by Amy Cross
"You can't steal three hundred million people!" I tell her.
"We needed them!" she shouts. "We still need them! Once we've got the technology up and running, I've got more than two hundred confirmed customers lined up across Europe and Asia, all willing to pay up to a billion dollars so that they can be reborn in another body, and soon there'll be even more. It's the oldest game in the world, Dr. Grant. People have been promising immortality since the dawn of history, but the difference this time is that Compidome can actually deliver! Now that the rest of the world thinks that all the Americans are missing, they won't care if we start taking American bodies and using the Shades to convert them."
"Why Americans?" I ask, horrified that such a hideous experiment could be carried out on such a vast scale. "Why did you pick your own country?"
"Economics," she replies with a faint smile. "Europe and Asia offered the largest volume of potential customers, and those customers tended to want shiny new American bodies. In some cases, they just want their minds transferred by the Shades, and they want the bodies to retain their current external appearance. That's something we're working on, but it shouldn't take too long. You wouldn't believe how many crusty old billionaires are willing to pay so that they can take over the body of a hot young Californian cheerleader or a well-built jock. And the rest of the bodies, the ones that aren't so desirable physically, can be fully converted by the Shades." She pauses. "Believe me, our market research people spent a long time crunching the numbers, and they were convinced that the most profitable approach would be to sell American bodies to the rest of the world, instead of the other way around. I'm sure that's a bit of a shock, Dr. Grant. I was certainly surprised."
"This is sick," I reply, stunned by the scale of her plans. "You're planning to kill three hundred million people, just so you can get rich!"
"Not kill," she says, "just... borrow their bodies and merge them with other minds. I admit it's a little difficult to deal with the ethics at first, but this is a free market, Dr. Grant, and something that seems absolutely awful one minute can seem very ordinary and pedestrian after a while. There have been a few hiccups along the way, and I hadn't anticipated John Lydecker's attempt to sabotage the project and claim the benefits for himself, but I'm confident we can get things back on track. The original Lydecker died when the cancer finally claimed his body, and now I'm hopeful that we can reprogram the Shades to completely remove Lydecker from the gene pool. His little rebellion didn't work out too well."
I stare at her, trying to decide whether this scheme she just outlined is even possible. It sounds like something from a B-movie, but I've seen just enough evidence to realize that there seems to be a grain of truth to her claims. I guess there'll be time to separate out all the facts later, once we've got away from here, but right now I just have to react to what's right in front of me. Given the situation, if Lacey says there's some kind of creature up here with us, I'm inclined to be cautious and believe her.
"I should kill you right now," I say firmly, feeling sickened by her actions. "For what you did to Cooper, for what happened to Gretchen, for what you've put me through, and for the fact that you were willing to sell the bodies of three hundred million Americans to the highest bidders. I've never met anyone who's quite so willing to throw away human lives in order to protect her own interests."
"If you kill me," she replies, "how are you ever going to work out how to get everyone back?"
I close one eye, in order to get a better aim. I feel as if I've been comprehensively played for a fool. When she hired me to join this mission, along with Cooper, I fell for her lies. Now that's it's clear that she's just out to protect her investment, I don't want to do a damn thing that helps her. Her lies have already cost Cooper's life, and I'm not about to let her saunter out of here with her plans intact.
"Here's what's going to happen," she continues, with a condescending smile. "You're going to put that gun down. I gave it to you in the first place, remember? I wouldn't have done that if I thought you'd do anything as stupid as turning it against me. So you're going to point it somewhere else, and we're going to find the U.S.B. drive containing Lydecker's notes, and then we're going to get the hell out of here and -"
Before she can finish, there's a loud clicking sound and the lights flicker off. Moments later, the air conditioning hum stops, and it's clear that the building has lost power. The only sound is the howling wind on the other side of the window.
"That's impossible," she says, looking up at the ceiling with an expression of abject panic. "The Compidome building had its own generator. It should have been able to last for months before it hit trouble." She pauses. "Sabotage. She must have done this to keep us here. She must have found the control room and switched off all the power."
"Who?" I ask, keeping the gun pointed at Lacey but glancing over at the door.
"Who do you think?" she asks. "It looks like Ms. Jones, or whatever's left of her, might be about to make her move."
Caroline Jones
Fourteen days ago
"No!" I shout as I run along the corridor, chasing after Lacey Hobbs. "You have to do something!"
"There's nothing to be done," she says, reaching the elevator and turning to face me. "I'm going to go and reset everything. Whatever Lydecker's done here, it's irreversible in the short-term, but I have teams in Europe. I need to get to them and hope they can figure out a way to put all of this straight."
"How many people could die?" I ask, my heart racing. "These Shade things... How far could they spread?"
She stares at me for a moment. "They can migrate from body to body like a virus," she says finally. "They're not as fast as a virus, and it takes time for them to accumulate in sufficient quantities when they reach a new host, but eventually... There's time to stop them, but I can't risk getting infected."
"I..." Pausing for a moment, I realize that I'm starting to feel increasingly thirsty, and I can't help thinking back to Chloe's horrific death in the coffee shop. "You have to help me," I say, feeling a little short of breath already. "There has to be something here, some kind of antidote. Somewhere in this whole place, Lydecker has to have created an antidote!"
"I'm sorry," she replies, with a condescending. "I really wish there was something I could do, but there's not."
"Then -"
"Sorry," she says again, before punching me with such force that I'm knocked clean to the ground. "I wish for your sake that you hadn't got caught up in all of this," she continues, "and I want to thank you for coming here this evening and bringing the whole thing to my attention. If you hadn't turned up when you did, I might not have learned the truth about Lydecker's plans until it was too late. Unfortunately, there's nothing that either Compidome or I can do to help you, so you're really going to have to just..." She pauses. "Sorry again." With that, she steps back into the elevator chamber, and moments later the doors slide shut.
"No!" I scream, crawling across the floor and banging on the doors. "Come back!"
Deep down, however, I know that there's no way she's ever going to help me. Still, there has to be something in the lab that can help me. With the sensation of extreme thirst getting worse and worse, I turn and stumble along the corridor, determined to find a solution. Chloe died because we had no way of knowing what was happening, and no way of coming up with a solution; this time, I've got access to the laboratory where this damn thing was created, and I can't believe that someone would make such a horrific form of death without coming up with a way to reverse the effects. So far, I don't feel my skin starting to change, but I'm certain that it's only a matter of time.
When I reach the lab, I immediately start checking every cupboard and every drawer. There has to be an antidote, although I'm not sure I'd even recognize what I'm looking for. I find plenty of syringes, and vials of various liquids, but although they're all labeled, I'm unable to work out which of them - if any - might be what I'm after. Unable to stop panicking, I find myself starting to knock things
over as I race from one work bench to the next, desperately hoping that somehow I'm going to stumble upon something that can save me. Soon, though, I realize that my face is starting to feel tighter than usual, which can only mean one thing: my body is starting to seal itself shut. Those Shade things, whatever they are, are working to change my D.N.A., and unless I come up with a solution, I'm going to suffocate in the next few minutes.
"No!" I shout, as the edges of my mouth start to knit together. I can barely see properly as I pull open a drawer and find a set of scalpels. Even though I know it's going to hurt, I immediately start slicing at my lips, determined to prevent the skin from sealing shut. Realizing that this is a losing battle, I use the tip of the scalpel to cut through the skin that has started to grow over my eyes. By the time I can see again, my mouth and nose are completely sealed shut, and when I try to cut them open again, I accidentally drop the scalpel. Filled with panic and unable to breathe, I turn and look across the lab. I'm already getting short of breath, and I might only have a minute or so before I pass out. I'm looking for something, anything, that might somehow help me, but finally I realize that there's nothing.
I only have one option.
Grabbing the scalpel, I run over to the far side of the lab and sit on the floor by the window. As a helicopter takes off from the roof of the Compidome building, no doubt carrying Lacey Hobbs to safety, I start cutting through the skin that's covering my mouth. The pain is intense, and blood is pouring down my chin, but I have no choice. By the time I've got the blade to one side of my mouth, the skin is already starting to regrow. I keep going, continually keeping the gap open, but it's clear that I can't keep doing this forever. I can feel tears in my eyes, but they're trapped behind my sealed eyelids. This situation feels hopeless: the skin is growing faster and faster across my mouth, and after a moment I realize that the same thing is happening deeper in my mouth. I push the scalpel down toward the back of my throat, determined to keep my airway open for as long as possible. I'm not going to die. Not here, not like this. I keep telling myself that there has to be a way to survive, even while I cut furiously, with blood filling my mouth as finally I try to scream.
Dr. Stef Grant
Today
In the distance, somewhere on this floor of the building, there's a noise. It's as if someone, or something, is growling, or maybe gurgling. There's definitely something alive up here with us, and if Lacey's right, it would seem that the creature has enough intelligence to work out how best to trap us.
"Is there another way out?" I whisper. "A stairwell?"
She nods.
"We have to get to it."
"No," she replies. "Whatever happened to Caroline Jones, and whatever the Shades have done to her body, she's not super-human. A couple of well-placed bullets will still bring her down."
"You want to stay and fight?" I ask, stunned that she still hasn't given up.
"You want the U.S.B. drive so you can save the three hundred million people who've been hidden from the rest of the world's perception," she replies, "and I want it so I can fix the problems in Lydecker's work and get this scheme up and running. Either way, neither of us can afford to turn and run. We can worry about the technicalities later, but if we don't work together, Caroline Jones is going to kill me, and then you'll be stuck here alone, forever. Even if you find the drive, you won't be able to get away because the storm will still be out there. So I really, really think you need to recognize the nature of the situation and start cooperating."
I open my mouth to argue with her, but at the last moment I realize that she's right. Sure, I could shoot her right now, and maybe I'd feel good for a moment, but I'd never be able to get away. Even if I found the U.S.B. drive, I wouldn't be able to use it to save all those people. I need to stop Lacey at some point, but right now I need her to stay alive.
"Find that drive," I say. "I'll keep this thing off your back, whatever it is, but find the damn drive. Okay?"
"You know how to use a gun, don't you?" she asks.
"Cooper taught me years ago," I tell her.
"I knew you'd see things my way eventually," she says with a smile. She turns and heads over to another of the filing cabinets, before turning back to me. "By the way, her name really is Caroline Jones. She was just like us, once. I have no idea how she's managed to stay alive, but I'm sure she's been through a lot. She's probably lost her mind in the process, though. Just make sure you put a couple of bullets in her head, maybe a couple more in her chest for good luck, and we'll be sorted. Believe me, it'll be a mercy killing. The state she must be in by now, I can't even imagine how much pain she's feeling. Do us all a favor, Dr. Grant, and bring her suffering to an end."
Heading over to the door, I see that the corridor ahead is empty. Still, I know that this thing, this creature, is around somewhere. If Caroline Jones disconnected the generator, that means she must still have part of her mind intact, so I'm not dealing with some kind of beast; I wouldn't blame her for wanting to rip Lacey Hobbs apart, but at the same time I can't afford to let that happen. Without Lacey, I might never be able to get out of here, and without that U.S.B. drive we might not be able to save three hundred million people from wasting away all around us. Glancing out the window, I can't help but imagine the entire population of New York wandering through the streets. From their point of view, the rest of the world has suddenly started to ignore them. They must have been terrified even before the storm hit.
When I reach the next junction, I check both ways but there's still no sign of Caroline Jones. My initial instinct was to do a complete sweep of this entire floor, but I'm starting to think that maybe that's what she wants me to do. After all, that way, she might have a better chance of getting to Lacey. Figuring that my best bet is to just stand guard and wait for Caroline to come and find me, I turn and start making my way back to the office where Lacey is still looking for the drive. Sure enough, there's still no sign of Caroline, which makes me wonder if she's got something else up her sleeve. Lacey herself said that she doesn't know how Caroline Jones could have survived, and given that these Shade things are apparently capable of sub-cellular nano-engineering, I can't shake the feeling that Ms. Jones might not be in great shape.
"Any luck?" I call out to Lacey.
"Just keep watching out for her!" she calls back to me.
"But are you sure it's in there?" I ask.
"I know he kept all his work on a drive," she replies, sounding a little annoyed by my constant questions, "and I know he didn't take it with him when he left. It has to be here somewhere."
"Then why aren't you finding it?"
She doesn't reply, and when I glance back into the room, I see that she's busy going through yet another desk. I swear to God, by now she must have pretty much checked every possible place where that drive could be hidden, and I'm starting to wonder if her faith in its existence might be misplaced. If Lydecker was truly out to sabotage Compidome's plans, it doesn't make sense to me that he'd leave a U.S.B. drive in a place where she'd ever be able to find it. Then again, if -
Suddenly I realize that there's a noise nearby. Turning, I'm stunned to see a woman standing at the other end of the corridor, staring straight at me. As she starts staggering toward me, however, I realize that there's something very wrong with her. For one thing, her skin is blotchy and gray, with the same kind of discoloration that I saw on Gretchen. Her body is making a strange clicking sound with every step, as if her bones aren't properly aligned, and instead of a proper face, she has a smooth surface with a series of thin cuts, as if she managed to slice through the skin that covered her mouth and eyes. She's also completely naked, and a strange kind of thick gray liquid seems to be oozing down from her lips. As she gets closer, she opens her mouth, ripping the skin at the sides.
Filled with panic, I raise my gun and aim straight at her head.
Caroline Jones
Today
They're here. It took so long, but eventually they came. I knew I wouldn't be l
eft alone forever; I knew that one day, someone would come to find me.
Still, this woman looks so scared. She has a gun aimed at me, and I wouldn't blame her if she fired. I've been carefully avoiding my own reflection for the past week, but I can feel that my body has become twisted and warped. I wouldn't blame her if she fired at me, but I need to make her understand that I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to get to Lacey Hobbs. I want to make her see what she did to me.
And I want John Lydecker to stop screaming in my mind.
Dr. Stef Grant
Today
"Shoot it!" Lacey calls out from the other room, where she's still hurriedly trying to find the U.S.B. drive. "Whatever it looks like, don't look at its face, just shoot it!"
I take a deep breath. Even though the 'thing' that's lumbering slowly toward me is clearly based on a human, there are parts of its physical form that just don't make sense. It looks like a woman who's halfway along the path toward being something else entirely, as if her body was changing and got stuck in some kind of compromise. She has a face, though, and her eyes are fixed on me as she continues to limp closer.
"Shoot it!" Lacey shouts.
I take aim.
"I have something you want," the creature says, stopping a few meters from me. It sounds disarmingly human, as if the damaged voice of a woman is managing to call out from the creature's tortured heart.
Keeping my finger on the trigger, I wait.
The creature reaches into the pocket of a jacket that seems to be partially fused into her body, and after a moment she pulls out a small silver capsule. I immediately realize that the creature is holding the U.S.B. drive that Lacey's is so desperate to retrieve, but there's something about the look in the creature's eyes that makes me hesitate to shoot. Although she seems to have suffered some kind of genetic meltdown, her eyes have far more compassion and humanity than I've ever seen in Lacey.
