The Iso-Stasis Experiment (The Experiments)

by Jacqueline Druga

  Chuck smiled with pride at his friend and returned the salute.

  Colonel Roberts did the same. “Good luck, son.” With the sliding of the chopper door, the helicopter began to rise.

  Chuck replaced his sunglasses and peered down at the roof top at Jake standing with Cal. He watched them fade in the distance. He smiled as they began the flight back. Mission accomplished.

  ^^^^

  “Look at all this stuff.” Jake sat like a kid on Christmas, the open duffel bag in front of him on the bed.

  “Is this cheating?” Cal asked.

  “No, way,” Jake scoffed. “They said rely on the resources left with us. The laptop was a resource.” He winked.

  “If I don’t get my hundred grand I’m going to be pissed.”

  “Nah.” Jake shook his head. “You don’t need to worry. Besides . . . it’s been fun.”

  Cal’s head bopped sided to side, “Well, maybe.”

  “See, now are you ready to take out our fine furry friends . . .” He handed Cal a gasmask. “And have some more fun . . . Ms. Reynolds.”

  “Absolutely . . .” Cal grinned. “Major Graison.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Investor’s meeting - Caldwell Research Institute

  February 9 - 3:30 P.M.

  “It’s over.” Dr. Jefferson told the only two remaining investors at the meeting. “Unless nature does something to intervene, we have two winners in this project’s game. We threw everything we had at them. They’ve taken out the last of the wolves, gassed them. They’ve beaten the Stasis. No one has done that, ever.”

  Stewart was just not giving up. “There are three weeks left, three more weeks make sure of just one winner.”

  Aldo was ready for the end of the project. He was irritated at the greed coming from Stewart. “Why can’t you just let them be? Let it go. It’s done with; we split the pot.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to split the pot. I want a single winner, whether I win or not. Dr. Jefferson, I want to exercise my option.”

  Aldo slammed down his hand. “No! Let it go.”

  Dr. Jefferson seemed concerned. “If you mean the option to force the experiment to breed a winner, that’s fine. But what do you suppose we do to them? We’ve used up all of our options.”

  “Not all,” Stewart said. “You have nine options in the basement. I want to exercise that option.”

  Dr. Jefferson’s head lowered. “I wish you would reconsider. Right now we are looking at a very viable project. Let’s let it end now. We’ve never had to exercise an option.”

  Stewart didn’t want to hear it. “I’m leaving here this afternoon, Dr. Jefferson. I want to leave with the knowledge that you are obliging my wishes.”

  Aldo was disgusted. If he weren’t such the gentleman he would have sailed across the table, picked up Stewart and tossed him from the window letting him he fly the ten floors down. But he tried reason. “Well, I’ve arranged my work schedule out of Atlanta, I’d like to watch the rest of the project with the knowledge that I’m coming into four million. So should you Stewart. I’ve had enough of your greed, let it go.” He faced Dr. Jefferson. “Dr. J. He’s exercising his option. Doesn’t it mean squat that I am objecting?”

  “I’m sorry it does not, unless Stewart changes his mind.” Stewart’s ‘no’ and Aldo’s immediate yelped cry of ‘asshole’ said it all. “Then it has to be done. I’ll get on it. We’ll move on that in about three days.” He slowly walked from the room. “Oh, Stewart, just so you know, on this one, you can turn back. All you have to do is say the word and we can end it.”

  “Why would I want to do that?” Stewart commented. “I want to win . . . alone.”

  Aldo waited until he knew he was alone with Stewart. He rolled his chair up beside the nervous yet cocky man. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “Forcing a winner? Can’t you see what you’re doing? Do you know what those things are capable of? You seem to think your Major Graison can take them on. He may put up a fight, Stewart, but he can’t take them all on. Not all of them. What you are going to end up accomplishing is nothing. You’ll walk away with nothing, because there’s an overwhelming chance that they both could die.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  I-S.E. Twelve - Seal River Complex, Manitoba, Canada

  February 13 - 8:10 A.M.

  Jake adjusted the rifle on his shoulder as he walked with Cal around the building. He lifted Cal’s hand, holding it up to look at it. “Eighteen more days, can you believe it?”

  “Yeah, It’s sort of been fun in a masochistic sort of way.”

  Jake laughed at her and kissed her hand. “I really think that you and I have beaten this thing. We beat the Iso-Stasis Experiment.” He shook his head. “You know, I said ‘What the fuck does that mean?’ when I heard what it was called.

  “You did, too? God, Jake, I tried and tried to figure it out. But the two words didn’t make sense together.”

  “It’s not two words. ‘Iso’ is not a word. It means nothing. You can’t name something without a meaning to the name. Who would have known it made sense all along? Iso is an abbreviation for insolation and Stasis is a medical term meaning a state of total being—our beast.” Jake stopped walking and turned Cal to face him. “You know what I want to do?” He reached his hand up to her face. “I want to be with you in normal circumstances. I want to take you out on a date. Will you go out with me, Cal?”

  “Yeah, but I must warn you, I not cheap. It’s a higher price tag, too, if you want laid afterwards.”

  Jake smiled and kissed her. “I can’t wait to make love to you in a normal bedroom, in a real house. I can’t wait for that opportunity to be with you like that.”

  “Doesn’t it scare you, Jake? Think about seeing each other outside of this project. Doesn’t the prospect of how we’ll be, frighten you?”

  “No. What frightens me is the prospect of never doing . . . Fuck!”

  Cal felt his hold on her tighten. She saw the look on his face.

  Jake’s eyes shifted to the left, the right and then he twisted his head to behind him. “Fuck, Cal.”

  “Jake, you’re scaring me, what?”

  “On my call you run.” He slid his hand down to hers.

  “Is it wolves?”

  “No . . .” That was all Jake needed to say. The word ‘run’ never made it from his mouth. What made them run were the cries. Not just one cry, but many. They were synchronized almost as if they were their attack signal. As Jake and Cal ran to the building, the army of Stasis emerged from the trees and followed them.

  They were fortunate they weren’t far from safety. Jake shoved Cal inside and slammed the door with his body. “This will never hold them!” Their cries grew louder outside the door.

  “I’ll get the weapons.”

  “No, Cal. There are too many.” Jake looked more worried than he ever had before. “I can’t believe they’re fuckin’ doing this to us.”

  “Jake, what are we going to do?”

  “Run to the room, Cal. Come on. We’ll get the stuff and go below.”

  Cal knew if he made that suggestion, then Jake saw no other option. Jake was a fighter and yet he opted to run. Cal wasn’t going to argue.

  Everything was ready to go, and had been for a while. They had prepared for something like this, just to be safe. They had been living out of duffel bags ready for this moment and now it had finally arrived. Cal grabbed both of the clothing bags. Jake grabbed the weapons and the food, and together they ran with their hearts beating fast to the dining area and the elevator that would take them below.

  As they hit the gathering room, the ‘boom’ of the front door crashing in screamed at them.

  Blocking Cal with his body, Jake shoved her toward the elevator. “The button, Cal, hit the button.”

  Not one Stasis, but nine charged them as if they knew exactly what they wanted. Anything that got in their way, chairs, t
ables, everything, was tossed harshly to the side smashed to pieces as if it were made from match sticks.

  Cal pressed the button and the lift arrived. “Jake.” She got on the lift with her bags.

  The Stasis closed in on them and Jake began to fire. His bullets failed to faze them. He backed up, belongings and all, to the lift. Though it began to move them to safety, it just wasn’t moving fast enough. The torso and arms of a Stasis halted the lift’s journey down. With saliva dripping from its jaws it quickly lowered its head toward Cal who was only inches away.

  Jake placed the shotgun under the Stasis’ neck and fired three times. The head of the Stasis exploded with force, spraying Cal and Jake with blood and slimy body fluids. Its arms dropped and so did the lift.

  “Cal, as soon as we get off, run, and run fast, to the control room cut the power to the elevator. I’ll hold it until you do.”

  “Will it work?” The elevator stopped and the silver door opened.

  “That isn’t what concerns me.”

  Getting ready to say ‘what’ but opting to wait until she secured them, Cal took off running to the control room.

  Jake stood out of breath and stared up at the ceiling. He could hear them up there. They were loud and angry and very determined. “Come on, Cal.” He beckoned quietly, hoping that what they were doing would stop them. He heard the soft buzzing of the elevator subside and stepped from the doors of the lift. He watched the lift door close and then another heavy steel door slid out from behind the wall sealing it off. He knew for the moment at least, they were safe.

  Observation Room - Caldwell Research Institute

  February 13 - 8:15 A.M.

  Aldo was seated in the observation room picking at a bagel and cream cheese. He leafed through an open folder on the table in front of him as he talked on his cell phone. He took care of his personal business from down there, only leaving the observation room to sleep. His eyes watched the monitors, occasionally drifting down to write something down or look something up. “No. I don’t care.” Aldo said and brought his coffee to his lips. “No, I don’t care what the going price is. I will not hold out.” He shook his head raising his eyes to check the monitors. “No, I’ve been . . . Holy mother of God!” Slowly, staring at the monitors, he stood up. “I’ll call you back.” He looked in horror at the screen as Cal and Jake dropped into the floor on the lift and the newly arrived Stasis creatures started going ballistic above. “This has to stop. Tina, get me Dr. Jefferson on the phone.”

  “No need to,” Dr. Jefferson said as he walked in. “It’s much worse . . .” He stopped and watched the monitors. “Much worse than I anticipated.”

  “Dr. J., how long will it take you to stop this thing and help them?”

  “Aldo, I can’t . . .”

  “How long?” Aldo screamed and slammed his hand on the table.

  “I have a team ready in Church Hill. Forty-five minutes.”

  Aldo backed up to leave. “Send them.”

  “Aldo . . .” Dr. Jefferson called out. “I can’t just send them up. I need Stewart to withdraw his option.”

  “Or have him out of the game.” Aldo reached for the door. Send your team up, Dr. J. I guarantee in one hour, you’ll have one of the three ways needed to end this. With a huff Aldo stormed out.

  After taking a calming breath and looking once more at the monitors, Dr. Jefferson picked up the phone.

  I-S.E. Twelve - Seal River Complex, Manitoba, Canada

  February 13 - 8:45 A.M.

  Even through the soundproofing they could hear them. Cal’s eyes moved from the ceiling to the monitors, watching the beasts destroy everything above. They left no stone unturned. She was astonished. “They look so determined to find us.”

  “They are.”

  Cal turned her head to see Jake sliding a long table to the center of the room. He proceeded to unload everything they had weapon wise onto the table. “Jake? What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting ready.” He began to load the weapons.

  “Getting ready for what? They can’t get us . . . can they? Jake, can they get to us?”

  Jake didn’t answer, just continued loading his guns.

  “Jake, unless they tear the floor apart . . .” She watched him look up and shook her head. “No, they can’t do that.”

  “They could, Cal, but that’s not what worries me.”

  “Are you worried about the elevator lift from the dining area? Jake, we shut off the power. How can . . .”

  “Not that either. Even if they get down, the shaft isn’t large enough for them to have enough running room to break down that steel door.”

  “OK, so why are you making me so worried? You look worried.” She walked to him. “That’s a rarity.”

  “Cal.” He stopped to touch her face. “I’m worried about . . . that,” he said and pointed to the steel door in the room.

  “That door to the tunnels? Why would you worry about that?”

  “Because that tunnel not only leads to storage shed but also to the edge of the woods. There’s no protective doorway out there. If they find it . . .”

  “They’d still have this door. It’s solid steel.”

  Jake pumped the chamber on a shotgun. “There are nine of them, Cal. Nine. Who knows together how strong they can be together.”

  Cal let out a shivering breath and moved even closer to him. “What happens if they get in? They’ll kill us, won’t they?”

  “Not without a fight, Cal.” He handed her a loaded shotgun. “Not without one hell of a fight.”

  Cleveland, OH

  February 13 - 9:15 A.M.

  The tall man in the long black winter overcoat was barely noticed as he walked across the shoe factory floor. His dress shoes that taped against the floor could not be heard over the loud mechanical noises in the building. Crossing the main floor and going up the stairwell, the man, young, big and brawny entered an office.

  Perturbed, and his face projecting that he was, Stewart peered up from behind his desk. “Can I help you?”

  The man locked the door and then closed the blinds on the windows.

  “Excuse me . . .” Stewart raised his voice.

  “Sit.” The man instructed in a deep voice and reached in his coat pocket. Pulling out a phone he dialed a number. “I’m in. Yes, sir.” He extended the phone to Stewart.

  Stewart looked oddly at it before he brought it to his ear. “Yes?”

  “Aldo Connilucci,” Aldo said on the other line. “I want you to withdraw your option.”

  Stewart chuckled. “No way. You think you can send your thug in here to scare me?’

  “Not at all,” Aldo said. “I want you to withdraw your option and I will give you two million out of my winnings.”

  “I don’t give in to bribes,” Stewart said cockily.”

  “OK.” Aldo remained calm. “Way number one out, this is way number two . . . quit the game.”

  Stewart laughed loudly.

  “I see. All right, let’s try way number three. Put my guy on the phone,” Aldo said.

  Arrogantly and smugly, Stewart handed over the phone.

  The man brought the phone to his ear, listened, nodded and said, “Yes, sir.” A beep sounded as he pushed the button and ended the call.

  Stewart rocked back some in his chair. “I suppose that will be all.”

  “No, sir, not really,” he answered placing the phone in his coat and withdrawing his hand slowly.

  Bang.

  Observation Room - Caldwell Research Institute

  February 13 - 9:40 A.M.

  Dr. Jefferson worried whether or not he had jumped the gun by getting everything prepared to go. He stood with the controllers watching the total destruction of the compound on the monitors. His attention was drawn away from that scene when the door to the observation room opened.

  Carol, his secretary walked in. “Dr. Jefferson, line four. It’s an important call.”

  “Not now,” he told her.

&nbs
p; “Sir,” Carol said. “It’s Stewart’s secretary. She says she has unfortunate and regrettable news for you.”

  Quickly Dr. Jefferson’s eyes shifted to Aldo who sat calmly in his leather chair.

  Aldo, hands folded, lifted his eyes.

  “Um . . .” Dr. Jefferson cleared his throat. “Tell her I’ll be with her in a second.”

  “Yes, sir,” Carol said, nodded and left.

  Dr. Jefferson picked up the phone.

  Aldo noticed his dialing. “Dr. J, not taking that call?”

  “Oh, I will.” He finished dialing and added, “After I talk to Church Hill.”

  Looking back at the monitor, Aldo smiled.

  I-S.E. Twelve - Seal River Complex, Manitoba, Canada

  February 13 - 10:10 A.M.

  “No, Jake. No.” Cal argued passionately, holding tightly to her shotgun. She pressed her other hand to her ear to block out the loud shrieking that accompanied the banging on the steel door.

  “Cal, it’s the only way. Please. I’ll try my best.” Jake held his weapon and looked to the door. He closed his eyes at the dimpling in the steel that was occurring. “Fire with me, but you fire as you move backwards. It has to be done that way.”

  “I will not walk away from you. Do not ask me. I mean it, Jake!” Cal jumped when a loud squeak signified the first frightening crack in the steel door.

  “Cal, I have the explosives set. I may be able to meet you up there. Go upstairs. At least if I don’t get out I’ll know they won’t be able to get you. That’s . . .” Another crack appeared in the door and the beasts outside screamed louder. “That’s what matters. Please.”

  “No.” With a stern look, Cal raised her weapon and held it aimed at the door. “If you go down, I go down with you. End of argument, Major Graison. We are a team. We started this thing out as one and we will end this thing as one.” She held out her hand, still looking at the steel door. The edging around it was giving way.