“Hey, Richard, Donna, just who I wanted to see.”
Ken and Kelly stopped in their tracks as their hearts dropped. Those names, it couldn’t be. The two bolted back to the computer, examining what neither of them thought they’d witness again. Two familiar figures appeared right before their eyes. The very same ones who were responsible for... Everyone surrounded themselves and huddled close to get a good view of what happened on the small screen.
The video showed a dark research room. Donna and [the other] Richard were looking over and analyzing liquid substances. An older man with glasses and shaggy brown hair walked over and tapped them both on the shoulder.
“What do you want, Carlos? Can’t you see we’re busy?” The other Richard retorted, waving him off.
“What are you working on that’s more important than what I have to say?” Carlos questioned, crossing his arms.
“We’re working on an experiment,” Donna replied, without looking at him. “We’re trying to create a medicine to spread all over town.”
“That way, the residents will have their status ailments improved considerably.” The other Richard added. “The Boss will be pleased once they hear about our progress, especially if this works in the long run.”
“Think of the possibilities of the world benefitting this way...” Donna said with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.
Ken shook his head while watching it. Kelly covered her mouth. That ended up being the experiment that killed lots of people, including Ashley. Tears ran down her face as Ken looked away, grinding his teeth. He knew better, and how that idea of theirs ended up falling apart in the long run. It didn’t go as they intended, but nobody knew how or why.
From the way Donna and the other Richard acted on screen, they seemed dismissive and uncaring. Maybe they’d be the type to ignore the minute details and setbacks to rush their product out and please the boss. Or maybe they both put up a front and planned something sinister behind the scenes. Ever since that incident, there had been no news about them, as they had been reported missing.
If by some miracle those two were alive somewhere, Ken wanted to make sure they didn’t get away from their crimes. Kelly didn’t want to chase either of them down, but never forgave them for what happened to Ashley either. The old her would’ve just used that as fuel for her self-pity and sorrow. Sure, seeing the cause of her daughter’s demise in front of her still stung, but she and Ken grew more accepting of the circumstances. It wasn’t an instant growth, but Kelly hoped to change herself for the better, little by little, even if it meant trying to confront some of her problems head-on.
“Put that plan on hold.” Carlos insisted. “I have something you should help me out on that’ll benefit society a whole lot better!”
He pulled out a clipboard with notes written on it and showed it to the two of them. While they looked it over, Carlos ran over to leave for a moment. When he returned, he opened the doors and pushed some stretchers across the room. On top of one of them was an Usukui Puru lying there unconscious. On the other one, Mindy, also unconscious, was resting on the stretcher.
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“Look at this.” He stepped aside to show them.
“Are those the creatures from before?” Donna inquired.
“Precisely.” Carlos adjusted his glasses. “I want you to help me out on this little project I’m working on.”
Richard’s eyes widened as he witnessed the scene unfold. He glanced at Mindy. She covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
The screen went into static again, with distorted sounds playing out. The video skipped forward to a different timeline, where Carlos was in another room standing in front of some broken down tubes with ripped wires and shattered glass.
“What happened here?” He fell to his knees and pounded at the ground. “How did this happen?”
Donna and the other Richard marched over from behind Carlos and stood there, imposing on him with their presence. Carlos turned around and tried to stand up, his body trembling.
“Richard, Donna, what’s going on? What are you doing?”
“We’re not putting up with you anymore.” He muttered as he grabbed Carlos by the shirt collar. “We found out about your true plans, and we plan on shutting it down for good.”
“Oh, really now?” Carlos taunted them with a grin as he pulled out a remote controlling device from his pockets and pressed a button.
The screen, once again, went static. Richard, Mindy, Ken, and Kelly stared at it in silence over what they had seen so far. After a while, Kelly wiped her eyes and noticed there was more to the footage they could fast forward. But when she tried to move it, the data ended up corrupted and needed to be fixed. She offered to try and fix the footage, when another voice echoed from a distance, startling the group.
“What are you doing?” Charlie spoke up, placing his hands on his hips. “Shouldn’t you be home sleeping by now? It’s already pretty late as it is.”
“We could say the same for you.” Ken retorted. “What are you doing here?”
“Ken, don’t!” Kelly hissed.
“What did he say?” Charlie asked with a scowl.
“Sorry, he didn’t mean to talk back to you, boss,” Kelly said with a fake laugh.
Charlie squinted his eyes but then smiled, a pattern Richard caught on to. “Alright, if you say so. I can see you guys are busy.” He noticed the computer screen and leaned in. “Ooh, what’s that you’re watching?”
“Nothing important!” Mindy blocked the screen to prevent him from seeing it further and tried to retain her fake smile.
“Alright, calm down.” Charlie held his hands in defense. “Say no more, I won’t be a bother then.”
The group went their separate ways for now and rested up for the night. They all agreed to discuss fixing the rest of the video for another day. Besides, they had to pick somewhere safe from the boss for the time being.
While everyone headed out, Charlie looked away in a different room, acting blissfully innocent until he was the only one left. He then turned to face the computer, sat down on the seat, and attempted to eject the blue container from the hard drive and soft drive. Once he got it out, he stared at it briefly before stuffing it in his pocket.
I’m sure you guys have no need for this anymore. He thought as he watched the doors close. I’ll be taking this for the time being, if you don’t mind.