Project Eden

Shutter

There was a shutter.

A disturbance in the cold, black, bitter, wind of the northern icy climate that made the earth tremble even as the rattle of mechanical equipment rumbled the hard soil. Dr. Tira Misu could feel it, as subtle as it was, while she watched the tower crane lift what seemed to be an impossibly large block of rock and ice away from their goal. Her reflection in the glass of the control panel didn't justify the true worry and stress that she felt was actually in her eyes, and with her arms propped on the control pane, and chin resting in her fingers, she sighed. It went unheard as the rest of her colleagues cheered and celebrated a minor victory, seeing as that block of ice was the final roadblock in the way of their long-awaited journey. She couldn't find it in herself to celebrate though. Operating under the radar was risky enough, but what was buried in that ice was almost as terrifying as what stood behind her.

He was just as old, with long white hair, and a few more android pieces thrown into the mix to counteract damage done in the past. She glanced over her shoulder, catching the sight of that one red, glowing eye that stared straight ahead from the shadow of the doorway. Unmoving. Emotionless. Almost lifelessly standing there in a long, white coat. She felt her stomach flip and redirected her attention back outside the glass, just in time to see a crew of workers be lifted up from the chasm with what looked like a huge metal casket and be lowered onto a loading truck. She leaned back and crossed her arms, her hazel eyes staring straight ahead at nothing as her heart and brain ran around in circles. Caught between two factors of destruction, she couldn't help but feel as if stomach cataclysmic was soon to happen.

It was a mistake being there. Doing this.

It was a mistake bringing back the dead. Don't they know nothing good ever happens when humans try playing God?

Two men. Two absolute units of power strong enough to destroy everything, and there she was. Caught in the mix between.

"Hey, come on! Loosen up," A man whom she'd come to know as Dr. Snow, an American scientist, chimed as he slapped her shoulder.

Dr. Tira scrunched her nose and shrugged his hand off of her, "Stop."

Snow laughed, "You need to chill out. Everything's fine. Guys on the ground say this thing is out cold and his vital signs are nearly zilch. He isn't come to get us any time soon."

"That doesn't mean anything," Tira retorted, refusing to look at her colleague. Shaking her head, she stated. "I have a bad feeling about all this."

Snow rolled his eyes, "You've said that ever since they counsel passed that ruling over your daughter," he sneered.

Dr. Tira snapped her head, her face immediately flushing red and fury in her eyes that was so hot that Snow immediately regretted his statement, "You leave her out of this," she stammered between gritted teeth. "If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be here, WE wouldn't be here."

Snow threw his hands up defensively, "I'm sorry. I know."

Nothing was said after that. She redirected her attention back to the outside world and he backed off to join the others that were taking a much-needed break to watch them bring in this monstrosity of a creature for examination. She wasn't alone though, the glow of a singular red eye could be seen reflecting in the glass of the still, dark, hallway. Her skin crawled with chill bumps. Something was different about the air since they brought him back to life. Even more-so, this night in particular. Gripping her forearms, she glanced down at her watch that read 0235 AM. They'd been up almost 48 hours since they found the dig site, yet she couldn't bring herself to even feign sleep. The electricity in the air was so static, but it appeared as if she were the only one to feel it. Glancing back up into the hallway, she saw he was gone from the doorway but that didn't even give her the slightest air of comfort. She couldn't help but wonder what the next 24 hours would hold for them all.