The room that spreads out before me is different from the last. Here, I'm not surrounded by red containers. Instead, computers line the walls around me. They aren't even walls really. It's floor to ceiling displays, black at the moment.
There is one solid, glass door leading to another room to my left. I can see more containers, but these are blue instead of red. I test the handle, but it's locked. Like the door I came in, it has a place to either swipe a keycard or type in a code. Hopeful, I try the keycard. The light blinks red at me.
I knew I couldn't be so lucky.
So, I search around the room for another clue. As I approach the screens, a red, hand outline appears. Words start to scroll across the screen— "Place hand here." I instantly reach out, but Isaac's pleading repeats in my head. Don't do anything stupid. I feel like touching something without thinking about it would be pretty stupid. It's just a hand scanner. What could it possibly do to hurt me?
Cautiously, I flatten my palm against the cold, glassy surface. The hand flashes red, then green, and the words are quickly replaced by a home screen. Along the right are file icons labeled with numbers instead of names. Maybe it would be best to just start at the top...
An icon in the top right corner catches my eye. It's blue where the others are plain beige and has a name: Welcome Message. I reach for it and, hands shaking, press the folder.
Preparing video for...
Jaelyn Nicole Price...
3... 2...1...
The screen blacks out, and I scramble back into a chair. My heel catches on the wheel, sending me flailing backwards. White noise surrounds me as the screen bursts back to life again. A video snaps open— It's my father.
A younger version of him.
The man staring back at me looks barely older than I am right now. His hair hasn't yet turned gray; it's a brilliant jet-black. There are no wrinkles on his face, and I don't hear his characteristic wheezing when he breathes. He wears a long, white lab coat, though, just like he does now. The room behind him is the same one that sits on the other side of the glass door.
"Good morning, Jaelyn," he says in a clear voice. He's calm, happy almost. I've never heard my father sound anything less than stressed. "If you're watching this, you've discovered the existence of the second strand. Not only that, but you've broken into Room 406. No one else could have accessed these files. One of my colleagues made sure of that. I'm sure Hartley didn't leave the room unattended. To get past his guards— well, that's something else. I knew you could. That's why I'm here.
"I can only wonder what you've done with me, considering getting this far means you know I'm responsible for the virus."
I nod, despite knowing he can't see me. My breathing slows. Is he about to explain himself to me? Finally? This room must be safe from Hartley's omniscient ears.
"I won't try to deny it. I was head of a three person development team. We were all the top scientists in our fields— a geneticist, a chemist, and an engineer. Ashford collected the best of the best, the brightest men and women on Earth. He also made sure we all had families though, so he could use them as leverage. You had just been born, Jay. You and your mother meant everything to me. You have to understand that."
He takes a long, deep breath and runs a hand over his hair. It falls back over his face. When he continues, he shakes his head.
"Ashford approached me in early January and proposed the idea of a virus designed to turn humans into 'zombies.' He wanted to wipe out a huge majority of the United States population. The details were left up to us.
"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."
He takes a long break this time, staring at the papers on the desk in front of him. A video flashes on a screen behind him— a news report from the looks of it. He glances back at it and mumbles something. "Something's going on in the west. I fear it may start an all-out civil war at this rate, but I can't worry about two crises at once. End transmission."
This time, when the video ends, I don't lunge forward to start the next one. I sit, paralyzed, in the chair. I'm not immune by some genetic streak of luck. The cure lives inside of me because my father put it there. He put it in Mandy, too.
And we aren't the only ones! There's four more people out there with it! Do they know? Are they searching for us as well? I shake my head to clear out the emotion clouding it and lean forward. Skipping a few files, I select another.
Entry 046...
A third person stands in front of the camera this time. Well, leans down in front of it really. Both hands prop him up on the table, and his face looms so close that I can see the individual hairs of his dark beard. He's different from the other two— smooth, brown skin and dark, coarse hair. My brain labels him as exotic, foreign.
"Our families are safe in the compounds," he says, thick with an accent I can't place. "The gates are shut for good. I am filming this from Compound 2 but plan to share it with Ava in 1 and Price in 4. Ashford separated us. Probably because once you separate a bundle of sticks, they're easier to break." He shakes his head. "We had to leave Mandy Price behind. Our tests showed that her DNA was clear of the virus, but we increased the dosage to see how much the cure could handle. We assumed her dead and were forced to leave her at the CDC. When I went back to collect some important files, two were missing, and her body was gone as well. It is my assumption that she survived and took the paperwork with her."
He leans in even further and whispers dramatically, "Let's hope those files are never released to the public. If so, the government will crumble around us. There are more civilians than officials. The balance is uneven, and even the smallest dissent could send us tumbling." He sits upright. "We don't need to end up like the Western Compounds. End transmissions."
Wait, what? Did I miss something? What happened to the five compounds in the West? There wasn't much to get from that video other than the fact that the government is weak. It wouldn't take much to overthrow those in charge. Say about... fifteen strong individuals.
I go back a few files and keep watching.
Entry 023...
"Good morning," Ava says. "The western compounds fell today." Breath rushes out of me, and I lean forward in my chair. "Compounds 6 through 10 were taken over by civilians when they learned of the existence of a cure. How they found out about it is a mystery to me. Rumors are they pass it out freely." She shakes her head. "There's only so much. If they aren't careful, they'll run out, and then all this would have been for nothing. All of our hiding and lying... for nothing."
She leans her head back and rests it on the chair.
"Compound 5 sent troops to build a wall between us and the West. Communications have been shut down; they're blacked out to us. Ashford's greatest concern right now is keeping them out. Maybe then we'll be able to finish the Decontamination and purify our homeland again. That's the point of all this, right? Making ourselves great once again?" She shakes her head, looking away. "Ashford destroyed every sign of the cure we had hidden. He doesn't know it's in our children. Let's make sure it stays that way. End transmission."
A single hand rises over my chest. The civilians won. There are no more compounds in the west. No compounds, no raging virus, no living like a caged animal. Is that possible here? Is there anything that could rally the people up enough to stand up to Hartley and Ashford? It wouldn't take much; they're so unhappy with their lives as is.
A spoonful of hope rises in my stomach, and I find myself smiling. If I can make it out of this alive, rally the people up, break down Hartley, then there's a chance. Any chance is better than none.
I look through the files once more, searching for something more recent. Not all of them are here. Huge gaps in the numbering catch my attention. Either way, I wouldn't have time to watch them all anyway. Isaac's waiting on me.
I tap the last entry in the list and countdown along with the intro.
Entry 194...
I push myself back from the screen as Hartley and my father appear, side-by-side.
"Good evening, Jaelyn," Hartley says, crossing his hands in front of him. "I have to say, I'm glad you made it this far. After all my hard work, it's nice to see it pay off." He smiles. "You see, I've been watching you since your incident with Duncan. I try to stamp out signs of defiance when they first rear their ugly heads. Did you watch the other videos? Did they inspire you? All that talk of rebellion and escape... It's wonderful to imagine, isn't it?" He pauses. "Remember, though, Jaelyn, there are consequences for every action."
He turns another screen to face the camera. Here, a collection of pictures flash by. Empty landscapes, flattened cities, never-ending deserts. The world he shows me is blackened and dead.
"Yes, the Western Compounds 'escaped,' and they tried really hard to get through our wall. They almost succeeded a few times, so there must be some strength in unification." He points to a picture of a massive forest fire. "So, we burned them. Sent in helicopters and set fire to everything in sight." He sighs happily. "There's nothing more beautiful than fire, don't you agree? Such gorgeous destruction. I'm sure you'll agree once I set it loose on the troublemakers you found in Dunlap."
Hartley takes a step away from my father, and I notice the cuffs on Dad's wrists. He looks down at his feet, shoulders slumping. So dejected and depressed.
"But if you're here, watching this, then you made it out of that fire untouched. I'm not surprised. You always were a fighter. I guess I can't fight your fire with fire. Instead, we have another plan." He spins towards Dad. "Doctor, tell her what we come up with."
Dad clears his throat and looks back at the camera. His blue eyes are huge and mournful. Yet, he's also serious. This is the father I know, not the one from the videos.
"We are going to set a trap for you on the fifth floor of the Research Facility. There, you'll find the cure masked as the second strand. Destroying it will be an easy task. Your inability to think before you act will be your downfall."
Hartley roars with laughter, and the speakers crackle around me. "We're going to make you the public enemy. By the time I'm finished with you, the people will demand for your death, and I, always the benevolent leader, will give them what they want. You should at least die well-informed."
He leans into the camera and smiles—grins maliciously rather, showing all of his teeth like a gorilla baring his fangs. "Hasn't your father told you over and over not to be so impulsive? See you soon, precious Jaelyn."
Hartley leaves the frame, and Dad looks at me with soft wrinkles between his eyebrows. He shakes his head sadly and lifts his cuffed hands to the screen.
"End transmission," he whispers.
The screen goes black one more time.