The Purging

Pale Blue Eyes

CHAPTER 18

At the end of the corridor, he finds a huge reinforced steel door. It is covered in sequence of hazard symbols, including radioactivity, electricity, bio hazard and a few he doesn’t quite understand. One is an image of approximately a dozen tiny triangles, the second is a bull’s head and the final one looks somewhat like a hockey mask. Two large pneumatic tubes protrude from the walls on either side of the door, “What should I expect on this test course?” Asks Ben hesitantly.

“Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Some combat analogues, a couple of critical thinking tests. Hold still for a second, would you?” The tubes burst forth with a rush of thick, red liquid. Every inch of Ben’s titanium shell is drenched in the putrid mixture.

“What was that about? Did you just hose me down with blood?”

“Mostly, there’s also some pheromones mixed in there for effect. Since you don’t technically have blood anymore, we need to douse you so that the critters on the course have something to key off of.”

Unable to hold back his sarcasm, Ben fires back, “Oh, that’s fucking great news. It’s sounding like this is gonna' be a fun day. I’m assuming that these 'critters' are vamps right?”

“Well... most of them are... sort of. Stand by please. Beginning live fire course in 3,2,1...” A blaring siren begins to echo throughout the hall as the door slides open. Tentatively, Ben crosses the threshold into the testing area, “Good luck, one forty seven, and don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“You know, somehow, I don't think that's going to be very helpful.” Once inside, Ben’s olfactory senses are assaulted by the rankest odour he has ever encountered. The stench is so potent it sends him reeling backwards, “Jesus, what the hell is that? Is this place full of dead bodies stuffed with shit?”

“Pretty much, we dump a couple of bodies from up topside in there every so often for the creatures to feed on and we don’t exactly ventilate the area. C’mon tough guy, you’re two feet in and already complaining? Think of the smell as one more part of the test.” Doing all he can to ignore the monstrous aroma, Ben cautiously moves forward. The chamber he finds himself in is enormous, stretching out for what looks like miles in every direction. He cannot see the ceiling above him, only a deep and foreboding blackness. A sequence of florescent light posts stick up from the floor every few feet.

“Beginning scenario one.” All of the light posts in the immediate vicinity retreat through the floor and Ben is enveloped by darkness. New walls shoot up and he is fenced in on all sides. For a moment he gropes around blindly in the dark. The disorientation subsides when his vision shifts unexpectedly to the ultraviolet spectrum.

The only path left available is a narrow hallway directly in front of him. He makes his way down the corridor until he comes to an intersection. Ben bellows in abject frustration, “Are we seriously doing the old 'rat in a maze' thing?”

Theo’s response does little to curb his irritation, “You’d be surprised just how excellent a test of mental agility a simple maze can be. Quit your bitching and just do it.” Finding his way through the corridors of the maze proves to be maddening. He goes back and forth, up and down, only to find himself stuck at the same intersection again, and again. After thirty minutes of pointless meandering, he punches the nearest wall in a bout of frustration. It crumbles to bits as if it were made of paper mache. A few angry swings later, he’s broken free of the enclosure.

“See, one forty seven? Not so complicated really. In case you’re curious, there is also a legitimate solution to the maze, but whatever. The 'smashy, smashy' method is just fine by me. Moving on to scenario number two.” Two large holes appear in the floor a hundred yards in front of Ben. A familiar snarl can be heard emanating from within. Swelling with confidence, Ben moves forward with his cannons primed and ready.