm sorry for your loss, Dr. Thorne. Truly. I know some of those people were your friends. I'm sorry we could not save them in time."

"It's not your fault this happened, General Ross, you got nothing to be sorry about. But... thank you for kind words."

He stood up.

"The Warren is gone. But the Warren Center doesn't have to be. With your help, we can rebuild. Better this time."

He walked to the door. Paused.

"Finch was a brilliant man. But he lost his way. You won't make the same mistakes."

With his final words, General Ross stepped out of Aris's room and pulled the curtain closed behind him.

The field hospital was a temporary setup, canvas walls, plastic flooring, the harsh glare of portable surgical lights. Cots lined the walls, most of them empty. 

Ross walked toward the command tent, but he didn't get far.

A soldier rounded the corner, young, early twenties.

"Sir! We need to talk. It's important."

Ross kept walking. "Not here. Follow me."

"Sir, it's about the lab. About the findings."

Ross stopped, turned and shot him a cold stare.

"I said not here."

The soldier glanced at the curtain behind Ross. At the shadow visible through the fabric, Aris, still lying in her bed, still staring at the ceiling.

"Sir, she needs to know. What we found in the samples. The blood work. The cameras."

Ross grabbed the soldier by the arm. His voice dropped to a whisper. Harsh. Dangerous.

"You will not speak of this in front of her, boy. Do you understand me?"

 "Sir—"

"Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

Ross dragged him toward the command tent. The soldier followed.

Ross pulled the flap closed behind them.

Tent was empty. Just a folding table, a laptop, a stack of reports.

He turned on the soldier.

"What did you find?"

Soldier swallowed hard. "The lab reports came back. Air samples from the ventilation system. The compound Finch was working on. Mayfly-7. It was in the air for days. Everyone in that facility was exposed. Everyone."

 "I know that, boy. Get to the important part!"

"The hallucinations, sir. They weren't just visual. The gas affected everything. Perception. Memory. Judgment. The people in that bunker didn't know what was real and what wasn't."

The soldier pulled a tablet from his vest. Swiped through images.

"We recovered security footage. From the main cameras."

He held up the tablet.

Ross stared at the screen. But there were no monsters. No rabbits. Just people. Screaming. Running. Swinging at nothing.

A woman was huddled in a corner, her hands over her head, screaming at the wall.

A man was swinging a fire extinguisher at empty air.

And at the end of the hallway, a group of people were thrashing a man on the ground.

Ross's face went pale.

"The gas made them see enemies everywhere," the soldier said. "Everyone who tried to help, they saw as monsters. The security teams. The emergency responders. The military."

He swiped to another image. Soldiers in hazmat gear. Gas masks. 

"People Dr. Thorne and her team killed," the soldier continued, "They weren't monsters, sir. They were civilians. Other survivors. Children, even. The tour group for the presentation."

Ross closed his eyes.

"My god, the children."

"They saw them as small monster rabbits, sir. The gas made them see... little monsters. But the cameras... The cameras show the truth."

Ross opened his eyes.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just the analysis team. And now you, sir."

Ross walked to the table. Picked up a report. Set it down.

"No one speaks of this. Not to the press. Not to the families. No one."

"Sir, the families deserve to know—"

"The families will be told that their loved ones died in a terrorist attack. That's the story. That's the only story you need to know."

 "And Dr. Thorne, sir?"

Ross looked toward the curtain. Toward the tent where Aris lay.

"If she finds out what really happened... If she learns that she killed her own friends, that she murdered children... she will break."

He turned back to the soldier.

"The investors. They didn't fund this facility to save lives. They funded it to find a cure for aging. And currently Dr. Thorne is the only one who can deliver that. Her research is worth billions. No, even more! So, she cannot break."

Ross picked up the tablet. Deleted the images.

"Burn the footage. Burn the lab reports. Burn everything that contradicts the official story. No evidence left. No lose ends. Nothing."

"Sir—"

"That's an order, boy."

The soldier saluted. His hand was shaking.

"Yes, sir."

He left leaving General Ross stand alone in the tent, staring at the empty tablet screen.

Then he turned and walked away.

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Aris lay in the bed, staring at the white ceiling. The IV dripped. And somewhere, in the back of her mind, a voice whispered. "Happy wants to share, Happy wants to bring joy, Happy wants to inject happiness, heeeheeee~"

She closed her eyes. She didn't cry. She couldn't feel anything at all. Only a broken smile spread across her face.

THE END