Devolution

[Angelus]

I walked from the lab to the cafeteria and stood in the doorway. I watched as Nancy stood there and knew that she was crying. I cleared my throat and said, "I have no idea how to fight this virus and that is the truth. Do you think that I would sit back and watch this happen when I had the means to stop it.... I only worked on part of the virus with Adam but he never told me what it was for because if I had of known then I would have stopped him."

I walked forward and was about to say something more but before I could she turned around and said something that made me stop in my tracks.

 

[Celestiale]

Shit...shit...SHIT! I looked around frantically for a way out, knowing that Adam was getting closer by the second. I knew that if we went outside without any protection, we would be attacked as soon as night fell, but it seemed like the only way out was through the nearest window. I went to open it but stopped as I spied a large ventilation grate above a chest of drawers...Yes! We'll crawl in there and see what we can find! I proceeded to open the window anyway, and then hurridly hopped up on the chest and opened the grate. After ushering the girl inside, I followed closing it securely behind us. Now if we can just stay quiet long enough for Adam to think that we went out that window...

 

[angie girl]

Well girl monster didn't think much a my lips on lips thingie. Me not knowing what to think. Cept her pushing me hard now up in small skinney place. Me crawling in first and then here she is doing that finger and Ssssh noise again.

But I am staring with huge eyes. Her doing some stuff with the door to the place we were crawling in. All was so way confusing.

Damn! damn! shit! she makes those soft noises but now I am maybe thinking they feel better to me. She says soft, We have to get out but in the dark those creatures will rip us to shreds!

Her breath gasping, me can tell her chest is filling up and down so fast.

I no um pleece to hide safe? bee guud? my mouth opening before I am even thinking.

Go safe pleece? I make the noises and point down skinney unhappy place we are in.

 

[Kepic]

I pushed the door open, and glanced in. The curtains wavered from the cold air that came from outside, the window open.

Cursing, I ran over to it, glancing outside. She couldn't have gotten far. The one she sought to bring with her would likely slow her down anyway, and I had disabled her vehicle a while ago - and my own jeep was securely locked away. Though, seeing the strength Trista had gained from my work, maybe secure was a matter of perspective.

I smiled. Maybe I should let them go, after all... I had a fair idea of where they would be heading. Perhaps I should pay this other doctor a visit myself. With a short laugh, I turned back to the labratory. I had some preparations to make.

 

[Celestiale]

I breathed a sigh of relief as Adam left the room. His scent had finally faded and I knew that we were safe...for now. I urged the girl to continue crawling forward until we reached a "T" section and then I took the lead, motioning for her to follow me quietly. I hoped to get us somewhere near the lab so that I could keep an eye on the doctor and find out what his plans entailed. I used my keen sense of smell and found it very easy to track Adam. He was already back in the lab, his plaything put away. He was busily packing vials into the protected foam of a special briefcase, muttering something about "...stopping the problem at it's source...", and I almost began to panic as I realized he was going to go and find that other doctor.

I turned to face the girl, a pained look upon my face. "We will wait here until we see him go, and then we'll find our own way to the other lab." I nodded, knowing that she was probably not understanding a word I said.

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

I turned around and I knew that my emotions were clear on my face. I couldnt help it. Between my loss and no sleep and working every waking minute I was in no shape to even try and hold anything back.

"I dont know what to think anymore," I said, my voice flat and emotionless even as the hurt and pain showed clearly in my eyes,"All I know is that there is a virus out there...that I have lost the only man I will ever love due to it...not to mention friends and collegues...lives have been destroyed and family members lost all because of it."

"Look around you. Do you like what you see? So you only worked on part of it...if you really wanted to help you would have told me about it right away. I could have used any information to help me. I could have used the help of a fellow scientist to help me break this open."

"Dammit, Troy, if you want this thing to be over with than help me...please! It may be too late for most of the people in this screwed up world but we can help others..like that child in there."

I approached him, then a pleading in my eyes. "Whatever happened in the past is just that...in the past. But make it right now...help me save as many as we can. And then we can find this other scientist and make sure he cant do anything like this again. I need you, Troy. I need your support and your scientific knowledge. Together we may just beat this thing! Please...will you help?"

 

[Kepic]

Everything was ready. I had ample supply of my vaccine, and there would be nothing left of this labratory after an hour was up. The explosives I had rigged would see to that.

Gathering my travelling gear, I left, getting into my jeep and heading for the troublesome doctor who was working on a cure.

 

[Angelus]

I looked at Nancy and knew that I had done the wrong thing by standing back and letting this happen. I let out a sigh and said, "Okay. I will do what I can to help. I am a scientist and I must do something to help or I will be responsible for all of this."

I stood in front of her and looked into her face.

"Tell me what you want me to do and I will do my best to help you."

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

I closed my eyes and two last tears slipped from them. I mouthed a silent "Thank you" to him and then open my eyes again.

"Come on," I said as I led the way back to the lab. "I am going to give the child what I hope to be the anti virus and then we are going to make comparisons with his blood samples as it is now."

Going into the lab, I handed him a clipboard with forms on it and a pen. "After I administer the drug, I need you to observe him while I compare blood samples. Note any changes in him at all."

Nodding to a cupboard that was filled with testing devices, I added,"You will find all you need to test reflexes, intellegence, etc in there." I picked up the syrum I had made from our blood samples and loaded it into a syringe. I crossed my fingers, gave a look back at Troy and slipped into the cage. Approaching the child who was still under the influence of the drug I used to calm him for the blood samples, I quickly injected the contents into his small body. I prayed we were not making a mistake and causing more harm to come to him.

Exiting the cage, I sighed. Now only time will tell if we did the right thing or not. Looking over to where Troy was watching the child, I walked over to my microscopes and began loading my slides again. I would be keeping myself busy while we waited.

 

[Celestiale]

We watched as Adam packed up and left, hearing his Jeep drive off. I knew that we had to find some way to reach that other lab before he did, but I wasn't sure just how yet. I led the girl to the nearest grate and helped her out as I tried to think of a reasonable plan.

First things first... I thought, knowing that we had to dig up some supplies for the journey.

I smiled at the girl and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. "We have to leave this place sweetie...but first we need to find a bit of food and some other things." I pointed to the empty tin of peaches that Adam had left sitting on a table. "See that? Can you look around for more of those and bring them back to me?" I saw intelligence in her eyes and watched as she began rummaging about the room. I could only hope that she understood.

I decided to get a medical kit together as well as some of the basics we'd need, and scurried about, looting the cabinets. When I was satisfied with what we had, I ran back to my room and grabbed my backpack and clothes, as well as some blankets. The girl was still searching when I returned, but had already managed to find 7 tins of the food stuff. I quickly looked to the other room and saw that Adam had either released, or had taken along his first captive.

"Here," I said, handing her some real clothing. "Put these on, we can't have you running about in that gown of yours."

All was quiet as she tried to dress. I had given her a tee shirt and sweatpants, knowing that they'd be the easiest to get into. I helped her slip on a pair of my shoes and tied them for her quickly.

"Okay, I know that it's scary outside right now, but we have to go before it gets dark."

I took her hand and snatched up my packed bag, leading her to the front entrance. I peered outside and saw no signs of life.

Dammit! Just how are we gonna get anywhere when we have no car!

Then it hit me...

This lab was a major research facility, surely important samples and lab work were flown in and out of here on a daily basis! I was excited, maybe this place had a heliport! I smiled widely and led the girl outside, searching for the treasure I'd hope to find.

 

[Angelus]

I stood there and watched the kid- seeing if there were any changes in him and hoping to see some. This was not right, this virus didn't need to do this but then again the person that had made it was unethical but in saying that he was unethical was also calling myself unethical but that was fine by me as I had done nothing to stop this.

It was then that I saw the kid begin stirring and I called to Nancy but when she didn't turn around I said, "Nancy- you had better come here really quick."

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

I was studying my slides, comparing the boy's blood samples to that of Troy's and my own. The differance was startling. The virus readily attacked the boy's cells, absorbing them and then mutating them at a startling rate while our own fought off the intruder.

Then I added a drop of my serum with the boy's blood and watched the result. The fluid seemed to wrap around the cells and, when the viruse attacked, it was repelled. Now, the question was...would the serum also be able to reverse some of the worst of the effects of the virus.

While I was pondering on this question, Troy called me and I went over to where the boy was starting to rouse himself. I knelt down by Troy, holding my breath, not daring to disturb him in the least.

The boy stood and came to look out at us from the bars and I grabbed Troy's arm tightly without realizing what I was doing. "Troy," I hissed urgently,"Is it my imagination or is he standing more erect than he was earlier?"

 

[angie girl]

Well, I thought the good girl monster wanted some more a them hard round things. I am probably wrong but I think that is where these sweet yellow wet things come from. But now she is not happy with my one hard thingie. Am thinking I wasn't suppose to try to chew it open and get the yellow things. My teeth not going into it and I not remembering how the boy monster had gotten to the sweets inside.

Now more worse confusion. Some outside skin stuff she wants me to put on? Trying, but finally she says sumpin short and loud and then makes me get into them the way she wants. They are soft and warm and I wanna sit down and have some sweet things.

Ugh she is tugging. No sweet stuff now. We are walking, running now. Somewhere. She touches me so soft and nice. I wish I didn't make her so loud and red in face. I wish I could remember all the stuff that it seems like I know from somewhere and have inside me somehow. But is hard and I get a headache trying.

Come on Girl! she says loud again, we haff to move!

I give her bad hard look.

Muh name is Angie! I am saying as we run.

Now where did that come from?

 

[Celestiale]

I stopped dead in my tracks...

"What did you just say???" I asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Muh name is Angie!" She repeated, and I grabbed her, laughing as I spun her around.

"That's WONDERFUL Angie!!!"

Yes!!! Maybe things will start to turn around from here on out!

I jumped about like a little kid, happy that I was not so alone now. She was getting smarter! The shot he gave her might have been the real thing after all, though I couldn't think of why he would do such a thing... It didn't matter, I was elated and I grabbed her hand and ran with her to a smaller building near the lab.

There were no small airplanes...no helicopters...when we entered what seemed to be just a garage. It was a silly hope anyway, I had only been out in the crop duster with my dad a few times, and had never piloted anything more sophisticated. However, there was a medium-size military truck parked among other abandoned cars. I knew that Adam would have discarded any keys he would have found, but what he didn't know was that I knew how to hotwire an automobile...

I got into the truck and saw that there was a CB radio installed. I hoped that as soon as we got outta there, we could get the thing to work. Looking under the dash near the ignition, I found the two red wires that I was hoping would be there. I needed tools and popped up to rifle through the cab in search of anything that might help me. Finally, I spotted a small pocket knife up in the visor and grabbed it, going straight to work on cutting and stripping the wires. Crossing them, the engine roared to life and I screamed out in delight, yelling at Angie to get in.

We were about a mile out from the lab when a deafening explosion rocked us suddenly. Now I understood why Adam had given Angie the serum...he hadn't expected her to live through that...he had wanted her to know fear and pain in the last moments of her life, to truly be aware...

He was playing GOD.

 

[Angelus]

I looked at the kid in amazement and then at Nancy. He truly was standing more erect and it was all because of what Nancy had just come up with, something that would hopefully end all of this shit. I knew that I was a major cause of all this and when I had done everything that I could to fix this then I would disappear so that nobody else would want to find me and either kill me or ask me about my research.

I looked at Nancy and smiled, "You did it. You actually did it- you have given hope to this boy where before he had none. Now to see if it works fully."

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

My heart was leaping about in my chest. I couldnt believe it! I was so excited I couldnt sit still. A cure...we had found a cure!

"Woah, girl," I admonished myself before I went too far,"Lets be objective here. You have found something that seems to be a cure. Now is the time to be a scientist, not a twittering female."

I did lean over to give Troy a quick hug. I couldnt help it...I had to do something to express my happiness. I so wanted Cody here to share this moment of triumph with me but that was not to be. I did not know if he was still alive or had gotten killed out there in that jungle that was now the earth.

Wiping away a tear that had escaped my eye at the thought of my lost love, I stood and cleared my throat. "Now we see just how well this 'cure' works." Going to the cabinet that held my testing equiptment, I took them over to Troy in three armloads and set them down. "Time to put you to work," I smiled at Troy, not able to keep the excitement out of my voice.

 

[Angelus]

I looked at Nancy and saw that she was truly excited as she had found what seemed to be a cure to this terrible virus. It was something that I wished had come around earlier though, then Hunter would be here to share this moment. I then shook away those thoughts and looked at Nancy, "Okay, what do you wish for me to do?"

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

"We check everything," I said in answer to his question,"And I do mean everthing. Relfexes, eye-hand coordination, intellegence....and I am going to set up a camera to catch it all. If anything happens while we are asleep, I want to know about it."

I gestured to the instruments and said,"You test out his relexes, etc and I will set up the camera equiptment. Then I am going to set up a viewer with moving pictures and record his reaction to it. I want to see if there is any reactions that will tell us he recognizes what he is seeing."

"I want one of us to talk to him at least every half hour while he is awake to see if he responds to voices and language and I want everything on paper."

I busied myself with setting up the camera while Troy began on the tests. Afterwards I set up my viewer and sat back to see any reaction of the boy.

A thought struck me and I turned to Troy. "I think we should give him a name. I hate calling him boy all the time." I actually laughed. "Makes me feel like Tarzan and Jane."

 

[Angelus]

"We could call him Matthew- I kind of like that name."

I turned to the child, Matthew and looked at him before sitting him up on the table. I smiled at him before I picked up the small reflex hammer and tapped it on his knee, watching as his leg shot up. I turned to Nancy and knew that she had seen it because there was a large smile on her face but I knew that it wasn't enough and picked up the small torch that lay down next to my hand and ran it over Matthew's eyes, watching as they followed the light. The signs that I was getting were incredible and I actually thought that Nancy had done it, she had found a cure to a virus that Adam had said there was no cure for.

I looked at Matthew and said, "Okay, your name is Matthew and mine is Troy and that lovely lady over there is Nancy. Do you understand me?"

What came next shocked me so much that I took a step back, "I..... I- under- stand."

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

"He spoke, Oh dear god, he spoke," The thought ran around and around my head. I couldnt speak, I couldnt breath, I just stood there with a stupid smile on my face.

Finally I broke the spell and said in a stangled voice,"What...what did you just say?" The boy looked over at me and smiled. "Pret-ty lad-y," He said to me, mimicking what Troy had just called me. Then he looked at Troy. "Troy," he said as he cocked his head a bit.

Walking over to Troy I said,"It looks like mimicry. The first sign of higher language. Its as if he is a baby going through his growing stages again. He must be eight or nine and I think that his body is accelerating the developmental process to take him back where he should naturally be. The question is...is this cure going to last long enough to give his body the chance to do that? And how long is it going to take?"

 

[Angelus]

"I hope that it is not going to take too long because I don't want to go running out there with a small infant in our group. I would also hate to leave him here so if we have to make a mad dash for it then I say we have to pack everything up now and put it into the Humvee and then watch Matthew. I don't know how I know that someone will be popping in for a visit but I know."

I walked to the window and looked out and was amazed when I felt a tug on my shirt and looked down to see Matthew standing there, looking up at me with a goofy smile on his face.

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

I nodded to Troy. "I agree. I dont know who my message reached and it very well could have reached someone that wants to stop us from doing this."

Going over to the lab table, I began to get busy with my equipment. "You pack the instruments and some changes of clothing. We are going to have to pick up something for Matthew on the way. I am going to make plenty of the syrum and then I am going to distroy any notes we cannot take with us or hide. I dont want anyone being able to come up with an antidote for our antidote. One way or another we are going to defeat this madman."

I could hear the old determination in my voice. I was sounding more and more like my old self. If only...no! This was not the time to get into self pity.

Looking over at Troy, I noticed the boy was tugging at his shirt and I smiled. "It might be a good idea to take Matthew down to the cafeteria and get him something to eat. He just might be...."

My thoughts were interrupted by Matthew's voice. "Hung-ry," He said to Troy. I almost dropped my vials. That was not mimicry.

[Edited by Isolde on 02-17-2001 at 07:49 PM]

 

[Angelus]

I looked down at Matthew in shock; the serum seemed to be working faster than I had imagined and by the look on Nancy's face, faster than she could have imagined. I held out my hand and watched when he took it and before he could say anything I picked him up and took him to the cafeteria and grabbed something out of the snack machine and a glass of juice, placing them on the table and watched as they disappeared in just under a minute.

Matthew looked at me with a puzzled look, "Can I have some more?"

I got up and pulled out some more food and the bottle of juice and watched in total amazement as he poured the juice and began to eat the sandwich in front of him. After he had eaten the sandwich he let out a burp and I laughed at that which caused him to smile. He smiled to before he tugged at his shirt, trying to take it off.

"I'll try and get something else for you but until now you have to wear that I'm sorry to say."

Matthew looked at me and was about to say something but before he could Nancy walked into the room and looked at the two of us.

 

[Isolde]

Nancy

I walked in and smiled. Since I had known Troy I had very rarely heard him laugh. It was a pleasant sound. "Well," I said,"Looks like you two are getting on famously. Is that a soft spot I see under that callous hide?" I couldnt help but tease him...I was feeling so good about our breakthrough.

Walking over to Troy, I looked down at Matthew and said,"So how is he doing now? Any improvement since the last time I saw you two?"

Troy chuckled and said,"You wouldnt believe it." And he was right but when we took him in for more tests, I could see for myself that the recovery was occuring rapidly. To Troy, I said,"I dont know if the syrum will work this well in anyone older than Matthew. The rate of recovery tends to slow down as we age. I think the rapidity is due to the fact of his youth. But I think we have proved that the cure is there and if I could somehow find someplace equipted to mass produce the syrum, we could dump it into a water supply or something of that sort. The diluted form might take longer to affect a cure but it would get to more people that way."

Looking at Matthew, I said,"Until then, I think this young man can sleep in a cot instead of the cage. As long as we make sure he doesnt try to get away. He would be killed out there in just a few moments."

 

[Angelus]

"I agree. He would be killed out there in an instant which is something that I don't want to see. We have cured this young man and I don't wish to see him going out there and getting himself killed, do you?"

I got up off the chair and walked around the table and after he grabbed all of his food picked Matthew up and walked down the hall towards where I had seen the cots and lay him down on one. I ran my fingers through his hair and turned to walk away but before I could I heard, "Don't go."

I turned and looked at Matthew, "Who don't you want to go. Nancy or myself."

"You," Matthew said as he pointed at me.

I didn't know what to say- I didn't know what to do until I felt an elbow into my ribs and walked over to the cot and sat down next to it, looking at Matthew who looked back at me. I then heard a noise and looked up to see Nancy standing there, a large smile on her face.