The Mutation Wave

Chapter 8: The Enhanced (Part One)

Marianne paced around restlessly while William sat on the floor, leaning against the dark blue walls of the small room. The lingering smell of gasoline hung in the air. Who the hell refurbishes a carpark into an underground prison? Victor really thinks this place is his castle or something?  William hugged his knees close to himself and closed his eyes, trying to catch some sleep. The incessant footsteps that were lulling him to sleep stopped abruptly. His eyes opened as Marianne placed her palms on the door.

"Don't bother. You'll cook us both before you even get through the first centimetre."

"And why is that?"

"This entire room is constructed with Thermanite; a material used in guns to slow down heat conductivity, especially when firing at prolonged intervals. An alloy I invented to solve the overheating problem caused by self reloading guns," William muttered nonchalantly. "It's ten times as tough as carbon fibre and has a thermal resistance at least thirty times that of Tungsten."

Marianne took a deep breath as if to say something, but merely let out a sigh as she let her hands drop back down to her sides.

"I... I'm sorry for getting us into this."

"Hey, it's free lodging; I won't complain," William said. "Gotta work on their customer service though."

"Oh my god, this is no time for frivolity." Marianne rolled her eyes, setting herself down on the floor as well.

"Relax, things aren't too bad. Of all the people we could've met, we met Victor."

Marianne gave William a quizzical look. "Is that supposed to be a good thing? He doesn't seem too nice to me."

"I've worked with Victor Dietrich before. He's mixed, just like you. Half French, half German."

William stretched out his legs and leaned against the wall.

"He's also an architecture genius who started a construction company when he was only twenty five. That was only four years ago, but he was already a big part of government projects. He pretty much built the entire Sector 162," he continued. "He can be pretty ruthless because of the people he has had to deal with, but he always kept to his ideals of protecting those on his side. As long as we show that we're not the enemy, we'll be safe."

"It's gonna take more than a synopsis to convince me."

"That's your problem then. Goodnight." William yawned and plopped to the ground. He was snoring within seconds. Marianne stretched out and lay down on the floor, not realising how tired she was as well. She closed her eyes, her thoughts starting to clear out until one remained.

Where are you, Masako?

~ ~ ~

William woke with a jolt to a loud siren. "Can't anyone get a proper night's rest?" he groaned and looked over to Marianne. She was still sleeping soundly despite the shouting in the distance. He tried to look through the small window in the door, but could only see the wall on the other side. William pressed his face harder against the rectangular hole, trying to see more from the side-

He jumped back as the sliding cell door suddenly opened. William took a step out warily and looked around. The corridor was empty; even the guards were gone. He turned back and patted Marianne awake.

"Hmm...? What's the matter?" Marianne sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"The door opened for no reason. Let's leave while we can."

Marianne stared into space for a few seconds before widening her eyes in realisation. "Wait, really?" She stood up and looked out of the door. "Let's go!" she piped and took off running without William.