They say we can't leave

Chapter nineteen

"Did you see that?" I turn to Emma whispering in gasps. All she can do is nod. We continue down the hall. I look into the next window and it also contains someone infected by the scruff. I can't see their face right now. They are eating in the corner of the room. The bowl in front of them is full of bright red blood and organs. I hold back the vomit rising in my mouth.

Emma screams next to me. I turn to my head to look but a sharp pain shoots through my head causing my vision to go black.

I try to open my eyes but the pain in my skull is so horrible. My eyelids are throbbing from the pain shooting through my head. I peek open my eyes and I'm in a chair. My hands and feet are tied to the arms and legs of the metal chair with plastic bands. I try and break them but they are strong thick plastic. I shake the chair but the metal doesn't budge. I open my eyes all the way and look around the room. Emma is next to me in the same condition I am in. The room we are in is huge. There are screens lining every inch of the wall with a never ending desk attached to the screen with computers on the desk they all have information pulled up on them but I can't make out what's on the screen. I see a man but he is faced away from me typing on one of the many computers. His fingers move fast and the clicking of the key board fills the room. I don't think he knows I'm awake. He is tall, he has grey hair. he has on grey cargo pants, and is wearing a white coat. He looks strong I can see the muscles rippling under his shirt.

I rustle with the chair again causing the man to turn around. "Oh good you're awake!" He says with a bright smile. He has bright white teeth. He is clean shaven with bright eyes. "What is this place?" I say with a weak voice. The man sighs leaning his bulky frame against the desk.

"My name is Dr. Micah Simpson, I am the one that created the scruff virus for the government. They wanted something to make people sick to kill down the population. The world was getting over run. The non-renewable resources were running out so they needed people to think it was... accidental? I suppose. I mixed deadly viruses together like staphylococcus, MRSA, Flu A and a few other germs. We tested it on rats and they died quickly. We were all very pleased with the progress. I handed it over to the President who was David Lewis at the time. He started injecting it into all kinds of animals but mostly fish. We started on the coasts where fish is a delicacy to them and a popular meal." He runs his hand through his gray hair. "It spread much quicker than we had expected. The coast population grew ill quick and it began to spread rapidly. That is why Aukai was built the plan was always for this to be my home base to look for the cure before the virus got out of hand. But the virus mutated. I can't figure out what causes the human body to transform into these monsters. The marine life I have studied show the scruff mutation in their DNA but I can't figure out the cure. The marine life don't grow the hair like we humans do. They don't seem affected by the virus. The cure lies within them but I can't figure out what it is." He claps his hands in satisfaction. "Well that's it! That's the truth. The truth is there probably will never be a way to cure this. Oh well. I seen you met my friends Lucy and Ronny. They are my current test subjects. I pull a few of you every few months and no one seems to notice them missing. You guys up there aren't very observant." He explains with a sharp eye roll. I am trying to wrap my brain around all the words coming out of his mouth. The pain in my head is excruciating.

Ronny? Did he say Ronny? No that can't be. When did I see Ronny last? I am trying to make my throbbing brain work. I haven't seen Ronny since before my dad died. Vomit rises in my throat. This Micah took Ronny right from under our noses and we never noticed. Did Scott know or is he infected by the scruff like Suzy? My brain is spinning around and round in circles just like the room currently is.

"What do you do with them?" I ask. Micah is across the room fiddling with the computer again. "Well at first I would bring the human test subjects down here and infect them with the virus but the last few years I haven't had too. Since your diet contains nothing but fish you all have the scruff in you already it just lays dormant until it's ready to come out. You are all nothing but a ticking time bomb. I just inject something to speed up the process." He says this nonchalantly like it's no big deal.

"What did my dad and Emma's parents have to do with this?" I look over at Emma and she is still out cold. Her head hangs in her chest with long stringy drool leaking out of her mouth. "Ahhhh yes your dad. The last time he was down here I injected him with the speed up serum against his will. He is the only one I have had that never transformed. I think his DNA has mutated so much that he became immune to the part of the virus that makes you transform. As for Janice and George they were always going to die. They were my most willing test subjects. They believed in the cause wholeheartedly. They transformed much quicker then we had expected. The mutation in the virus was quite new back then so I didn't have time to bring them down here. They would do anything to find the cure for Emma." He says gesturing at Emma unconscious body. "As I'm sure you know they didn't work out for me either." He utters out with a shrug.