The Zyne Project (3 page)

As patiently as he could, he answered, “I’m fine. Just have a lot going on with the business, so kind of irritated that we can’t use our phones. Don’t see what the big deal is.”

Tim laughed, “Man, you just need to chill.  Why don’t you grab a chair and some drinks and we’ll all wait for our crazy hair to grow in.”

Rick huffed in irritation and strode back inside, leaving the group laughing at his departure. 

Needing a break from the hot sun, Rosa stood up from the lounge chair and walked over to the deep end of the pool, diving straight in.  When her body hit the water, she felt a sharp pain in her head and for a split second thought she saw something strange.  It looked like a dark mass by the shallow end.  She immediately backed up and lifted her head quickly out of the water. From the surface everything looked fine, so she ducked her head under again and squinted to see.

There was nothing there.

As she lifted her head again, she tried to re-engage in the discussion, but was frightened by her hallucination.  Her headache wasn’t powerful, but it was definitely lingering. Dan and the others in charge of the trial mentioned that there would be some side effects from the mild virus used in the infusion such as headache, dizziness, and nausea. But he hadn’t said anything about hallucinations.  Stepping out of the pool and grabbing a towel, she looked over at the shallow end one final time, gazing at the glittering rays of sunlight glinting off the water.

***

The group met up for dinner that evening, a few hours after their second infusion.  Everyone was now feeling fatigued and a little sick, which had been expected. The meal was intentionally light; consisting of pasta, thinly sliced deli meat, and salads.  Plates were filled halfway and most of the discussions centered on fatigue and the continual, though somewhat muted excitement over how their hair would grow in.

Jennifer pushed her pasta around the plate and yawned without covering her mouth. She was bored, and wanted to be out with her friends. Not having her cell phone was irritating and her body felt weird.  She wasn’t sure she could stand weeks and weeks of this torture and for the first time since she’d arrived, thought about leaving.

But that wasn’t an option.  The group had been surprised and slightly frightened to discover that the Illusions building was locked up each night…from the outside. There was no way out as the doors locked automatically at 10pm and the entire perimeter was now filled with guards on patrol to ensure that the media could not get in. Word had already leaked that the high profile group was involved in something top-secret and media was camped by the entrance of the compound doing live shots and waiting for some word about what was happening.  Where else could you find such power players all together and kept hidden for so long?

Rosa knew that the formula was working its way through their bodies and wondered what the side effects would be. She’d caught the scientist, Dan, staring at all of them carefully throughout the day as if to see if anything was awry.  Clearly that was part of the observation, but he seemed a bit high strung.  She tried to engage him in conversation.

“So, Dr. Johns, how do you think we’re doing so far?” she asked casually, spooning a ream of spaghetti into her mouth. He seemed pensive but smiled back at her.

“Rosa, I think you guys are doing great. But you must be missing your family...” he hesitated, realizing his mistake. All subjects had been chosen because of their single or divorced status and none of them had children. This was done on purpose to reduce possible security breaches.  He also knew that Rosa was divorced, lived alone, and worked for the CDC, so he would need to be careful when dealing with her.

She didn’t seem to care that he’d asked a sensitive question and smiled back, “Not really. My parents don’t live nearby and I work so much that relationships have to take a back seat.  But, you know that already Dr. Johns, don’t you?” she winked. 

Dan was trying to return with a clever rebuttal, but their conversation was cut short because Rick was now standing up and swaying back and forth.  He looked positively green.

“Uhhh…I don’t feel so good…” he muttered and lurched forward, vomiting his salad all over the table.  The green liquid shot out in all directions, drenching the table in a smelly, oily mess.  The others gagged and pushed their chairs back to avoid suffering the same fate, but Teresa failed and ended up vomiting up her dinner as well. 

Dan jumped up and quickly motioned for nurses to help Rick and Teresa back to their rooms.  Ushering the others into a common area that contained sofas and a large screen TV, he waited a moment before speaking.  Meanwhile, the remaining members of the group chattered amongst themselves, disgusted by what they’d just seen.

“Dude, that was nasty!” Tim was saying, “I mean, I don’t feel all that great either, but you don’t see me barfing all over everything.  It’s like, find a bathroom or something man…don’t make the rest of us sick.”

Jennifer agreed. “Yeah, it’s bad enough they have us locked up in here, but to have to smell and see that? Totally gross.”

Dan sighed and addressed the group once they’d all quieted down.  “Look,” he started, “I know you’re all feeling pretty rough right now.  It’s a side effect of the infusion and the viruses we’ve had to inject you with to carry the hair genes to your cells, but you will start to feel better in a few days. I think it might be best if you all go to bed early tonight and get some rest.  It’s  been a long first day.”

Everyone agreed and the bald subjects dispersed, each heading to their own room.  Once inside his room, Tim ran to the bathroom and vomited up his dinner into the toilet.  He’d hidden it from the others, but felt really bad.  Almost as if someone was pulling his skull apart in two different directions. 

Lying down on his bed, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.  While he slept, a small bulge formed on his neck and a trickle of blood seeped out of his right ear.

***

Back in her room, Rosa sat on a chair near the window and stared out at the darkening sky.  She listened to the wind whistle through the branches as the trees surrounding the compound swayed back and forth in a hypnotic fashion.  Putting her head to the cool glass, she thought about what Dan had said to her earlier in the evening.

Rosa’s immediate family lived in San Antonio, Texas.  Her father had died when she was very young, leaving her mother to fend for three children.   Rosa’s childhood had been a mixture of constant hunger, embarrassment, and poverty. When opportunities in life came calling, she couldn’t wait to leave it all behind
.

She’d stood fully packed at the front door, waiting to step out into a new future.  Her mother had given her a strong hug, and wept silently.  It had been painful and once Rosa left…she never looked back.

But now, sitting alone, she reflected on the price she was paying for her solid, unwavering desire to succeed.  She’d only had two serious relationships in the past, and both had lasted only one year before her relentless drive and career determination destroyed the path to love.

She knew what it was like to be alone.  And normally it didn’t bother her.

Sighing, she stood up and wiped the tears that had stealthily emerged from the corners of her eyes and were now dripping down her cheeks.

Pull it together Rosa,
she thought.

Chapter 4

The next few days were similar and unexpectedly difficult on the group.  Each person gave blood in the morning for testing and then sat through the first infusion of the day.  Then, it was free time to enjoy the pool, a massage, a facial, or a book in the shade.  In the afternoon, the second infusion was given and then it was time for dinner, some TV, and bed.  Everyone was tired by 9pm and despite some of them being night owls under normal circumstances, there wasn’t a soul awake after midnight. 

Things were starting to happen, much to Dan’s delight. Jennifer’s bald head was now covered with bright orange-red stubble and the rest of the group was exhibiting similar growth. 

There were some concerns. Tim had developed small cysts under his skin.  The lumps had first appeared on his neck and were starting to spread down his back.  Dan wasn’t sure if it was a reaction to the infusion or just a skin condition, so he was keeping a close eye on it.  The surfer seemed ok and never complained, but Dan wasn’t taking any chances and advised the nursing staff to watch out for any strange behavior.

Teresa was also under observation.  Her hair simply wasn’t growing in as fast the others and upon close examination, one of the nurses noticed that her scalp had scrape marks and red bumps indicating that she had been picking at her stubble.  Dan was very aware of this nervous tendency also known as Trichotillomania.

He tried to speak to Teresa about her habit, but she wouldn’t listen and just mumbled about the stress of the study.  It was important for him to get her to stop yanking her hair out or they wouldn’t be able to see if the infusion was working.

As for Bryan and Rick, both seemed stable.  But it was hard to tell. The men kept to themselves and Rick had developed a strange cough that he blamed on asthma.  Dan assigned a nurse to keep an eye on both of them and report back if anything weird started happening.

When he checked in on Rosa, she appeared to be the only one who was tolerating the infusion, so he left her alone. 

But Dan was wrong.

Rosa felt awful.  Her muscles ached and she’d noticed a strange lump on her back.  It hadn’t been there the day before, but after a long, dreamless night, she awoke to find a strange, mushy mass on the right side of her upper back.  It didn’t hurt, but everything else did.  Her face, her head, her arms, hell…everything hurt.  

Is this normal?
she wondered, walking outside to sit by the pool.  As she exited out of the cool air conditioned building, she noticed that Rick was sitting at the far end of the pool on a lounge chair. But he was not relaxing and enjoying the sun.  He was fully clothed, holding his head between his hands and rocking back and forth. 

Was he moaning?

She got closer and was horrified to see that a river of liquid was seeping through his hands and had created a small pool on the concrete underneath his head. 

“Rick?” she asked softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

He didn’t move, just kept rocking back and forth.

“Rick?” she asked again, “Honey, let’s get you inside and have one of the nurses take a look at you…”

At the mention of the nurses, Rick dropped his hands and swung his head to look at Rosa.  She backed away when their eyes locked.

Rick’s face looked like it was coming unglued.  A growing grayish fissure had appeared in the center of his forehead and was separating his face into two distinct pieces.  Ooze dripped out and leaked down his nose and lips.  His tongue hung from his mouth and his eyes appeared glossed over.

“Helllp mee…” he moaned and reached for Rosa.  Horrified, she backed up even though she knew he needed help.  She turned and fled out of the pool area, running into the building, desperately searching for a nurse.  She finally found one in the dining area.

“Help me…Rick’s outside and he’s doing really bad.  He’s really sick.  Something’s wrong with him…” she babbled hysterically.

The nurse sat her down and asked gently, “Where is he Rosa?”

“He’s outside.  I’ll show you!” and she leapt up out of the chair, heading for the door. Bryan and Jennifer, overhearing the commotion, joined them. 

Rosa threw the doors open, but Rick was gone.  The pool area was empty. 

“He was here…” she said frustrated, “I saw him.  He was sitting right there by the pool. Look, you can still see the puddle he made over there.”

Upon closer observation, they could indeed still see a pool of ooze.  The liquid had begun to dry in the overwhelming heat of the afternoon, but it was enough for the nurse to believe what Rosa had witnessed. 

“Ok, let’s all go inside.  I need to find Dr. Johns.”

***

Dan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. One of his subjects was having a major reaction and had disappeared somewhere within the building. 

And there was no way to find him, other than to search the entire perimeter.

One of the concessions Dan made before beginning the study was allowing the trial to be conducted without video recording. Due to the nature of the high profile subjects and the fear that closed-circuit videotaping could potentially be used against them if the tapes were ever stolen, he had agreed to shut down all of the security cameras.

So, there was no recording of Rick.  And he could be dying…or worse.

Dan pulled the group together and could see that the trial subjects looked worried. Somehow, he had to try to keep their stress level manageable given their fragile conditions.  But he had some very bad news to share and no matter how he put it, they would not take it well.

“Guys, please try to relax.  I’ve got to talk to you.  We’ve got someone missing…”

The subjects murmured amongst themselves and Dan had to quiet the group down to continue.

“Look, Rick is missing.  Rosa saw him by the pool and he wasn’t doing too well. She went to get help, but by the time she got back, he was gone. Has anyone seen him?”

No one had seen Rick since earlier in the day.  Taking a deep breath, Dan spoke again, this time very slowly, “Look everyone. I had to report Rick’s disappearance and there is a very specific protocol for this kind of situation.  We don’t know what we’re dealing with here and in order to protect all of you and ensure he doesn’t harm himself and others, we’ve locked down the building.  That means, we’re all stuck here until we can find him.”

Jennifer exploded, “What do you mean we’re in lockdown?  That’s bullshit!  What if something’s wrong with him?  And we’re all stuck in this building with nowhere to go?  You need to let us out, now!”

Dan stared at her with tired eyes, “You want to leave?  Don’t forget, there’s a ton of media outside and you’re basically
bald
.  Not to mention, you’re full of liquid treatment that if we simply stop now, could seriously endanger your health. You sure you want to leave Jennifer?”

She glared at him and sat down in a huff.  Tim, who was sitting quietly, began rubbing his head.  “Dude,” he said, “I’m not feeling good either. What’s wrong with us doc?”

Dan sat down and leveled with them. “Look, I know you don’t feel great, but you’re all making medical history and when this study is complete, you’re going to walk out of here with your genetics changed forever.  Trust me, I want to get you through this trial safely and quickly, but the first thing we need to do is find Rick.  Then, we can figure out how to finish your treatments in the safest way possible. Will you help me with this?”

The group looked at each other and reluctantly agreed.

“Ok,” said Dan, “Let’s break up into groups and search the perimeter.  I think groups of three should be fine and then we’ll meet back up here in the common area in one hour.  Sound good?”

Rosa, Bryan, and Jennifer agreed to stay on the first floor and search the rooms including the medical center. Tim, Teresa, and Dan took the elevator up to the second floor to check the rooms upstairs.

“This sucks,” Tim moaned as the elevator doors shut and they began to ascend.  He leaned up against the wall and grabbed his head with both hands, continuing to moan.  Dan moved closer to the surfer.

“What’s hurting you Tim?” he asked as the elevator reached the second floor and they all stepped out.

Tim didn’t say anything, just shuffled out and suddenly sank to his knees while gripping his head.  “It huuurts…” he groaned.  Then, he collapsed to the ground in one heavy movement, falling face forward.  Dan ran over and tried to touch him, but suddenly, the surfer flung out his arm and knocked him back. 

Rising from the ground, the bald man looked crazed. His face was bright red, eyes rolling crazily in their sockets, and a maniacal grin on his face.  He stumbled and lurched towards Teresa, who jumped back and ran down the hallway.

Dan regained his balance and chased after them.  Tim managed to corner Teresa against a locked door that she was desperately trying to open.  He was leaning in and grasping for her repeatedly as she tried to shrink away.  Ropes of drool were now hanging out of his mouth and he continued moaning in a nonsensical, psychotic manner.

Dan knew he didn’t have much choice, so he reached for the first thing he could find…a ceramic flower pot.  He threw the pot at Tim, who was knocked momentarily off balance.  When the madman turned around, he snarled and raced forward. 

With his lips peeled back in a bestial grin and eyes glaring, Tim leapt on top of Dan and snapped his teeth together over and over, as if trying to tear skin right off the bone. The two men struggled and Dan knew it was key to keep his attacker from biting his face.  He managed to flip Tim over on his back and with one hand held him by the throat, while his other hand found a shard of the pot lying nearby.  Quickly grasping the sharp weapon, he did the only thing he could think of and stabbed Tim in the throat, tearing it open, revealing arteries and muscle.

Blood shot straight out of the wound and sprayed Dan’s face, almost as if a hose had been turned on at full stream.  The struggling weakened and then ceased as the life flowed out of the dying surfer who whimpered, trying to draw in oxygen that was now immersed in blood. Finally, Tim gasped and stilled.

Dan fell back and sat on the ground in shock.

What just happened?
he thought.

Tim’s erratic, maniacal behavior seemed to have come out of nowhere.  One moment he was calm and coherent…the next minute…completely crazed. 

Teresa was cowering against the door, sobbing as she leaned on the frame.  Dan went over and gently pulled her into his arms.  Her stubbly head prickled his chin as she leaned against him and shook in terror and despair.

***

Downstairs, the trio assigned to check the common and medical areas were preparing for their search.  Bryan was already irritated because Jennifer’s babbling was driving him crazy.

“…this is totally ridiculous,” she was saying to Rosa, “We shouldn’t be stuck here with some sick guy running around.  Obviously, there’s something wrong. They should just let us out and cancel the study.”

Bryan whipped his head around and glared at the socialite, “Did you not hear the man?  He said that our bodies can’t simply stop taking the infusion.  We’ve got to finish what’s been started or we could all get really sick.  What’s wrong with you?”

Jennifer glared and shot back, “There’s nothing wrong with me asshole. I’m just tired and think we deserve answers. This ‘Nancy Drew’ detective bullshit is ridiculous in my opinion.”

Bryan didn’t care to argue with her any further, so he tried to be diplomatic, “Look, you don’t have to search with us.  Why don’t you just stay in the lounge and we’ll meet you back here in a little bit?”

Jennifer agreed to stay behind and went in search for something to snack on.  When she was out of earshot, Bryan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Damn, thought she’d never leave.  What a monumental pain in the ass.”

Rosa smiled, “Yeah, she’s difficult alright, but we have bigger problems right now, so let’s go check out the medical center.”

The medical center was a large maze of rooms and cubicles where researchers set up their equipment to review test results, met to discuss next steps, and conducted all laboratory work.  The duo felt that it was a good place to start their search as it was a relatively large area and contained many hidden corridors where a person could conceal his or her presence.