Ascension

A concussive tapping of heels echoed throughout the corridor, preceding Nora’s arrival to the quarantine chamber. Outside stood two teenage boys with their arms constricting their midsections. Their down turned expressions fixed on the floor radiated distress. In the instant they glimpsed her, surprise flitted through their gloom. More than her shapely figure accentuated by the contours of a business suit, or bouncing curls of red hair and striking hazel eyes, the confidence in her stature and stride enthralled them. “You boys know you don’t belong here,” she playfully scolded.

“Yes, ma’am, we know,” answered the teen with long, straight blonde hair. He cleared his throat, a pronounced Adam’s apple bobbing down then back up. “We’re waiting to find out if our friend’ll be okay.”

Nora glanced toward the secure door, round eyes exuding concern. “Oh? Was he hurt?”

“Ye-yeah. Something like that,” he said sheepishly.

A woman’s muffled screaming permeated the thick concrete walls of the windowless chamber they stood on the outside of, drawing the boys’ attention with a gasp. 

“Why don’t I check on things in there for you, hm?” Nora pressed her thumb against the scanner on the door. “No peaking,” she warned them with a grin. Following recognition of her fingerprint, a screen illuminated numbers in random locations and she typed in a code. A hiss indicated the acceptance of her pin, and she pushed opened the heavy door to peak inside.

Nicole’s scream and Shaun’s painful yowls escaped the slightly open door when Nora poked her head inside. That three second sweep of her gaze across the chamber’s interior told her all she needed about the current situation. She closed the door, faced the teenage boys, and folded her hands together. “I’m sorry, boys,” she said with feigned empathy, unable to fight an amused grin. “Looks like your friend isn’t going to make it.”

“What? No! Let us inside,” he pleaded. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, unless you want to end up like him.”

They shifted, glancing nervously at one another.

“Now, what you two have seen down here in our lab is top secret. Confidential, classified government stuff,” she explained condescendingly, making eye contact with them in turn. Her hands issued a conversational gesture, spinning in small circles with fingers apart. “Enough that I should kill you to keep this information safe. Do you think I need to do that?”

“N-no,” he exclaimed in terror.

“I would rather hope not,” she said with a grim smile. “The work involved to fabricate your deaths into a believable accident can be so tedious. Why don’t we have you sign an agreement to never speak of what happened here, and that if you do you will disappear. Then you can be on your way.”

After a moment of hesitation, the two nodded. 

The door’s lock clinked and Leo stepped into the corridor, sleek briefcase in hand. His free hand found her lower back, and he leaned in to press his lips to the top of her head. “Don’t take too long with them, Nora. You have work to do.” 

“They are being very cooperative, darling,” she replied with a smile. “Is the situation handled?”

Nicole, with brunette bangs hanging like curtains around her tear-swollen eyes, walked out of the quarantine chamber. The other researcher acted as her escort down the hall, toward an infirmary where the crushed hand she cradled against her chest could be treated.

“Yes,” Leo answered indifferently, and then rapidly assessed the distraught teenagers. “Use the contracts for minors. Make sure they know they are welcome here for free medical care whenever necessary. Once you’ve finished with them, tend to Nicole’s injury. Then meet me in my office to discuss today’s schedule.” He pivoted, taking his leave back along the corridor toward his office.

“Of course, dear,” Nora smiled, studying him as he strode away. Taking the two teens by their shoulders, she steered them toward her office. Framed certificates and doctorates in plant pathology, genetics, genomics, and molecular biology decorated the wall behind her desk. Small and large vases occupied every available surface, sprouting an array of colorful flowers that carved out a corner of beauty amid the stoic research lab.

Out of fear, they cooperated in silence, signing off on their own individual contracts as a promise to hold their tongues. She approved the physical documents with a corporate seal and notary seal that embossed the paper. A copy was provided to each of them and she stored the originals in a filing cabinet, inside of a folder that contained similar contracts. “All right Thomas and Brody, show me the room you used to enter our facility so that I can walk the two of you out of here without another incident.”

Although she rose from her desk chair, neither one of them moved, but their haunted expressions gave away the question on their minds before they even asked. “What happened to our friend?” 

Nora knitted her thin eyebrows together, forcing empathy. “I’m so sorry. He was euthanized.”

Their eyes shot wide open. “What? Why?”

“Well, if I had to guess from what I saw of him in those final moments, he looked almost like a werewolf. Did he happen to come in contact with any chemicals?”

Brody looked over toward his friend with blonde hair, and confessed. “I dared him to drink one of the vials in his mom’s lab.”

“Oh goodness,” Nora exclaimed, briefly covering her agape mouth with a hand. “Well, you see, I can’t exactly say what happened. Nicole, as well as all of our researchers here, make medicine on the cutting edge of the future. We want to change the world, hence the company name Ascension. The effects can be unpredictable until thoroughly tested, and she hadn’t reported her discoveries yet. Based on the results I witnessed, that mixture will be scrapped and the data used to refine future products.”

“Cutting edge of the future?” Thomas inquired in disbelief. “What sort of medicine turns someone into a werewolf?”

The feigned kindness in Nora’s face faded, slipping naturally into an unamused scowl. “None, that’s why it was a failure, and we know that now because of your foolish meddling. Normally, our tests are conducted carefully, but people as irresponsible as you wouldn’t understand.” Her hands waved dismissively out to her sides, and then landed on the table. “And now your friend is dead.”

Tears brimmed Brody’s eyes, and Thomas reached over to rub his shoulders. 

“Now, shall I escort you out?”

The two of them morbidly nodded, and then mournfully marched behind Nora at a safe distance.