We continued to observe each other in silence.
He was a heavyset man of indiscriminate age. I guessed him to be somewhere in his early fifties. He had the bearing of a career soldier—born in the uniform. His eyes were his most striking feature. Bright blue, cold and piercing. His short hair was a greying sandy brown.
‘We’re both good at the game of silence I see’ he finally spoke. ‘I am the General’ he continued, smiling. ‘There has been a shift in the management, and I am now in command of the project, and naturally of you.’ He paused to let his words register. I remained silent. He stood and began to walk around the room, talking while he paced.
‘Dr Collins has brought me up to speed with the test progress up till now. Progress is, as you know, very poor. He relates it to some negativity on your part. I think incompetence, his and his staff’s, is more likely, wouldn’t you agree?’
When no reaction came he continued. ‘Things will be different from now on. You will be treated in a more civilised manner. You will help us do our job and we will bring this whole sorry mess to a close within the deadline. I am not an unreasonable man, but I do not accept rebellion. You will assist our investigation. Then you will finally be able to leave and continue with your life.’
Yeah Right, I didn't believe that last remark for a moment. He didn’t expect me to. So, I guessed that this meeting was being taped. This was for someone else’s benefit.
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled and a feeling of dread spread further to every cell in my body the more he spoke. The ease and conviction with which he declared my productive involvement with the tests chilled me to the bone. This was one determined man. Not to be swayed or played with, as I had done with Big-nose. He would not be managed or tempered by social or humanitarian restraints. This was a man on a mission, with the clout to achieve it.
‘Just so we understand each other. I will succeed, where the good doctor failed, by any means necessary.’
The General was to my back. Standing behind the chair. I could almost feel him there. He had a complicated scent. Pleasant to start with, but with something buried down deep. In hindsight, I realise that was the viciousness that I was to encounter in later months.
He moved back to his chair and sat down.
‘But enough of all this.’ He said pleasantly. ‘We will start the new sessions with my scientists soon. That will give you some time to gather your thoughts and decide how you can be of assistance.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
Returning to her cell she slept soundly most of the day and the whole night for the first time in God knows how long. Nobody came for her that afternoon, or the next day, leaving her to recuperate. Finally, mid-morning of the second day two soldiers came and escorted her to the General’s office. He was all charm. Letting her sit down in the chair opposite his desk and serving her water or coffee, whatever her preference. Two obviously military personnel in white lab coats flanked either side of the General’s chair. He introduced them as Dr Dimage, on his left and Dr Jacobsen—the woman—on the right. Big-Nose was seated in the corner, his face and predominantly his nose still in imminent danger of exploding.
‘These two will be assisting me in the project.’ He continued. ‘I trust we will have a good working arrangement. I have read your file.’ He rambled on for a while. Quoting parts of the file that had been accumulated in the past years. ‘Dear me, they haven’t really been nice to you have they,’ glancing in the direction of Big-Nose. ‘The file actually makes amusing bed time reading’ his sadism was showing around the edges. ‘Not many results though.’ Big-Nose was fuming, only barely controlling his anger.
‘It’s about time that something was achieved here. Thank God that we came on time. The good doctor will also assist if there is anything that we need him for, not that I expect that to happen.’ The soldiers joined in the chuckles.
Remaining quiet seemed the best and only thing to do. The General didn’t expect an answer, he was too busy with his monologue, strafing Doctor Collins. He was enjoying every moment.
‘Enough already.’ she heard softly from the corner.
‘What was that, Collins, did you say something?’ The General stood up and walked over to the front of the desk, nearer her and Collins. ‘You have any comments on my summary?’ Collins mumbled a negative. ‘No.’ The military man answered for him. ‘I didn’t think so.’ Turning his attention to her, he sat on the edge of the vast desk, close—too close for comfort.
‘Now as I said the other day, failure is not a word in my vocabulary. Things will be different from now on. We will start anew. You will help us where you can, and I expect that is more than you have done up till now. Make no illusion about me or my ambition. I have been entrusted with a job, and that job is you. I will not fail. You will not let me. We will come to an understanding.’ His gaze was intense, the ensuing silence stifling.
Abruptly he stood, turned and went back to his seat behind the desk.
‘Now, without further ado—I’ve always wanted to say that—let’s get to the lab and redo some of the basic tests.’ On cue the two white-clad doctors left their stations and moved towards her. She stood and followed them out of the room. Collins hesitated, almost opening his mouth and voicing his anger. His head bowed into the document he was reading, the General stopped him.
‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you Collins. Now get along and join the others, like a good boy.’ His laughter followed the doctor out of the room.
The day was spent with routine tests: blood and hair samples were taken, her weight and height were measured. As every time before, the blood coagulated, and the hair and skin samples imploded, leaving only a gooey residue. They tried immersing the samples in formaldehyde or other preserving substances. Nothing worked.
The new team took it all in their stride, but then again—having read the file—they knew what to expect. They persevered, redoing the tests again and again until she once again felt bruised and irritated by the needles. The General dropped in on the tests in the afternoon. When Dr Dimage reported the lack of test results, he too was not fazed.
‘Well it seems that some things in the file were close to correct’ was the only comment he made. Smiling at her, he left the room.
During the day, Collins remained silent, seated on a chair in yet another corner in the lab. The lack of success had a different influence on him—his self-confidence was growing with every test that failed. At the end of the afternoon, they stopped testing and allowed her to return back to her cell. There, dinner was waiting. She slept well throughout the night and in the morning, everything resumed.
The days became weeks. The doctors were relentless, but even they were getting frustrated. The absence of results was taking its toll on everybody, with the exception of Collins, who was enjoying every moment. The doctors and the General abandoned their “friendly” approach. Hardening with every failed experiment. History repeated itself.
She was blamed.
They were inventive. Thinking up new tests, things that didn’t have any obvious links with her healing capabilities. They tested her endurance, her stamina, her strength. All were way above average for even Olympic athletes, not to mention regular people who had almost no exercise, like her. Dutifully they reported back to the General, who himself was beginning to feel some extra pressure from the powers-that-be. Bremmer was breathing down his neck.
Finally, the General sent for her again. She was escorted this time not to an office, but to the old cell that she had been interrogated in all those months earlier. His demeanour was still composed, but his steel blue eyes were colder than she could remember. She was unceremoniously pushed into the chair opposite him, her wrists clamped in restraints. Since the tests had shown that she had exceptional strength, they were taking no chances. Nothing had happened up till now, but the violence and the pain levels in the tests were increasing exponentially, so it paid to be vigilant.
‘Well now my dear’ he began ‘It seems that we
are getting nowhere with you. And I thought we had an understanding. What exactly don’t you understand about cooperation?’ He didn’t expect an answer.
‘My doctors tell me that you hardly ever speak, and even though you do not actively oppose the tests, you’re not helping either. There are no results to speak of. No inkling about what the secret is of your longevity or why you heal so well. This is unacceptable.’ Still no reaction from her, so he continued.
‘As I indicated before, there will be results. It is more a question of changing what we’re actually testing, a new focus you might say.’ Shuffling the papers on his desk he located the one he was looking for. ‘This’ he waved the paper ‘Is frankly your death sentence.’ He paused for effect. ‘The pharmaceutical company has given up. They no longer expect to get any results and want to distance themselves from you and from the investigation.’ Putting the paper down he folded his hands in front of him. ‘The Powers do not have a consensus about what to do with you. Some of them want you dead, they’re afraid that you’ll pose a threat, or are just downright disappointed at your lack of cooperation and the dismal results of all their investments. Others want to sell you to the highest bidder. Maybe some kind of freak show.’ His cold blue eyes bore into hers. ‘I, on the other hand think you may have some value, at least to the right cause. I have managed to find new investors that are interested in continuing the project, though with a different goal. The army wants us to investigate your healing abilities and why your strength seems to grow so exponentially. You already have more strength than any man I have ever known, and it still keeps increasing. These are handy traits for us. Some way we will be able to replicate what you have.’ The subsequent silence said it all—by any means.
‘All this results in a different approach to the project.’ He stood up, picked up his baton and folded his hands on his back, walking around the table and moving to a spot behind her chair. She followed his progress with her hearing, refusing to turn her head.
‘We are no longer interested in your well-being.’ As if they ever had been. ‘And I have instructed the good doctors to take a more disciplinary approach.’ His voice was close to her right ear, his body behind her back. ‘There is no such thing as excessive force where you are concerned. There is merely another test, to determine how much you can take.’ His voice was menacing, and she shivered inside.
Standing up straight he swung the baton and hit her squarely on the side of her head, splitting the skin and spraying bright red blood over his desk and uniform. The force of the blow sent her seat tumbling to the floor. For good measure he kicked her in the back, below the backrest of the chair, more or less in the vicinity of her kidney. The pain was excruciating, but her body was already starting to heal. The bleeding on the side of her head had stopped and the edges of the wound were closing. The pain took a lot longer to subside, especially in her kidney. She wanted to cry out, but she stifled the sound and just lay there. Willing the pain to go away. The General walked back to the desk and sat down.
‘Take this piece of shit out of here and resume the tests as indicated.’ As an afterthought he added; ‘and send someone to clean up this mess,’ indicating the blood. The scientists motioned the soldiers to right the chair and free her from the restraints. Making sure she could not attack anyone, they re-cuffed her and shoved her out of the room.
They dragged her down the cold corridor and across the courtyard. It was dark outside, but the fresh air was welcome. Looking up at the sky she saw the stars, the bright pole star to the right of her. The air was dry and warm, heat still radiating from the sandy ground under her naked feet. There was the slight scent of flowers, but mostly she smelt the scents of the people in the compound. The lingering scent of the meal that had been prepared in the kitchen to the right. The sweat that darkened the uniforms of the soldiers. Wherever they were, it was hot by day, that was clear. Rushing her along, they once again entered the buildings and pushed her into the laboratory. Instead of clamping her down on one of the tables they pushed her into a small cage standing on the floor. She couldn’t stand in the cage or really sit comfortably, unable to stretch her legs either way. A bright light was positioned so that it shone in the cage and the scientists left the room. The suffering and pain had definitely started again with a vengeance.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The days passed into weeks.
As promised the “tests” were directed at how much pain she could endure. They methodically cut and burned her, bludgeoned her and broke bones. The healing process was documented to the second, repeating the same injury time and again to the letter, to determine whether the process had accelerated, or to document any changes. They even cut off one of her fingertips to see if she could regenerate it. She did, even though it took some weeks. She was injected with all kinds of drugs, once again to see what the effect would be on her. Her body attacked the foreign substance the moment it entered her system. Hard drugs like Crack, Heroine and Red devil, caused her to hallucinate violently but briefly, and the more they subjected her to the chemicals, the better she was able to cope with them. In the end she would close her eyes, relax her breathing, and just wait until it passed.
In one session the scientists were baffled by the deep tears that appeared in the two-centimetre thick leather of the tables she was strapped to. They seemed to have been made by her fingernails, but upon investigation these turned out to be short and blunt. Repeating the test with constant observation revealed nothing. No new rips appeared. It drove them crazy. Each test still resulted in more questions.
Truth serums like sodium pentothal were tried but had no effect what so ever. They gave her tranquilisers used for large animals like rhinos and even elephants. Still the effects were minimal and wore off in record time. They were learning more about how her talents manifested themselves but were no closer to why she had them in the first place.
Lying on her sparse mattress in her cold cell she willed her body to heal.
She was getting good at phasing out the pain. Even though the wounds healed quicker, and none of them had come anywhere near to actually killing her, they always hurt. Pain was something that you got used to. Even in this magnitude. She was even able to regulate the speed with which she healed. Playing with the scientist’s minds she sometimes intentionally screwed up the results. She was learning to compartmentalise the hurt. Push it away into one of the darker recesses of her mind. Leave it there to fester.
CHAPTER NINE
Her moods were becoming ever darker. Tension built up. She started actively fighting the soldiers when they came for her. Relishing in the pain she could inflict on them, knowing that they would not heal as easily as she did. The soldiers retaliated with Tasers and Cattle prods. Beating her into submission with batons, baseball bats and only just managing to subdue her with sheer numbers.
Collins sat in the chair opposite the General. He dreaded these meetings. After all these months he still hadn’t been able to find a weak point that he could use against the General. The man was a fortress. No one got in his mind or was privy to his thoughts. He was unreadable for the otherwise so talented doctor. The initial elation he experienced when the test failed, was long gone.
‘I believe that you’re carrying out additional experiments on the subject at night, without any of my scientists—without me.’ The doctor accused the General. ‘I think I should know about what is going on. I have a right to know.’ The General didn’t react. He remained engrossed in the papers he was reading.
The silence once again got to Collins. He would never learn, and that was what the General was counting on. He enjoyed torturing the feeble excuse for a man.
‘My people tell me that one of your soldiers is in isolation in one of the cells. He also needed medical attention, is that right?’ Collins had hoped that it would come out as a demand. But instead it sounded pathetic, like a feeble request. The General looked up from the papers he was reading. He deemed to answer.
‘That’s right.�
� Silence again. The General once again engrossed in the reports. ‘What’s wrong with him? Did it have anything to do with the experiments?’ Collins could not hide his curiosity if his life depended on it.
‘She bit him.’ The General said matter-of-factly. Not even looking up from his report.
‘Bit him?’ The surprise in the doctor’s voice couldn’t have been more gratifying to the General.
‘Why? How’s that possible? How did she get so close? Wasn’t she restrained? What kind of experiments are you performing anyway?’ The good doctor was stunned.
Slowly the General folded the papers into the document map, leaned back and observed the scientist. The man was about ready to blow. His face was red, his nose, almost pulsating. Exactly where the General wanted him.
‘We have been conducting additional experiments for about a week now, because the ones that you do have zero results. It is not necessary that you are present. They are of a different nature.’ He said. ‘The subject bit my man in the neck, just missing the jugular. Another thing that was weird—the bite marks weren’t consistent with the form of her teeth. We are keeping him in observation for the moment.’ Standing up he walked to the window. ‘Who knows, maybe her condition is passed on with saliva, like the vampires or werewolves of old myths.’
‘That’s ludicrous.’ Collins snorted, not even trying to hide his contempt. He was furious that the military were conducting experiments without him. And this was too idiotic to contemplate, not to mention totally unscientific.
‘How did she bite him anyway, wasn’t she restrained?’ He repeated his earlier question.
Amused the General turned from the view and regarded the scientist. ‘Do you really want to know?’ He asked, walking over to him.
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