Dr. Fumio got up, walking to his office, and laid down on his cot, hoping to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. After a while, he did, but he was awakened abruptly by something shaking his arm.
“Dr. Fumio,” a voice sad to him.
“Dr. Fumio!”
He woke, alert and ready, “Huh...what?”
He was looking at his assistant, who had finally brought himself to reality.
“Dr. Fumio, what are you doing?”
He sat up rubbing his eyes, “Diasuke, I was trying to sleep. How are you feeling?”
“Why are we still trapped in here? Why didn't you call anyone, why haven't they come for us yet?”
“Diasuke, calm down. I understand what happened was stressful, but I need you to calm down. The decontamination chamber alarm went off; they will come for us. However, we are cut off from everyone else until they arrive and lift the quarantine,” he said quietly.
“B-but... we are stuck in here with...with it,” Diasuke stammered.
“As long as we don't open the door to the lab we will be fine, the door is electromagnetically sealed, both to the lab and the outside. There is no way he can get to us. It has only been a day since the quarantine was activated; I'm sure they will be here soon to get us out,” he said to Diasuke trying to ease the man.
Diasuke shook his head, accepting what he was saying to him, sitting down against the wall, “Dr. Fumio, I'm hungry.”
He looked at his assistant, “There is food in the other room.”
Diasuke looked around nervously, “Can you...can you come with me?”
Dr. Fumio sighed, but stood up, “Let's go. There is nothing out there that can get us.”
He led his assistant to the common room, where nothing had moved, and let him look around.
“See, it's safe. He’s stuck in the labs, the doors into the lab are sealed.”
They both walked across the room, into the break room, where Diasuke ran to the vending machine and slammed a button. He quickly tore open the package, devouring the food within. Dr. Fumio watched his ordinarily well-mannered assistant who had worked in many professional settings, tear into a food package like a savage beast. Whatever had happened in the lab had changed the man.
After a few moments Dr. Fumio tried to talk to him about it, “So... what happened in the lab?”
Diasuke stopped shoving food into his mouth and looked at him. The look in his assistant's eye was unsettling, and he almost regretted asking the question at all.
Diasuke swallowed the food in his mouth, “He was infected...he tried to bite me.”
Dr. Fumio shook his head in understanding, “I know, but how did he get infected?”
Diasuke seemed to zone out, staring at him.
“Diasuke, hey stay with me,” Dr. Fumio said worriedly.
Dr. Fumio put out his hand to shake him gently, but as he placed his hand on Diasuke's shoulder, he seemed to snap back to reality. Diasuke reacted quickly, snapping back, shoving his arm away.
“Are you ok?” Dr. Fumio asked Diasuke, “We don't have to talk about right now.”
“I... just... it happened so fast. I remember leaving to take a short break; I was gone for about five minutes. By the time I was back...he wasn't himself anymore... I remember that earlier when we had first started working he had accidentally knocked one of the samples onto the ground; he cleaned it up. I guess he must have punctured his suit got himself infected. He didn't say anything to me if he did, just that he was feeling tired and weak. I just figured it was because he was tired,” Diasuke said crying.
Diasuke continued, “W-when I came back in he was laying on the ground, and I rushed over to help him. I thought he had passed out from exhaustion. At first, he didn't respond and then opened his eyes. His eyes...”
Dr. Fumio prompted Diasuke to continue, “What about his eyes?”
Diasuke turned, locking his stare on Dr. Fumio, “His eyes filled with blood, and they were red. There was so much that it started to flow out of his eyes. And then he started to get up, and I was stunned. I couldn't believe what I was seeing; it couldn't be real. I was stunned, my body didn't want to react.”
Diasuke stopped and began to breathe heavily, as if he was fighting to keep breathing, “He stood up and just stared at me, I kept asking if he was okay for some stupid reason. He started to move towards me slowly. It was like he was drunk; his balance was off. But then....then he found it, and he came at me, faster than I anticipated. My reflexes kicked in, and I grabbed one of the metal trays and swung at his head.”
Dr. Fumio interrupted him, “Is that when you escaped?”
Diasuke shook his head, “No. I cracked his faceplate, it shattered, and he fell into the counter. He quickly got up and came at me again; he had me trapped. He was standing in between me and the door. I backed up and grabbed the microscope on the counter and hurled it at him. He went down to the ground, and I used that as my moment of opportunity to get past him.”
Diasuke was breathing even heavier than before, “As I tried to move past him, he grabbed me, pulling me down to him. I punched and kicked to get away, but his strength was almost inhuman. He ripped my suit, and I began to panic, knowing that I was exposed along with my leg. But when my suit ripped I was able to get away from him. I ran over to the door and began to enter the code for it to open, but my hands were sweaty, and my mind was racing. He got to me faster than I expected, and he grabbed my arm right when I entered the code correctly.”
“He didn't get into the decontamination room with you, did he?” Asked Dr. Fumio, with a worried tone.
Again, Diasuke shook his head, “He almost bit my arm, but I was able to pull away and open the door. He tried to follow me, grabbing onto the door. We both pulled on the door, but he was stronger. I used the door and slammed it into him. It sent him reeling back, and that's when I slammed it close.”
Diasuke took several deep breaths not done, “The decontamination room was sealed from the other side, and that's why I couldn't get out. The sensors must have picked up something. I was trapped in there for hours, the entire time he was banging on the door. I was sure that he would eventually make it through the door with as much pounding he did.”
Dr. Fumio listened intently, realizing that was the end of Diasuke's story.
“Well Diasuke, we are safe now. The government will be here any time now to free us. You did nothing wrong and were brave enough to make it out of that lab alive “Dr. Fumio said patting Diasuke on the back.
Diasuke cried into his palms, “I was at his wedding, I went to the movies with him... and now he's infected. Worse he's dead; there isn't a cure. He was my friend, and he tried to kill me.”
Chapter 9
Dr. Fumio read the messages he had received, while away at the lab. It was getting bad outside; Dr. Akio noted that they had been told that some high-value government officials were joining them in the bunker where they were. He said he felt like the pressure was on giving that the people who were in charge of the project would be right beside him.
Dr. Fumio didn't envy him one bit, after all, those government officials would probably be in the way. He was more worried about the other note, which said that it was getting bad outside.
He quickly messaged Dr. Akio, what is defined as bad outside?
After a minute, a little ding was heard indicating a reply.
They are running scared here. The incident they told us about the virus outbreak wasn't cleaned up as they thought. There are reports of infected popping up all over the place. They have fully mobilized the army in response, in hopes to suppress it.
Dr. Fumio felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that told him that there was going to be a lot of casualties. With the full support of the nation's military, they should be able to contain it. He was sure the man on the other end of the phone would have called him and let him know if things were so severe as to lead to a total collapse. He had his faith that things would be ok.
✽ ✽ ✽
Dr. Fumio stared at the terminal again begging, and willing, it to come to life with a message saying that everything was ok. It remained an empty vessel, and he started wondering how entertaining he would find the scientific journals that were neatly displayed behind his desk. Maybe if he was lucky, he could discover a clue to help them with the virus. He swiveled his chair, finding Diasuke behind him leaning against the wall.
Diasuke seemed to be doing better after he told his story to Dr. Fumio as if speaking about it made it less of a nightmare. He was, at least, responsive now, and not catatonic.
“Diasuke, do you want to help me sort through all these research journals? Maybe if we are lucky we can find something similar, or, at least, relating to our project,” Dr. Fumio said with an insistent tone.
Diasuke replied without looking, “Sure. It's not like we have anything else better to do.”
Together they began to search through all the research journals Dr. Fumio had collected over the years. They first worked on separating the journals out by reference. Some journals were nowhere near close to what they were dealing with, so they tossed them aside. However, their stack of relatable research was growing just as big.
After sorting them all out, which took almost two hours to do, they began the long, tedious task of reading all of the journals in the relatable stack. It was, at least, passing the time. Dr. Fumio had read most of the journals before, but he couldn't remember most of them. He sat at his desk, flipping page after page.
Dr. Fumio felt as though he was back in his days at the school flipping through reports from his students, reading pages of topics he already knew. Back then he would make sure to have lots of coffee prepared, ready for his long night of grading. Reminiscing the feeling he decided to relive it.
“Diasuke, I'm going to make us some coffee, do you want some?”
Diasuke shook his head, and Dr. Fumio replied, “Alright, well don't come to me when you are tired.”
He went across the room, opening his office door, and began to walk to the break room. As he did, he looked at the glass looking into the lab. Inside he could still see his former assistant staring through the glass. It gave him the creeps, watching his infected assistant standing at the glass watching him.
Dr. Fumio continued, moving into the break room. He went to the cabinet, finding a full supply of coffee just waiting to be brewed and enjoyed. Dr. Fumio started brewing a pot and began the hunt for his mug. He hadn't been keeping tabs on it since the incident, but quickly found it. He gave it a quick rinse in the sink, waiting for the coffee to brew.
The aroma hit his nostrils and invigorated him. He couldn't wait to taste it; he drank his coffee black. Dr. Fumio filled his cup once it was done and walked back to his office. Just the smell was enough to make him feel more alert than he had since they started the strict sleeping schedule.
He returned to looking through the journals. After he cleared his tenth one, he started to feel burnt out, but there was nothing else to do. Several hours had passed, and the clock on his wall said it was eleven. He had forgotten whether or not it was eleven in the morning or at night. He had no way of knowing.
With no windows or any other way to tell what time of day, it was, and he figured it was nighttime. He assumed he was correct because Diasuke had fallen asleep. Dr. Fumio was too awake from the coffee, so he continued looking through the journals.
After several more hours, he finally began to feel the caffeine wearing off, and eventually fell asleep on his desk.
Chapter 10
Waking up with a start Dr. Fumio found himself in complete darkness. Everything around him was dark, and even with his natural night vision, he could only barely make out his desk in front of him. Panicking, he felt around on his desk, hoping to find something to help him light up the room. In the dark his fingers found the familiar shape of his desk lamp, pressing the power button; nothing happened.
“Diasuke,” He called out quietly.
“Dr. Fumio?” Diasuke asked in reply,
“What happened? What happened to the lights?” Dr. Fumio asked worriedly.
“I don't know, I woke up and everything was dark, I think the power went out. I thought that maybe you had left the room, I didn't hear you,” Diasuke replied just as worried.
“I'm still here. We need to figure out if we can get the power back on, and quietly. Do you have a flashlight with you?”
“No,” Diasuke said quietly.
Dr. Fumio thought hard about where he kept a flashlight, remembering that he kept one in the drawer of the cabinet behind him. He carefully turned around, feeling out for the top of the cabinet. Finally, he felt the cold wood and began running his fingers down to find the bottom drawer.
He found the handle, pulling it open. Dr. Fumio couldn't see the inside of the drawer, but he felt blindly inside for what he was looking for. Finally finding it, he clicked it on, blinding himself, aiming it upwards at his face. He was glad to have the light. Anything was better than complete and utter darkness.
Dr. Fumio waved the light around the room to make sure everything was still where it had been before. He found Diasuke cowering in the corner of this office. Standing up, he moved towards him.
“Diasuke, if the power is out that means the seals on the door won't hold. We need to go make sure the doors are still closed and make sure he hasn't left the lab,” Dr. Fumio explained.
“NO!” Exclaimed Diasuke, “I won't go out there!”
“The likelihood that he found out how to open the doors is minimal. He’s probably still trapped in the lab,” Dr. Fumio said reassuringly, “I'll protect you, don't worry.”
Diasuke stared at him for several seconds, before nodding slowly. He stood up, walking over to Dr. Fumio, who stood next to the door.
Dr. Fumio looked at Diasuke with a worried face, “Here take my hand. I can lead us both through the darkness.”
Diasuke grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. Dr. Fumio reached for the handle and slowly turned it, allowing it's weight to swing back towards him naturally. He stopped it, poking his head and the flashlight through the crack. He swiveled his head across the entire room; nothing looked out of place to him.
Dr. Fumio opened the door further, standing at the frame. He began to lead them towards the lab, making sure he was vigilant. The light from the flashlight beamed upon what both of their worst fears were. The door to the lab had been opened, and not just cracked open, but wide open.
He could feel his heart racing as the fear and adrenaline started to kick in. Dr. Fumio quickly led them to the glass, shining the light throughout the lab. All he saw was the messy interior, but no infected assistant.
Dr. Fumio pulled Diasuke closer, whispering to him, “He's not in the lab. That means he's somewhere in here with us.”
He carefully flashed the light across the room hoping to see nothing there. As if to answer him they both heard a crash from the break room. He froze and after waiting a few eerily quiet seconds, shining the light towards the break room door. He couldn't see anything from where they were, however.
Diasuke latched onto his arm, whisperinh, “We need to get out of here, we aren't safe if he is free...”
Dr. Fumio whispered back, “Since the power is out, the main door shouldn’t be sealed like the ones in the lab aren't either!”
“But we have to get past him to get to the door,” Diasuke said feebly.
“We just have to be very quiet, and we can hug the wall by my office,” Dr. Fumio said trying to reassure both of them.
Dr. Fumio led them again, this time making sure they didn't run into or step on anything. Taking careful steps, they made it halfway, directly across from the break room. Dr. Fumio didn't stop to look inside, knowing what he would find lurking. Quietly they inched closer and closer to the main door.
Eventually, they made it, and Dr. Fumio felt around to door for any gap in the door. He couldn't feel any, but it opened outwards anyway.
He leaned in to whisper to Diasuke,
“We will have to push together. The door will be hefty. We have to do it fast because it will be loud.”
Diasuke didn't reply, but he knew that he would help because it was their only way out. Dr. Fumio put his hands on the cold metal and began to push. A small grunt came out as Diasuke also added his strength. The door fought their attempt and didn't move.
Behind them, they heard a low moan and shuffling. Together they both turned and looked, Dr. Fumio shining his light. It was his infected assistant; he had heard them trying to push the door.
Chapter 11
His infected assistant had found them. Knowing they only had a short window of opportunity left to try to get the door open, Dr. Fumio pushed against the door using his back instead of his arms. Diasuke did the same, and after pushing as hard as they could, they heard the soft release of the pressure that had been holding the door in place.
A soft hissing noise filled the room as the pressurized air escaped, and clanking sound of the internal gears of the door started to move. They both pushed harder, willing the door to move faster. The infected assistant was moving ever closer, and soon he would catch up to them. Dr. Fumio went through the door first and tried pulling Diasuke with him.
Diasuke tripped and fell, and attempted to get up, instead, he ended up crawling back to get out of the way of the door. He wasn't fast enough as the infected assistant fell on top of Diasuke. He began to tear into him, blood and gore spilling everywhere, Diasuke's shrill scream filled his ears. Dr. Fumio froze behind the door, his path blocked by his infected assistant.
The only way past him was to close the door to the lab and creep past. Dr. Fumio carefully and as slowly as possibly pushed against the door, and felt it easily start gliding back. Once he had a wide enough gap, he slid by his infected assistant, who was still busy tearing into Diasuke. Once he was through the door and no longer holding it open, it closed with a heavy thud.
It was enough to grab the attention of his infected assistant who turned and looked at him and began to stand up. Dr. Fumio started to run, finding himself at the familiar stairs that he took to get to the ground floor. However, once he reached the landing, he could hear moaning coming from down below. His instincts ushered to run up the stairs, and he obeyed.
What Remains (Book 2): Quarantine Page 16
