The Immune

26. Room 406

"I tried to say no. We all did. But if we didn't comply, he would use whatever force necessary to win us over, even if it meant killing everyone we loved. Each of us had children, wives, husbands... Saying no meant living a life of misery, waiting for our own deaths, and maybe having to create the virus anyway. Doing what he asked meant you and your mother would live another day, even if it wasn't a perfect life in our suburban neighborhood.

"I signed the contract to protect you and Mandy. Ashford gathered the three of us in Knoxville and production started right away. Within a month, we had created the first strand and a secret cure. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. Ashford had only one rule: ask no questions. We didn't. Just worked."

He looks down as he raises a clipboard into view.

"Today is March the first. We've been in the compound for two years now. We just finished designing the second strand; production will start soon. I tried to make it as complicated as possible to delay the release date." He lets out a long breath and chews on his lip. Desperation flashes in his eyes. "I've spent two years hiding this from you, and it's only going to get worse. I wish I could tell you this in person, but it's impossible. This is the only way I could ensure you found out the truth that wouldn't lead to my death. In this room, we were safe from Hartley's prying eyes. Our video logs are all here for you to view. Watch them. Know the whole story. Think before you act, Jay."

The video ends with a loud pop, and the home screen returns. That video was filmed nine years ago. I scoot the chair closer to the screen and squint at the numbers on the rest of the files. There's one that goes back all the way to Mandy's injection date.

Preparing video file....

Entry 009...

3... 2... 1...

The video loads, and a woman appears on the screen. She's older than my father but not by much. There are bags under her eyes, deep wrinkles around her mouth and cheeks, and a pale tone to her skin.

"This is Ava Julien, recording entry number nine in our video log. The solution is ready to be tested on human subjects. Testing on rodents has gone as expected. I won't say well, because there's nothing well or good about this project. Jacob asked for potential subjects, but Ashford won't collect any for us. He says we're going to have to test it on someone in our immediate family. That way, if it doesn't work, we are the ones who suffer from the failure. Sai thinks we should draw sticks. I still think it's unfair."

"Well, Ashford doesn't care what we think," a voice says from offscreen. I can't recognize it, but Ava Julien smirks. "Keep your opinion off the logs, Ava."

She looks at the voice, then back at me. "End transmission." With a pop, the screen goes black. I hurriedly click another video, the next in line.

Entry 012...

My father appears on the screen, smiling.

"It worked," he says, breathing heavily. "The virus worked! It's sometimes hard to know if the results we see in animal testing will carry over to humans, but everything went as expected. We tested it on Mandy, unfortunately. I hate that Jay had to see her mother like that, but it was necessary. Poor girl thinks her mother is dead. One day, maybe, I'll be able to tell her." He pants for a minute. "Why am I so excited then? My wife has been pronounced dead, and I just successfully created a virus that may end humanity as we know it." He points at the screen. "Because the cure also works.

"Ashford doesn't know about it, and we plan to keep it that way. Mandy isn't dead, because the cure was our second success this week. By tomorrow evening, all of our immediate family will receive the injection. I guess we will bring them here to ensure secrecy from the eyes and ears that follow us." He sits back in his chair and rubs at the stubble growing on his cheeks. Was this when he first started growing out the beard? "The cure will have to remain a secret. If Ashford finds out, he will destroy it immediately. No one can know they are immune. Even the three of us won't have it, just to ensure full confidentiality. Six people. In a world of three hundred nineteen million... six people will be immune."