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

“It may take a few injections to truly see the effects,” Thyssen said. “But, those effects will be amazing. You will thank me in the end.”

“I think there may be a very different end to this than you suspect.” I said this through my clenched teeth. If I could have gotten to him, I would’ve done my best to rip his fucking throat out. I was tired of hearing him speak about people like they were nothing more than guinea pigs.

“How does that jaw feel, young lady?” Thyssen asked me. Thankfully he didn’t smile; otherwise, I would have looked like an idiot wriggling around and trying to break free of my bonds. Instead, I sat silent, mulling over various possibilities. Hollister invaded my daydreams when she touched my face.

“How does it feel?” she asked, looking into my eyes with a pointed glance. I thought about it and realized that it did not hurt any longer. It seemed the swelling was going down, too.

“Fine,” I replied.

Thyssen took a step toward me and then hesitated. He watched intently as Hollister inspected my cheek. I saw her turn back to him and nod curtly. He motioned her to back away and he moved in closer to examine the damage he’d done earlier. After a couple of seconds, he took step back. His glance bounced back and forth between Kel and me for several moments before he sidestepped over to Kel.

Without warning, Thyssen punched Kel in the nose. I heard the crunch and winced at the pain Kel must have felt. His head had rocked back and now he was glaring at Thyssen with enough animosity to back down a lion. Thyssen looked over at Hollister.

“Clean it up. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He paused at the door. “And, do cease any further storytelling, Doctor.” With that he left, the door secured behind him.

“What the fuck was that for?” I demanded. She retrieved some sterile wipes, and a moist cloth.

“You healed far too quickly,” Hollister replied, as she began to gently clean up Kel’s bloody nose.

“So he punches me in the face? Seriously?” Kel was livid, but his voice sounded funny as he spoke without the help of his nose.

“He wants to compare your healing factors.”

“This is how he runs tests on his subjects?” My voice had risen an octave and I was about ready to explode. I felt the heat course through my blood and I clenched my fists in anger. “What is wrong with you, lady? What the hell kind of doctor does this? Why are you doing his bidding like a well-trained puppy?”

Hollister said nothing but as she finished cleaning up Kel, and making certain his nose wasn’t broken, I noticed the tears streaming down her face. I just did not understand what was going on here. It just seemed as if everyone we’d met hated Thyssen’s guts, but still took his orders with little or no questioning. It irked me more every second.

“Karen,” I said, “What does this guy have on people that no one just tells him to fuck off? Why are you still here?”

“The serum works.” She took the soiled cloth back to the workbench and tossed it into the waste can. “He’s been taking it for the last year.”

“Okay. Fine. So what. It works. Great. Even less reason for you to stay under his apparent rule, right?”

“Do you know how old Dr. Thyssen is?” she asked, not looking at us. I glanced at Kel who was staring at Hollister.

“Late forties, I’d say.” She was already shaking her head.

“He’s seventy-two.”

Kel’s head snapped toward me and I wasn’t sure what to say. If what Hollister said was true, that meant that the serum not only extended life, it brought back youth. It seemed impossible.

“That’s the serum that did that?” Kel asked. Hollister nodded.

“There is limited access to the serum. There has been limited access to any variety of test subjects. We are his work force. He won’t use us.”

“Are you saying that he’s been using himself as a guinea pig?”

“There’s more.” Hollister was about to tell us something important, but just then the door opened and Thyssen walked back in.

He took in the scene and then walked over to Kel. “Still hurt?” he asked, dispassionately. Kel’s glare was more than enough for Thyssen who then moved over to look at me.

“What?” I demanded.

“When you came to earlier, your face hurt. It was swollen and yellowed with bruising.”

“Yeah? Well that was your doing, you asshole.” I watched as he only shrugged, accepting the charge.

“Barely any bruising left,” he noted, cocking his head to one side to get a better view of my face. He looked back into my eyes and leaned in. “I’m going to ask the next question only once. I advise you to answer it honestly.” I nodded. “What is your name?”

“Jennifer.” I offered no more.

“Jennifer, what?” he persisted. He must have had a clue, a notion already. I reckoned the game was up. “Watson.” I heard Hollister suck in her breath at the recognition of the name. Thyssen stood up, stared down at me.

“So, you’re Rock, huh?” he asked. I nodded once.

“He spoke very highly of you. The apple of your father’s eye, so to speak.” Even as he said the words, I could almost feel the contempt more than hear it in his voice. I figured the fact that my father turned on him was enough to make them enemies for life. Of course, Thyssen was the one responsible for shortening my dad’s life considerably.

“He said you were a prick,” I replied. Thyssen crooked up his mouth and half-nodded. Hollister tried unsuccessfully to prevent a snort. Thyssen ignored her.

“He had two doses. Did he give them both to you?” The man watched my face intently and I knew I had best not lie. It seemed like my fate was sealed along with my last name.

“No. My uncle got the other one, I think. We never talked about it.”

“Where is your uncle now?”

“Dead.”

“Too bad.”

“So,” I said, “I guess I got Telomere7, huh?” I still remembered my dad telling me that the inoculation was to protect against the flu. He had just come back from the lab. It was the day before the phone call to Thyssen that was to let him know that Thyssen was taking over and that dad was locked out. Thankfully, my dad was nothing if not a forward thinker and planner. Good old military training. He had already secured two doses of the better serum that the doctor had developed. Looking back, I know he wasn’t sure if the serum would help me or kill me quicker. At that point, it really hadn’t mattered.

“With this new dose of Nanomere9,” Thyssen said, “you’ll grow stronger by the day. Your immune system will be bolstered exponentially. It’s likely you could live a few hundred more years.”

“Will I?” I asked, knowing he had an axe to grind. He confirmed that with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really,” he replied.

“Hey, gramps,” Kel spoke up. “Mind untying me so I can take my turn at your decrepit old ass?”

Thyssen turned to Hollister. “I’ll send in the guards.” He left.

Hollister looked at us with a pitying look on her face. I turned my face to Kel. He smirked.

“I think we’ve come too far to give up now, don’t you?” he asked.

“Karen.” I peered into her eyes to stress my intent. “At least give us a fighting chance, okay?”

She didn’t move. She just stared at us. She wrung her hands and then wiped them on her lab coat. I could see there were a great many thoughts dancing around in her head. I could only pray she made the right choice.

She picked up a scalpel and walked toward us.

Hollister cut through each of the straps as quickly as she could and Kel and I were free in less than two minutes. Kel rubbed at his nose but waved me off when I tried to have a look. We headed for the door and just as Hollister reached for it, two soldiers entered. I took the first one head-on, smashing his nose with my palm, driving upward in an effort to incapacitate him but not kill him. I had made a promise to Kel and I meant to keep it. Thyssen was our only true target.