The PRL Event: CZS 11 (End)
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Dr. Worthington’s lab in the medical center is big. It had been three separate labs, but as his prestige grew, the university was more willing to do anything to keep him happy. Worthington asked and the university converted three labs into his one super-sized space where he sometimes meets with students doing independent study.
He hasn’t had anyone from the university in his lab for almost a year now. His current project requires secrecy. If someone had come into his lab, as Kevin and Alia and their friends are currently doing as stealthily as they can manage, they would be horrified at the soundproof cells that line one wall. They hold the results of human experimentation. There are six monsters, six people who had been altered by a bacteria that Worthington had created, in the cells along the wall. One is the woman Crude. Ivan, who is with Kevin and Alia, recognizes the woman right away. Even though she is a frightening sight with her oozing skin and awkward bone structure that makes her look like half her body is shorter than the other, Ivan feels her humanity and he approaches her cell with a tear in his eye. His boyfriend, Clay, is there as well and he stands next to him looking at the woman.
“She’s so scared,” Ivan whispers. “We can’t just kill her.”
Detective Paul Young is also with the group and he warns against being too softhearted. “Ivan,” he whispers with urgency, “go with Alia here and find the doctor. Leave these things to us.”
Ivan looks Clay in the eyes and Clay shakes his head and grimaces. “I’m sorry babe, we have to do it. You didn’t see what we saw.”
Ivan looks to Alia who is obviously annoyed at the show of emotions. “Don’t kill them,” she says. “Not yet. We’ll find Worthington first and if he can’t or won’t cure these people, then we’ll talk. Let’s go Ivan.”
Kevin, Clay, and Young stand guard in front of the glass cells as Alia and Ivan slowly make their way across the lab that is mostly dark except errant light through the windows and a light from the back. Alia and Ivan move cautiously through the lab and when they reach the source of the light, they see Dr. Worthington sitting with a bottle of whiskey, swirling a glass in one hand. He smiles as the two approach.
“You’re the spoilers.” He laughs. “Yes, you are just what I expected. Fine physical specimens. Which one of you makes things out of thin air? Which one gets bigger when he gets mad? I’ve heard so much about you, you’ve given my people a hard time all day.”
“Is there a cure!?” Ivan yells and his eyes are so bright that they are practically beacons
“For them?” Worthington points in the direction of the cells. “No. I’ve been curing the people that I can. They were never meant to be caught up in all of this. I don’t know if I can cure the first woman and the rest of the ones here, I’m still working on that.”
“You cured all the people she infected?” Ivan asks. “If that’s the case, why were they making more?”
Worthington takes a drink and shrugs. “I had to give them something. They’ve done so much for me. I have not been involved with the work in that apartment complex for a while now, but I do take responsibility for what happened and I am trying to make it right.”
“What about your son?” Alia asks.
Worthington finishes his drink in a big gulp. “He’s already dead. And so is everyone who liked him enough to kiss him or have sex with him, and everyone who had sex with them. You have to understand why I did this, my son and people like him…” he starts but Alia won’t let him finish.
“That thing you made hasn’t killed him yet, tell us how to cure him.”
“You don’t understand. You can’t cure it now. He’s had the parasite for months. He should be dead any day now. His parasite has finished its reproductive stage, and that means that it no longer needs the host. His brain will be mush in a couple days.”
Ivan hits Worthington with his glow and knocks the man from his chair. Kevin, Clay, and Young run over.
“He says it’s too late.” Alia looks to Kevin. “Conner is as good as dead.”
“He won’t help?” Kevin says. He eyes Worthington groaning on the floor. This man is evil and despite their best efforts, he would succeed in his plans. Unless, Kevin thinks, they take advantage of all of their options. “What about the alien?”
Alia shakes her head. “You don’t want that Kevin, we don’t have to go to him. And if this guy is telling the truth, it’s too late. The damage is done.”
“He might help, though, right? He can save those people?”
“I’m almost sure of it.”
Kevin sighs. “Then let’s grab the doctor and go find the alien.”
“Hold on,” Young interjects. “We’re killing those things.”
“He can cure them,” Ivan says.
“I can’t,” Worthington interjects from the floor. He slowly stands, obviously bruised from Ivan’s assault. “I’m working on it, but I can’t right now. Give me time.”
“You’re gonna listen to this lunatic?” Young says exasperated. “He won’t cure his own son!”
Worthington is upset by Young’s resistance and he limps in his direction. “My son has been dead for a long time now, he may have been a hollow man at birth, and everyone who will die from the parasite he’s spread don’t deserve their lives. These people in my lab are innocent, the victims of something that got out of control. I will fix it.”
Alia, Kevin, Clay, Ivan and Young look around at one another.
“These are our options,” Kevin says eventually. “We can burn this lab to the ground with this d-bag inside. If we do that, we go to Wilmington and make an announcement, warn people to get medical attention. Hopefully that can stop the spread of it. Another option; we find this alien guy who works for the government. Alia thinks he can definitely cure everyone. But this guy’s is dangerous. What’s his name?” Kevin looks to Alia.
“Eakran,” she says, “he’s in Georgia now. I don’t know how fast he could do his work, or if he would want help, but he can definitely stop this.”
Worthington chuckles. “Dr. Thomas Eakran made the bacteria that changed these people.”
“Let’s just burn this place down already.” Young says.
Just as he finishes, there is commotion through the front doors and the group hears people approaching.
“It seems your decisions are being made for you.” Worthington says with a smile. “My people are here.”
Suddenly the room fills with tear gas and Kevin thinks to close his team inside of a clear ball that he forces through a wall of the laboratory and outside. When they are safely away, he disappears the ball and a cloud of the gas dissipates as the group coughs and regroups. They watch as Worthington exits the building through the hole in the wall along with men with guns and dressed all in black. They disappear behind the building, and then a helicopter takes off shortly after. An explosion detonates in the lab and most of the building goes up in flames.
Ivan powers up and his glow erupts around him like a raging fire. Young jumps back, startled. Clay bulks up and his eyes glow.
“Stand down boys,” Alia says. “It’s too dangerous. If you fly after them, they fire everything they have at you and they came prepared.”
“What do we do?!” Ivan yells. “We can’t let them get away!”
Clay enters the flame around Ivan and he grabs Ivan from behind. “Calm down.”
“What can we do?” Young asks Alia. “What can we do that doesn’t involve an alien. I’ve seen a lot over the last couple of days, some crazy shit if you will pardon me ma’am, but adding an alien to this mix seems like a bad idea.”
Alia nods and she is solemn. She turns to Kevin. “They’re already dying. Conner is gone.”
The group is silent.
The whole ordeal had been more stressful than Alia had allowed herself to realize. But Conner’s apparent death meant they had come to the end of their journey and all of her emotions flood her mind. She closes her eyes and in her mind, she is in a park. It is quiet and peaceful. Alia yells so loudly that she blows the scene away; everything leans away from her, struggling against the force of her voice, and then the trees uproot, the park benches splinter and fly away, the grass flies away like snowflakes. Before long, there is nothing left.
Alia opens her eyes. Ivan is down on one knee crying and Clay hugs him, doing his best to console. Young looks relieved.
“Let’s go home before the cops show up.” Kevin says, holding a hand out to Alia.
Next Up:
The CZS Epilogue
PRL Serials 