Bazua agreed with me. We carefully stepped out of the room, watching as the puddles of brown liquid collected around our feet. The tanks were removed from our backs, and we discarded the suits into trash bags. Once I was free, I could smell the room again. My stomach did a few flips, but nothing came of it.
“Let's let them finish taking pictures, then we need to incinerate the room. That is a level of filth I have never experienced before.” I shivered as I looked back at the doorway.
“And I need a shower. Let's meet back at the lab after lunch?”
Everybody else nodded, and we each broke off. Luckily, we were already in the residential hallways. Karen waited until we had already turned the corner. Bazua and Denny went straight across to the men's wing. I walked back to my suite, hoping that neither Eddie nor Linda were home. I could smell the stench on me, even though I had been wearing the suit.
The first thing I did when I arrived back at the suite was strip down. Thankfully, I was home alone. I dumped the clothes straight into the trash and tied the bag off, putting it near the door. Then I walked into the bathroom and set the shower as hot as it would go. I let the water sear the smell out of my pores, thankful I was unaffected by the heat. I used body wash until I was satisfied I was clean. Then I stood under the spray for another ten minutes.
Visions of the room haunted me every time I closed my eyes. Something about the writing stood out to my mind. I wasn't sure what, but the mental images evoked nausea. Eventually, I stepped out of the shower. I dressed after I toweled off, still feeling a mental griminess.
Lunch passed slowly. I wasn't hungry, but I forced myself to eat. I sat around, turning the room over in my mind. When the lunch hour was over, I walked down to the lab. I still didn't feel clean, but I hoped work would distract me from the feeling.
Chapter 17
Darkness +34, 2033
Greater Seattle Area, Washington, USA
Location Undisclosed, Base 13, Project Osiris
-65°F
1300 Hours
I was the first back in the lab. I supposed the others were still trying to get rid of the gross feeling. I sat at one of the available computers and logged in. My email had a notification, and I was surprised to find the first batch of photos in from the evidence team. They had sent them to the team as a whole, so we each had a set. I opened the first image, seeing the sickly brown wall with smears of different fluids.
I stood and walked away from the computer for a moment. It was disgusting, but I needed to find answers. I sat once my stomach had settled. I flipped through the images, starting to see some sort of pattern. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was some larger shape that wanted to come through.
On a hunch, I launched a modeling program on the computer. I fed the images in, letting the software work out how they fit together. It took a bit longer than I expected, but eventually the program let me know the job was completed. In the central view was the bathroom, modeled from the pictures. It seemed off, like the measurements didn't quite add up right.
I tried to interact with the model, to move it around. Instead of moving, the whole screen went gray, and the program locked up. I waited for it to figure out what it was doing, but then it crashed. I re-opened the program, and saw that the file hadn't been saved. I started the model over from scratch, but when it was rendered, it crashed again. I cursed the program, then started all over. The next attempt, I made the room myself, using blueprints pulled from the main server. Once the model was complete, I fed in the images to texture everything. The program crashed.
It was around that point that the next set of images arrived. When I opened them, the bedroom was displayed. I set the bathroom images to the side and started trying to model the bedroom. I ran into the same problem, becoming frustrated as the program crashed again. I tried a different modeling software, only to run across the same problem.
Denny and Karen walked in, followed closely by Allan. They all looked pale.
“What's up guys?”
“We took Allan to look for himself. It's still really bad. I have no idea how they're going to get that room clean again.” Said Karen shakily. Denny nodded along.
“Well, the images came in. Should be in your email. Give them a look, though they still make my stomach upset.”
They all broke up, moving to computers of their own. I tried one more approach with the first and second software suites. I loaded both the bathroom and bedroom together. I thought loading both would allow the software a more complete model, perhaps getting over whatever issue caused the software to crash.
My screen flickered for a moment, then the software went to work. It took more than ten minutes, but eventually the model loaded. I sighed with relief as I started to look around the model. Just looking at the modeled room made my nose twitch. I could practically smell the stench of the room again.
“Ugh, I thought I showered enough,” complained Denny. I looked over as he sniffed at his hands.
“You can smell it too?” I asked.
“I can as well,” interrupted Karen. We all looked at Allan, and he simply nodded. I started to stand, when a pop brought my attention back to my computer. The screen went black, and smoke started to drift out of the monitor.
“Fuck, how did that happen?”
Then another, louder pop echoed through the room. I watched as black smoke poured out of the tower next to the monitor.
“What the fuck,” I said as I backed away. Flames licked out of the back of the tower for a moment, then went out.
The three doctors gathered next to me as we watched the computer tower for a moment.
“Good grief, Dante. What have you done?” asked Allan.
“Doc, I have no idea. I was just trying to model Tracy's room. It was having some weird problems, kept crashing. When I put in all the pictures together, it stopped crashing. But then that happened.”
We continued to watch as the tower sagged. The side panel slid free, but the view was not what I expected. The components inside the computer were covered in clumps of viscous brown fluid oozing.
“So, that's not normal, right?” I asked the room.
Bazua happened to walk in as the computer was having it's little fit.
“Of course you would,” I said with a sigh.
“I would what, Dante?”
“Walk in when shit is at its weirdest.”
“Is it weird?” he said in his characteristic deadpan voice.
He stared at me. The smoking computer tower stood between us, though I wasn't affected very much. Being nearly seven feet tall, I had a clear view over the quickly dissipating smoke.
“It's fucking weird. You're fucking weird. What the flying fish fuck is going on?” I said with exasperation.
“Uh, what? That's a weird thing to say. Just fucking get on with it. What's going on?”
“Tried to model Tracy's room. Computer melted down. Can't tell you much more.”
“That's not a meltdown. I saw flames, and now that shit is oozing out.” He waved a hand in front of his face. The other three were slowly backing away. The stench was exceedingly strong now. I finally came to my senses and walked around the table, where I unplugged the tower. The smoke was much thinner now, but the slime was practically pulsating.
“Can one of you pull that big garbage can over here? I'm going to dump this thing in. Pretty sure it's no good anymore.”
Karen nodded and briskly walked the can under the lip of the table. I used one hand to hold the table in place while I pushed the computer into the garbage with the other. The table had a few drops of the slime on it, and discoloration spread quickly around it.
“Okay, thanks. Do we have any heavy duty cleaning solvents?”
Bazua sighed with frustration, picked up a nearby phone, then hit a few numbers. Only a second passed before he was once again spouting orders.
“Another scene. Need hazmat. Lab One-Delta. Same shit as last time.”
He grunted then hung up th
e phone.
“They'll be here shortly. Don't touch anything else, Dante. You need to be decontaminated.”
“Fuck. I just took a shower!”
“Good news, you're getting another one. And this time, it's going to be very thorough.”
I glared at him, which was probably the only reason I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.
The mood was broken as Denny puked into a different trash can.
“Seriously kid, can't you hold your stomach?”
Denny didn't respond, save for a shaky raised hand with a single finger held aloft.
“Well, this is quite the interesting day. First we lose Mr Castillo and Ms. Tracy, then we find some truly bizarre activity was happening in Ms. Tracy's room. Now we find a similar substance in the computer tower that Dante was using. Does that sum it up?” Asked Allan to the room.
“Hang on Doc, I had nothing to do with the computer thing.”
The hazmat team entered in a hurry, fully suited. They had only taken approximately two minutes to respond. Denny finally got himself under control. Bazua barked orders and the team quickly set about cleaning. The garbage can was taken away, and the table was sprayed down. The brown ooze turned black, then started to smoke. Hazmat continued to spray it until they could wipe it away with a sponge. That also went into a garbage bag.
My hands were similarly sprayed down, though the masked member seemed satisfied when my hands failed to turn black or start smoking. He waved me off. I sat in a chair, which creaked ominously.
“I'm getting really tired of weird shit happening around me.”
“Yeah, me too,” replied Bazua.
Allan walked over to join us.
“Tell me what happened, what you were doing when this ooze appeared.”
“I already told you, Doc. I was modeling Tracy's room from the photos that were taken. The program kept crashing, then when I put them all in together it worked. Except a few seconds after the full model was complete, the thing went up in smoke. Literally.”
“Interesting. There appears to be a correlation between the images and the slime. I hypothesize the slime is identical to that from Ms. Tracy's rooms. Will that be tested, young man?” Allan asked of Bazua. Bazua just nodded.
“Very well. Make sure those results find their way to me. Now, I wonder what else we know of this incident?” Allan directed the question at the room in general.
“When I was pushing the tower into the garbage, I saw inside. The computer components themselves were turning into the ooze. Didn't seem to be an appropriate amount, like it was generating the ooze, actually.”
“Very interesting. I wonder if we can replicate these results. Mr. Bazua, can you direct your team to remain here for the next test?”
He nodded, then flashed a hand signal to the team. They had been listening quietly, having already finished the cleanup.
“Very well. Dennis, bring your computer over to Dante's desk. We will have to try with different hardware, to see if we produce the same results.”
“Doc, to I have to? You know how long it takes to get new computers.”
“Yes, we do. Is there anything else we need for the test?” Replied Allan cooly.
“Well, we already have the hazmat team here. How about plastic to cover the desk, and maybe a barf bag for Denny. Seems he's got a weak stomach.”
“It's not my fault. I can't handle strong smells very well. Doctors told me when I was a kid. Something about my nose being abnormally strong.”
“Really? How much can it lift?” I said without thinking. I saw multiple reactions at once. Allan began to crack up, while Karen and half of the hazmat team hid their faces, clearly ashamed. Bazua just sighed.
“You're a fucking idiot, Dante.”
“Guys, I think Bazua has a birth defect too. Born without a sense of humor.”
“Fuck you, dude.”
Allan calmed himself long enough to give an order.
“Very well, let's prepare for the experiment.” His voice was still thick with laughter. At least someone there appreciated my jokes.
Chapter 18
Darkness +34, 2033
Greater Seattle Area, Washington, USA
Location Undisclosed, Base 13, Project Osiris
-65°F
1400 Hours
“I think we can excuse Dante from further testing. I would assume he has dealt with the slime enough?” Said Allan. He gave me a little wink when I looked over at him. “That leaves Denny and Karen.”
Denny immediately raised a stink. “Hey, Doc! That isn't fair!”
“Fair is not a part of our world, my boy.”
“And what about you, Allan?” asked Karen.
He smiled wanly, then replied “that is why I have subordinates.”
They set to work, each clearing a full desk and setting down plastic. Then the computers were placed in the center, and hooked up. The programs loaded, and the data was added in. We started empirically. One image was loaded into two different programs. The first was a simple viewer to look at the image, and the other was the same modeling program I had used.
Neither experienced issues. After that test, the viewer was abandoned. Slowly, more of the images were loaded. Each iteration took longer to load, but was still well within expected time frames.
Once Denny started the test with half of the images loaded, he was standing. I could see sweat dripping from him.
“You a little tense, bud?” I said. He jumped, accidentally throwing the mouse a few inches. A faint breath of air escaped from Bazua. Denny looked at me apologetically.
“Yeah, sorry Dante. I just don't want to smell that stuff again.”
“I don't think we have much of a choice.” Karen said. She spoke so rarely it was easy to forget she was present. She had already progressed past the three-quarter mark, and had significant load times. She held a clipboard to her side, having already noted down the previous test's results.
Denny continued to grumble, but fed in additional pictures with each iteration. He had taken to standing and using the mouse at the full extension of its cord. The computer dinged to signal completion and Denny jumped again.
“Please relax, Dennis. You will give yourself a coronary event behaving like that.” Allan said it kindly, but that little hint of laughter lingered at the back of his voice.
“Coronary event? Doc, what year were you born?” said Bazua.
“That is none of your business, boy.”
Bazua bristled, but said nothing else. He took up position between the two computers, fire extinguisher in hand. Tension continued to mount, even among the otherwise bored hazmat personnel. I took the opportunity to relax, and closed my eyes. I was shocked to see the colors already waiting for me, swirling around just in front of me.
Karen was a fair bit ahead of Denny by the time she started the final test, loading all of the images at once into the modeling program. Her computer froze as soon as she started the process, the whole screen going gray. I moved to the side, and saw that a vortex of colors had once again appeared. It centered on the desktop tower, and had the same sickening colors that had appeared before Castillo's transformation. Viral strands of purple, black, and gold weaved through a gathering storm of clouds.
Denny ran away from the desks, refusing to work any further. He was audibly hitching and gagging.
“Anybody have mint? Might help him.”
“Bazua, that might be the kindest thing you have ever said.” I said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“Don't start rumors, Dante.”
One of the hazmat personnel produced a mask and mint jelly from their cart. Denny gratefully took the mask and breathed deeply through it. Then he started coughing hard, not prepared for how strong the mint was. I could smell the mint even from across the room. Then another, familiar, and deeply hated smell began to permeate the room.
“Smells like Karen's computer is about to go.”
Allan grabbed a mask for himself, then nodded in agreement.
Karen stepped back, still taking notes as the tower began to smoke. Bazua readied the fire extinguisher. The computer tower emitted a sound that sounded eerily like a human burp, then slumped. The ooze began to leak. Bazua gave it a shot of foam, even though there were no flames.
“Well that one's done,” I said dryly. The smell was as acrid as ever, almost as if it were climbing into my nose and pulling the hairs out one by one. “Gonna need another shower after this,” I continued to grumble.
Hazmat personnel quickly stepped in, getting ready to dispose of the tower. Allan stopped them before they could get the tower off of the desk.
“Wait one, please. I wish to look inside.”
The two suited figures clearly communicated through their hoods, but I heard nothing. Then they stepped back, allowing Allan access. He used the tip of a pencil to nudge the side panel off of the tower, which immediately crumpled into a pile of scrap and ooze. I could see in over his shoulder as he touched the ram stick inside. The tip of the pencil caught fire briefly, sending a little flare of light up. In that brief moment, I got a very clear view inside the tower.
The motherboard was completely destroyed, as were the ram sticks and hard drives. Even the processor had turned to the jelly-like ooze. Components floated listlessly in the solution, moving about almost as if alive. Allan stepped back, dropping his pencil in the ooze. The whole length of wood flared with fire, before turning to ash and ooze just a moment later.
“Fascinating, truly fascinating. It is highly exothermic, as well as displaying a strong acidic or base presence. However, the plastic and metal seem unaffected, while wood and silicon are readily absorbed⸺ or perhaps it would be better to say transformed. All of this out of normally inert materials.”
“So what does it mean, Doc?” I asked.
“I haven't the faintest idea, my boy. But I aim to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps it is linked to why we cannot accurately treat the virus that affects most people exposed to the blood of the aliens.”
I watched as he carefully did not turn to address me while he quietly muttered to himself. I wasn't sure anybody else could even hear him over the jet engine level fan noise being emitted by Denny's computer.
Darkness Trilogy (Book 2): Death In Darkness Page 11
