The Purity Project

Chapter 15

Tyler hadn't slept at all. Too many thought were swarming through his mind, and he couldn't process them all. The jail cell had a small window, high up on the wall. It was covered by rusted metal bars, to stop anyone from using the window as an escape. When the slightest bit of light shone through the bars, Tyler knew that it was time to go. He stood up, surprised that he felt almost no pain. He stalked over to Lorenzo and hesitated before shaking him awake. He looked so peaceful, Tyler almost wanted to let him stay sleeping. But the dried blood on his neck reminded Tyler of why that was impossible.

"Hey. It's time to get up," Tyler whispered into Lorenzo's ear.

Lorenzo grunted and rolled over to face Tyler. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles, showing that he probably had only an hour or two of sleep. Tyler offered his hand and helped pull Lorenzo to his feet. 

"Time to go see the girls!" Lorenzo smiled sadly.

Tyler was anxious to reunite with Jada and Halona, but he knew that they would only be bringing bad news. He turned his head to face the old man, who was slumped up against the corner of the jail cell.

"Hey old man, you never told us how you knew so much about the Purity Project."

The old man laughed, his hoarse voice making it sound more like a cough. "I'm a scientist, if you can believe it. I was on the task force that was developing the serum. I saw how inhumane it was, and I quit. But they couldn't have me going around and telling the innocent citizens of Marolo the truth, so they locked me up in this cell. If you're wondering why they didn't just kill me, it's because they might need me in the future. If the serum fails to work, they'll need Marolo's brightest minds."

"What will you do if they ask for your help?" Lorenzo asked.

"The moment someone walks into this cell, I'm going to rip their throat out." The old man's voice was bitter.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Tyler decided it was time to make their move. He peeked outside the jail bars, and once he knew the coast was clear, he whispered his plan to Lorenzo and the old man.

"There's no way that's going to work. That security camera will sell us out!" Lorenzo tilted his head toward the camera in the upper corner of the jail cell.

"Just trust me on this." Tyler looked to the old man for reassurance.

"I'm going to be honest with you kids. I don't think you'll be able to stop the Purity Project from happening. You might as well just rot in this cell with me."

He didn't know why, but something snapped inside of Tyler. "We have to try! If we sit around and not do anything, then we're just as bad as the people who started all of this. You might be happy sitting in this moldy room, waiting for your sorry little life to end-"

"Tyler, enough." Lorenzo placed his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

Tyler jerked away. He was shaking in anger. "I have my whole life ahead of me, old man! I'm not going to let some control freaks take that away from me! There are people I have to protect, and I'm not going to let them know that I gave up on them. So I'm going to do all I can to get the heck out of this place, and save this god-forsaken country!" Tyler took a shaky breath, trying to calm down. He looked down at the old man, who's eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion.

"Ty, we're getting out of here. Now, let's try this plan of yours." Lorenzo gave a reassuring smile, before he laid down on the ground and started screaming in pain.

Tyler knelt down beside him. "Help! Somebody help! He's dying! Please, don't let him die!" Tyler screamed at the top of his lungs. 

It didn't take long for a security guard to come running. He opened the jail cell and started to make his way toward Lorenzo.