Subject 3033...(BWAM, Sci-fi Romance, 18+)

Chapter Twenty

"We had to contain her in a separate chamber. The new insect species had been concealing itself inside her medulla oblongata, feeding on her brain like a tumour. Apparently, the species emerged from the nucleus of the virus fusing with the nucleus of ameaoba cells. Thus, a speedy mutation of the amoebic cells.

It also explains why some of the other survivors fell victim to the insect species. They may have drunk water or eaten foods contaminated with the the mutated amoebic cells prior to their arrival at the bunker. Anwyll, Magnolia and I have been working tirelessly to synthesize a drug that'll combat the insect pupa seeing as it's the dormant stage of an insect's life cycle."

Tokyo voices her thoughts and findings whilst she repetitively taps upon the glass-like tablet device clutched in her palms. She taps some more then zooms in on the grotesquely affected parts of the victim's brain. Currently, Noe, Tokyo, Magnolia, Anwyll and I are stood outside the containment chambers observing the victim through glass walls -a woman no more than thirty years of age.

She shrieks at the very top of her lungs and those tears laden with so much agony continue to pour down her face in streams that wet the front of her bloodied beige blouse. Horridly dark venations litter and paint upon the exposed skin of her face and neck and hands and feet. It's a though part of her remains human, remains feeling. But the other part, that one I know so well. The part that seeks the blood and flesh of fellow men.

They've shackled her limbs to the floors and she tags upon the metals that bind her till they tear at her clothes and pierce into her flesh. Goodness, it pains my heart, it does. To witness the horrors of my creators. The aftermath of their demonic doings. I swallow at the bile as it burns and continues to burn at my throat. Another ear-splitting scream emerges and it shakes me to the very depths of my being. I palm my chest to steady my breathing, inhale slowly, exhale sharply.

"We've managed to inject some of the victims who'd been infested. Those ones were still in the window stage of the endoparasitosis. But with her it was a little...a little too late. I have tried injecting the drug into her system but at this point in time, there's hardly a thing that can be done to reverse the infestation," Tokyo concludes and to her tone is a hint of melancholia.

"And aside from that, we need to synthesize more of the drug if we're hoping to stir clear of the species. Sadly, we're running low on resources, Noe," Anwyll's voice pipes up from my far left.
Everything falls eerily silent. The tension winds so tightly about us that it feels tangible enough to slice with a dagger. I look upon Noe as he looks upon suffering victim. He appears to be so lost, appears to be in a little world of his own.

"There is...there still is a way we could create a permanent and effective drug. We could synthesize it in large quantities and store it up in banks as we continue to study the insect species in case it begins to further mutate," Tokyo breaks the unsettling bubble of quiet and all eyes fall upon her, "There is a new blood type that I've been able to uncover as of recently. Blood type X," and as she speaks, her vision finds my own in knowing.

I swallow. I avert my gaze. The pulse pounds inside my temples. The needle works will begin. The blood extraction. The pungent smell of medicines. Another screeching noise sounds and that's all it takes for me to come upon my resolve. I look upon the woman, look upon the ugly rotting red that now dribbles from the corners of her mouth and rolls from her nostrils and trickles thickly from the sockets of her eyes and flows from her ears down the crook of her neck dampening the collar of her clothe.

"Shit! She's reached the very final stage. Noe..."
The woman begins to bang the front of her head against marble floors. Again and again and again she crashes her skull into the grounds until the red spatters and splatters all about her.
"Does she have relatives here in the bunker?" Is the very first statement that leaves Noe's  mouth from the minute we got here.

"None. Noe, there's only one solution to her situation..." Tokyo speaks desperately as she looks to her cousin.
And even though she does not say it, we all think it. The only true way for the victim to find tranquility. Mercy killing.
"I'll do it myself," Noe finalizes as he reaches for the waistbands of his trousers and retrieves a pistol.
Into the chamber he treads cautiously and we are left to view the unspoken via clear glass walls.

Woman slowly lifts her head, cranes her neck and gazes upon Noe as if he were her salvation. Though the scarlet and tears drench and soak her features, she appears to be smiling now. She lifts her arms as if to welcome impending death, nods her head in surrender, in acceptance of her fate.
"Do it," so lowly are those words that she mouths.

And though I see the restrain in Noe, though I witness the ugly battle between rationality and emotionality, man's fingers still pull on the trigger and a deathly ray emits from muzzle. Body thuds heftily into the floors and metal shackles clink against each other. All is quiet, all is silent as Noe fits his pistol back into the waistbands of his clothe and lowers himself into a bending position.

His palms press into his spread-out and slightly bent knees, his hairs pour in front of his face to obscure it. There is a ringing noise that sounds in my ears. First faintly then louder and louder until I can no longer take the sound of it. My palms press into my ears, my eyes flutter shut and work to just breath. Man straightens himself, takes one final look at the grotesqueness of it all then leaves the chambers entirely.

And when I look upon him as he looks upon me, I clearly paint out the stoicism that emerges. It's as if a portion of him died along with the victim.
"Tokyo, use my blood. I have the blood type you're looking for," I turn and say determinedly to the woman.
"I know, Harlow. I've run tests on your blood a handful of times. Your white blood cells are inhumanly strong so I know we'll be able to eradicate the insect species. But...are you sure you want to do this?"

There is a genuine concern to her tone and though both she and I are well aware of my crippling fear, certain choices must be made for the good of others.
"I am certain. As sure as I'll ever be. Come on."
And with those few words having been exchanged, I proceed past her and down the halls that lead to the labs. I glide past metal doors into the glaring white lights of the spacious room and proceed for the operation table where I lay in waiting.

And my mind begins to wander though my eyes glower upon plain ceilings walls. How should one human harbour so much resentment for the world that she'd turn into her own personal little life or death play ground? A new wave of anger rocks my world, an anger so deep that the thought of my creators, particularly Siobhan, nauseates me. Tokyo and Noe glide past front doors effectively drawing me back to reality.

While woman marches up to me, man remains in the shadows of the room -his arms crossed before his chest and his facial expressions a sheet of blank nothingness. For a time, Tokyo works in silentness as she scans me from head to toe to head with that transducer-like device she likes to use. Then, the ugly part commences as she hooks needle into my flesh and begins to drains two gallons of blood into plastic bags. The sight of it all has me shutting my eyes so tightly they begin to ache.

And I begin to count the sheep. One sheep, three sheep, five sheep, seven sheep. I hushly murmur the numbers to myself again and again like a mantra of sorts until...
"Do you feel a slight dizziness, Harlow?"
"No, I'm feeling alright, I'm feeling fine," the words are rushed as they leave my mouth and my heart pounds mightily in my ears and temples.

"Well, that should be enough to begin with the drug synthesis. Normal human bodies take up to forty eight hours to replace the plasma after a blood donation and about four to eight weeks to regenerate the red blood cells. The peritubular cells of your kidneys have stronger sensory receptors than those of we normal humans so secretion of the erythropoietin should be a lot faster."

"Uh...I'm a little lost. What does that mean?" I query quizzically.
"It means your body will regenerate red blood cells and plasma at a much much faster rate which is a good thing. Also, the level of oxygen in your body will shoot back to normal a lot sooner. Harlow, thank you so much for your help. Without this...without your blood we'd be facing an additional challenge to the already long list of them."

"You have nothing to thank me for, Tokyo, really."
She nods, turns and proceeds towards the hospital refrigerator and I rest myself upon white sheets to steady myself and regain lost composure. And as I do, only one thought strikes me. Siobhan played the role of Grim Reaper. So, I'll have to repay her in full, play role of judge, jury and executioner. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A life for a life. I promise...

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