Go For Stories

Nigel sat at the window, staring out over the lab. Six more months. Six more months and he could go outside again. He missed the smells the most. Everything here was so clean, sterile. Sure, he had some plants in his room to try and make it feel more natural. Not to mention the most impressive feat of engineering ever seen; the artificial sun they had developed to give the research team a “natural” source of light. The technology that went into the safe, contained nuclear reactor provided both warmth and energy to the Laboratory. It was contained through the use of a “Micro-Singularity” or something like that. The science was beyond Nigel and, despite its suspension from the roof overlooking the atrium, he had given up pretending it was real. It merely made it all the more obvious that he was stuck in a giant concrete box hundreds of metres under the ground.

At first, he thought being secluded from the world would be the hardest part. They still had access to the internet and were able to keep track of what was happening in the world, but after a couple of months he realised there was no point. He couldn’t vote, or go to any events, or call his friends for a catch up, or anything else that normal people do. So, he let go of the outside world. But, the scent of the outdoors was calling to him. As soon as their term was finished, the first thing he would do would be to drive into the forest and sniff the world, weird as that may be.

For now, he sat and gazed, rubbing his sore hand absently. He watched the scientists going about their business and the maintenance personnel darting back and forth making sure everything was running smoothly. He knew if he stood and leaned close to the glass, he could see the foodies working in their small gardens overhanging the balconies, provided more for catharsis than for actually feeding the crew.

A knock on the door startled him.

“What is it?”

The door opened and Levi stood there, holding the white quarantine suits and ready to go.

“You coming, Mr Astley?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

He had been dreading the moment when he would have to face up to his failure to protect one of their own. The investigation of the research lab would take its toll on him, he knew it. He blamed himself for Allen’s death. If he had scanned the room properly for any hidden personnel, this disaster could have been averted. He should have known better, but he refused to let Levi see his weakness. The last thing he would want was for his best friend to doubt his ability to lead and keep a sane mind. He’d already scratched the surface of that doubt after his performance this morning in the elevator.

He buttoned up his jacket as he left the room, closing the door behind him

“How you feeling, bud?” Levi asked, without looking his way. “Did a rest help?”

“It did, thanks.” He forced a confidence that he didn’t feel and took his quarantine suit from Levi, making sure to cover the weird spider pattern burned into his hand.

They strolled down the hall leading to the lift and Nigel’s heart quickened. The closer they got, the harder it beat and the dizzier he got.

What is going on here, Nigel? He thought. Get your act together.

He shook his head to clear it and turned to Levi. “What say we take the stairs?”

Levi looked down at the suit he was carrying and over to Nigel’s.

“What? With these?”

“Why not? We could use the exercise and I could use the time to discuss our plans.”

Levi narrowed his eyes, but he headed to the stairwell anyway. “What plans?”

“You know, how we go about this investigation: who we talk to, where we look.”

“I mean, I was just gonna see what was up and go from there.”

Nigel sighed and opened the door to the stairs. He followed Levi through and they began the descent. He was glad that his friend wasn’t labouring the point, but he knew there a was a hint of genuine suspicion behind Levi’s smiling eyes.

“Well,” he said, “the explosion took place to the side of the lab; near the medical bay. It obviously destabilised the tanks holding that solution that killed Doctor Peterson, because they blew a number of minutes later. That’s where we’ll start. And we have to look into why the sprinklers didn’t go off. And why the room was filled with smoke, despite there being no fire. And we need to investigate why Doctor Peterson was even there as early as he was.”

Levi held out his hand to stop Nigel. “Hold on. Why should that matter? Maybe he just had some extra work to get done.”

“It was behaviour out of character for a man who died in an unusual accident.”

He moved past Levi’s outstretched hand. “We have to look at every angle.”

Levi shrugged and continued down the steps. “Whatever you say, Boss.” He gave Nigel a side-eye glance, knowing how much it annoyed him when he called him that. “Hey, did you read those books I lent you?”

“Most of them, yeah.”

“Who knew Genghis was such a softy, hey?”

Nigel laughed. “A regular pussycat, that guy.”

They spent the rest of the walk chatting and laughing about trivial things. By the time they reached sub-level 21, Nigel was feeling much better. The stress he was feeling was all but forgotten and his memory of the incident in the lift had faded. They stepped out onto the landing to find it mostly empty. With Research Three shut, most of the floor had been shuffled to other areas for the foreseeable future. They crossed the gangway and headed to the glass wall opposite.

“Nigel, Levi.” A voice crossed to them. “Hey, guys.”

Nigel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes and turned to the source of the voice.

“Hello, Doctor Reynolds,” he said. Forcing civility into his voice. “To what do we owe the pleasure.”

“Call me Bec, champ.” The woman was in her early twenties and had shoulder length, blonde hair held back by a rubber band. She took a bite out of a protein bar and slapped Nigel on the shoulder in an exaggerated friendliness. “I thought I’d join in this little shindig. Figured you could use some help from the medical perspective.”

As much as it pained Nigel to admit, Rebecca was an amazing medical scientist. And she knew it.

“Okay, you can come through, but you are not to touch anything. Do you understand?”

She took another bite.

“What about the good, late Doc?” she said, flecks of food coming from her mouth.

“Obviously, you can examine him.” He waved a hand at her. “Just go get your suit on.”

She ran off to the lab, ducked under the caution tape and through the door. Nigel watched her disappear through a door in the lab marked, “CHANGEROOM” and allowed himself to relax a bit.

“That wasn’t too bad,” remarked Levi. “She must be in a good mood.”

“I imagine she’s excited at another opportunity to show off her skills and knowledge. She loves that.”

Levi picked his teeth with his fingernail. “You’re probably right, but she’s one-”

“She’s one heck of a scientist, I know. Just hurry up.”

“Right you are, Boss.”

“Call me that again and I’ll lock you in the lab when we’re done. You can make your peace with the weird smoke demons.”

“Sure thing, Bo-” Nigel glared at him. “Bob, I was gonna say Bob.”

They headed through the lab and into the change area, where they found Bec sitting on a chair in the corner. She was fully suited up and looking at them through her clear face mask with a self-satisfied smile.

“Are those flames on your suit?” asked Levi.

“Yep.” Bec winked at Levi. “Pretty snazzy, huh?”

Nigel couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Are you fucking kidding me, Reynolds? Any foreign matter is likely to contaminate any evidence we might find. If that paint comes off in a clean environment, it’ll ruin everything. You of all people should know that.”

“Relax,” she held up her hands in a mock-defensive gesture, “It’s fused to the suit. I had it specially done. Perfectly sterile. No point avoiding fun just because you’re fixated on cleanliness.”

Nigel bunched up his muscles, prepared to rip into her. Levi’s hand came down on his shoulder. Not hard, but enough to restrain him. He moved close to Nigel’s ear.

“Just let it go, Nige,” he said in a low voice. “She’s trying to get you worked up.” Levi’s voice was gentle, soothing. “It’s working too. I know she’s got a funny idea of it, but she’s just having a little fun. Let it go.”

Nigel relaxed his shoulders and nodded. He turned away from Reynolds to pull his suit on over his clothes. As he did, he had to force her grinning face out of his mind. Levi donned his suit beside him and moments later they were all ready to go into the lab. They moved through the public lab to the door with the panel. Nigel adjusted his glove and pushed the small button through the protective plastic. The panel scanned his face twice to accommodate the face mask.

“This lab is under quarantine,” a computer voice said. “Authorised personnel only. There have been zero entries since quarantine. State the access code to enter. Reminder, until proven safe, full protective equipment is to be worn at all times.”

“Access code 3 8 Z 4 P Orange B C” Nigel recited one of many codes he was forced to memorise before working here.

“Access granted,” said the computer and the door opened.

They all stepped through into the small corridor and the door closed behind them. A hissing noise came through the ceiling and a fine mist descended from unseen vents above them. It washed over them as they stood, waiting to be sterilised. The plate glass lifted behind the internal door and a Red light above turned green. Nigel crossed to the entrance. He steeled himself before looking through the window.

The lab was a mess; worse than he remembered. Desks lay strewn about and the walls were stained a grim, grey-brown colour, no doubt from the smoke and the green mist. What he could see of the medical section was completely destroyed. The beds had been thrown into a crumpled pile by the force of the blast and mattress stuffing littered the room like a thick, lumpy snow.

“So, we going in or what?” asked Bec, leaning in for a look at the destruction.

“Just hold on, Rebecca.” Nigel pushed her off him with his forearm. “I’m making sure the area is secure.”

“Secure against what? There’s nobody in there.”

He turned to look at her. “That’s what we thought when we left Allen in there to die. It was a reminder that things aren’t always as they seem. So just shut up and let me ascertain if the area is secure.” He spun away from her and glanced back through the window for half a second. “It’s secure.”

He nudged the door a little, being sure not to push it into Doctor Peterson’s body. The door moved freely. He paused.

“What’s wrong?” asked Levi, standing beside him.

“Nothing. Just being careful not to disturb … the evidence.”

He pushed the door a bit more, then a bit more, then swung it fully open. Looking around, his head reeled.

“The body,” he said, “it’s gone.”