Tumia

Hidden Secrets

"This couldn't have waited?" Dr. Evans asked as she stepped inside the lab.

Her mouth dropped as she witnessed the military men plugging huge tubes with bodies inside. It was like a horror scene as she watched them take over her lab.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted, running towards the corporal. His men stopped her, holding her back.

Dr. Evans' eyes watered as she watched the unconscious Kratens placed in the tubes, their blood being drained.

"Something you couldn't," he snapped.

"Corporal, this is inhumane! I've told you there are other ways!" she protested, but the man wouldn't listen.

For three years, they had been trying to find a vaccine for the toxins produced by the planet's trees. Dr. Evans had been studying the Kratens' cell turnover but had only tested once with their blood. She found that the way their bodies processed the air was drastically different from ours. But once the corporal moved in on the planet, her studies were halted, and he ruined the peace between the species.

"Evans, enough of your chatter! Their blood is the answer to all our problems. The government is sending us 500 more troops to help build this place up for the rest of our people," he explained.

"We need enough for everybody," the old man snickered as he tapped against the glass.

The bodies looked completely drained, and Dr. Evans couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Throughout the years, she had tried to keep the corporal from doing this, finding new excuses and small herbs with temporary effects, but her attempts weren't enough.

"You will start a war if you continue this," she shouted. "Innocent lives will be taken... they don't deserve this," she pleaded, now begging the man to stop.

"Doctor, you have such a sweet heart for killers. Were they innocent when they murdered your partners? Now all you have left is Richard, and he's paralyzed," he commented, reminding Dr. Evans of that dreadful day.

It replayed in her mind all the time; she could never forgive herself for the way her friends died. But it wasn't the Kratens' fault... the corporal started that battle. He broke the unity.

"I won't let you get away with this. They will find out soon, and we'll all be dead," she mumbled, glancing into his eyes.

The corporal bent down to her level as his men still held her arms tightly. "They'll be dead before me," he smiled before kicking her out of the lab.

His soldiers threw Dr. Evans to the ground and locked the doors. She breathed heavily, slamming her fist against the floor.

"Dr. Evans, we have to leave," Richard whispered as she stood up, angry.

"How did this happen?" she asked as they began to walk down the hallway towards the exit.

"I'm not sure, but there has to be a mole. The corporal is getting bolder and bolder. I've also heard the guards talking among themselves... they're up to something, and it's big," he whispered as they headed to her secret spot.

Dr. Evans nodded, noticing the changes on the base. More military men had been showing up with new weapons. This hadn't happened in the past three years.

"You're right, but it's not safe for you or me now. They've kicked us out of the lab, but we need to get back inside," she stressed.

"They won't be able to create the vaccine without us. We have to play this smart," he added, and Dr. Evans nodded.

"Tell nobody what we saw tonight," she paused, staring deeply at Richard. If the Kratens found out what he was doing, they'd all be dead. There had to be a way she could fix this.