Kevin stood up and heaved a sigh. “I don’t really get what he’s talking about, but it looks like the scientists gave up on a solution.”
“That is truly most disappointing,” said Helios thoughtfully.
Taking a seat on the couch of books, Tom frowned. “So…it’s all pointless? There’s nothing we can do?”
Kevin looked over at the sphere. “Hey…um…robot dude—”
The robot replied, “If you were wondering about my name, you can call me Shiro.”
“Shiro? Sounds Japanese,” said Kevin.
The robotic sphere rolled back and forth, as though nodding enthusiastically. “That is my country of origin. My birthplace.”
“Typical. So anyway, Shiro, is there no way to save the human population?”
“There might be a way.”
Shocked, Kevin raised his eyebrows. “Really? But didn’t that doctor just say that he couldn’t find one?”
“Oh, he found one.”
Kevin’s jaw slackened. “Wait, what? I thought—what? This is just—I don’t get it.”
“Your confusion is understandable,” replied Shiro. “Through our research, we found a possible solution. However, it is not a solution that the Doctor would accept.”
“Why not?”
“Because the solution is based on a certain folklore entitled The Three Stars. The folklore talks of three stars that fell to earth a long time ago. All three stars crumbled away into dust, darkening the earth for three days and three nights. During this time, all mankind fell asleep—except for one man. And that man was able to save everyone from eternal sleep…”
“And then?” Kevin demanded.
“That is all the doctor wanted to know before dismissing the story as useless. And to call it folklore is also misleading because we were unable to determine where such a story came about. It might’ve been just a prank on the Internet. There are plenty of those.”
“Still, it’s very similar to the situation we have now,” said Tom.
“Folklore or not,” said Helios, “it sounds like a clue.”
Kevin nodded, agreeing with them. “I want to find out more about this story—like how the man was able to save everyone. Even folklores sometimes have truth to them.” He said to Shiro, “Do you have an Internet connection in this place so we can do some research?”
Shiro said, “We do. However, our computer network is password protected. You need to be a member of the facility to log into an existing account.”
“You can access the Internet, can’t you?”
“I can. But I cannot give you access. You are intruders, after all. My instructions are only to bring you to this room so you can watch the video. Nothing more.”
Tom snapped, “Wow, you suck!”
Shiro’s robotic eye turned bright red. “Blame the programmer, not the programmed. I’m not human. I don’t have a choice. I must follow my programming.”
Kevin abruptly glanced toward the door. It looked like something was bothering him. “Well, no matter. I want to meet up with the others as soon as possible. We can find Internet somewhere else. I’m worried about Andrew. He’s been gone for quite a while.”
Helios climbed up into the pocket of Kevin’s jeans. “Indeed. It is not wise for one to be separated. But he does have Terminus for protection.”
“You guys are just getting paranoid.” Tom smiled. “There’s nothing wrong. He’s just hiding…I know he is.” Tom went to the door and motioned for Kevin to follow. “Come on, let’s see if we can avoid his traps and give him another scare.”
Kevin took out his cell phone. “This is no time to be playing around.” He tried calling Andrew several times. He didn’t answer.
“I’m telling you, Kevin,” said Tom, “he’s up to something.”
“I hope you’re right.” Kevin followed Tom back into the tight corridor where all the people were sleeping behind the glass.
As they walked down the long hallway, Kevin glanced at Tom’s facial expression. Even though Tom looked confident, Kevin imagined him to be afraid under his calm exterior. After all, this was terrifying stuff. And Kevin didn’t want to be the only one who felt scared.
Up until this point, everything felt like a game to him, even if he didn’t want to admit it. It was something out of the ordinary, an experience of a lifetime. Talking to animals, staying awake as long as possible, hanging out with new faces—all of this was fun to him. The only reason he didn’t feel worried before was because he thought it didn’t really depend on them. He had believed that somewhere out there someone else would figure something out. He had believed that the government or some scientists would be able to help them.
Kevin bit his lip, staring at the sleeping bodies through the glass. He had always believed in hope. If he had screwed up on a test, there was always another chance to make up for it. If he had skipped out on a chore, he could always appease his parents by doing more. But this was different. Everything always had a solution—until now. This was life and death…and everything about their hope now seemed so frail.
Kevin threw a look over his shoulder, feeling pierced by someone’s gaze. He spun around and searched for anything out of the ordinary. Shiro was rolling right up behind them.
Tom asked, “Showing us the door? I didn’t know robots had manners.”
Shiro said flatly, “I have come to alert you about something. I’m not sure how, but one of our experiments has escaped. Since it is our responsibility, I thought I should let you know.”
“An experiment?” Kevin gulped. He didn’t like the sound of that. “What kind of experiment are we talking about?”
“A strain of rare and deadly bacteria indigenous to a small island off the coast of Brazil. It was brought back here for examination and…alteration.”
Partially in a state of disbelief, Kevin chuckled. “Deadly bacteria? Just give us some masks…or maybe a can of disinfectant. That should do the trick.”
“Disinfectant, I have none.” Shiro rolled around. “I will, however, allow you access to the hazmat suits. That should give you some protection.”
Tom raised a brow. “The haz-what?”
“Hazmat—or hazardous material.” Shiro went over to the wall. “We have the suits for situations like these. But I cannot guarantee its effectiveness against this particular bacteria.”
There was a thin red line that started from the ground and ran up the wall to about shoulder level. At the top of the line was a bright red handprint carved into a panel, which Kevin found to be a peculiar choice of design, and the words Emergency Use Only. Shiro began vibrating and was suddenly attached to the wall, as though he was stuck on it. Kevin never noticed it before, but Shiro’s outer shell was like a sponge: soft and elastic, and full of tiny holes. Shiro was then able to roll up the wall to the handprint through the power of suction. Once Shiro touched the handprint, part of the wall retracted, opening up a small closet full of hazmat suits on hangers. The different sizes ranged from nearly seven feet tall to the size of a small baby.
“Cool,” said Tom. “I need one of these closets at home.”
Tom browsed through the selection, checking to see what would fit him. While Tom was busying examining the suits, Kevin warily watched the hall. There was still the possibility of an ambush. His eyes fell on a peculiar purple-colored smoke forming down the hall.
Pointing, Kevin said, “I thought you said bacteria…that looks like a chemical.”
Shiro looked in the direction Kevin was pointing. “It’s here! Quick! Put on your suits.”
Kevin shrugged. “If we can see it and there’s no draft, I don’t see a problem…” He spoke too soon. The purple smoke started drifting to their location, faster and faster. Kevin gawked, then yanked Tom out of the closet and ran for the office area.
“What?” Tom wondered what was going on. He looked around, and when he saw the purple mist, he also darted for the exit. Shiro followed after him.
They slammed the door behind them and, since they couldn
’t find a way to lock it, pushed a heavy desk against the double doors. Breathless, they stared at the door, fearfully stepping backwards. Boom. The door shook, like something banged against it.
“What was that?” Kevin exclaimed.
Tom gibbered some nonsense before saying, “How should I know?” Tom felt a weird, gentle tickle going down his shoulder. He whirled around and screamed. Kevin copied his reaction, unsure of what was going on. Then Andrew jumped away from them and screamed. They all screamed for a long time as they exchanged confused glances with one another. Helios and Terminus showed up in the loud chaos, both covering their ears.
When the screaming finally died down, Tom said hoarsely, “Holy crap, Andrew. Don’t do that! I thought my heart was going to burst.” He clutched at his chest, feeling for his speeding heartbeat.
Andrew said, “I didn’t think a tap on the shoulder would make you jump like that.”
“We just…I don’t know how to explain this,” said Kevin, gesturing with his thumb, “but there’s something back there and it’s trying to get out. We shouldn’t stay here.”
“Then I will lead you out,” said Shiro, who was next to Tom’s feet.
“Before you do, can you explain that? I thought you said something about a bacteria outbreak. How’s that bacteria? Bacteria are small enough to be invisible. That is quite visible and quite ridiculous…I mean, it’s banging on the door! Bacteria don’t bang on doors!”
“Like I said,” Shiro explained, “it’s a rare strain of bacteria…with alterations. I must admit that the final results were unexpected. The bacteria are purple in color and have been loosely clumping together. When there are enough of them clumping closely, they do start to become visible…very similar to the situation of certain fungi or algae. There are some signs of basic intelligence as well…like when it’s seeking you out.”
“How does it fly like that? Isn’t it too heavy to float?”
“It’s not flying, however it has that appearance. The structure is bottom heavy, but you were focused on its ‘head.’”
Panicking, Andrew shouted, “It’s coming through the cracks!” Sure enough, a purple haze squeezed through the slight gaps in the door.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Kevin said, waving his hands around excitedly. “There’s no stopping it!” He said to Shiro, “Hurry and show us the way out!”
Shiro zipped away at maximum speed, rolling across the rug with a powerful friction that caused a slight burning smell. The boys chased after the spherical robot in hopes to escape out of the maze of cubicles with relative ease. Shiro moved quickly, analyzing each possible route and finally he found his way to…a dead end.
Kevin curled his lip. “Shiro…why are we staring at a dead end?”
Shiro said, “I’ve never set foot outside of the Doctor’s office. All of this is new to me.”
Kevin stomped his foot. “Then why did tell us you could lead us out?”
“I assumed it would be an easy task.”
Kevin groaned in frustration. “You assumed wrong!”
The purple mist caught up with them, and then stopped in front of them. It started to expand like a balloon until it reached all the way up to the ceiling. Its cells were stretched even thinner now. It was so thin that it almost turned invisible.
“What is it doing?” wondered Andrew.
Tom shrugged. “Maybe it’s trying to form a net…so we can’t escape.”
Andrew took Shiro and jolted the robot furiously. “Do something you hunk of junk!” His arms outstretched, he held Shiro forward in the direction of the mist. “Shoot it! Fire lasers or a missile or something!”
Shiro replied, “I’m not a weapon. I can’t shoot anything.”
“Not a weapon, huh?” Kevin grabbed Shiro with one hand and waggled his index finger at him. “We’ll see about that. You got us into this mess and you’re getting us out.” Then Kevin placed Shiro on the ground, pulled back his leg and launched a powerful kick that sent Shiro rocketing into the haze.
“AIEEEEEEEEEE!” Shiro yelped in his odd monotone vocalization as he disappeared from view, bouncing around the maze like a pinball.
The thin structure of the bacteria slowly fell apart, collapsing into an airy mess.
Terminus took the initiative. Flying over the high partitions, he saw the way to the exit.
“If we break down this wall, you can escape.”
Kevin exclaimed, “Then on the count of three, we knock down this wall!” The others nodded dubiously in reply. The partition looked sturdy, but this wasn’t a good time to argue. “One…two…three!” The boys charged at the gray divider, slamming it full force—only to bounce off its surface without making so much as a dent.
Massaging his bruised shoulder, Kevin grunted, “That didn’t work.” He looked up. “Why don’t we climb over?” He glanced at Tom and Andrew. “Tom will give us a boost.”
“What? Why me?” Tom demanded.
“Because you’re tall and skinny. You’ll make it easier to reach the top and easier to pull you over.”
Tom nodded. “Oh, all right. Andrew, get on.”
Tom bent his knees slightly and interlocked his hands, forming a foothold for the others. Andrew stepped up on Tom’s hands, using Tom’s shoulder and the wall to keep his balance. Tom yelled out a war cry as he hoisted Andrew upward. He felt like he was going to get crushed under Andrew’s weight. Andrew climbed over and made a loud grunt as he fell onto the other side. Kevin followed after him without much trouble.
“All right, pull me up, pull me up,” Tom said quickly, stretching as high as he could with his hands raised. He looked over his shoulder to see the purple cloud stirring. “Anytime now!”
Kevin reached over the wall, grabbing Tom by the wrist. Then he pulled him up with all his might. Tom kicked his feet against the partition, attempting to run up. He was almost halfway up the wall when suddenly his leg was jerked down. A thick purple hand was holding onto his foot and was tugging him down. Tom yelled, “Keep pulling! Please! Get me out of here!”
“Urgh…I’m trying…” Kevin groaned, as he pulled and pulled. The added weight of the bacteria was surprisingly heavy.
Then Tom thought of something. He dug into the left pocket of his pants and found his lighter. He started up the small flame and waved it near the mist. The cloud shrunk away from the fire. Since Tom was flailing around, Kevin couldn’t hold on and let go of him, such that he fell to the floor. Tom got up and chased the mass of bacteria with the tiny flame.
While still standing on Andrew’s shoulders, Kevin searched for something that Tom could use. Helios helped search the floor. The rat found a small fire extinguisher on the ground by a desk and told Andrew to fetch it. Kevin’s legs dangled over the divider as he waited for Andrew’s return. Andrew passed the small fire extinguisher up to Kevin and Kevin dropped it beside Tom.
Kevin said, “Tom, use the extinguisher to slow him down!”
“Right.” Tom released the safety pin and pulled the trigger. A splatter of powder came flying out of the nozzle, covering the purple mist in messy gunk. After the extinguisher was empty, Tom chucked it at the purple gob, rupturing it apart. The clumps of microscopic cells had difficulty adhering to one another because of the powder.
Tom then jumped up on the divider. Kevin hauled him across. Andrew lost his footing and fell over. Everyone tumbled to the ground. They jumped to their feet and raced through the main hallway to the exit. Kevin breathlessly reached for the steps of the ladder while looking back to see if the weird science experiment was on their tail.
“Ow!” A sharp pain coursing through his hand, Kevin pulled it back. His eyes wide, he stared at the small snakes coiled around the rungs. He lowered his gaze. The floor was full of snakes in one nasty pile. Squirming, slithering and hissing all over each other, the snakes took notice of Kevin and glared at him. Tom dragged Kevin out of the chamber and shut the door.
“Are you okay?” asked Andrew, gingerly checking the bit
e.
Kevin stared at his wounded knuckles. “I don’t know…all I know is that it hurts.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” said Terminus. “We must get out of there.”
“But we can’t get out this way,” said Tom dejectedly.
“There’s another way,” said Andrew. “I saw one at the other end of the hall!”
“Then let’s go.” Kevin held his wrist, wondering if the snake was venomous. As they hustled to the other side, Kevin said, “I hope the others are all right. They were supposed to guard the entrance.” Andrew and Tom didn’t say anything, all of them too worried to reply.
- Blues -