lab.The choice is up to you.”
“I vote we stay here,” Amy said decisively. “We’re all already here and I’d rather see
what was happening than guess.”
Sandra and Michael nodded while Billy shrugged. I was okay with staying here and I
wanted to be there when Amy got her injection. Dr. Carnesby sat down at the table,
methodically preparing each needle and lining them up on the table. We took seats around him,
Billy sitting closest then me sitting next to him then Amy. Michael and Sandra sat on Dr.
Carnesby’s other side.
“I don’t know what is going to happen after this first injection, so I would like for all of you
to stay together,” Dr. Carnesby said once he had everything set up to his satisfaction. “Either
here or in the lounge. If you feel anything, anything at all, different than what you normally feel
like, say something. Jane will record it along with any changes in your vitals.”
“We understand,” Billy said softly. He was staring at the blue liquid with a perplexed look
on his face. I could understand that; I’d never seen a drug that was blue. Plus, he had a background in medicine so he was probably trying to figure out what the compound could
possibly be. Dr. Carnesby picked up the first needle and injected it into Billy’s upper arm. He
grimaced a bit at the pain but otherwise had no reaction. The doctor continued around the table,
getting to Sandra last. When I got my injection, it hurt but nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. The
vitamin K shot I’d gotten in high school had hurt worse.
“All done,” Dr. Carnesby said, capping the needles and putting them back in the pouch. I
remembered seeing a biohazard bin in his office and I could only assume he was going to throw
the needles out there. “So, enjoy the rest of your night ladies and gentlemen and I will see you
tomorrow. There’s nothing planned so you’ll be able to sleep in as long as you like.”
I shared a grin with Michael over that, looking forward to a late morning. Billy and I got
up from the table to head back out to the lounge, flipping the TV back on. A cop show came on
and I tuned it out as I looked at the game shelf. I really wanted something to take my mind off all
the possible side effects I could think of.
“How about a card game?” Amy asked, coming up to me and wrapping an arm around
my waist. “I’m bored.”
“I’m up for that,” Sandra said, a devilish smirk crossing her face. “You guys want to play
blackjack?”
“We can play for snacks,” Billy offered. At a nod from Sandra, he walked back into the
kitchen and rustled around a bit. He came back with a bag of pretzels and we sat down while
Amy pulled out a deck of cards.
“I’ll be the dealer for the first round,” Sandra announced, pulling out a pretzel and eating
it. She doled out about 20 pretzels to each of us, leaving the bag on the side of the table so we
could munch on them. “We’ll play until three aces are drawn.”
Nodding, we took the cards Sandra dealt out to us. I played with only partial
concentration, the other part of my mind cataloguing how I felt each second. I had no idea what
Gnotret was going to do and I didn’t want to miss an important side effect or even a dangerous one. Amy won the first round, a happy grin on her face as she gathered all the pretzels from the
pot. We continued to play, everyone losing and gaining pretzels as the night went on.
Suddenly, Michael turned extremely pale and stumbled up from the table. He darted
down the hallway, slamming open the door to his bedroom. We could hear him retching in the
bathroom, identical looks of worry on all our faces. Was this going to happen to us?
“Jane, I don’t think Michael can talk right now, but he’s vomiting,” I said into the silence.
“Thank you, George,” Jane replied smoothly. “I have recorded his reaction and have
alerted Dr. Carnesby. Is anyone else feeling nausea or any othersymptoms?”
“I’m not,” Amy said confidently. She grabbed a handful of pretzels and munched on
them, as if to prove her point.
“I don’t think any of us are, yet,” Sandra said. “But we will let you know if anything
changes.”
“Very well,” Jane replied. “I am registering a rise in temperature in all of you, though.
Please be aware of that.”
“It could just be that we’re all in one room,” Billy offered, though he sounded as if he
didn’t quite believe it himself. “I don’t think every little thing that happens is definitely attributed
to the drug.”
“You are quite right,” Jane admitted. “But Dr. Carnesby still wants to know everything.
This is the first human trial for Gnotret and you may have different reactions than the animals
that tested it.”
“Speaking of,” Amy started, staring up at the ceiling. It was kind of interesting seeing the
others start to pick up the habit Billy and I had when talking to Jane. “What kind of reactions and
side effects did they have exactly?”
“Side effects and reactions I am not able to share with you at this time,” Jane said dryly,
the sarcastic laugh all but evident. “Dr. Carnesby will choose when and if to share that information. It is far too easy for the mind to manufacture things and we want this trial to be as
unbiased as possible.”
“But we can talk to each other,” Sandra pointed out, her brow furrowing. “What’s to stop
all of us from influencing the others?”
“What are we talking about?” Michael asked weakly, moving slowly back into the room.
He was wiping a hand over his mouth and grimacing, his face slightly damp from splashing
water over it.
“Side effects,” I replied. “You all right now?”
“I think so,” Michael said, taking his seat again. He reached out to eat a pretzel but
thought better of it. His stomach was apparently still bothering him. “I just got really nauseous all
of a sudden and had to get out of here.”
“Were there any other reactions you remember?” Jane asked, ignoring Sandra’s
question from earlier. Maybe she didn’t have an answer.
“Not really. I do remember feeling a bit hot, though,” Michael said thoughtfully after a
moment. “And I’m still feeling nauseous but I don’t feel the urge to throw up.”
“Do you want to keep playing?” Sandra asked, holding the cards in her hands. We had
waited for Michael, wanting to make sure he didn’t pass out or something.
“Sure, why not?” Michael shrugged. “Deal me in.”
Sandra dealt the cards and we ended up with Billy winning the round and three aces in
play among all of us. Sandra gathered the cards together and passed the deck to Michael, who
was sitting on her left. He shuffled them quickly and dealt them out.
“Again, same dealer until we get to three aces,” Michael stated while Sandra grabbed
some pretzels to bet with. While we played, no one else got sick, but I did notice a flush rising
on Amy’s cheeks. She was normally pale and the red was easy to see.
“Amy, you’re flushing,” I noted. “Do you feel hot?” “No, not really,” Amy said, confusion in her voice as she raised a hand to her cheek. “My
cheeks do feel hot, though. Jane, is my temperature higher than it was before?”
“Not significantly, but it is raised,” Jane replied after a moment. “Perhaps your body is
i
nterpreting the drug as an infection.”
“That would make a lot of sense actually,” Billy said, his soft voice loud in the quiet. “It’s
a foreign body and your immune system is probably treating it as an invader. We may all have
these symptoms depending on how strong each of our immune systems are.”
“Wonderful,” Sandra said sardonically, rolling her eyes. “I hate being sick.”
“The only thing we can do is wait, though,” I said reasonably. “There’s nothing to say you
will definitely get sick.”
“I guess you’re right, George,” Sandra said thoughtfully. “Let’s just keep playing, then.”
Michael dealt the next few hands while I steadily lostmy supply of betting pretzels. I’d
never been good at blackjack and it was never more evident than here. Amy and Billy had the
most pretzels while Sandra and Michael had slightly more than me. The third ace was dealt and
Michael passed the deck to Amy.
Looking at the clock, yawning, I realized it was late. We’d been playing for several hours,
replenishing our supply of betting pretzels from the bag when they got too low. A wave of
exhaustion hit me and I shoved all my pretzels into the middle of the table.
“Last round for me, guys,” I announced as the others looked at me in confusion. “I’m
tired and I think it’s time to head to bed.”
“I’m actually going to do the same,” Michael added, yawning as well. “I’m still not feeling
well.”
Amy dealt the hand and I lost, predictably. Billy won and gathered all the pretzels to him.
He had a big grin on his face and I had the feeling he didn’t get to play often. I stood, wavering a
little on my feet due to exhaustion. I hugged Amy, pressing a kiss to her lips. “See you all in the morning,” I yawned, waving as I walked down the hallway. Michael
followed after bidding the others goodnight, stumbling into his room. I went through my nighttime
routine quickly, wanting to just tumble into bed and sleep. I didn’t know if I was just tired
because of the late hour or if it was a side effect, so I decided to let Jane know. The more data
Dr. Carnesby had was probably better and he could weed out what were real side effects and
what weren’t after the trial.
“Jane, I don’t know if it’s relevant, but I’m feeling intense exhaustion,” I muttered, sliding
into the bed. I hadn’t even bothered to turn on the light in the bedroom, just using the light from
the bathroom, and the darkness was soothing.
“Noted, thank you, George,” Jane said. “Dr. Carnesby has more tests scheduled for
tomorrow since it will be the first day since you had your injection, but you can sleep in. Is there
a specific time you would me to wake you up?”
“No, just make sure I don’t sleep past noon or something,” I said after a moment’s
thought. I smiled as I thought I heard laughter in the pause before Jane spoke again.
“I can do that,” she said. “Good night, George.”
“Good night, Jane,” I replied and closed my eyes. I quickly fell into a deep sleep, images
and sounds passing through my mind. Soon, I began to toss restlessly as I descended into a
realm of nightmare and madness manufactured within my own mind. Chapter 6
Running. Panting in terror but trying to be quiet. I couldn’t see what was chasing me, but
I knew it was there. Knew it only meant harm and I had to get away. Run again, dodging the
trees, the cars, buildings? Was I outside? A diffuse light lit the scene and I could barely see. But
what I’d seen earlier was enough. Something was after me, something that hunted and ate.
Something that survived on the fear and panic I was feeling. I saw the empty black maw of a
doorway and skidded through, slamming my shoulder into the wall on the other side. I muffled
my yelp, my hands clasping over my mouth. I listened for several moments, breath whistling out
of my nose and ghosting over my fingers.
Nothing. I relaxed fractionally, hoping that I’d finally lost the thing that was chasing me. I
took a moment to look around, the building I had taken refuge in somehow eerily familiar. I
wandered the halls, endeavoring to keep my steps as silent as possible. A hallway with several
doors led off from a large room and at the end of the hallway was a room I recognized as a
kitchen. I looked in each room as I passed, notingbeds and nightstands and a lamp. I didn’t
bother to try the lights; anything might draw the beast to me.
The nagging feeling persisted; I felt I should know this place. Felt that I’d been here
before and it was important. But I shook my head, nothing clicking and telling me where I was. I
continued through the kitchen to another room, this one filled with odd machines. A quiet hum
filled the room as if something still functioned here. A pale blue light from underneath the closed
door at the back drew me and yet repelled me at the same time. I felt the same fear of it that I
felt for the thing that had been chasing me. Yet I felt an unrelenting curiosity to find out what it
was. I crept closer, trying to see if there was anyone else in the room.
I jumped as a loud howl pierced the quiet around me. I ducked underneath something, a
large machine with just enough space for me to curl up in a ball underneath. I heard another
and so very, very angry. I wondered what could be making the sound and what could possibly
be behind why the creature was making that sound.
I jumped again and whimpered as I hit my head against the machine when the next howl
echoed down the hallway to me. The creature had found the building I was hiding in! Had it
followed me or was this just one of its lairs? Had I unwittingly taken refuge in the one place I
shouldn’t have? I let out a short breath and stopped breathing again as I heard thumping
footsteps coming down the hallway. I laid my head on my knees and prayed, desperately hoping
I would remain hidden in my little cubbyhole.
A snuffling soon accompanied the footsteps, sounding like a cross between a pig
snorting and a wolf sniffing at the air. I had no idea what sort of animal could make a noise like
that but it did sound like the creature I had run from. I remembered hearing it so close behind
me, hot breath feathering over my neck. Its footsteps stopped next to the machine I was hiding
under, on the other side so I couldn’t see what it was. Then it moved towards the room where
the blue light still emanated, the sound of the doorknob turning almost deafening in the silence.
The light grew stronger as the door opened and I saw a shadow on the wall across from me.
The creature looked vaguely humanshaped, though I couldn’t be sure with the distortion. It
walked into the room and the door closed, cutting off the light and plunging me into mostly
darkness again.
I waited for what felt like an eternity, hoping the creature wouldn’t come back out and
find me. Finally, I got out from underneath the machine, uncurling myself slowly and stiffly. I
turned to look at the door, studying the pale blue light again. There were no shadows, nothing to
indicate that there was someone inside. I was still curious about the light so I cautiously stole
across the floor until I was standing
in front of the door. I studied the door, still wondering why it
seemed so familiar. And why I associated it with a doctor for some reason. Shrugging, I took the doorknob and turned it slowly, hoping that if the creature was still
inside, it wouldn’t hear. The door slid open, the blue light brightening and lighting up my face. I
pushed the door in and saw the room, illuminated in the blue light. There was a table along one
wall with a chair and a desk across from it. The creature was sitting on the chair, staring at the
doorway. I froze as we locked eyes, mine terrified, its bored. It made a vague shuffling motion
with one hand, gesturing towards the table. I shook my head then tried to close the door before
being stopped by an ominous growl.
Shaking, I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. I moved to the table
and sat down, perched on the very edge. I was prepared to run or fight at the first sign of
aggression from the creature. But the only thing it did was study me, its head tilted to the side.
Finally, it pulled out a needle and picked up a small bottle. I could see that the bottle was the
source of the blue light and there were... things floating in the liquid. I didn’t look too closely,
feeling something squirmy deep in my gut at the sight. I didn’t want to know what it was.
I studied the creature instead. It looked almost human but its every feature was a
caricature. The eyes were huge and round, the irises a deep, deep brown. Its nose was tiny,
barely there, and I wondered how it got enough air through it. Its mouth was wide with thin lips
and sharp, pointed teeth. The creature’s skin was a pale brown and looked as if it should be
covered with hair though it wasn’t. The most human part of it was its hands: the fingers were
long and thin and very dexterous. It filled the needle with the liquid and came towards me.
I tried to bolt from the table and get out of the room, but the creature blocked me in. It
grabbed my arm and pulled, holding me in an iron grip. However I struggled, the creature
countered me and finally jabbed me with the needle. I felt the liquid enter my arm, a burning
sensation worming underneath my skin. I watched, horrified and entranced, as the liquid left the
needle. I could see now that it had little organisms swimming in it that looked like round disks