Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 7

The meeting hadn’t lasted much longer after that.  Finally Dr. Duguard had left us in the hands of Elizabeth.  I had to remind myself that this meek, shy creature in front of me wasn’t just some tour guide.  She was a part of this.  Also, the more I watched her, the more I sensed that something wasn’t quite right about her.  It was in the occasional glances she gave us when she thought no one was looking, or the occasional way I could catch her biting her tongue before speaking.

She was hiding something.

We were heading down a long hallway.  Just like everything else, the walls, floor and ceiling were a bright, almost glowing white.  There were no seams at all.  The whole structure just seemed to be one, solid piece.

“I apologize for the way Dr. Duguard acts.  She’s not the most sociable person.”  Elizabeth kept her head down, focusing on the chart she had clutched in her hands.  “This all... Well, we never intended for any of this to happen.”

“You intentionally tested an unstable, unknown and now possibly supernatural virus on human subjects.”  Kurt couldn’t even bring himself to look at the young doctor.  “Your intentions seem pretty obvious.”

The words made Elizabeth flinch.  Her eyes flickered towards Kurt, and for a brief moment her face seemed to flash with rage.

“So I take it these creatures are violent?”  I tried my best to keep my tone professional.  It wasn’t easy.

“Extremely.  Those who don’t change when exposed to the virus are usually attacked and killed by those who are.”  She stumbled over her words.

“Possessed.”  Ashtyn’s voice dripped with disdain.  “These people are possessed, and by something very powerful.”

“How do you know?”  Elizabeth’s voice quaked as she glanced at Ashtyn.

“These creatures are no longer human, sweetheart.  Whatever force is taking them over not only controls their body, it completely rewrites their DNA. That’s pretty fucking powerful.”  Ashtyn’s eyes were shooting daggers at the young doctor.

“So, mind telling us how Dr. Duguard’s brother managed to get infected?  I don’t think many people would sign family members up for trial runs of this stuff.”  I kept my tone casual.  I made sure my arms were at my side, relaxed.  I wouldn’t get any info if I kept up this defensive attitude.

“It was an accident.”  Elizabeth’s eyes drifted back to her chart.  “He, Andrew, was also a researcher here.  He was one of the leads on this particular study.  There was a leak in one of the containers, and he became exposed.”

I could see tears welling up in Elizabeth’s eyes.  She clutched her chart just a little tighter as she spoke.

“By the time we arrived to the lab he had already killed two of his assistants, and one of his fellow doctors.  His best friend.  He... dismembered them.”  The tears began to spill down her cheeks.  “I had never seen anything like that.  Most of my research was in pharmaceuticals.  The worst thing we ever got was an occasional heart attack or pussy rash.  This...”

Her hand moved to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her sobs. It was at that moment that I saw the ring on her finger.  A gold band with a simple, shimmering stone.
 
“Dr. Malone,”  I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, “how did you become involved with this project?”

We stopped walking.  Elizabeth was shaking, the sobs now uncontrollable.  Even Ashtyn and Kurt had softened their body language.

“Andrew... brought me... in.”  Her words were choked off by her crying.  “He was my... he was my...”

I glanced back at the ring.  Was that there when she came to visit us in the office?  The way she held her hand made it clear that she wanted us to see it.  Again my bullshit meter was going off.  Still, I needed to play it cool.  It was too early to call her out.  We didn’t know enough about what we were about to face, and I didn’t want to freeze out our only source of information.

“We will do everything we can to bring him back to you.  I promise.”  My hand gently squeezed her shoulder. I decided to lay it on a little less thick then she was.  

I glanced at Ashtyn, then to Kurt.  I could see the doubt in both of their eyes.

I tried to signal them to keep playing along.  

“So,” Ashtyn broke the silence first.  Her voice was considerably more welcoming.  “Where exactly are we headed?”

“Your quarters.”  Elizabeth began to wipe the tears from her eyes.  “My orders are to get you settled in while we set a viewing area for Andre... for the subject.”

Quarters?  What the hell was she talking about?

As if reading my thoughts, she spoke.  “It was in the contracts.  While you are working with us, you will be staying on the premises.  It’s standard protocol.  For security purposes.”  As she collected herself her voice returned to the meek, but professional tone from before.

“Guess we should have read the fine print.”  Ashytn couldn’t hide her annoyance.

So we were trapped in this building with a bunch of monsters.  Some human, and some... not so human.

They entered a hallway lined with thick, metal doors.  Painted on each door was a number.

“You and Kurt will be in room 3.”  Elizabeth pointed down the hall.  “Ashtyn, you’ll be in room 7.”

“I don’t have any of my stuff...”  Ashtyn’s annoyance was creeping back into her voice.

“We’ve supplied uniforms, toiletries and research materials for you.”  Any trace of humanity that Elizabeth had shown before was gone, now replaced by the same cold, business like tone her boss had.  “After you’ve had time to settle in I’ll return to take you to the viewing room.”

“Thanks.”  Kurt’s voice was devoid of emotion.

At least it wasn’t my fault he was stuck here.  They had thrown him into this madhouse before I even had the chance.

With a slight bow Elizabeth turned and left.

“So, what other surprises are they going to throw at us?”  I rubbed my temple, hoping to ease the tension building in my head.

“It was in the contract.”  Kurt turned and headed towards our room.  “I’m not exactly surprised, to be honest.  The way this place is run...”

“We’ll probably be lucky to ever get out of here.”  Ashtyn shook her head, and headed into her room.

I could feel a chill run up my spine at the sound of those words.  The further we got tangled up in this case, the more things just seemed to feel off.

Still, Juktha had told me that this was where we needed to be.  I needed to trust her on this one.  She has her reasons, even if I don’t always understand them.