Gina - 1st

Gina sighed, then put a hand on her hip, "Well alot of good that does us!" She said then went over to sit by the door. "Fine, have it your way. Since we have time to spare, tell me what you know." She turned her head towards him and glared.

Sliding down to complete his sitting position, he looked to his right and saw the girl sitting next to him at a safe distance, his makeshift Mountain Dew glow stick separating them. She was still a child, and he couldn't help but wonder how she got caught up in all of this. Still a child and already a mass murderer. Intimidated by her glare, he shrank back. "I guess I should start from the beginning then...So you know I have my doctorate. Just after graduation, I was looking for a nice research position and before long, I was offered this. A fully-funded government project, researchers living onsite. Seemed quaint, and I, along with all those scientists out there, came here, only to be forced to sign a contract. We could not leave the premises or have any connection to the outside world save what they gave us as materials and food. No fresh air, no sun, no internet, no phone...I haven't seen my family in years. Just about five years...Little did we know how stringently this was enforced, how much they would do to keep us inside...All to hide the dirty fact that we had not only produced the contagion, but studied how it affected various types of people, how the original form mutated into something else entirely."

"Contagion? Did they ever tell you what you were...producing this...contagion for?!" She asked, she was a bit skeptical with how this guy was trying to defend his actions. She shuddered a bit at the word 'mutated.' She knew all too well what types of mutations these monsters created. She still couldn't really believe it herself, she forced herself to ask, "And what exactly, did they mutate into?" She wanted to be sure that that night hadn't been some nightmare she had produced from her mind, she wanted to hear him say it and explain it, even if it was just to reassure herself of the reality of it.

Allen fiddled with his lanky fingers. This was always the kicker. "We didn't know, exactly. We had our suspicions...chemical warfare, population control, genocide, the creation of a super army, introducing this to the generation and those who succeed, well, they would become Generation One...thus creating a new batch of modified humans." Shaking his head, he sighed. "We got reports, of just what happened to some...Some people, particularly lower-middle class whites, died immediately of heart attacks, their blood pressure was entirely shot to hell...Internal organs just exploded. It strengthened some... Others, once it mutated enough on its own...became monsters. Their nails would grow, they'd lose access to most of their brains, doing all sorts of things they wouldn't otherwise do...and they'd laugh about it. Just laugh about it, like what they were doing was fun, like cannibalism was fun," his voice shook as a shudder coursed through his body.

"But after a while, if you left them like that, they'd go mad...They'd scream and howl and moan, begging you to do something to help them...But it was a trap. It's like...it's like they got more sophisticated. Their intelligence increased, like they had a learning curve...But it was always too much for them to bear. They'd rip their own flesh, exposing bones, organs...still beating, still pulsing, like it hadn't hurt them, as blood just flooded the ground with the gobs of discarded flesh. They'd rip everything out, and they'd still be laughing...as they disemboweled themselves, ripped out eyes...Until they died. They would just laugh," he explained, trembling. "That's what they'd do to us...if we didn't work, we disobeyed, we messed up. Make us all watch...Sometimes sending someone in with 'it' if they wanted...It was supposed to 'set an example'," he finished in a shaking voice, scarce above a whisper.

Gina buried her head against her knees that were pulled up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't need to listen to the details he had to offer as we was explaining it, she had already witnessed it first hand. Her body began shaking as she tried to hold back her sobs and repress those dark memories. She dug her fingernails against her legs, desperate not cry so that she wouldn't look weak.

Allen watched as the girl shrank into a protective ball. So that's how she got involved in this. She lost someone. She saw it happen, just like he had. Disregarding the fact that he might get shot - or stabbed -, he scooted closer to the girl, pushing away the light, and lightly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure we can figure out how to end this..." he reassured, prepared for some sort of blow to come his way.

The tension in her hands released slightly, and she was still for a moment. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him. She could feel herself forming a fist as an afterthought of his words. She stood up swiftly, both of her hands clenched into fists, her body shaking from sadness and rage.

"End. This?" She said angrily, through clenched teeth. She took on of her balled up fists and punched the door. "GEE, YOU THINK?! WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO END THIS, HE SAYS! WHY DIDN'T YOU END IT BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED?!" Now the tears were overflowing, and her gas mask was getting fogged up. She let out a few more sobs before sinking to her knees again and then started hitting Allen's chest with her fists. "DO YOU THINK ENDING THIS NOW WILL BRING THEM BACK?! NOTHING WILL EVER BRING THEM BACK, NOW! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!"

He never was good with saying the right thing, was he? And this was no where near what he was expecting. Sure, Allen thought that she was a bit of a child, but this was a tantrum if he'd ever seen one. Once she finished screaming, he attempted to correct himself as she pounded on his chest, voice shaking slightly with each hit, "Believe me, I don't think I'm blameless in all of this...But because of that, I have to try and set it right. I know we can't bring them back, but we can stop the creation of more monsters, more of us." In an effort to calm her down, Allen tried to wrap his arms around the girl and pull her in.

Gina flinched slightly at his touch, she hadn't been this close to another human being in some time. She no longer had the energy to push him away. "Thank you..." she muttered, "For...taking some responsibility for yourself!" she lectured. In her mind she was partially thanking him for comforting her.

Smiling, Allen took it as thanks, and pulled her in more, careful to not disturb the orientation of her gas mask. If anyone was going to be testing the air quality, it would be him. "If you don't mind my asking...who did you lose?" he asked, knowing that he was stepping on thin ice.

Her whole body tensed. Both from Allen's touch and from the question. "I didn't...lose them," she said weakly, "I...I was the one who killed them."

Well that would explain how she lived to tell the tale...Or rather take revenge. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, knowing that this was almost, with certainty, a good chunk his fault. In a way, he hoped that he'd never have to leave this facility...that way he'd never have to meet those he'd helped wrong, but no. He couldn't. He had to bear the responsibility of the survivor, he had to do all in his power to stop this...Just as all his coworkers fantasized. "There...there was nothing else you could have done, not without dying yourself...Were they close to you?"

Gina bit her lip and nodded. "Yes." she whispered "They were...close." She paused, unsure if she should-no, if she even would be able talk about it. Everyone was right. It really was easier talking about your problems to a complete stranger. Maybe that was why, after not talking it about for such a long time, she was able to mention it now.

"I-I had to...kill my mother before she killed me. I-I didn't mean to shoot her! I just-I had no other option..." she trailed, and mentally prepared herself for the next part. "And then...before I knew it, it was too late...my...my little brother-Jaimie had already...I didn't know-he-he started to...mutate right in front of me and...I had already used my last bullet so I-I-I..." she broke off, her sobbing was coming out too hard now, and she had to take a moment to recompose herself. What came out next sounded likes a restrained whisper, "So I strangled him. With my bare hands...He was only eight at the time...!"

Allen gulped as he listened to her speak, maintaining his hold. By the records he kept, he knew they tried to target families, minimal cleanup. It was nothing short of miracle she managed to make it out of this alive, that she wasn't infected herself. How did they deliver the contagion? Were there other families in the area that were also infected? If they figured out just what the means of deliverance was, and how people were selected (which Allen had a theory on, but needed to do some research to confirm or extend his hypotheses), they could try and stop it. Knowing that now was not the time to ask, he persisted, "You're right...You had no other option...What about your father?"

"I...don't remember much about him. He died before any of this had happened, when I was still a little girl. Turns out he was the lucky one...it's almost laughable." She said in a soft, reminiscing voice. "There really are things worse than death-who knew?"

"I don't think I would have...had I not come here," he continued, matching her tone. "It's been five years, five years I've been doing this. We've gone through fifty-seven people...and to think we're a staff of twenty, not counting the guards and such. I've been here since the beginning. I'm a coward, Gina, I really am...I couldn't chalk up enough courage to just die like the rest of them...I didn't want to let someone else take my place. I'd just keep my head down and stay out of trouble. But they're going to replace everyone here, they always do. They'll rip twenty more fresh graduates from their homes and lock them away in here until they can't bear to live with themselves anymore...It's almost a mercy they're dead..."

Realizing his own hopeless banter, Allen concluded, "Even though they'll restaff this place, that it will probably be up and running again with the month, as long as we get out...I think we can win, that is, if we play our cards right. I don't have anyone to come back to, either, they'll probably have pronounced me dead or something of the like...It'll be the first place they check if they don't think I'm dead...Which is partially why I'll be needing your knife."

Gina stared at him blankly, and involuntarily placed her hand over the pocket her knife was in. "Why? What exactly do you plan on doing...?" She asked, surprised at the sudden mention of her knife.

Without another word, Allen removed his lab coat and tossed it to the side. Maybe when they blew the place up, they could bloody it for good measure. Unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt, he slid the shirt down his his left shoulder and ran his fingers around what looked like a 2" x 1" metal plate that ran just under his collarbone. "I'd forgotten until now, but I'll need be ridding myself of this before I leave. Another 'safety feature'."

Gina winced at the mention of his, 'safety feature.' "Doesn't-doesn't that hurt?" she asked, incredulously, "Wait a minute! Don't tell me your actually going to...isn't that thing like, attached to you?"

"Well, it should hurt. Quite a bit, I'm assuming, considering it's had all of five years to attach itself to my muscle tissue and such. Then I'll have to be careful on top of that. Wouldn't want to nick that lovely little subclavian while digging, then I really might not be leaving...But it's better than the shock I'll be getting once I try and get out of this building with you. Seen people die to that thing. It's not too pretty," he said, completely trying to detach himself from the situation. This wasn't going to be fun, and he knew it. Joking was his last means of defense. "I mean, I suppose I can scrounge up some medical supplies, too."

Gina looked at him like he was crazy. "So...you really weren't kidding when you...when you were talking about how you couldn't leave and...such." She said weakly, the thought of him removing the thing and how much flesh and blood there would probably be sickened her, and she needed something to keep her mind off it. Best to try and ask more about what they did there. "So like, when they had you guys...sign that-contract or whatever, did any of you even read the thing? I mean, it had to mention these kinds of conditions somewhere, right?"

Allen laughed. "What made you think I was kidding?" he asked, his voice slurring, growing hysteric. "What sort of sick bastard would want to stay here after knowing just what they were doing? Hell, who in their right mind would sign up for this? If it were in the contract, do you think I would have signed it?!" his eyes grew wild, anger flaring. "It just said that they we were to live on site, not communicate with the outside world because this was top secret, and that they were not responsible for what happened throughout the course of the experiments! I only signed up for a year! That seemed normal...Not that we'd be chipped and forced to stay here, that we'd work or die! My family probably thinks I'm dead! What makes you think that this is what I wanted for my life?!" he spat, holding back tears. Balling up his fists, Allen trembled, unable to control it anymore. He hated this; he didn't want this. He signed up for a year, just a year. He was supposed to quit, use the recommendation to find another job, one where he could see his family, go home, relax, and enjoy his life, continuing his pursuits. He was supposed to be happy.

"Well excuse me! I thought you were supposed to be a scientist! And you know what, scientists usually enjoy this-this kind of sick thing!" She spat at him, annoyed at how he could of possibly been so stupid in the past. There must have been some way out for him, there must of been signs or a warning of some sort to make him see that there was something off about the place. "I just don't get why you chose to come here. Or why you didn't at least try to stop it!"

That hurt. It's one thing to think yourself an absolute idiot, but for another person to join in on your self-deprecating? Ouch. Tears finally slid down his face, and he whined, "Why I chose to come here? Because they sold it as something that wasn't...that wasn't this. It was normal! I swear! Until I actually got here...Once you came here to visit, you weren't allowed to leave. You'd seen too much." Sighing, he hiccuped, "I've been here five years, Gina. What could I have possibly done? The second they found out you were conspiring, you weren't doing your work correctly, you weren't yielding results, you were dead, you were made an example, you were replaced. By dying, you brought even more innocent people into this. By dying, you weren't good for anything anymore. You try to do something single-handedly? Say you knock out a guard, steal a gun, blow up the place...They'll rebuild. They'll always rebuild, replenish us. We're disposable." Curling up into his lanky frame, he continued to sob. "Maybe you should have just killed me..." he mumbled to his knees. He was useless, always useless.

"You're right. I should have!" She exclaimed, annoyed at his sob-fest. The idea of men crying was only cute in theory. "Honestly, I think you should have killed yourself a long time ago if there was no way out. Sure, it might've been selfish of you, but personally, I'd rather be dead than doing this sort of thing!" She sighed, it sounded like he told her everything he already knew. And he didn't seem to be all that useful if he didn't know how to clean up his mess. "So, do you-or do you not have any idea how to fix this mess you've gotten yourself into?" She demanded.