Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] (7 page)

They had decided to give me a surprise going away party! Chef made some of my favorite yummy food (seared tuna for one) along with a huge cake and at the end, Lou presented me with a going-away check for $500. I was speechless. No one had ever shown me such kindness.

I kept blinking, trying unsuccessfully to keep the tears at bay.

“January, you’ve been a faithful employee since you started here and you’ve worked harder than anyone, including myself. I wanted to make sure you had a little extra money because things can be mighty expensive in Atlanta,” Lou announced as he patted my back. He had learned long ago I didn’t know how to handle a hug.

“Lou, I don’t know what to say,” I sniffled. I felt miserable for the way I had treated these people lately and they were the only ones who had stuck by me.

“Just say you’ll be back in August!” he replied.

I nodded as I swiped my palms across my cheeks to rid myself of my tears. I was going to miss him so much!

Everyone hung around for a long time and I finally became conscious of how bone achingly tired I was. I told everyone goodbye and plopped into my car to go home. I felt the weariness of the day hit me during my drive and several times I felt my head bobbing. In the next moment, I discovered myself sitting in the parking lot of my dorm, not remembering how I got there. It scared me because I had been exhausted before but I never had gotten to the point where I couldn’t remember what had happened.

I lumbered up to my room and barely made it to bed before I was fast asleep.

Working at the CDC was amazing! I had never been this happy that I could recall. Food began to taste good again and, surprisingly enough, I had even put on a few pounds. My co-workers were incredible. They all went out of their way to teach and explain things to me. The lab itself was something I couldn’t have dreamt up. It was state of the art with top of the line everything.

On my first day, I was given a tour of the entire facility, down to the super duper secure lab where they kept all the deadly specimens of things like the
ebola
virus,
anthrax
, and
variola
or smallpox virus. The deadliest of viruses were kept in a cryogenic state and the layers of security were unreal. The lab director escorted me around, as you needed special clearance to be allowed there. Security consisted of fingerprint and retinal scans and that would only gain one’s entry to the exterior room. More layers of security existed for one to gain access to the storage freezer. It was all controlled through a central computer with many checks and balances to ensure the specimens were not tampered with. They had those metal tubes you see in the movies for the frozen specimens. A robotic arm would grasp the tube, lift and open it and either close it or deposit another sample within it.

My job was to run tests on the
influenza
virus. The CDC was responsible for predicting which strain of flu would be prevalent each year. This was done based on the past year’s strains and they constantly checked the viruses to see how they mutated. My job was to inspect all the strains and watch for mutations or evidence of the possibility of upcoming mutations.

I was in the fourth week of an eight-week internship when things began to turn sour. My supervisor, Angie Mitchell, started to heap piles of extra work on me, making it difficult at best to complete my normal tasks. I was scolded for running behind and she threatened to remove me from my post. Her personality seemed to have undergone a complete overhaul. I noticed her thoughts had taken on a nasty edge. I was still hearing other’s thoughts, but I had learned to slightly tune them out. Sometimes, if they were especially spiteful, it was tricky to avoid them, much like I was presently experiencing.

Something was up with her and I wanted to know what it was.

“Angie, is there something wrong?”

“Of course there’s something wrong. Your performance has been less than adequate lately and I have deadlines to meet. Honestly January, I don’t understand why you can’t complete a task,” she said in frustration.

What? How can she think that? I’ve been working my butt off!

“But Angie, I am working twelve hours every day, trying to get everything accomplished. In the last week alone you’ve tripled my workload. Have I done something to upset you?” I asked as I pushed the hair out of my face.

“That would be an understatement,” she said bitterly.

I was lost in the weeds. This was a person that had initially taken me under her wing and spoon-fed me information about everything necessary for me to be successful here. She had flooded me with praise for several weeks and her reviews on my performance had literally glowed. She had gone from thinking I was the greatest employee ever, to an incompetent and inept one. I mentally examined my activity to see if I had changed anything, but I knew I hadn’t.

“Angie, I thought you were pleased with my work here. Can we try to work together to get back on track?” I asked. I did not want to lose this position and something had gone wrong.

“January, I’ve given you proper direction and it seems you disregard everything I tell you.”

Disregard everything? What is she saying?

My mouth formed a huge O. I had taken meticulous notes and kept a journal of everything she had instructed me to do. I was implementing all the proper steps and yet she was finding fault with all of my actions. I was at a loss.

As I looked at her, I inspected her appearance. She was disheveled and her clothes were not very clean. She wore a lab coat so I hadn’t paid much attention to these details before. Now I was noticing little things about her appearance that had changed. Something was going on. Angie was married with children, in her forties and very attractive, in a smart-woman sort of way. She had long dark hair that she normally wore twisted up in a bun. She wore glasses and was usually quick to smile at things. I couldn’t recall that last time I saw her smile.

“Angie, please talk to me. Is there something wrong? Are you okay?”

“I told you I’m fine! Now leave me alone and get back to work,” she screamed at me as she stormed out of the lab.

Things continued down this deteriorating path for another week. I did my best to keep out of her way and I was very good at it. I had become an avoidance expert as a young girl in order to evade constant criticism. It bothered me though that she had such an abrupt change in her demeanor that I made the decision to unleash my internal information highway. I was going to make a point to get into her thoughts to see what was eating her. On the Friday before my final week at the CDC, Angie stormed into the lab. Her thoughts were screaming out at me, making my decision to read her thoughts unnecessary.

“He said he would kill my kids if I didn’t do this. What am I supposed to do? I can’t hide this stuff anymore. My boss is going to notice and when January leaves next week, it’ll all become evident that I’ve been falsifying those records. He said to blame it on January, but I just can’t do that. What am I going to do?”
Her distress went on and on.

This was awful and I didn’t know exactly how to handle this. Someone was threatening her. She needed to tell the police, but I couldn’t stand there and not offer her help.

“Angie,” I began softly but I startled her out of her thoughts and her eyes were filled with panic and horror.

“It’s okay, it’s just me Angie. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She released a deep sigh and I became aware of the tears on her face.

“Hey, it’s okay. Please, let me help you. I know you’re in some kind of trouble, but maybe I can help.”

Her face suddenly hardened and her eyes became chips of ice. “You have no idea what you’re saying. I don’t need your help and I’ve told you to leave me alone. Just butt out where you’re not wanted,” she gritted out.

I couldn’t let it drop. I should have walked away, but I just couldn’t. “But Angie, I know you’re upset about something,” I pressed on.

I should have trusted my gut instinct but didn’t. She swung her hand at me and I heard rather than felt the crack as her palm came into contact with my face. My head snapped around and then I felt my cheek begin to sting.

I reached my hand to my cheek and was paralyzed with shock. I never expected this. She turned away from me and I was still standing stock still as I heard the slamming of the lab door.

I was stymied. I wanted to help but couldn’t. I could hardly go to the police and explain how I discovered this. I could see it now, I thought as I massaged my still stinging cheek.

“Why yes officer, I read her mind. I know someone’s threatening her.”

That would gain me a ton of credibility, I thought sarcastically. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to do but I kept drawing a blank. Predicaments ruled my life but this was one for which I had no solution. I hated this freakish ability of mine and I fervently wished it would go away! I wrung my hands in frustration.

It was Friday and my pile of work kept me busy until nine that night. I had dwindled it down to nothing when I glanced at the clock. Realizing the lateness of the hour, I looked around and noticed how empty the lab was. I was lost in the events of the day and the amount of work I had and I was still nursing my wounded ego as I headed out of the lab. As I made my way down the corridor, I noticed six men advancing toward me.

It wasn’t their actions I noticed so much or even the way they walked. And though it was an oddity for them to even be here at all, it was their attire that captured my attention. They were dressed identically, in an extreme fashion, much like members of a gang or secret society. Large and muscular, they wore black vests and their bare arms were almost completely tattooed with tribal symbols of a sort. Metal bands criss-crossed their chests and their legs were tightly encased in leather. Knee high boots and black gloves finished off their ensembles.

As I neared them I felt my flesh tingle and the hairs on the back of my neck come to attention. Gooseflesh erupted and alarms started clanging in my head. I sucked in my breath and as I did, my eyes connected with the apparent leader. I say this because he was in the front of the formation as they plodded along.

Time stood still as our eyes connected. His were an uncanny shade, lavender with hints of indigo and specks of silver. It was a hue I was unfamiliar with but they were intriguing and fascinating. The alarms were still ringing in my ears and the air felt electrically charged around us.

“Halt!”

I turned into stone. I couldn’t move a muscle. He cocked his head as his eyes bore into mine.

“Breathe!”

I distinctly heard his command in my mind and I was helpless to disobey him. I felt myself take a deep cleansing breath. I questioned him with my eyes. He flicked his head toward his men and they stepped back several feet.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

I was confused by the demanding questions swirling in my brain but felt compelled to answer him. I had never used mind reading to communicate, but I was sure he would hear my answer.

“I’m January St. Davis. I’m here working on an internship for college credit.”

“You are
human
?” he asked with incredulity.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Why would he want to know if I was
human
? What a ridiculous question!

“I don’t understand. Why would you want to know that?”

“Leave this area and continue on your way!”

He silently shook his head and the intermittent flow of his thoughts was abruptly halted, just as if the internet had shut down. My communication highway had been disconnected—I was now offline. We stood there in silence and I could not break eye contact. I floundered in the depths of their color. I won’t deny my fascination with him. He wasn’t handsome in the usual way but his compelling looks mesmerized me. I can’t say I was attracted to him and yet I couldn’t seem to look away. There was also a frightening element to him but I wasn’t afraid. It was an erratic mix of emotions.

I abruptly became aware of my ability to move. I gnawed on my lower lip as I continued to stare at him. His eyes raked me over and he slightly shook his head. Then he nodded once, and continued down the corridor.

I felt the urge to run after him and scream at him to stop, but I had no idea why. I eventually began walking again, intending to go home. When I reached the exit doors, I realized I left my purse in the lab. My immediate thought was that maybe I would run into him again. I dashed back down to the lab but the corridor was empty.

Disappointed, I returned to the lab for my purse. As I was moving through the various rooms, I noticed the door to one of the freezers had been left open. It was the freezer that contained the most deadly of viruses. I didn’t direct have access to that area, but thick glass walls partitioned off every room, so you could see in each chamber. It was built this way as a security measure. I went to the phone on the nearest wall to call the guards, but the line was dead. I moved back into my area, but that phone line didn’t work either.

I found a camera closest to me and waved my arms back and forth in front of it, hoping to catch the attention of the guards. I waited for the alarms to ring, but nothing happened. Exiting my lab area, I wandered the corridor, hoping to run into someone. The whole level seemed deserted. I took the stairs to the next level and it was also devoid of people. Hmmm…this was highly unusual.

I tried the phones on this level, but they were dead, as expected. I grabbed my cell phone and called 911. Ten minutes later, the building was swarming with police, HAZMAT and CDC officials investigating the issue.

It was finally discovered that there had been a brief power outage. That was why the cameras or phones hadn’t worked. The lab was investigated thoroughly for foul play, but no evidence was found. The cryogenic container was thought to have accidentally opened when the power outage occurred. All the specimens were accounted for so everyone relaxed and breathed a huge sigh of relief.