Nano Z (16 page)

Mack squinted, waiting for his eyes to accommodate the brightness. “What is this place?” Once his eyes adjusted, he found himself in a medium sized white room. There was a sterile feeling to it. That was not only in appearance, but also in smell. Faint fumes left over from cleaning chemicals hovered in the air.

The white room had one door. It was made of tinted glass. There was a desk against one wall and a couch against the other. A man who’d be big by most standards, but not Mack’s, met them both.

“Mack, this is Eugene. Eugene, Mack,” said Ted introducing the two men. “Now Mack, I’m betting you’re wondering why I brought you down here.”

“You’d be right,” answered Mack.

Ted laughed. It was clear that it was forced and insincere. “Honest, straightforward, I like that. Okay. I need you to work here in this room with Eugene. You’ll be responsible for guarding the entrance to our labs.” He pointed at the tinted glass door “Which are through there. Eugene here will explain to you the specifics. I have to get to work myself. So this is where I’ll excuse myself.”

Eugene and Mack watched as Ted swiped his keycard at the panel near the tinted glass door. There was a beep and it opened up. He gave one last creepy smile then disappeared into the labs.

“Welcome to the most boring job of your life,” said Eugene as he walked over to the chair behind the desk. He sighed and sat down.

“So what, we just sit here and do nothing?” asked Mack after being on guard for ten minutes.

“Don’t knock it. It could be much worse. We could be part of the survey or engineering teams. Now there’s a shit assignment.” Eugene put his feet up on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Mack sat down on the couch. “Survey and engineering teams?”

“You see these lights? You take a shower this morning?” Eugene didn’t give Mack time to respond. “Those are possible because of the bat shit crazy folks in the engineering teams. They go out and make sure the power plant is still running and work at the water treatment plant.

“If you piss off Mr. Gorman you’ll find yourself on the survey team. They go out and look for supplies and give the folk back here an updated picture of what’s going on beyond the fences. A survey team picked you up and brought you here.”

“Those both sound like death sentences,” commented Mack.

“They are, for most who join them. Hell, the guy down here with me before you, Harry, got transferred to the survey team. That was a week ago. Nobody’s heard of him since.”

“He pissed off Gorman?” asked Mack.

“That he did.”

“What’d he do?”

“Why do you care?”

“So I don’t accidentally do the same and end up on a survey team.”

“He went into the lab. That’s a big no-no. Don’t go through that door and you’ll be fine. Now… let’s both shut up so I can get some sleep.” Eugene folded his arms on his gut and closed his eyes.

***

There was no clock in the white room outside the labs. Mack had no idea what time it was, or how much longer he had to sit there. With nothing else to do, his mind wandered.

Labs? What the hell are they doing in there? Are they coming up with a cure? Or something more sinister?
Mack’s thoughts were cut off when the door to the labs opened up.

A group of scientists in white lab coats came out. They were taking amongst themselves, completely ignoring Mack and Eugene. Their arrival woke up the latter.

The last man to come out of the labs was Ted Gorman. He took off his lab coat and threw it to Mack. “Get rid of that for me will ya.”

Mack caught the lab coat. It was damp. He looked down at it and saw red stains, splatters. There was no mistaking it for anything other than blood.

Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye. The everyday routine of waking up, getting breakfast, heading to their respective jobs, coming back to the room and sleeping, became Mack and Amber’s lives. Yes it was reliable, safe and uneventful. But there was always an undercurrent of fear. At any moment, all of the comforts around them could come tumbling down.

Amber liked her job. She enjoyed the company of her co-workers. One, Lucy, even became a friend. The teen also felt fulfilled watching over and helping with the kids at the Golden Pony. More importantly, her life wasn’t endangered for three weeks. That was a nice and very welcome change of pace.

Mack wasn’t as thrilled about his job guarding the mysterious labs. He knew that something sinister was going on under the Golden Pony. A couple times a day he could hear human screams from beyond the tinted glass door.

When the alarm on the clock radio blared, Mack swung his arm around and silenced it. He woke up in the dark once again. It was time to get ready for work.

Amber enjoyed her sleep as most teenagers did. That left a small window of opportunity for Mack to take a quick shower. He took advantage of that window every morning. The water washed away the last remnants of sleepiness.

His boots were the last things Mack put on before leaving his and Amber’s room. The sounds of meat puppet screeches in the distance reminded him that they lived in a little oasis in the desert of a monster infested world. He needed them to remember that the Golden Pony was only a temporary reprieve.

Mack was careful to close the door to the room slowly and quietly. He didn’t want to wake Amber up. That mistake was made a couple times before and he bore her wrath. It was an experience he wanted to avoid living through again.

Like every morning for the previous three weeks, the hallways of the Golden Pony residential areas were bustling with activity. The majority of jobs called for early starts. And no one liked being late. Word of any tardiness might reach Mr. Gorman. People who upset the CEO of Galatea Systems tended to disappear.

I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
Mack looked around the elevator.
Something bad is coming. I just know it. But how do I convince Amber that it isn’t safe here? What reason can I give her? And will she be willing to leave? I almost wish something would happen. That would make leaving all this behind much easier.

Mack proceeded to the communal dining area. He had his usual breakfast of fruit cocktail, SPAM, bread and coffee. There was no helping looking at his fellow residents and diners as dead men walking. Did they know what was going on below their feet? Did Mack truly know for that matter?

Am I just being paranoid?
Mack finished eating and made his way towards the back rooms of the casino. To get there he had to pass through the lobby. He watched as the new shift of heavily armed guards took their places along the sandbags.

Next came the worst part of Mack’s day. He had to pass the prisoners in the count room every morning on his way to the labs and every evening when he left. Each time he passed there seemed to be less of them. Mack wasn’t naive enough to believe that Ted’s claims of rehabilitation were true. Even though he didn’t know what happened to them, in his gut he felt that their fates were nothing short of awful. He avoided any eye contact as he passed the smelly prison.

When Mack reached the elevator that went down to the lab, there were a couple of scientists waiting for it. So he waited with them. The two scientists in lab coats chatted about different test subjects. There was a carefree tone to their conversation that disturbed Mack. Were they the real monsters, or were the meat puppets?

“You coming? There’s room,” asked one of the scientists as they got in the elevator.

“That’s all right. I’ll wait,” answered Mack. He gave a fake smile.

When Mack finally got down to the white room outside the labs, Eugene was already there. They exchanged pleasantries and took their usual positions. Eugene was behind the desk, and Mack was on the couch.

Finding some way to pass the long hours of doing nothing was hard. He tried just about everything. Nothing helped. Most days he simply stared at the ceiling or wall and schemed about how to best escape the Golden Pony and The Strip if things took a turn for the worse.

***

Amber woke up about an hour after Mack. Instead of dark blue skies, she was greeted by the oranges, yellows and reds of a rising sun. Unlike the big man, she had to pry herself out of bed.

Ugh.
It took genuine willpower for Amber to roll out of the sheets. True, most adults wouldn’t find it to be an impressive feat. But many teens would. She got up significantly earlier than she would if she were going to school.

Just because Amber was technically awake didn’t mean her mind was. Hell, her eyes were barely even open as she somehow made her way to the bathroom. If she could just get into the shower, she’d be alright. She just had to get there.

Amber’s foot banged into a wall just outside the bathroom. It made her mumble some expletives but didn’t deter her. When she was done taking a shower, Amber brushed her teeth, then got dressed. Seemingly a completely different person than when she woke up less than an hour earlier, Amber left the room.

By the time she entered the residential area hallways of the Golden Pony, they were almost empty. She didn’t have to wait in line for her weapons, nor did she have to wait in line for the elevator. Unlike most jobs, working at the day care didn’t require her to be in early. As long as she showed up before eight, it was all good.

Amber grabbed some bread and peaches for breakfast. By the time she got to the communal dining area, it was almost empty. Only a couple of other residents lingered, enjoying their meals.

Before she entered the theatre/daycare, she took a deep breath. The calm that she enjoyed that morning would disappear as soon as she opened the doors. Chaos from energetic and playful kids awaited her beyond.

***

How long have I been here? Is our shift almost over? I wish this place had a damn clock.
Mack sat in near silence and stared at the opposite wall. The only noise was Eugene’s heavy breathing.

What was that?
The silence of the white room was broken by the faint sound of screaming. That wasn’t that unusual. In his time guarding the labs, Mack heard at least one scream a day. The difference that time was that it was a man’s scream, not a woman’s.

Mack got up from the couch. He grabbed his hunting rifle, which was leaning against one of the arms. Slowly, he approached the glass lab door. It was hard to see anything through the tinted glass. But Mack thought he saw someone in the form of a dark shape. That shape got closer and closer to the door. Even though he should have been ready for it, he jumped when a hand hit the other side of the glass.

Mack slowly backed away. He aimed his hunting rifle at the glass and waited. At any moment he expected a meat puppet to come crashing through. Instead he heard a voice.

“Help!” Someone yelled from the other side of the door.

“I can’t! You need to open the door,” said Mack. He was referring to the fact that he didn’t have the proper keycard to access the lab. Which meant he couldn’t open up.

Mack heard a beep. Then the door unlocked. Before he could open it, it swung open. A scientist fell out from the other side. Before it closed, Mack grabbed the lab door.

The scientist’s lab coat was covered in blood, both human and the gooey black of the meat puppets. He looked terrified. Mack tried to ask what happened but he got no response. Instead the scientist got up and ran for the elevator.

Mack looked over to Eugene, thinking his fellow guard would have been awoken by all the commotion. Eugene was still asleep. Not wanting to waste time trying to wake him, Mack entered the lab. The sounds that Mack heard were terrible. There were meat puppet screeches mixed with human crying. It was enough to make Mack rethink his plan to investigate what happened. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the door close behind him.

Like everything else in the Golden Pony, the labs consisted of re-purposed space. Before Galatea, they were interconnected storage rooms that held everything from liquor to frozen food. The company converted them to laboratory workspaces.

The first area of the labs consisted of hospital beds surrounded by plastic tarps. Medical monitoring equipment accompanied each one. Mack slowly approached one to see if whoever lay there was all right.

Be ready for anything.
Mack used one hand to open up one of the tarps. His other hand held and aimed his gun, just in case.

Jesus!
Behind the tarp, in the hospital bed, was a woman. She was strapped down. Beneath her pale skin, Mack could see black veins. Her eyes were cloudy. The woman was undead.

Mack considered putting the meat puppet in the hospital bed out of its misery. But a shot would bring more. Instead he closed the tarp and backed away.

What the hell is this?
Mack looked around at the other beds. He didn’t check them but felt it was safe to assume that there were more meat puppets strapped there.

Mack continued into another room. In it there was another makeshift prison. Behind metal grate doors were people who looked even more defeated than the inmates he passed on a daily basis.

Wait… I recognize him. Simon? You got to be kidding me.
Mack wasn’t sure at first. The lack of meat on the prisoner’s bones and sickly look made identifying him hard. It was Simon.

Mack stood inches from the metal grate door. “Simon?”

One of the prisoners got up. His legs shook as they struggled to bear his weight. He was weak, malnourished and frail. But there was no mistaking his face. The last time Mack saw it was back in the cabin with his sister.

Stephanie?
Mack’s eyes darted around the prison cell. He was looking for the kind woman he met at the rodeo arena. She was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Stephanie? Where’s your sister?” asked Mack despite having a good idea what the answer to his question was.

Simon’s wide eyes stood out on his dirty face. They started to tear up. That was all the answer Mack needed.

“I’m getting you out of here,” said Mack as he tried to open the padlock that kept the metal grate doors closed. He backed up and used the butt of his rifle to try and knock open the lock. It took some doing, but he managed to open the doors.

“C’mon, let’s go,” encouraged Mack. The prisoners didn’t move.

Get up! We need to go, now! What’s wrong with you people?
None of the prisoners budged. That was when Mack realized that they were lost causes. He’d be better off leaving them behind. Hell, he’d be better off leaving the labs all together.

“Lost, friend?” Mack heard Ted’s voice.

Shit.
Mack turned towards the voice. Ted Gorman stood about fifteen feet away. There was something different about him.

“I heard some screaming and I…I’m going to go,” said Mack as he slowly backpedaled.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You came in here to look around.” Ted gave a devilish grin. His eyes started to glow, red.

That’s not good.

Ted’s cranked his neck sideways. There was a loud crunching noise. Then much to Mack’s surprise and horror, the CEO of Galatea Systems neck started to elongate. His skin tore.

For the first time in months, Mack was scared into immobility. He couldn’t move. Ted’s head got closer and closer, carried by an impossibly stretched out neck. It stopped a feet away from Mack.

“Let me give you the tour,” laughed Ted.

Mack’s arms moved with a mind of their own. He swung his hunting rifle at Ted’s face, hitting it. Upon contact there was a loud clang, like metal against metal. The vibrations from the impact ran through his hands, almost making him drop his weapon.

Suddenly, Mack’s legs returned to him. And he ran. He knew something was wrong with the Golden Pony. But even he couldn’t imagine something quite so horrible. Behind him he could hear Ted laughing.

I’ll go up, get Amber then find some way out of this place. What am I going to tell her? How do I explain this?

Mack ran past the hospital beds near the entrance of the labs. Their occupants were convulsing behind the plastic. Black blood sprayed on the tarps from the inside as he hurried towards the exit/entrance.

“Where are you going, Mack? There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.” Mack heard Ted’s voice behind him. “Come on back. We’ll just talk. I promise.” Ted struggled to get the last sentence out without laughing.

When Mack reached the tinted glass door that separated the labs from the white room, he felt no relief. That was due to his inability to open it. He didn’t know that he needed a keycard to get in and to get out.

“Eugene! Open up!” yelled Mack as he pounded on the tinted glass. No one came to the door.

Eugene you lazy mother fucker. Wake up and open this damn door. Or I swear to god my ghost will haunt you. Shit, here comes Ted.

Mack turned, showing his back to the tinted glass door. He raised and aimed his hunting rifle. As soon as Ted showed his face, he’d start firing. Then the lights went out.