Jason Luthor - Floor 21

It’s alive, it’s angry, and it’s not stopping. It grows so fast that it’s filling up the hall from floor to ceiling, tumbling and surging over itself in a wave of disgusting biomass. We hit the corner and peel off to the right. Still, that wave is right behind us, building and growing in waves that surge over themselves. It’s screeching and wailing, almost like it’s crying, and I can feel the shiver in my bones as its scream reverberates in my bones. One thing I know, though, is that we’re not getting away. Even as we streak toward the far end of the hall, I toss a look over my shoulder and see it flying at us, gaining ground with every second.

I don’t say a word to anyone when I stop. I just let them keep running. Then, I haul the chunk of plastic explosives I’ve been carrying with me out and slam it to the floor. Quickly glancing up I can see the wave of that pink and splotchy tissue as it rushes forward, seconds from consuming us. I jam the timer into the explosives, hit the trigger, and then run the few steps away that I can.

When the explosion goes off, it packs so much force that I don’t even feel the pain. I just see black, and then I’m out.

That brings me to now.

So, here I am, in the darkness. Nothing around me but charred Creep. I can feel it, the mix of ash and muscle. I must have blown a hole clear through the floor. Well, at least my plan worked. I knew the only way to save the team was to divert the infestation.

Though honestly, I expected to be dead. I’m not. Instead, I’m just… trapped. My legs are pinned beneath something… not enough to crush me… but too heavy to get out from.

But I’m… okay. This is it, but I’m okay with going out this way. I’ve got no regrets about what I did. I saved the team. That was my responsibility. After all, I’m their commander. Vicious Vick.

Hah. What a kick. I’ll always remember that kid’s face.

Anyway, I can tell by the red light that’s blinking on the side of my recorder that it’s about to die.

It’s kind of sad. I guess nobody’s going to hear this after all. So, what was the point of recording any of it?

But you know… I’ve changed my mind a bit about that. Deathbed confession, I suppose. Because even if nobody ever hears this, I’ll still have existed.

Because my friends will remember me.

Maybe the team will sit around one day, telling some heroic stories about how I saved them. Maybe they’ll just tell tales about their commander, the best dang poker player in the Scavengers. Or maybe they’ll just say I was a good friend.

Yeah. That’d be nice.

Whoa. I feel a little light-headed. I think I’m hallucinating, because I could swear I hear voices calling my name.

Maybe they’re calling me home.

My name is Jackie, and damn, does it feel good to be alive.

Sidenote? Everything is going to hell.

I guess I should, like, at least start from when all this happened.

Well, first of all, they left me overnight. Maybe they were just trying to grill me and get my anxiety up. I don’t know. All I know is that they left me sitting in my cell until I passed out on the floor.

It sucked. Try imagining sleeping on a block of ice. Yeah.

When Security does come for me, they don’t even bother being polite. Instead, they yank me off the ground like a toothpick and toss me out the door. These guys are lining the outside like I’m a violent convict, and they’re not playing around. I get that they’re not supposed to exactly treat me nicely, since I’m a prisoner and all, but dang. Doesn’t mean they have to rough me up the way they do. I’m on my way to get a shot to the brain, so the least these jerks can do is treat me like a lady.

Which is apparently too hard to ask. Whatevs.

Anyway, so, we get to the room. I recognize it because this is where I saw that prisoner get his injection. This time, though, I actually get a chance to see the whole lab. I mean, nobody’s there, but I do get to see lots of tubes filled with pulsing growths. Obviously Creep.

I don’t have a lot of time to think about this, since my “escorts” take about a minute to get me locked in. Wrists, ankles. I don’t care that they’re strapping me into the chair so much except that they put that strap around my mouth. God. It puts a chill in my spine. I can’t talk, which is like my number one quality, and pretty soon I won’t even be able to think for myself. It’s like an entire life of questioning everything around me has led to this.

Which, like I’ve said, curiosity really does kill the cat.

Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that they don’t cover my eyes, because the last thing I’d like to see before they mess with my head is the sight of some jerk injecting me full of Creep gunk. Speaking of which, it takes about five seconds before the doctor follows behind Security. They’ve literally just finished taping down my mouth when he gets here. Want to know the worst part? Dude’s acting like it’s just another day at the office. Okay, whatever, man, just get over here and finish the job.

He stops to chat with the Security guy, like he enjoys stretching this out. I almost want him to hurry just so I can stop hearing him yap. Anyway, he whips out a recorder from his pocket, only it’s way nicer than the one I had. Makes me kinda jealous, actually. He sets it on the table and starts talking.

“Begin recording. Doctor Rivera, Tower Date 515.14.22,” he says. “I am currently receiving a patient into custody to begin Reinforcement. The patient is from Floor 4 and has been tried and found guilty of violations of the Thought Code. Recording pause.” He turns around and looks at me, picking up a massive needle from the table. You could practically puncture armor with it. “Young woman, your actions are a travesty. You have to be mildly insane to get thrown into Reinforcement when you’re from a floor as high as four. Do you know the kind of privilege you’ve thrown away?”

What does he want me to do? Answer from behind this mouth strap? Anyway, he keeps yapping. “I’m aware of who you are. Doctor Coleman’s daughter.” That gets my ears perking, but there’s really nothing much else I can do. Still, he’s got my attention. “Doctor Coleman’s a genius, you know. I suppose that it’s not entirely surprising that his daughter would be inquisitive. Still, he should have taught you some discipline. Now we’re going to have to put some Creep in you, and after that, well, I don’t think you’ll be quite as curious as you are now.”

So, I might not be able to talk, but one thing I know without a doubt: I utterly despise this guy.

Rivera walks toward the wall, and I know what’s coming next. With the tap of a button, a panel shifts away, and a tray of the Creep slides out. He hovers over it with the needle in his hand for a second, and then, right before he jabs it in, the Security agent interrupts him.

“Doctor,” the big guy says, earning what can only be deemed a diabolic scowl from Rivera, “does it look agitated to you?”

“What could possibly agitate it? It’s too small of a sample to respond significantly to emotional stimuli.”

“Have you ever actually been in the Creep?”

The doctor takes a step back and glares at him, like just his eyes could laser cut through the guy. “Of course not. I wasn’t born for that line of work. That’s your job.”

“Right, and I’m just saying that I’ve been in the Creep enough to know when it’s agitated. Maybe we should get another sample.”

Rivera looks like he’s about to blow the top of the agent’s head off as he slams the panel, sending that gross piece of muscle vanishing back into the wall. He taps at the buttons again, and for a second you hear something like a loud sucking sound. In a second more Creep slides out. The doctor takes a step back, gesturing at the tray. “Is this good enough for you?”