Limitless

29|

Chapter 29 - Harmony

The door closes behind me and the sounds outside instantly die off. The door is soundproof, I realize. Why? What's in here? I tiptoe over to the back of the room and crouch down behind a table.

The room is a laboratory. It has chemicals and various liquids on the tables. There's a weir-looking machine next to me, filled with tubes and pipes. Inside it, I see some kind of sap green liquid moving around.

Commander Jacobs looks at a man in a lab coat. He has short hair and thin lips; his eyes reveal nothing of what's going on. 'Show me the new plague.' She orders him.

'Over here, Commander.' He beckons her forward and they move to the table in front of me. He goes down, opens a cupboard and takes out a test tube. It's filled with a slimy green liquid, similar to the one in the tubes next to me. 'R Cueva Virus mutations, commander. The plague is ready and can be implanted once you give the order. The vaccines have been prepared and tested.'

'Good.' Commander Jacobs replies. 'Very good, indeed. Give everyone the vaccines tomorrow and deploy the plague on Hope's execution.'

My mind tries to process the information presented before me. The plagues. Commander Jacobs has something to do with it. They have the plague. And they have a new plague. A different one. What does it mean? They said they would deploy the plague. Why would they deploy it? Did they make it? Thoughts race through my mind and so many options come and I flick the improbably away. It leaves me with one option. One possibility.

Commander Jacobs somehow has the plague, either she made it, found it or acquired it in some way. And now she is going to release it. The people inside the Limit get free vaccines every time, but the people outside have to buy it. So she must be targeting them. But why? Does she want the poor to die? Is it her idea and is she doing it secretly, or is the government giving her permission?

So many questions are there, and I don't know the answer for any of them. I want to stand up and shout, but instead, I stay hidden. I can't reveal myself now. I'll be fired, arrested, or who knows, even worse.

'Very well, then. Thank you Commander.' The man says in response. They walk towards the door. Commander Jacobs is still carrying the test tube with the plague, and opens the door.

That's when I hear the alarms. The soundproof door blocked out any sound from entering. Even an alarm. But this isn't an evacuation alarm. This is the alarm that goes off when a prisoner escapes - It's more high pitched and serves to inform the soldiers to watch out and keep their guns out. That's why it isn't ringing inside the laboratory; the scientists have nothing to do with it.

I quickly stand up and swing the door open. The alarm is still on and soldiers are crowding the corridors. Luckily, the soldiers don't pay so much attention to me and I manage to slip out of the room. I run towards Hope's cell. I want to check if it's him that has escaped, or someone else, but I stop. I don't care about him now. I'm more interested in what I just saw, the plagues. I need to talk to someone. To Alec. And this time talking isn't the only thing that I'm going to do.