Brian Steele - 4POCALYPSE - Four Tales of a Dark Future

“You guys good?”

“Lost Richards. You gonna let me in or what?” Harmon put enough angst in his voice to sound like he had just lost a good comrade, but I felt that the emotion was coming from a different place entirely.

“Sorry, man. Sure. See you inside.” As the speaker crackled and then went silent, the concrete wall in front of us began to lift and slide into some hidden recess far above us. Harmon idled the Humvee ahead and as we cleared the door, I saw that the concrete had to have been at least two feet thick. In no time, we were sealed inside with whatever our future held.

“Listen,” Harmon said and he pulled the truck into a parking space in the expansive garage area. “The elevator is over in that far corner. Entry code is eight echo seven two foxtrot. Got it?” We both nodded. He paused and turned to look directly at us. “I really don’t believe everyone here is evil and dangerous. Ignorant, like me, maybe. But, try not to hurt anyone unnecessarily, you know?”

“Matt,” I said, calling him by the name I heard earlier, “We are only here for one person: Thyssen. Unless someone gets stupid and we can’t prevent his or her actions any other way, I don’t plan on killing anyone. I promise. Kel?” I asked, pointedly.

“Just Thyssen. That bastard is going to pay.” It sounded to me like Kel had been doing a lot of thinking in the last little while. I touched his leg.

“Hey,” I said, looking into his cloud-gray eyes, “We good? You cool?” He nodded, but it only gave me one more thing to worry about.

Kel and I clambered from the truck and bolted for the elevator, while Harmon went to deal with Rucker, the voice we heard on the speaker outside.

We entered the elevator car and I punched in the code Harmon had given us. Even as the doors were closing, Kel and I were drawing our weapons. We rode down the six levels in silence, exchanging a glance or two.

I thought back to what my father had told me. “You will survive and make me proud. You hear me? You will do whatever it takes. Are we clear?” The baritone of his voice still resonated in me as if he were here with me, now. A promise is a promise. I knew that what I was doing was putting that promise in jeopardy; but I had made another promise to myself long ago. If I could ever find the ones responsible for my parents’ deaths, I would. No matter what. Now, I was facing that moment and my heartbeat revealed my fear. I hoped that Kel could not hear it pounding in my chest.

The elevator bell announced our arrival on the main lab floor and I held my breath. I was prepared for just about everything except what I saw. Thyssen — I knew it was him by the smirk on his smarmy fucking face — stood there, arms crossed staring at Kel and I. The two soldiers with machine guns pointed at us had no expressions whatsoever.

“I’m going to kill Harmon,” I muttered.

“For that, young lady,” Thyssen stated, “You will have to get in line.” He nodded to the soldiers. “Take their weapons, search them for any more and secure them in my lab. They will serve as decent subjects, I think.”

With that, the soldiers were upon us. They even took the knife I kept hidden inside my boot. Kel looked as pissed as I felt, but there was little we could do at the moment. I ran scenarios through my head as quickly as I could but nothing seemed to play out well. I forced myself to remain calm and took in everything I saw. The hallway led away from the elevator and there were large offices on one side and what appeared to be individual laboratories on the other.

We were hustled, wrists zip tied behind our backs, to the last lab on the right. The soldiers, I noticed, did not have access. Thyssen walked up and swiped a card, placed his thumb on the scanner and the door latch released. They took us inside what looked like a sterile work area. One prominent feature, not standard for any lab I’d ever seen pictures of, was the addition of two plasticine chairs with leather straps on the arms. The soldiers strapped us into these chairs, securing us well enough that I began to worry. Perhaps my own arrogance was about to get the better of me. That thought led me to glance over at Kel. I was surprised to see a slight grin on his face. I cleared my throat but he paid no attention.

“Now, then,” Thyssen said as he motioned the soldiers back to the door. “What are your names? Where are you from? And, how did you survive the pandemic?”

“I think we’re the ones who should be asking the questions. You just fucking kidnapped us.” Kel retorted. I was curious to see where he planned to go with this new attitude. All of a sudden he seemed very calm. Too calm.

“No, I captured two intruders who were apparently up to no good. Why else would you have had guns ready to wield against helpless scientists?” At Thyssen’s words, I couldn’t contain my snort of derision. He turned to me. “You have a differing perspective, young lady?”

“You’re a murderer. Of course, I have a differing perspective. Jesus. You are a prick.” I didn’t mean to give anything away, so as soon as I saw Thyssen’s eyes narrow in thought I caught myself and smoothly added, “Just like Harmon said.” He smirked.

“I would not have thought Harmon would turn so traitorous so quickly. The human psyche still baffles me. Physiology is more to my understanding.” With that, he turned and walked to a cooler with a clear glass door. Inside were several syringes and small glass vials.

“We know what happened,” I said, not wanting him to start poking us with his concoctions until we had a chance to extricate ourselves enough to defend against him. “I know what you did.”

Thyssen turned to me and I knew immediately that he could see the truth in my eyes. I waited. He turned to the soldiers, ordering them out, stating he would call if he needed them. Such arrogance. I knew a potential weapon when I saw one.

“You have my undivided attention, young lady,” Thyssen said, pulling a single metal stool over to face us. He sat and stared.

“You killed the entire world. You sent those people out, knowing that their immune systems were deteriorating. You should have known your serum was dangerous. You used people to test your little project and it cost the planet its population.”

I wanted to lead him and it was working. His emerald green eyes pierced into mine as if they were drilling for more information. I let him steep in the questions he had running around that big head of his. Come to think of it, Thyssen looked younger than I expected. Perhaps in his early forties. He would have been quite young when the pandemic struck. Why would the government have placed such trust and responsibility on a kid? It confounded me.

“What makes you think that I am responsible for the pandemic?” he asked. His manner was nonchalant. Such a lack of emotion only served to irk me, but I forced myself to stay on track.

“Your first serum was close to perfect, except that the nanobots attached themselves to the DNA of the subject and their immune system went into overdrive trying to kill the nanobots off. Smart little fuckers, though, weren’t they? Too smart. As a result, the very thing that was supposed to strengthen and support the immune system destroyed it entirely, instead. Caught you by surprise, huh?”

In my little box of clues and memories, my father had placed a letter explaining a good deal of this, giving pointers as to how I might find out more in libraries and newspapers and such. He was most likely just giving me information, keeping the truth of humanity’s fall open and available for future generations. My dad had a hell of a lot of faith in me. Still, I bet he never thought I would take it upon myself to go after the man responsible.

Thyssen leaned back on the stool, rubbing his upper lip back and forth with his forefinger. I knew I had stepped over the line. Now he would never let me leave this place alive. But, I was expecting more of a reaction. Not this apathetic display of not giving a shit.