Kayla stalked through the lab’s outer hallways, heavy footfalls echoing in the overly sterile space. She hated the lack of color, the notion that making things so monochrome and boring projected an image of cleanliness and efficiency. In her eyes, it was science theater, playing into the expectation the average person would have of a research facility rather than what would be good for those working in it. Tourists and outsiders and politicians who controlled funding would expect their vision of a futuristic lab to include white walls, an abundance of chrome, and at least one modern art sculpture that was vaguely reminiscent of an atomic structure or a double helix or some other pop science shit. That a cutting-edge lab with this much hype behind it still played into those tropes was disappointing, but not surprising.
Kayla liked science; obviously, since she was a physics major and had signed up for this apparently cursed lab tour in the first place. What she didn’t like was playing into stereotypes, like the one that said every science major needed to fit the image of a typical meek nerd. Most people assumed from her punkish dyed hair and abrasive demeanor that she was a music or theater major, and she relished tearing down those assumptions. What she didn’t relish was the situation she had found herself in; not only stuck together with miss proper perfectionist Ellie, but being forced to corral the others into some vague sense of functioning if not perfectly healthy.
Not that she’d done a very good job of that, which just pissed her off more. Miles and Ellie had immediately put on their best adult cosplays and tried to get in good with the research staff, all but ignoring the rest of them. Tom had taken that classic male path of running from his emotional issues by trying to fix physical ones and distracting himself with music. Even before she’d discovered the blank 34, Jess had been reserved, slowly collapsing in on herself in spite of Kayla’s best efforts to coax her into more activity. It had taken Chase stumbling across the same thing and reaching out to break through the shell she’d put up.
Chase was something else entirely, and Kayla didn’t know how to deal with him. She’d read some of his articles in their college paper, but that was nothing compared to actually interacting with someone. At first he’d seemed shellshocked like the rest of them, but there was some kind of core to him that didn’t let him crumble like Jess or seek constant distractions like Tom. He seemed determined to make the best of any situation and find answers wherever he could, no matter how many lame jokes he made getting there. And of course he’d been able to draw Jess out of her downward spiral where she had failed. Sure, it was by coincidentally discovering a spacetime anomaly, but even since then the two of them had gotten closer and closer. Kayla hated feeling like she’d let Jess down somehow, but couldn’t bring herself to resent Chase for his success. It just made her more annoyed with herself.
Movement at the hallway’s next intersection snapped her back to the present. It looked like a couple of scientists gathering materials from a supply room, but why were they out in these hallways as opposed to their central area? If they were setting up something that didn’t reset and still needed more to finish it off, that was definitely news, and potentially an opportunity for their little conspiracy to pop in and see what all the fuss was about. Kayla slowly backed away, taking care to not let them see her. The others would want to know about this.
-=-
Tom Henderson knew he wasn’t the quickest guy on the uptake sometimes, but it still boggled his mind how he’d spent the better part of two weeks hanging around the maintenance crew and never noticed how many problems there weren’t. He’d attributed it to the newness of the facility and the crew’s efficiency, but there were always little things that were out of alignment or in need of some elbow grease. Except there never were, and he’d just shrugged and moved on. Really wasn’t doing his image as the dumb jock any favors.
He sighed. No one in the group here at least thought of him that way - Chase knew he was on the crew team, but never ribbed him about his intelligence. He didn’t think Ellie cared at all, and Kayla seemed to have equal disdain for everyone and everything regardless of what they did in their free time. Miles and Jess had seemed vaguely intimidated by him, so he’d tried to lean more into a gentle giant image, trying to help keep things running smoothly. Now, as he once again found himself surrounded by the maintenance crew, he wondered how much of that effort had been wasted by cosmic chance.
At least it had been useful for passing the time. The main reason Tom had taken up crew in the first place was to have something active, yet repetitive that he could engage with physically while letting his mind wander. He got some of his best thinking done using the rowing machine or out on the lake, and it was just a nice bonus that it had built him a nice set of muscles. Maybe that’s why he’d been even slower than usual picking up on the little hints that something weird and supernatural was going on around the lab. He felt sure there was a gym somewhere in the lab facility, but hadn’t sought it out. Too busy making sure things that didn’t end up needing him still had him on call. Story of his life.
The crew ambled into one of their break rooms, chatting idly about HVAC filters of all things, and someone already sitting there took a sip of coffee and gave them a nod of acknowledgement. Tom had only crossed paths with Marcus Alexander a few times, but the facility head always seemed like just another of the guys, much more an elevated technician than an administrator. Still, there was a calculating gleam behind those dark eyes, and Tom had to hope that his approach wouldn’t seem too out of character.
“Hey, Mr. Alexander?” Tom said, sitting down across from the older man.
“Please, Tom, call me Marcus.” His smooth voice replied.
Tom blinked. “You know my name, sir?”
Marcus nodded. “Asked a couple of the guys about you when you first started helping us out. They all said good things, don’t look so nervous! Now, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I guess we’ve started settling in for the long haul here now, and I wanted to ask about getting on a more permanent rotation with the rest of the maintenance guys? Anything I can do to help, really.”
Marcus’s answering smile was a bit too close to a predator’s baring of teeth for Tom’s comfort. “I’m sure we can work something out, Mr. Henderson.”
-=-
Miles Butler was nervous. This wasn’t a new state of affairs, Miles lived a good portion of his life being nervous. Most people called him high-strung, anxious, fidgety, or any one of a dozen other adjectives that were semi-polite shorthand for annoying. It wasn’t his fault there was so much that could go wrong at any moment, and even more that he could never see coming. Especially the existence of some kind of incorporeal alien entities bonding with humans and granting them powers straight out of a comic book. He could honestly say he never expected that particular fantasy to be the one that came true, but naturally it had to be a curveball.
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Of course it was the popular kid Chase who got powers and not the weird, nerdy loner. Miles could admit it: he was jealous. He was extremely jealous of how Chase had seemingly effortlessly taken the whole group under his wing by dint of luck and charisma. Meanwhile Miles had been fruitlessly chasing a lab assistant position that would at least let him be closer to the research happening on the other cosmic phenomenon that had upended their lives and trapped them there. But of course that would have the same source as the alien now living in Chase’s picture frame or his head, and Miles would be left behind yet again.
He scratched at his arms as he followed Ellie back towards the north break room where they’d previously hung out attempting to interpret the chatter of the researchers and find themselves someone sympathetic who would take them in to study things firsthand. Once again he felt a tiny tinge of regret towards just how prominent he’d made his sleeves before ruthlessly smothering that thought. They were what he had to remind him of Neil, to symbolize how far he’d come since the accident. So what if they made some of the more straight-laced types look down their nose at him? He’d just be able to prove them wrong when the next big discovery was credited to Miles Butler. Those stupefied looks would make it all worth it.
For now, Miles focused on presenting himself as a convenient accessory to Ellie, a two assistants for one deal. As much as it rankled him from time to time, he knew she was far better positioned than he was to negotiate a way into the central labs for them both. He had already ruined a couple of her better prospects last week by butting in and trying to prove himself before she could convince Ashok or Marianne to let them assist. It was hard to rein himself in, to stay still and silent, but things were more important now. If they were going to have any chance at finding out why they were trapped here and how to get out, Miles couldn’t afford to be the weak link. He refused to fill that role.
Not again.
-=-
Eleanor Nguyen measured her steps carefully, as she had been trained to do all her life. There was no wasted motion and no deviation from the path she had laid out. Everything must have its own place and its own pace, that is what Father always said. Ellie had never doubted him before and she would not start now when his lessons might prove most critical. Mother had her own essential advice that would prove useful once the negotiation truly began. And it would be a negotiation. Every conversation was, whether all parties were aware of it or not.
The past two weeks had proven stressful on her patience and her bearing. She was reminded of some of the harsher lessons growing up, before she had internalized exactly how to conduct herself appropriately. Much like those lessons, the end goal here had not been clear at first, and working through the confusion without panicking had been the first step. Naturally, the second had been to secure herself a position where she could contribute the best she could to the overall success of the project. That had proved a more difficult task than anticipated between ingrained security concerns for those working in a high-security laboratory setting and some unexpected stubbornness once their isolation became clear. Of course, she now knew the reason for that recalcitrance, though she could scarcely believe it and would not fully until more evidence presented itself.
Extraordinary claims always required extraordinary evidence, and as much as Ellie was convinced there was something extraordinary going on, she would not subscribe to the first semi-reasonable explanation simply because it was convenient. Chase did not strike her as a liar, but neither was he a fully serious person whose claims could be taken without a grain of salt. Therefore, she would do her due diligence and investigate the phenomenon from all angles. She would not err. That was not the kind of daughter her parents had raised. She would find the truth for herself, only after calmly examining all possibilities. The rest of her fellow students trapped here with her often lacked this discipline. She would show that it was a far greater component of success than the haphazard luck they had exhibited so far.
Stepping smoothly into the north break room, she quickly found the person she was looking for and made her way over briskly, Miles following a step behind her. Wasting time would not serve any purpose at this juncture, and she could afford to be more direct than in previous negotiations. Perhaps she could drop a bit of their newly acquired evidence and see how this particular party reacted? All options were on the table now.
“Hello Marianne, Ashok.” Ellie began, nodding to the two researchers. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
-=-
Jessica McDaniels had been having one hell of a week, and it had only been about four days. She wasn’t too proud to admit that she’d first stumbled across the knowledge that had nearly broken her while pining for her mom and their usual nightly phone call. When she’d looked away from her phone for a second only to find that 34 minutes had passed, she’d thought the isolation had finally driven her insane. Her psychology class had made the point that solitary confinement could lead to delusions, and while this wasn’t quite solitary, they were definitely confined and she had been isolating herself. It was only when Chase had knocked on her door with that same haunted cast to his eyes that she’d been able to accept it.
In retrospect, her reaction was mortifying. She wasn’t some shrinking violet who would faint at the sight of blood or shut down when presented with new and dangerous information. Her momma didn’t raise a quitter. Still, it had opened her eyes to how much she relied on sharing the load with someone she could trust, and in momma’s absence, Chase had somehow proved himself an acceptable substitute. On the surface they were nothing alike, with his devil-may-care attitude, constant attempts at banter, and seeming impulsiveness, but there was always a purpose lurking just below the surface. Even as she played along and fed into his joking, she recognized how much he was playing up the bravado and lightheartedness for her sake. Just like momma, Chase was at his best when someone was depending on him, and Jess was at hers when she had someone to depend on.
She fingered the fragile borax crystal straw tucked away in her jacket pocket and didn’t fight the small smile that crawled onto her face. Who did something like that, spent time even as they were all alternatively freaking out and processing new revelations to make something just to cheer her up and remind her of better times? They’d barely known each other before this, and while he wasn’t bad-looking and had a decent sense of humor, she’d never considered him boyfriend material before. Now it was hard to imagine going back to life without him if they made it out of here alright. Psychology class also said something about bonds formed in times of crisis and the suspension bridge effect, but Jess was ignoring the possibility of a misattribution of arousal. If she didn’t acknowledge it, it wasn’t real, right? Something about Schrodinger’s cat and quantum states could probably back that up.
She knew Chase was following a little ways behind her, and she knew the reasoning was sound. If Bobby was still hosting a parasite, they didn’t want to risk Echo the trump card being found out too early. It didn’t stop Jess from wishing that he was walking alongside her, distracting her with that banter he seemed to effortlessly produce in endless quantities. A crystalline reminder in her pocket was all well and good, but it was no substitute for the real thing. She wanted to see more of what he was hiding under that surface of roguish charm, to find where that core of conviction and caring came from. But right now, she mostly wanted to not be alone as she walked into the security office staffed by the largest man she had ever seen who might or might not be the host to a superpowered interdimensional parasite. Surely that wasn’t asking too much?
Still, complaining about it wouldn’t get her anywhere. She spared a glance behind her, where Chase flashed a smile and thumbs up before ducking into the intersecting hallway like this was a stealth level in a video game or something. Jess shook her head and reached out to open the security office door. Momma didn’t raise a quitter, and if she was gonna see momma again and finally be able to tell her about the nice boy she’d met, she couldn’t afford to quit now.