Chapter 14
Lab coat Linsey
“Come in.”
I froze, my hand on the door, taking a deep breath before pushing it open. I paused, my attention immediately drawn to his wood desk. I’d heard of them, but hadn’t personally seen them.
Dimitri’s eyes flickered up to me and he smiled before glancing back down at his papers. That smile would be gone the second he heard why I was here.
I had tried looking for Experiment Varian and Arcelia 14786. In fact, I’d been close to them, very close. They’d tried removing their shockers like I’d expected in a hardware store. When I entered the man there told me he didn’t know what I was talking about. I actually believed him too. I would’ve walked out had I not seen the glint of shiny silver.
A shocker.
So I stayed, telling him he had one last chance to tell me where they were. He didn’t, and I shot him as a result. The gun had been hard to obtain, but it had been worth it in the long run because before I shot him I saw his eyes flickering to the back of his shop, giving away their positions.
Despite my efforts, by the time I made it there they’d been long, long gone. I had searched the lab and its outside perimeter for a few more hours before realizing they would go where Experiment Varian had been captured at. His home.
But I didn’t know where that was.
That information was tightly sealed and left in the office of our director. Which meant only Dimitri had access to those files. I couldn’t exactly just steal them because they were password protected and only one person knew the password.
Dimitri.
So I came to tell him about their escape, hoping that he would let me off lightly since I was his assistant. Maybe he’d let me redeem myself by giving me the chance to bring them back.
“What brings you here Linsey?” He asked, his eyes still focused on his work. But I’d heard the rumors. He could have his back turned towards you and still know exactly what you were doing.
“I’m here to tell you about the unfortunate event that happened during the blackout.” I said, my hands folded and my head bowed down. I watched him, waiting for a reaction of some sort, but I didn’t get any at all. He didn’t even pause in his writing.
“Yes?” He murmured and I took a deep breath.
“Both Experiment Varian and Arcelia 14786 escaped.” I said, glancing up. But I was only met with silence and the unfaltering scratching of his writing utensil.
“And why are you telling me this now?” He asked calmly, but I could feel the tension in the room stacking up, waiting for the right moment to suffocate me.
“I tried to bring them back, but they wouldn’t listen to me.” I started, the lie slipping off my tongue before I could stop it. “They were crazed.” I said, my heart pounding while my expression remained exhausted.
“Really?” Dimitri asked, finally looking up and I caught a glint in his eyes. I hesitated before nodding. “Then explain to me why I had a report coming to me saying you killed someone who claimed not to have knowledge of them?”
Silence was all I had.
His eyes grew cold within half a second, his features taking on a dangerous look. “You’re going to learn real quick that I don’t take kindly to liars Linsey.” He said and I felt my body shrinking inside of itself at his piercing look.
“You’re going to find them both Linsey. You know why?” He asked, his voice chilling me to the core. I shook my head, not able to talk.
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
Dimitri
The foolish girl had thought I wouldn’t know that the two most prized experiments had escaped. Did she think I was known for being aloof and shortsighted? I was going to fix that thought quick.
I had known Varian would try to escape, but I hadn’t expected Arcelia to try either. Well, she hadn’t tried escaping at all. She’d been knocked out against her will.
The second one of the scientists had come running towards my office I knew something was wrong. They wouldn’t fidget like that if everything was okay. So I calmed down the scientist, knowing I would need him. I patiently asked him if I could see the CCTV footage and he seemed to sigh in relief.
He lead me to the security room, telling me they’d set up extra cameras that didn’t run on technology just in case something like this happened. We entered the room which had little space, only enough for a few people because the equipment took up most of the room. I thanked him and waved a dismissive hand, waiting until he left before I sat down.
I found the footage and watched, relieved there was sounds. They’d only installed sound on the tapes recently because half of the situations were quite the opposite of what they seemed to be in silence.
"Why don't you like me?" Varian asked, his figure huddled in a corner. He seemed genuinely upset about Arcelia not liking him. But that was expected. The Red Virus heightened his affection towards the female he felt drawn to. Arcelia happened to be that female thus having much of his affection directed towards her.
Arcelia didn’t answer him, causing him to sigh in frustration. It was clear he didn’t like the way Arcelia tried to keep her distance. She might think it wasn’t obvious what she was trying to do, but it was. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Stop it." Arcelia said suddenly, causing Varian to look straight at her. He just stared back and just when it looked like he was about to say something the light flickered off.
For a moment I couldn’t see anything. But the camera adjusted and I could see two blurry figures.
"Are you okay?" Varian asked, although I couldn’t actually see the words leave his mouth.
"Everything is off." Arcelia murmured, staying put. She’d been taught exceptionally well and knew to stay in her room during a blackout. Varian, however seemed to have other ideas.
"How the hell does everything just shut off?" Varian muttered. Then there was a pause before he lowly said, "Did you say everything is off?"
Arcelia nodded, probably not understanding why Varian seemed to care about that. He stood up slowly, so as not to startle Arcelia, but her hand still went towards the door. He raised his hands, trying to feign innocence.
"Sit back down." Arcelia tried, but Varian just ignored her.
"Can they hear us?" He asked, and Arcelia shook her head. She didn’t know that the cameras still worked during blackouts. So they’d kept her in the dark about a few things apparently.
"How far do these go? How far can we go?" He asked, pointing at the shocker around his neck.
Arcelia didn’t answer right away, but her cautious expression morphed into one of horror when she finally understood what he wanted. "You can't leave. They'll kill you." She whispered.
"We're both leaving. We can't stay angel." He said, trying to calm her down. That’s when Arcelia’s hand drifted away from the door.
The next second Varian was right next to her, wrapping his arms around Arcelia like a steel cage. She squirmed and pushed, trying to escape, but Varian’s iron grip did not falter.
"I'm sorry angel." He whispered before his arms went around her neck. Then Arcelia slowly went limp.
Varian gently laid her down, promising to come back to her. He went out into the hall, waiting at the corner patiently. Finally a scientist came around, seeming startled that Varian was there. He opened his mouth, but Varian grabbed him, throwing him against the wall.
“You’re going to give me your lab coat.” Varian instructed. The scientist was shaking, completely scared. He nodded and Varian stepped back a little, watching carefully as the scientist shook off his coat, handing it to Varian with a trembling hand.
“Just let me go.” He stuttered. I found it amusing, his fear. He was afraid of something he’d helped create. He was afraid of his own experiment.
Varian didn’t respond. Instead he wrapped his arms around the scientist like he had Arcelia. He finally let go, not even sparing a second glance at the scientist as he rushed back to his room.
He threw on the coat before picking up Arcelia with care and gently putting her over his shoulder. “I’m getting us out of here.” He whispered to her before he walked out the door.
I had to admit, Varian was smart, getting the lab coat. Not a single person took another glance at him. They all assumed that he’d caught a loose experiment and was putting her back in her room. They didn’t look well enough in the dark halls to recognize he was actually an experiment himself, escaping with the most valuable experiment: Arcelia. I would have been furious if it wasn’t for the fact that the scientists were helpless in this situation; the blackout meant that they could barely see.
It took him a while, but Varian managed to find his way to the exit. I watched as he opened the door and disappeared. I calmly got up, refusing to let my anger get the best of me. I carefully left the room, looking to see who was responsible for watching the two.
Linsey.
My own assistant had been responsible. I didn’t feel disappointment, for I’d chosen her randomly. She was just a mere assistant to get what I needed. But I felt anger towards her. She’d been incompetent and now the only two accepted into the Red Virus Trial were gone.
I knew Linsey would come running into my office, pleading for my help for her mistake. So I told her to fix it herself or she was dead. But I wasn’t going to sit around waiting on her. No, I was going to fix this mess.
I dialed a number, drumming my fingers on my desk until someone picked up.
“Hello Dimitri. Do you need something?” They asked politely and I smiled.
“Yes, I want you to put the head scientist of Lab Arcelia in a room. I’ll be right there."