Blue Fire (Edited)

Chapter 7: Wing B

As soon as the door slid open, Elaine crouched down with lightning speed, realizing there were people in the room and that she was exposed. Praying nobody had seen her, she figured that to be true from the lack of sound. The room struck her as quite large and round, completely white to the point where even the office equipment was white. It felt overwhelmingly bright compared to her lab space. 

A few steps in front of her stood a four-foot-high counter that ran all the way around the room in a circular manner. She quickly ducked behind the counter, thanking her lucky stars that it was there to conceal her. Peering up to take a better look, she noticed the cluttered counter with computers and machinery halfway around the room. In front of her was a large stack of paperwork, which added to her vantage point. She guessed whoever was doing the paperwork was not in today.

About three-quarters of the way around the room was a metal door that looked like it was part of an elevator, with a security guard standing by it. The man looked like a wax sculpture; he wasn't moving a muscle. There were a bunch of other people in the room, all wearing white lab coats, huddled around another small circular glass room in the center. She tried to see into the glass room when a voice startled her into hiding again.

"You," Rutherford barked at the security guard, "Check out what that was about."

Elaine saw the security guard head towards the door and crawled into the nook underneath the lab bench. She noticed a stack of drawers that she slid out ever so slightly, crawling behind it. She brought her knees up to her chest and tried to squeeze herself into the shape of the drawers. She saw the security guard's feet pacing and waited for the 'Aha, found you' moment, but he never bent down under the bench.

"Nothing, sir," was the man's response.

"Let us continue then, gentlemen," Rutherford said while walking over to the same control panel that housed the treadmill controls. He pressed a large red button, and gas began filling the circular chamber.

Elaine realized everyone was preoccupied with something, so she brought herself out of her hiding spot and peered into the center of the room. She saw another room-like structure in the center, entirely made of glass to the point where she couldn't see a door to it. The room was getting cloudy with whatever Rutherford had injected into it. She also saw a man on a treadmill inside. She stared at Philip, noting his medium-length, wavy, brown hair, his strong jawline, and muscular physique. He wore a jumpsuit that reminded her of prisoner attire, except his was blue. But what enthralled her were his bright blue eyes that seemed to glisten and burn with intensity. Every time he inhaled, it seemed that his eyes would glow brighter.

"Gentlemen, you're probably asking yourselves what that gas was about. This gas is one of my own special cocktails; it includes a neurotoxin, the flu virus, and a rare strain of the Coronavirus. All these together would immediately debilitate a man and kill him. But as you can see, Subject 1 is still in good physical form," Rutherford explained.

The men began to clap at the grand finale demonstration.

Philip was still in physical pain from the exercise, feeling his lungs burning from the gas, his vision getting cloudy, and a headache pulsing through his temples. He knew the IV in his arm was causing his body to heal itself quickly, but he could also feel the damage that the gas cocktail was causing. He was relieved when a few large holes in the ground slid open, and the gas began getting sucked out. As he peered at the scientists, he saw slight movement behind the workbench closest to the three doors. Upon intently examining it, he could almost make out the top of someone's head—someone who was clearly not invited.

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Elaine felt the man's sharp blue eyes make out her hiding location, so she quickly ducked and strained to hear any sounds coming her way, but all was calm. She let out a sigh of relief but wasn't sure what to think at this point. Was she part of a secret government operation to create super soldiers who were apparently immune to viruses and toxins? She remembered seeing a movie like that before. Was she even still in Bio-Org? Was her research really applied to cancer treatment or to this, whatever this was? The questions bombarded her mind like a tidal wave.