Monday - September 20

Start from the beginning
                                        

__________________________________

I didn't want to wait for Julie, so I decided to head back to my office. As I walk the quiet halls, I can't help but wonder why Victor, after all these years is alive, not dead, as I was led to believe. If Victor's alive, I wonder if Georgia is alive, too. Then the thought of Gerald, my uncle... is he alive as well? What madness have they got me involved in?

I can't get the picture Stevens showed me out of my mind. Why would Stevens even have that picture? "If they got that picture from Uncle Gerald, then he is alive!" I conclude. I decide to go back to room forty-seven to confront Julie about it.

As I head back to room forty-seven, I notice someone up ahead standing by the elevator. I squint to see if I recognize them. By the time my eyes begin to focus in the dull lit hallway, it was too late; they entered the elevator. When I pass the elevator, I smell a strange scent. Unsure as to what it is, I just shrug it off and continue to room forty-seven to speak with Julie and her thug assistant.

Two doors down from the elevator is room forty-seven. At first I wonder if I should go in, or just let my curiosity go. No! I open the door and smell the scent I encountered just a few moments ago. When I enter, I see Julie laying on the floor. I rush over to her.

"Julie! Julie!" I call out. I roll Julie onto her back, and notice a pool of blood underneath her.

"What the hell!" I look at Julie's chest and notice a bullet hole, which obviously ended her life. I rush over to Victor and begin shaking him, shouting, "Victor! Victor! It's John! Victor, wake up! It's John!" I realize that he, too, is dead. I quickly check over Victor's body for any gunshot wounds, but to my surprise, do not find any. Did he die from the head injury inflicted by Stevens? Unsure and confused, I run out of room forty-seven and head for my office.

I run through the hallway and dash up the stairs, when I notice Ted. I yell, "Ted! Ted!" Ted continues up the stairs as I keep yelling out his name, but he ignores me. Winded, I stop at the top of the stairway and watch Ted exit onto the sixth floor. I run up the stairs and swing open the door just in time to see him enter the lab. I run to the lab and enter, and when Ted's nearly suited up, I grab his arm and ask, "Hey man, why didn't you answer me? What the hell are you doing?" I look around the anteroom, and notice Monica in the lab, along with someone encased in a chamber. Trying to catch my breath, I rush over to the intercom and press the talk button. "Hey... hey... Monica, what are you doing? Who is that with you?" I ask.

Monica looks at me as if I'm a stranger. Finally, Ted walks over to me and says, "Nothing, John. We're just checking on some test results to see if we're on the right track. That's a victim's cadaver, and we're seeing if we can find any clues that may still be lingering in the body. That's all."

Still trying to catch my breath, I look at Ted and sense that he's lying to me. What the hell is wrong with everybody?

"Well, hey... um... listen you two, um... um... I'm going back to my office if you don't need me for anything. There's something I need to do."

Monica turns her head and stares at Ted. "John," says Ted, "What's up, man? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have," I tell him, "but it's much worse than that."

"What is, John? What's much worse?" Ted asks.

Not sure how to tell them about Julie and Victor, or if I should even mention anything at all, I stand silent. With my hands shaking, I whisper, "Julie and Dr. Parks are dead."

"What?" Ted asks.

"Julie... and Victor... they're... they're... dead."

Monica opens the lab room door and enters the anteroom. Once the door shuts, she removes her helmet and asks, "What's wrong?"

DecreaseWhere stories live. Discover now