THE DESOLATE SOUTHLAND

CHAPTER 15: TEST SUBJECTS IN AFGANISTAN

"You have failed us, professor!"  The voice on the other end of the line had said.

Afzal could not  get that statement out of his head.

"Yes, Allah's Breath took hold faster than expected.  Yes, it spread faster than projected.  Yes, it caused those exposed to become more aggresive than desired.  Yes, those that were half eaten came back to life, well what appreaded to be life.  But, we should have be able to control them."  He sat in his office deep beneath the earth contemplating what went wrong.

"Allah's soldiers had captured one of the pagan swine after he was exposed, for testing.  Yet, as brave as one soldier was by luring one close and allowing it to bite him, the antidote he took did not work.  He too changed into one of these monsters.  Allah's Breath took longer to take hold of him than it did the pagans, why?  I could of ran tests to find the answers, but out of respect, the counsel took his life.  But not before a sample of his blood was taken for my researh."  The phone rings as he continued reviewing the events as they transpired.

"Salaam."

"Salaam, professor."

"Have the Imam made a decision on my request?"

"Yes professor, they have.  They agreed to allow you to test in Kandibagh."

"Good, good.  I will make arrangements to travel there tomorrow.  I trust our brothers there will be informed of our plans?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Allah be with you professor."

"And with you my brother."  Click.

****

The next day, Afzal drove the long drive to Kandibagh.  As he drove he remembered how quickly Allah's breath had spread in the land of pagans.

"Praise be to Allah, ruler of all the worlds.  If it hadn't been for Him, Aadila, my beloved, and the children would not have made it out safely.  I myself getting out to be with them was at his hands as well."

He arrived and immediately went to the secret lab that had been set up.  The pagan swine that they captured and brought here was locked up in a cage and chained to one side.

Afzal ordered another chemist to draw some blood from the captive creature once a test subject arrived.  In the meantime he prepared another concentration of the antidote.  They needed to monitor to see how long it took Allah's breath to take hold of one with the antidote.  He also wanted to observe the antidote on the blood of one already exposed.

Hours passed when a couple of men came in dressed as police.  They dragged a young boy in that looked as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"Who is this?" the professor inquired.

"He is a thief, professor."

"And what did he steal?"

"We caught him stealing food at the market place."

Afzal looked at the boy, "You hungry, boy?"

Terrified the young boy nodded.

"Get him some food!" He ordered.

The men looked at each other and then at the professor.

"Now!"

They ran off and returned shortly with bread and fruit.

"Well, give it to him!"

"But why?  He is a thief."

"Because he needs his strength."

So they gave the young boy the food and backed away.  He ate like pigs eating slop, fast, barely chewing, swallowing bites whole.

"There, there young man," Afzal said patting him on the head.

Before the boy realized it, Afzal stuck a syringe into his neck injecting him with the antidote.  The boys eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.  They all stood there staring at him.  The two men who brought him in, laughed.

Afzal looked at the other chemist, "allow it about thirty minutes to spread through his system and inject him with Allah's breath.  Then bring me the blood you took from the pagan swine."

He looked over to the other two men, "I need at least two more test subjects.  Go and get them.  I want one grown man and a grown woman this time."