Summers' Purpose

Chapter 53

Dr. Erik moved as fast as he could, escorted by two guards as they rushed into a large testing chamber. The staff working there were startled at the sound of their footsteps but relaxed when they saw who it was. The guards sat Dr. Erik down by a wall. His headache was almost too much to deal with right now, and he watched the room spin before his eyes. Another man walked in shortly after, followed by more guards. He removed his lab coat, revealing his neat, gray suit underneath. The heavy chamber doors crawled slowly to a close behind them. The man looked around the room, noting everyone in there, his attention lingering on Dr. Erik when he saw him.

"Dr. Erik?" The man questioned, partially amused and shocked to see him there. "By some miracle, you managed to get yourself here."

"Dr. Petrov." Dr. Erik slowly stood up and shook his hand, quickly noticing how cold his hand felt, betraying the stoic look on his face. "All thanks to the pilot. I was lucky to get here before she did."

"Lucky. That you are." Dr. Petrov raised his brow at his colleague before asking the guards to get updates on the situation outside. To his frustration, none of the news they got sounded good. He wiped the sweat off the side of his neck with a handkerchief, trying to think of a way to get to the hangar where a plane was waiting for him. He almost got there but was diverted by the chaos, leading him to take cover here. He breathed in slowly, careful to look collected as he tried to think of another way out. "Care to explain how shit hit the fan, Dr. Erik?"

Dr. Erik scowled at him, irritated when he heard the accusation in his colleague's voice. "Despite whatever opinion you might have of me, I'll have you know I did everything as planned. As I was supposed to do."

Dr. Petrov nodded, squinting as he looked at Dr. Erik. The room was quiet amidst the increasing tension, amplifying the sounds of the horrors outside. "Then how did we find ourselves in this situation? If you did everything as planned, she should be compliant. An obedient dog, eating from the palm of your hands. How is she doing this then?!" He raised his voice, the illusion of calm fading away from his exterior.

"As I mentioned, doctor–" Dr. Erik was about to retort when one of the guards spoke up.

"Sir. I don't mean to interrupt but they're saying she's on this level. She seems to be headed this way."

"We should be safe in here, right?" One of the lab staff asked as nervous murmurs among the rest of them slowly became background noise.

"This chamber is meant to endure rigorous testing of various sorts of weaponry. If there is anywhere within this base that's safe, it's in here." Dr. Petrov ordered the guards to watch the door. "Whatever happens, don't shoot to kill. Use the heavy tranquilizers."

"What do you mean don't shoot to kill?! Do you not see what's going on out there?!" A woman asked Dr. Petrov loudly, her sentiments clearly shared with her colleagues as they too shot their questions at him. Their sounds of protest were cut short by the commotion approaching outside the testing chamber's door.

"What do you suggest we do?! This is our chance to reclaim control; what we had been working on for so long. She's here! Where she's meant to be, where we have been trying to get her. She's practically walking herself in, all that's left to do is to control the situation!" Dr. Petrov snapped at them, looking around the room before looking at Dr. Erik. "That is where you come in, doctor." He almost snarled the word at him, but he knew that he was their best hope to control Lyssa. "I will look past your mistakes if you can wrangle her in. All we need is a few minutes to set her up here. Then we can reprogram her if we need to. Can you do that, Dr. Erik?"

All eyes in the room landed on him, and he felt the sheer weight of what he was asked for. He wasn't sure if it would work at this point. But if there was a chance to regain control, it was here. He had help. He had more backup here with the guards and staff around, more than he had back in that decrepit building they had him based at earlier. Dr. Erik sighed, nodding as he steadied himself. Everyone in the room prepared for their inevitable guest with bated breaths.