Prologue
Paradise Ranch, AZ
83 Miles Northwest from Las Vegas
9:20pm MT
Alarms and flashing red sirens exploded nosily throughout the cold, grey plain room as Doctor Jacobson hobbled across it. They were the least of his worries at this point, as he checked his wounds again that he had on his right arm and leg. They caused him so much pain that it reduced his initial sprint of fear into his now gait, a mere limping pace. With sweat trickling down his brow and onto his once white lab coat, Doctor Jacobson tried unsuccessfully to tear his coat. He wanted to use his coat to try and stop the blood dripping from the bite marks that were the source of his wounds. It didn’t help that his hands were slippery with his own blood and sweat which caused his hands to continue to slip when trying to tear the fabric. Frustrated, Doctor Jacobson gave up trying to tear the lab coat and instead stripped it off to tie it around his thigh, the bigger wound of the two. Gasping in pain as he tightened the knot around his leg, Jacobson grunted in slight satisfaction at the make-shift bandage. Wiping his forehead with his left arm, the doctor pushed sweat and blood into his messy black hair, tangling it even more. He already started to feel the fever that was beginning to hit his body. It was sapping his energy, making him feel even weaker than he already was. Combined with the blaring alarms and the flashing bright red emergency lights, Doctor Jacobson’s dull headache was turning into a massive throbbing pounding that caused his vision to blur and left his mind in a fog. Shaking his head in order to focus, Jacobson stumbled the last couple of steps across the room. Coming to the door, the Doctor threw it open and groaned in pain. His vision blurred even more with the simple effort of opening the door. Jacobson tried to contain the urge to upheave the food he had eaten for dinner earlier that evening. With one last effort to keep it down, he swallowed hard, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Almost falling once, Doctor Jacobson limped to the wall and leaned against it, breathing heavily as he tried to regain the little strength he had. With the door closing behind him, the Doctor noticed that the annoying alarms decreased in volume in the soundproof room. Looking up, he also noted that there were no flashing lights present.
“One small mercy I guess” Jacobson murmured, as he reached awkwardly with his left hand into his right pocket and fumbled with the flip phone. Even though he was a scientist and worked with advance technology daily, the Doctor found it soothing to have his personal means of communication simple. Punching a number on his speed dial, Jacobson then hit the green call button and held the phone up to his ear. No more than two rings went by before the Doctor’s call went straight to voicemail. Growling in frustration Jacobson did the only thing he could think of, leave a voicemail.
“Sir, I know you said not to call but this an emergency. We are in lockdown and I don’t think I’m going to make it. The experiments ran on test subject 316 ultimately failed. We were so close to success but something went wrong at the last second, the body reject it. I’m in the control room now Sir and from what I can tell on the security cameras still left, Subject 316 is still rampaging through the facility. The lockdown isn’t containing it and with all the damage it’s done, the power along with the controls for the other test subjects’ cells are destroyed. Three more have already escaped, maybe more, I dunno boss. Things are getting out of hand again and I don’t think it can be contained like last time. I have the key with me…. should I initiate the override for complete shutdown Sir? Answer me...I need to know the decision now!”
Throwing the phone across the room in frustration, Jacobson looked up as if talking to a higher being and asked aloud “What have we done?” Before the Doctor could wait for a response, the control room door busted open and three men in military armor and gear stormed in. Pushing forward in their dark uniforms and tight formation, they entered and their gazes swept the room. Their M4 Carbines equipped with laser sight and LED lights scanned the room, the barrels of their guns pointing outwards at chest height. Spreading out as they all finally entered the room, the first of them noticed Jacobson. “Hands up, don’t move!” The Doctor threw his hands up weakly to show no signs of a potential struggle. Jacobson’s eyes flickered to the huge control panel that had every button, key slot, and leaver to control the whole site and then back to the armed soldiers. Key dangling from his left wrist, Jacobson inched his way towards the panel, still keeping his eyes forward and focused on the soldiers.
“I said don’t move!” the man shouted the order again. One of the other soldiers grabbed his walkie talkie from his shoulder, and pressed the button, to report in.
“This is Unit 5. We have a civilian in sight but nothing else yet. Floor all clear.”
“We hear you Unit 5. Retrieve the civilian for questioning but stay vigilant. Shoot any infected on site, roger that?
“Roger that. Will shoot infected on site. Retrieving civilian. Unit 5 out.”
Throughout the exchange Doctor Jacobson was struggling to stay focused and to figure out how he was going to activate the override. The alarms and lights were no longer adding to his throbbing headache but in his weakened condition the mere hum of all the computers and bright lights from the screens were bad enough. But upon hearing the exterminating order, Jacobson’s body went ridged all over. He tried to slowly turn his bitten arm away from the soldiers as it was not covered up like his leg was. But it was too late, one of the soldiers noticed and yelled out “He’s infected!” Training his Carbine on Jacobson’s chest, the soldier pulled the trigger before the Doctor could respond. The sound of the triple burst shot echoed throughout the room as Jacobson’s body recoiled in response to the blow. His body thudded against the wall and slowly slid down, leaving a fresh smear of blood trickling down the once white wall. Gasping for air, Doctor Jacobson tried to call out but nothing more than a shuttering whisper came. Lifting his hand slightly, he held out the key still dangling from his wrist.
“Activate…Override…subjects to dangerous.”
The shooter crossed the room and putting one knee down to face the Doctor at eye level, he looked from the key to the Doctor. Even with darkness creeping into the Doctor’s already blurred vision, Jacobson could tell from the soldier’s blank face that he didn’t understand.
“Turn key…push button.”
Understanding took over the soldier’s face and he sprang into action. Taking the key from the doctor’s wrist, the soldier started to scan the panel. But with the hundreds of buttons and key slots it was impossible to know which one was correct. Frantically the soldier started trying random key slots, hoping to get lucky when an ear-piercing shriek stopped his attempts short. Looking at one another the three soldiers ran out the door, their boots thundering as they turned to face the new threat. Among all the noise, nobody heard the key as it dropped to the floor. It’s metal frame rattling back and forth until it came to a stop on the cold floor, a few feet from the lifeless body of Doctor Jacobson.
ns 15.158.61.12da2
