Matter

Chapter 25

I wake up when the sky begins to lighten from the rising sun and I go to the garden. The fog is thick around the topiaries and flowers, the moisture abundant as I walk to the lavender bush. I pluck the flowers that have grown above the pruning, gather and tie most of them with a long piece of grass. At the front gate I leave the fragrant bouquet on Michael's clipboard as a way to apologize for last night. I then make my way to the lab to begin my second day with Evan.

As I open the door I hear a scuffling in the hallway. Fear grips me, my heart hammering into overdrive. An earsplitting screech rings through the hall and I run back out of the doors, pulling them closed behind me. I strain to see what's coming through the window of the door, my breath fogging the pane. I see Evan backing through a doorway, guiding something with his hands. I see kicking feet in the air and two of our security emerge carrying an infected. Another two personnel have its arms and Michael is holding the head steady. Their grip keeps the writhing to a minimum and they carry it into an observation room adjacent to the first.

I carefully open the door and walk in. The smell is horrid in the hallway and without Evan's menthol I bring my remaining lavender to my nose.

Unified commands between all of the men call out of the small room. I look in to see that they have brought in a woman. She's barely dressed with ripped clothes covered in dried blood and the blackened blood synonymous with the disease. Her hair is everywhere and she has huge chunks of flesh missing from her arms and face. The areas around these wounds are dark yellow, which means she was attacked and not killed. She's growling and snapping as Michael continues to hold her head until Evan restrains it to the bed.

All the men jump away and give each other pats on the back for a job well done. Evan's plan has worked. They wave farewell to Evan and leave him with his new subject. Michael is last to vacate the room. As he sees me, he gives a small wave and follows his men.

Continuing to hold my blossoms to my nose I enter the new room with Evan. He's as excited as a child at Christmas, "See? I told everyone it would work. And now look, I have another test subject to study. Let's see if I can find anything different." He has a huge smile on his face, making him beautiful.

He laughs when he sees my flowers pressed against my face. "Here." he hands me the menthol out of his pocket. "Why don't we find a way to press the scent from these flowers into an oil for you to use? It does make a difference with them in here, more relaxing."

We walk to his office to gather supplies and a new file for Subject 3. Evan brings a contraption out of a cabinet that looks like a large rubber balloon, and carries it into the room. I watch with horror as he quickly slides two long tubes into the woman's mouth.

He pours water into one of the tubes with a funnel. The woman struggles fiercely as he squeezes the ballooned end and a sickening, slurping sound fills the room. I have to leave when I see the chunks fly into the canister.

Evan chuckles as I exit, "Where are you going?"

He's laughing when I return and taking his gloves off, "What happened in there? I still have it if you want to see it." He reaches beside his desk as I put my hands out in protest, "You got to get tough, Lena. I'm counting on you in there."

My voice is shaking and hoarse, "I know, that was just a little more than I expected."

Humor leaves his voice quickly, "I want to pump each new one brought in. I need you to be able to handle the procedure. I'm looking to see if they are eating living things or if they are becoming opportunists eating what is already dead." He focuses on her file and continues writing her information.