Dead Days Ahead: 2012

FlatLine Laboratory

Ever since he was five years old and watched a moth get eaten by a bird in broad daylight, the subject of death had fascinated Markus White.

Sure, it was traumatizing at that moment, but the ensuing conversation from his guilt-ridden teacher had him hooked on the topic one would call him too young for.

His mother, rich, lonely, and completely unwilling to deal with the bastard of a son she had managed to land herself with when she was 21, absolutely did not care about the morbid subject Markus had gotten himself into. She had given him a couple hundred dollars, patted him on the head (albeit a bit reluctantly) and went to chase down her estranged husband who felt as strongly about her as she did for Markus.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to get Markus started. That few hundred dollars when he was ten was enough to lead to the production of one of the most successfully controversial labs in America.

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A cool breeze blew a single strand of blonde hair into excited grey eyes, and Markus pushed it back with an exaggerated movement as he paced down the hallway. It was unbecoming of a man of his status, but there was no one around but the security cameras, and he knew for a fact that Ian and the team were on a break, as was requested (ie, demanded) by Markus.

It was hard, being the owner and creator of FlatLine labs, but he was proud of what he made and refused to let the heaping of negative attention get him down. It had been fully funded and built in New York, February 22nd, 2002, and had been controversial the moment it had reached headlines.

Reviews and opinions of his business had fluctuated wildly, from having him and his entire team labeled as herectics, to being heraled as saviours, to being envied as geniuses. Markus himself couldn't bring himself to care what the general public thought: he was a genius and he knew it, he had reached his dreams at age 28, and was living successfully unlike his shrew of a mother, who had been divorced some years ago when he was 18 and getting ready to move out.

However, no matter what people said, attention was attention, and his company thrived being in the center of it. Markus liked things big and flashy, despite his quiet demeanor. Chaos was a friend of his, alongside logic, and he dabbled in both equally.

So, a few years after FlatLines had been opened, on August 12th, 2008, he brought his best friend April's pet turtle to life after it had been dead for two weeks. The media exploded, as he had predicted, and FlatLines skyrocketed to the top.

He was on magazines, in newspapers, being featured on the news and corny talk shows. He smiled with Conan, laughed with Ellen, debated with Oprah and charmed with Wendy. The news of what he accomplished had spread well past America, and he suddenly he had friends within the Russian community he was just sure were mafia, given the amount of funding the company suddenly received.

The world was focused on FlatLines, wether it was good or not, and it was just how Markus wanted it.

Now, however, the world was up in arms about something he thought was entirely ridiculous. 2012. The end of the supposed world. It was completely stupid, and unfortunately timed, as he finally had enough money due to those russian friends and a couple hundred generous GoFundMe's and Kickstarters to do the expirement he had been dreaming of since the tender age of 15th.

Of course, when what he wanted to do reach public ears, he was once against being heralded as the end of humankind, the reason Jesus was coming back early- if they coukd think it bad enough, he was accused of it.

It was frustrating, the paranoia of the media based on some ancient calander made by the Mayans or the Indica's or whatever. (He was pretty sure Indica was a type of weed but that wasn't the point dammit)

He loved history as much as the next person, but he wouldn't let an unfinished artifact spook him out. Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, amd the Mummy taught him better than that, and as far as he was concerned, it was better off being left alone and completely forgotten.

So, it was hard, loosing all the standing he had gained within literal months, but it didn't matter. He already had the money, the equipment, the test subjects and their payment set aside. May 5th, 2012, 6 people would take a painless injection, die and then wake up within the next month.

And it would all be because of Markus and his genius. Screw the end of the world: he had bigger plans for humanity than that.

The doors to the elevator he was pacing in front of dinged as they slid open, and Markus plastered a reassuring and welcoming grin as he rushed to great the people that wpuld advance humanity further than thought possible.

He didn't have time for 2012: after all, he was already far ahead of it.