Z2012SITEHTHEGENERATORFIRE



The Experiment

Dr. James Matthews walked into the annex building at 6:30 a.m., just like he did every morning. But today was different. Matthews had a big grin on his face as he strode into the hallway. On either side of him, other workers in white coats turned and clapped for him. “Dr. Matthews, well done!” “Great job Matthews!” “Way to go!” He was pursued by the mob halfway through the length of the building. Matthews finally pushed his way past them and reluctantly stepped away from the showers of praise and into the dimly lit room that he knew so well. As the door sealed shut, the silence announced itself with a quiet hiss, and James was alone with his thoughts. He stood for a while in awe of himself, and then walked the five feet from the door to his desk. He sat down in the hard chair, made soft with use, and looked at his desktop. There was a note on top of the numerous reports and diagrams. Matthews picked up the note and quickly scanned over it. //Dear James,// //I commend you for your fine work on the M766 project! The use of a cryo storage container as a way to miniaturize and contain nuclear energy was ingenious! It provides a much safer and easily transportable clean energy source. However, as you know, that was not OUR intention. The first test to see if it will be suitable to breach the multiverse will be in a few hours. I would be honored if you would join me in the viewing chamber at 8.// //Sincerely,//

//Dr. Rickard Liontell// James laughed to himself. Rickard was a newer member of the USN, and so eager in his endeavors. This would be amusing, he thought. Matthews would join him at the time given, but first he had some things to do. He glanced upwards at the pictures of Lily on his desk. Her bright blond locks stood out from his short brown hair, and her blue eyes contrasted so much with his green irises. They were so happy in that picture. Matthews sighed a little, but then lightened up. “Soon, Lily. I’ll see you again.” At 11:05, James Matthews walked into the tiny square rectangle of a room. One wall had a long window starting from 3 feet off the ground and extending to the ceiling. It ran the entire length of the room, and through it, another room lined with machinery could be seen. Near the end of the window, a tall, pale man stood staring at the machines. He turned as James approached, revealing his long nose and mismatched green and brown eyes. His closely cropped blonde hair gave him the appearance of a military man, but he was much too frail for that. He greeted James with a huge smile and extended his hand. “Glad to see you Matthews” Rickard said. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.” James looked bewildered. “I’m five minutes late and you give up on me?” “Sorry, I’m just so excited! We have been getting increased readings on the mansion. If this test is successful, then we have considered moving the equipment there.” James was confused for a second. Liontell was the only person monitoring the mansion. It was part of the secret USN project. “What do you mean, we?” he asked. Rickard quickly realized what he had said, and glanced into the mechanical room. “Over there”, he said, pointing out a scientist. “He was just transferred here from USN headquarters. He is to assist us with our research.” The scrawny scientist looked up from his work on a large box of cables and turned towards the viewing room. His bright red hair peeked out from under his head cap, and his green eyes were dark, narrowing as he studied James. Almost as quickly as he had turned around, he adopted an excited expression under his mask, and waved at Liontell and Matthews. Rickard waved back, a naïve grin on his face, but James forced a smile as he studied the man. This was unexpected. His plans might be slightly delayed now. He trusted Rickard not to make a deal of it, but this man might squawk back to USN headquarters. “Quiet now” said Rickard. “The test is beginning”. The redheaded man and three other scientists began to pull switches lining the walls. A small metal dome rose from the floor to about waist height in the center of the room. Another dropped from the ceiling and lined up so that there was about 1 foot between the tops. A thin beam of light rose from the tips of the domes and joined, forming a single, bright beam that was shimmering with raw energy. A speaker crackled to life in the viewing room. “Attention: cryo-nuclear reactor testing has commenced. Attention: cryo-nuclear testing has commenced”. Matthews glanced over at Rickard, whose attention was focused solely on the machines. The redheaded man looked at the viewing room window and made a beckoning motion, waving his hand towards himself. Rickard turned to the door. “That’s our cue. Come, let’s go” he said as he made for the exit. Matthews cast one last glance at the redhead from the viewing room. His eyes seemed changed, darker and more suspicious. James’ doubts about the truth of the purpose of this man were only reassured. But he had to keep up appearances. He stepped through the exit door in pursuit of Liontell, and rounded the corner of the hallway into the test chamber door. He waited for the heavy metal door to open, peering into the tiny window at the top, surrounded by caution signs. James could feel the electricity in the room as he entered, and not just from the machine. He cast sidelong glances at the redhead and Liontell, who nodded back. It was time for the real test to begin. “Okay, everyone else out!” James shouted. The other scientists looked confused. “Pentin, Harry, Yeoung, you three leave us to this. I can’t be distracted, and it might be dangerous. Go work on the Frei Fever or something”. There was an audible sigh as the other three scientists left the room, leaving James, Rickard, and the redhead alone. Rickard turned to the redhead. “Activate the expansion field” he said. The redhead flipped up a wall panel to reveal a hidden switch, and pulled it. The two domes began to recede back into the floor and ceiling, but two pronged, metal appendages rose up from the floor. Light jumped to them with a deafening CRACK! James ducked his head down to avoid the blinding flash. The buzz of electricity comparable to the noise an old T.V. makes filled the room, making it hard to hear what Rickard said next. “This is it!” he screamed, “The portal is ready!” James raised his head, still shielding his eyes, but saw that the light formed a diamond in the center of the room. He approached it slowly, gradually adjusting to the brightness. He glanced over at the redhead, who stood with his hand still on the switch, staring into the diamond. Matthews turned to face Rickard. “Are you sure this is right?” he screamed. “Are you absolutely sure?” James thought he heard Rickard mumble, but couldn’t make out what he said with all the noise in the background. He asked again. “What did you say? Is this stable!” he yelled. Rickard jumped and quickly yelled back. “Yes, this is as stable as it will get! Are you ready James?” Matthews couldn’t help but smile. He had waited for this moment. “I’ve been ready for a while, Rickard” he exclaimed. The time was near, and his excitement was welling up in him to the point that he was almost shaking. He could finally see Lily again. “Lock the door and don’t let anyone in here or the viewing room!” Rickard yelled to the redhead, who nodded. Rickard turned to face James. “Remember the rules! Don’t change anything! We can’t know what will happen!” “Don’t worry, I remember!” “On three!” Rickard and Matthews turned to face the diamond. “Okay!” “One!” James tensed. “Two!” James closed his eyes. “Three!” James thought of Lily and leaped into the void.

White light surrounded Matthews, cutting at his eyes, burning through his shut eyelids. Pain shot through his head, and James wanted to scream. It felt like he was dying, but he could only imagine how Lily felt when she died. His body burned, and it felt like he was being torn in a million different directions. James tried to focus on something to stop the pain. He thought about the bright red hair of the man still back in the test chamber, and blocked out all other images. Pain shot through his body on his arms and legs, but he felt noticeably cooler. There was no longer light shining through his eyelids. James carefully opened one eye, then the other.

He was belly up on an asphalt highway, surrounded on both sides by autumn trees and suburban houses. Looking left and right, he saw he was about five feet from a shimmering diamond hovering two feet in the air. He realized the pain in his arms and legs must have been from rolling on the asphalt. Matthews stood up and looked around. He saw that it was getting darker, the sun hanging low in the sky. The neighborhood was quiet. No one was outside to see his entrance. Good. Now all he had to do was find Lily and get back. James couldn’t wait to see her alive, and in the flesh. He would spirit her away back to his reality, and run away from the USN. He had a safe house in Quebec that he had secretly prepared for this event. Matthews had planned everything to the last detail. He had transport arranged on a private plane, and had bribed all the necessary officials. He would get back to the portal before Rickard and… A sudden realization hit him and interrupted his train of thought. Where was Rickard? He had been through the portal first, but only by a fraction of a second. James called out for him. “Rickard! Dr. Rickard Liontell” No answer. He looked around, turning a full circle as he peered down the street and towards the houses. At first, the street may have seemed a quaint, quiet, neighborhood, but now it took on a much more sinister feeling. The silence suddenly didn’t seem like a simple lack of noise, but a malevolent entity consuming the sounds, preventing them from voicing their terrible cries of despair. James saw a light seeping from the beige house to his left, a soft light barely peeking out from the windows. Time seemed to speed up, and the sky grew very dark very fast. James felt a sudden onrush of fear as the darkness crept over the street, drowning it in the blackness of night. A slight ringing permeated the air, lending to the ominous feeling the neighborhood gave James, as he looked down at his feet. He had to get out of there. “I can look for Lily some other time, in some other place.” He said to himself. Matthews had often talked to himself to alleviate his stress, but this was different. Talking did nothing to alleviate his bone-chilling fear of this place. James looked again at the light in the house. It seemed warm, perhaps some solace from this alien darkness. He felt bad about apparently abandoning Rickard, but James was more concerned with his own survival. He trudged towards the light and from the corner of his eye, he saw something farther down the street move . James saw one of the shadows slowly uncoil from the ground, and begin a slow crawl towards him. It was already dark, but this shadow was standing up, its total blackness completely obscuring the trees and houses behind it. His eyes couldn’t be deceiving him, could they? James squinted at the shadow just two houses down. It appeared to pass a tree, and as it did, the tree gave a rustling noise and began turning grey. It creaked as it began falling, and as it hit the ground, James braced for the loud impact, but it never came. The tree disappeared as it hit the ground, turning to dust and blowing away in the wind. James was horrified. The shadow has just turned a tree to dust by passing near it. His strong imagination could barely describe what would happen if he got too close. James forced himself to break free of his paralysis and head for the house once more. He passed the two trees that flanked the approach, and heard the one on his left begin to rustle. James sprinted forward for the door, his heavy footfalls the loudest sound in the night. He yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind him. The light was coming from the doorway beyond what appeared to be the sitting room. Feeling for the light switch in the dark foyer, James heard soft steps on the approach, and peered outside. The shadow stopped and met his gaze with its blank face. James instantly pulled back to escape that horrible stare, and finally found the light switch with his fumbling left hand. Thankfully, the lights still worked.

The house suddenly lit up brightly, blasting James’ face so he covered his eyes, and shot light out into the void outside. His vision blurred as his eyes adjusted, James once again peered out the window of the house to the approach, and saw it was brightly illuminated by the interior lights. The shadow was gone. Breathing a sigh of relief, James turned back towards the sitting room. Maybe Rickard is in here, he thought. The bright hallway was barren, devoid of all identity, and the sitting room fared just as bad. There were two wooden chairs set up facing each other, and nothing else besides the dusty carpet and bright ceiling lamp. Thinking back to the light he saw earlier, James moved into the doorway past the sitting room, kicking up dust with every step. His steady breathing was the only sound in the dead silence of this forsaken household. He cautiously peered around the doorframe into the kitchen, and drew back without truly comprehending what he saw. Glancing around again, James was met with a sudden feeling of nausea and uncontrollable trembling. He fell to his knees and struggled to keep his eyes open. The dark grey corpse of Rickard Liontell was barely identifiable. His features were so dark that James could barely tell his mouth from the bridge of his nose, the dual colors gone from his mismatched eyes. His stark white lab coat was the deciding factor, and James began to tear up. He hadn’t truly cared this much for Rickard, but this state that Rickard was in filled James with so much dread that he was certain he would crumble to dust right then and there. To Rickard’s left was a small lantern, the kind that would be taken on a camping trip. James assumed that its light is what he saw from the street. Apparently it had not been enough to save Liontell. His eyes blurry with tears, James tried to stand but failed, his body resting on his knees as he trembled with fear. He looked around for something to do, and he saw that to Rickard’s right was a small knife, a scalpel from his lab coat. James wondered what it was doing there. Had Rickard tried to fight off the shadows with the scalpel? And then James saw it, inscribed on the cabinet near Liontell’s final resting place: four vertical scratches, then one diagonal scratch through all of them. “Five days?” James said aloud. Rickard had been here for five days! But James had been through the portal a millisecond after Rickard. “Time must flow differently here” he said, his scientific mind for a moment overpowering his fear. But as soon as it left, the fear was back. James began trembling again. I have to get out of here, he thought. He walked back to the foyer and looked out the window. The portal was still hovering in the same place. He would have to run for it. James took a deep breath and steeled his courage. The light extended to about ten feet from the portal. He could sprint ten feet before the shadows reached him, right? James blinked a few times, and opened the door. He stepped out onto the approach, still basked in the glow from the house. James steadied his trembling, and took another step. Nothing. No shadows, no trees rustling, no noise whatsoever. Focusing on the portal, James stole one last look at the house and Rickard’s resting place. He looked back at the portal, and began to sprint towards it. He had twenty feet to cover until the light ended, then another ten to the portal. At around fifteen feet, James heard a horrible screech, like a banshee, come from behind him, and the warm light he felt on his back suddenly disappeared. He kept running even faster now, his legs burning with the effort. The portal began to shimmer, and whether it was James eyes or the portal itself he didn’t care. He ran full speed at the now dim blue light, and threw himself forward into it. He felt a sharp pain in his left leg, and for a second thought he had been caught by a shadow, but he couldn’t think right now. The pain was so intense in the blue void, he couldn’t fell anything else. His eyes flicked back and forth in terror and pain, as his vision turned red as he blacked out.

The first thing he heard was the ringing in his ears, as he lay sprawled on the ground back in the generator room. Matthews felt cold. His eyes were cloudy with tears, and he slowly realized that he was back in his world, free of shadows. His first thought was to breathe a sigh of relief, but then an odd throbbing in his leg took his attention. It felt like half of a throb, the feeling of a rising pain, but without lowering at once. He slowly inclined his head to look down at himself. His left leg was fine, in his suspiciously darker jeans. They seemed wet, but James hadn’t gotten any water on them. Then he saw his right leg, or rather, he didn’t. He felt like he should be crying in pain, but the adrenaline in his body kept him from shedding a tear. His mouth only hung open in amazement. His knee was now his new foot, and beyond that, James only saw the tattered strings of flesh and tendons, pumping blood out in tune with the throbbing feeling, like a nightmarish surgeon had slipped on the job. He averted his eyes, wretching at the sight of what he had felt as he dove through the portal. The portal! James forced himself to look at the blue diamond that had been the cause of so much pain and fear and misery in such a short time. Only it wasn’t there, and in its place stood a red headed man in a stark white lab coat, holding a pair of wire cutters and the victims of said cutters, a fistful of tattered copper that should be connected to the machine that had almost closed on James. He looked surprised, with his eyebrows raised so high his hair cap almost covered them. “What! You were supposed to be gone for an hour! It’s been five seconds!” James glared at the man, his pain temporarily forgotten. “You. Why am I not surprised?” James said, although he had an answer. “You were sent here to destroy the experiment. You aren’t really working for USN, are you?” James gave a grunt of pain. The redhead dropped the wire cutters and wires, and slowly walked around the machine to where James lay on the ground. He pulled off his mask and cap, revealing short cropped hair and a slight moustache of red whiskers on his upper lip. He knelt down next to James and began to wrap up the stump of a leg with bandages from his lab coat. “Can’t have you bleeding out now. I want you alive to give you an answer.” He said, his voice deep and menacing, completely unfit for a scientist. “Who hired you?” James inquired. “The Chinese? The Russians?” he paused as the answer dawned on him. “Was it the U.S. government?” he asked, almost not wanting an answer. The man laughed. “How about D, none of the above,” he said, chuckling. “The USN spent the last of their money in this project, and the U.S. government recently found out what is going on. Thankfully, they seem willing to allow us to continue in exchange for giving them the blueprints, because the clean energy source is still invaluable.” He looked at James. “But the amount of money they are paying is not enough. We needed to get a little more, and to do that, we had to make sure that the only way they could get the blueprints was from USN headquarters, not an easily corruptible scientist. Not unlike yourself…” James was shocked, and lay down in defeat. The USN, who he had labored for over the course of seven years, and provided its ultimate key to their goals, had planned to kill him just because he may be a liability. The redhead stood up to his full height, and reached into his lab coat, drawing a large pistol, with a slim silencer attached to the barrel. James looked at the gun blankly, and then just back at the ceiling. “Get it over with” he said. He had given up. Just then, the building began to rumble. The lights on the ceiling began flashing, casing the room in a strobe effect that hurt James’ eyes. The metal door slid open and Yeoung walked in. “James” he said, “we have to leave…” he saw the bloody stump and the gun, and almost turned around when the first bullet struck his left shoulder, shattering the bone and leaving a gaping cavity that splattered blood on the door frame. The second bullet struck immediately after the first, directly in his stomach, ripping through the lab coat and doubling Yeoung over as he fell. James barely heard the shots, and felt his mouth move, but nothing came out. He watched as Yeoung fell, and lay in a crumpled ball on the floor, his eyes shut in death with agony on his face. The shells hit the floor. The redhead turned to face James. “Your turn” he said as he raised the pistol. At that moment, the lights finally went out, and for a split second, the room was bathed in darkeness. The sudden change caught James off guard, and his eyes barely adjusted when he saw the light blocked out by a dark shape. As the lamps came back on, the redhead stood in the exact same position, but something was different. James took a minute to study him with his still adjusting eyes, and realized that he was a dark grey color now. James reached out with the last of his strength, and touched the man’s leg. A cloud of ash fell upon James’ arm and face, and the clattering of the pistol hitting the ground was the loudest sound in the room. For a moment, James sat there, in shock. Had he not escaped the hell that had claimed Rickard? His eyes began to close, as he noticed Yeoung stir, and before he blacked out, he saw him stand up and take off his lab coat, revealing a bullet proof vest, and walk over and look at James. Matthews could barely feel Yeoung’s arms dragging him out of the room as his eyes closed and all the feeling left his body.

Between the vague, muffled voices and the tiny bits of visibility, James had little memory of what had happened while Yeoung had dragged him out of the building. But now he sat in the back of a moving van he could only assume to be an ambulance, due to the amount of cables hooked up to his body. Yeoung Chin sat across from him, staring blankly ahead in silence. His shoulder was wrapped in a now red splint, and his white labcoat was nowhere to be seen. All he wore on his torso was a blue tank top under a bulletproof vest. The dent where he had been shot seemed deep, but no blood was coming out. He looked up as James tried to sit up. “Easy”, he said. “You are still in no condition to talk.” He reached over and gently pushed James down. “We will be at the hospital soon.” James studied this man he had known for years. “Who are you?” “Is Yeoung even your real name?” “What happened to everyone else?” James began to cough with the effort of speaking quickly. He succumbed to his condition and lay down on the hard, cloth wrapped bed. Yeoung averted his eyes as he spoke. “Yeoung is my name” he said. “I was born in the United States, but my parents were from China.” “I was… recruited by the Chinese intelligence to monitor the projects here. Many more governments are interested in what is happening here, James, not just your own.” He paused to draw breath. “I have always been a paranoid man, and wore this vest every day. It just so happened today it saved my life.” He pointed to the deep indention. “It caught the bullet, but the impact still brought me down. I suppose I should ask what happened to that redheaded man, but I will answer your question first. About the others… when I was dragging you through the building, all I saw were piles of ash, and some of the people I saw in the distance, down corridors, were grey and unmoving. Harry was alive, curled up in a corner crying, near Pentin’s lab coat that was covered in ash. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it almost brought me down too. I have been friends with those two for years, and knowing Pentin was gone, I nearly dropped you. But I urged Harry to come with me, and that we would get help. He didn’t even notice my vest or the blood on me, or even you James, with your missing leg. He just stumbled down the hallway, blindly following me as I pulled you out the front door. Someone had pulled the fire alarm, but I had not heard it until now, and so there were paramedics lined up outside, with fire men and police cruisers. As I helped load you onto an ambulance, there was an explosion from the facility. I turned to look and a bright orange fireball had emanated from the area of the building where your machine was. I am afraid that is all I know.” Yeoung leaned back in his seat and let out a deep sigh. James looked at him and saw the weariness in his eyes. “Where is Harry?” he asked. Yeoung mumbled that he was in another ambulance. Then he raised his head again to look James directly in the eyes. “James… what the hell happened today?” Matthews hesitated. “If I tell you Yeoung, you cannot tell anyone. Not your family, not the Chinese, no one.” Yeoung nodded. James coughed again just as a large a jet of flame shot out of the driver's window, singing James' hair and bringing the smell of burning flesh and oil to the medical room. Gravity began to turn on its side, and James fell off the stretcher and onto the cold metal floor. He looked up in time to see Yeoung thrown against the wall and knocked out. All of the medical equipment piled on top of him crushed his remaining leg, and as the fire grew larger in the window, he began to feel light headed. James tried to move his arm, but didn't have the strength. The IV machine fell over, ripping out the tubes in his arm and sending his extra blood supply spraying all over the inside of the ambulance. Yeoung sat unmoving as he was caked in blood, and James' face was covered, only adding to his fear and confusion. He couldn't breathe with all the blood and fire, and began coughing again. Finally giving up, he lay back and closed his eyes, unfeeling as a figure approached, enveloped in white light. Lily reached out for James, and his mind willed him to reach back, drawing him away from the fire and death into a long dark tunnel.

QR Code