REM

Outbreak

Log #63

Botanists have experimented with plants before, but nothing like what they did at the facility I am interning at. Not being paid wasn't an issue for me since I was learning from some of the best scientists in the country, but what they were doing was risky – put mildly.

They were testing the side effects of tomatoes grown in the lab. Crabs were given the food in puréed form and watched for several weeks with no signs of the genetically modified food being bad for them. Unfortunately for the human test subjects, the side effects didn't kick in right away and required you to consume more on a regular basis.

The genome that was used in the tomatoes morphed during the maturing process. We didn't see it happening since the fruit didn't show any disfigurement on the surface; it was strictly internal and at a cellular level.

Before I sat down to write this log, I saw them bring in the claws of the crabs which had eaten the puréed tomatoes from over a month ago. The size of the things was unbelievable. When the scientists brought them in to show the other botanists, I thought it was some sort of practical joke. Measuring approximately two feet wide and at least four feet long, the crabs had ballooned from the modified nutrients in the tomato. They were killed and chopped up for transportation and examination, but that was the least of our worries.

Human test subjects were still locked in rooms away from everyone else. As I write this, they are checking on them, but I haven't heard anything yet from other interns. I am still in the computer lab with my laptop, an uneasy feeling resting on my shoulders as I try to type this out as quickly as possible. I don't know what to expect, however I promise to finish this story later. The sirens just sounded.

Log #64

This isn't so much a log as an account of the events which transpired after the end of log #63 – absolute chaos. Everyone was running in different directions as if they had forgotten basic training in case of an emergency.

I packed up my laptop and threw the strap over my shoulder before bolting to the doorway to look down the corridor in both directions. Another intern, who I secretly admired, came running toward me.

"Come on!" she urged, grabbing hold of my wrist. "We need to evacuate!"

Pulling me down the hall, we squeezed by other facility workers in white coats – some in hazmat suits. They were running in the opposite direction, presumably toward giant humans in the testing sector.

Stupid me, I glanced over my shoulder and halted. Kate stopped dead in her tracks as well, me acting as her anchor.

"Chris, what are–" she stopped mid question as we both peered down the end of the corridor. A chunk of cement wall and tile exploded onto the floor as a giant human tossed people dressed in hazmat suits like rag dolls.

His skin was red and flaky, his blonde hair now white. I couldn't remember his name. As he roared and punched another hole, I snapped out of the trance I was in and began to run with Kate again.

When we finally finished the facility maze of hallways and card scanners, we were escorted into a caravan and driven away from the chaos. The experiment that we had so eagerly wanted to be a part of had now become a nightmare.

After what we both saw, there was no going back. Genetically modified food wasn't meant to enhance human growth to the point where we became something from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Our debriefing is coming up shortly. They want everyone's account of events leading up to and including yesterday's incident. Maybe once I talk about it I'll feel a bit better. I couldn't sleep at all last night in the bunks they had set up for us. Hopefully tonight will be different.