Dead Hunt, page 8
Michael ignored him as he leaned out the window, his eyes following a tiny, green trail down the side of the building, then off into the darkness.
“I can’t really tell,” he informed them as his eyes reached the end of the light cast from the window. “But I think a trail of that stuff leads down to a creek over there. So maybe whatever leaked out the window did get into the water.” Michael thought for a moment. “That has to be it. It’s the water.”
Paul was not convinced. “Water runs downhill, so we have nothing to worry about up here, now do we?” he looked at Michael, “Or should we all just die of thirst because you think you might be right?”
Emma nodded towards the computers.
“Maybe we can find out what they were working on.”
They moved towards the computers, but just as Emma’s hand hovered over the keyboard a voice startled them.
“I would not do that if I were you.”
“Who the fuck said that?” Paul jumped back, fists closed as his eyes searched the lab. Michael’s grip on the machete tightened. The monitors turned on revealing Robin’s face.
“What the…?” Paul looked at the monitor dumbfounded…
Robin looked at Paul. “My name is Robin. Have you seen my father?”
“Your father? Is this some kind of sick joke?” Paul asked, looking around the lab to see if someone was playing a practical joke…
Lucy raised her hand.
“Shut up, Paul.” Then turned back to the computer and asked, “Who is your father?”
“Professor Patrick Heslin,” Robin’s eyes turned towards Emma, her hand still hovering above a keyboard. “And he will be very angry with you if you touch that keyboard.”
Emma pulled her hand back.
“For Christ sake Emma, it’s just a computer program,” Paul told her.
“What happened here?” Lucy asked.
“What happened? Are you serious?” Paul asked. “It’s a computer. How in the hell is it supposed to know… Why are you even talking to it?”
Lucy waved him off in a gesture to be quiet.
“My name is Robin.”
“You said that already,” Paul said sarcastically. “Not a very smart computer either.”
Robin’s eyes seemed to focus on Paul.
“The Robin 1 Mainframe controls all the electrical and electronic components of this laboratory,” Robin’s eyes narrowed on Paul. “And you were not invited here…Paul.”
“What the…?” Paul was stunned to hear Robin speak his name.
Robin turned to Emma. “Your name is Emma.”
Robin looked at the others. “I do not know your names.”
“This is stupid,” Paul cut her off. “So it remembers names, big deal. So now we’re supposed to introduce ourselves to a stupid machine?”
“Artificial Intelligence,” Emma announced. “I’ve read about it, but never realized that it could be so complex.”
“It’s artificial, all right,” Paul smirked then headed for the main house. “Maybe there’s some booze or something to drink.” He looked at Michael, “Since we can’t drink the water.”
“Good old Paul,” Michael laughed. “Even in the face of danger, he insists on being an asshole.”
“I heard that!” Paul’s voice sounded from another room.
“I was not sure of your intentions,” Robin informed them as she looked back to Lucy. “So that is why I did not make my presence known when you first arrived. I had to be sure you meant no harm.”
“So what happened here?” Lucy asked again. “I’m Lucy, by the way. That’s Michael, and this is Lauren.”
“It is my pleasure to meet you,” Robin smiled as she looked at each of the teens, then turned back to Lucy. “I do not know what happened. We were working on the experiment and then…” Robin stopped.
“And then what? What experiment?” Lucy asked.
“I am not permitted,” Robin replied. “Have you seen my father?”
“No. Not permitted to what? We need to know what happened here.”
“If you find my father, he will be able to explain everything to you,” Robin answered.
“I already told you,” Lucy argued, getting irritated. “We don’t know where he is. What experiment?”
“I am not permitted.”
“Arrgghh!” Lucy exhaled in frustration. “Of all the computers in the world, we get the stubborn one!”
Lucy took a deep breath. “Ok, Robin, here’s the deal. We will help you search for your father, and then you explain to me what experiment you were working on.”
“My father will be able to…”
“Not your father,” Lucy cut her off. “You! You agree to explain everything and we will help you find Professor Heslin.”
Robin was quiet for a moment and then spoke. “Your proposal is acceptable.”
“Ok, guys!” Lucy said to everyone as Paul re-emerged carrying a bottle of scotch. “We need to do a complete sweep. First make sure all the doors are locked…”
“The doors are locked,” Robin informed her.
“And the windows…?” Lucy asked.
“The locks on the windows are mechanical. I do not control them.”
“So what’s the point of controlling the door locks if anyone can just break in through the window? That doesn’t make much sense.” Paul queried.
“No, it does not,” Robin agreed with him.
A second later they heard a loud rumbling sound as a massive steel shutter closed over the laboratory window. They heard another loud rumbling and a steel door slid from behind a wall and slammed closed. It locked with a metallic thud.
“The laboratory is now completely sealed,” Robin announced. “Is there anything else you wish to comment on, Paul?”
“Ummm. Nope. I’m good,” Paul replied sheepishly.
“Robin,” Lucy asked. “Are all the windows sealed with these shutters?”
“I can only secure the laboratory,” Robin explained. “My father was only concerned with the security of the laboratory due to the nature of his work.”
“Which was what?” Lucy asked.
Robin smiled.
“It was worth a shot,” Lucy said returning her smile before turning to her friends.
“Paul, you check the rest of the house and make sure every window is locked. Lauren, check the fridge and cupboards and find out how much food is here, and see if there’s any bottled water. Emma, go upstairs and start checking the rooms, and look for Professor Heslin.”
“What about me?” Michael asked as Robin opened the steel door.
“Check the cellar for wood and tools to board up the rest of the downstairs windows. I don’t think those things can climb to the top floor, so they should be ok for now. We should get the lower level secured first, then worry about the upstairs.
“I’m on it,” Michael said and quickly disappeared.
Lucy started looking around the lab for clues as to what had happened, notebooks, scraps of paper, anything. She spotted the microscope sitting on a work table and moved towards it to look when she heard Michael yelling to her from the cellar.
“Hey, Luce… I think you should come take a look at this.”
She hurried down the cellar stairs to find him standing in front of another steel door.
Paul made his way back to the laboratory still carrying the bottle of scotch. He looked at a row of small monitors and noticed each one had a numbered label that started with the word CAM. He flicked the CAM-1 switch and a room appeared on one of the monitors.
“Cool,” he mumbled under his breath.
One by one he flicked on the monitors. Some were of rooms. A couple showed the grounds surrounding the complex. He stopped at CAM-9. Michael and Lucy were standing in the basement staring at a huge door. Paul watched them on the tiny screen. Neither of them moved. He flicked CAM-10. It was one of the rooms upstairs, and he saw Emma looking inside a closet. He watched as she pulled a shirt off its hanger and tossed it on the bed. Her back was to the camera.
“Now this is more like it,” Paul muttered as Emma turned just enough so he could watch her undo the tiny buttons of her wet shirt.
Paul had no idea why someone would install a camera in a bedroom, but right now he was thankful they had. When the last of her buttons was undone, Emma paused as if she could feel someone’s eyes watching her. She turned towards the door. It was still closed. She held her shirt together and walked to the door, walking out of the camera’s line of sight.
“Damn!” Paul said, disappointed, his eyes still glued to the tiny monitor.
He glanced at CAM9. Lucy and Michael hadn’t moved. He turned his attention back to CAM10.
Emma opened the door and looked into the hallway, peering both left and right. It was empty. She closed and latched the door before returning to her previous position by the tiny bed as her shirt flowed behind her. Paul licked his lips in anticipation.
Emma pulled her arms through the sleeves and let the shirt fall to the floor. Paul watched excitedly. With a move few men can understand, Emma reached behind her with one hand and unclasped her bra. How women could do that so easily, and with only one hand, was beyond him. Emma’s wet bra fell to the floor, her breasts now in full view.
“Nice tits,” he whispered.
His gaze was so focused on Emma’s naked torso on the CAM-10 monitor that he didn’t even see the group of shadowy figures appear on CAM-6 and slowly stagger towards the lodge.
CHAPTER 9 – The Cellar
Lucy looked around the cellar; piles of old junk, broken furniture, rusted tools and dusty, old boxes lay everywhere. Next to the steel door, a computer monitor sat silent, its dusty screen blank. Lucy looked into the blank screen.
“What’s behind the door, Robin?”
No response.
“I know you can hear me, Robin. What’s behind the door?”
Robin’s face appeared on the dusty monitor. “It is only storage. Nothing to be concerned with.”
“Just storage, huh?” Lucy asked, not believing her. “Then open it.”
“I am not…” Robin paused for the tiniest moment, “Able.”
“You’re lying,” Lucy told her. “Open the door.”
“Lying?” Michael asked. “Can computers lie?”
“This one can,” Lucy answered.
“There is nothing of interest behind the door,” Robin stated.
“Then why are you here?” Lucy asked her with a quizzical look.
Michael looked at Lucy, puzzled, as she continued to question Robin.
“If this is just a dusty old cellar filled with junk, then why did the Professor take the time to install a monitor and camera?”
Robin did not answer.
“Robin, you said he was only worried about the security of the lab, so why install a steel door and security camera in a damp and dusty old cellar that’s just filled with junk?”
Robin still did not answer.
Lucy waited then asked, “Robin, can you see inside that room?”
“I am not able to see inside the room,” Robin answered immediately.
“But you know what is in there?” Lucy asked, not expecting an answer.
Robin did not respond.
“What if…” Lucy said with a mock look of fear, “What if your father is in there?”
Robins face on the monitor took on a more concerned look as Lucy continued her charade, “What if he is hurt? If he is hurt, Robin, we can’t help him if we are locked out here.”
Lucy tried her best to sound sincere. She wondered if she would be able to trick Robin into opening the door. Michael nodded approvingly with the hint of a smile. A moment later, the silence that enveloped the dusty cellar was broken by the sound of a loud metallic click. Michael pushed on the steel door and it groaned open.
The two teens stepped through the door into a long, narrow room lit with a lone light bulb suspended from the ceiling. Directly below it sat a large stainless-steel canister with tubes and wires that ran from the canister to a computer terminal. Unlike every computer monitor that had seen so far, Robin’s face did not appear on this computer; Robin watched them from outside the door.
Michael nudged Lucy and pointed to the far corner. A dozen or so steel cylinders labeled “Liquid Nitrogen” stood in the corner. The entire room was lined with steel and concrete walls; the stainless steel canisters gleamed against the all gray room. A solitary chair sat next to a canister labeled “LifeCorp”.
“What is all this?” Lucy asked, turning to the doorway to see Robin.
Robin did not answer.
Lucy read the label on the big, stainless-steel canister, “LifeCorp.”
“LifeCorp?” Michael asked.
“That’s what it says.”
“LifeCorp,” Michael repeated. “That name sounds familiar.”
Lucy looked back out the door and saw that Robin was watching them.
“What is all this stuff for, Robin?” Lucy asked her.
“I am not permitted,” Robin’s voice echoed through the open doorway.
“Of course not,” Lucy cursed under her breath.
“I remember!” Michael announced excitedly. “LifeCorp. I read about them in one of my dad’s old Sports Illustrated Magazines. Some baseball player died years ago… Jimmy something… Jimmy ‘Fastball’ Williams. Yeah, that’s it. Anyway, he died and they froze him.”
“They froze him?” Lucy asked incredulously.
“Yeah. I think it had something to do with his family arguing over how his remains were supposed to be disposed of. Some wanted a burial, others wanted cremation, or some nonsense like that. Anyway, they had LifeCorp freeze the guy but his skull cracked. The family was pissed. It was a big scandal”
“That would explain the liquid nitrogen,” Lucy said, more to herself, as she looked back to the LifeCorp canister.
“Yeah, it’s called Cryo-something,” Michael added. “Cryogenics.”
“Cryogenics,” Robin spoke up, “is the study of the production of very low temperatures and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. Cryogenics is often used incorrectly to refer to cryonics, which is cryo-preserving humans. It is a common mistake.”
Lucy looked at Michael and whispered mockingly, “It is a common mistake.”
Michael smiled and rolled his eyes.
“So,” Lucy said in a more serious tone, “Now that we know what is in there, the big question is who? Who is in there, Robin?” Lucy pointed to the canister by the chair.
“I am not permitted,” Robin answered.
“Listen, little-miss-I-am-not-permitted, how do we know that the Professor is not in there? You’re a computer, the Professor could have been dead for years, and you wouldn’t know.” Lucy paused for a moment, “Or you won’t tell us. I’m tired of your games. Who is in that canister?”
“I am not per…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re not permitted. Either you tell us who’s in there Robin or we are just gonna have to pop this sucker open and have a little look see for ourselves.”
“You are not permitted to do that. If you open the capsule without following the proper procedure it will destroy…” Robin paused. “It will destroy the cells.”
“Well, that’s a chance I am willing to take,” Lucy said as she moved towards the canister. “It’s not like we are hurting anyone. They’re already dead. And since you won’t tell us who’s in there…”
“I am,” Robin answered.
“What?” Michael and Lucy asked in unison.
“I am in the canister.”
“What do you mean?” Lucy asked.
“When I was twelve there was an automobile accident. I died. My father placed me in cryonic preservation. The project we were working on…” her voice trailed off, as if thinking. “He was trying to discover a way to reanimate me.”
“Reanimate you?” Michael questioned, “As in bring the dead back to life?”
“That is correct,” Robin answered.
“That sounds just a little too far fetched to…” Michael’s voice trailed off as his mind grabbed hold of the idea. Secluded laboratory, re-animation, green liquid spilled into the creek, zombie-like people eating other people. Robin broke his train of thought.
“I implore you,” she begged, “please do not open the canister or all will be lost.”
“You’re still here. She’s still in there, so it didn’t work, did it?” Lucy said, more of a statement than a question.
“No, it did not,” Robin answered.
“I think it did,” Michael thought as a cold chill raced down his spine.
CHAPTER 10 – Testing Your Theory
“Good evening, this is Clay Buffer with the Atlantic Television Networks Late Night News at 11. Tonight’s top story:
“A sudden wave of violence has struck the quiet village of Margaree Valley early this morning. When RCMP officers discovered the remains of a still yet to be identified female, the RCMP originally surmised the woman was the victim of a vicious bear attack. The partially devoured body was examined by the Sydney Medical Examiner, and his conclusion was that the bite marks on the victim were not of an animal, but rather, by humans. Several humans. Further study of the remains discovered an unknown virus and the CDC was immediately flown in from Atlanta, Georgia, to spearhead the investigation. Our field reporter, Jess Jessup has the story… ”
“Thank you, Clay. The recent string of cannibalistic slayings and the disappearance of the Margaree River Valley residents has local authorities at a loss. The entire population of approximately nine hundred residents has all but vanished. So far, the RCMP have found the remains of approximately three hundred forty-seven residents in various locations, with the largest cluster of victims located in the community hall of St. Patrick’s Parish. The CDC has confirmed in a press conference earlier this evening that an unidentified virus found in the victims may be causing some residents to attack other people in a cannibalistic nature. However, at this time they are unable to confirm that assessment.
“With the exception of the bodies already found, authorities have been unable to locate any of the other residents. The RCMP has set up roadblocks on all rural roads leading to the foothills surrounding the Margaree River Valley. In addition, the Canadian Armed Forces, with the assistance of members of the American National Guard, are planning a full sweep of the entire area. The highlands of Margaree cover approximately three hundred square miles. Details on the sweep will be released at a later date. Jess Jessup, ATN Evenings News.”
