Chase woke up feeling energized for the first time since they’d been trapped in the lab. Realistically nothing had changed about their situation at all with yesterday’s revelations and planning, but finally having a goal to work towards was doing wonders for his frustration levels. No wonder the researchers are so focused and have been ignoring us if they feel this good working on a solution!
Running a hand through his shaggy dirty blonde hair and stretching, Chase grabbed a towel and prepared himself to face the same day it had apparently been for the past two weeks with a new purpose in mind. Just because his clothes were apparently magically self-cleaning did not mean the effect extended to the body under those clothes. Which did seem like a bit of an odd limitation, but he just added it to his mental list. Something to do with skin bacteria, maybe? Wasn’t there something about needing dust mites and microbes to be healthy? Or am I thinking of gut bacteria? Eh, still worth noting.
Stepping into the bathroom, Chase took in his reflection for a moment. There was a faint layer of stubble on his face; the dorms were stocked like hotels with basic toiletries, but razors were not included. His hair did seem a little longer, and he idly wondered if he would need a haircut if they were stuck here too much longer. Kayla would grumble about it, but she would do it for a favor or two. Two weeks with a dearth of fresh food and without the gym hadn’t done his physique any favors, though he doubted he would have been able to muster up the motivation to work out before now. He supposed it could be good for killing time, though they were already missing 34 minutes of that. Any more and time might find itself on the endangered species list.
Chase took a quick shower, alternately thankful that the tiny hotel-style shampoo bottles were apparently included on the list of resetting supplies and lamenting their supposed lavender and honey scent. He thought ‘eau de grandmother’s house’ would be a more accurate label. Still, there was nothing for it now, but he swore that he’d bring an emergency overnight bag everywhere if they ever got out of here.
Toweling off and redressing, Chase ambled out into the kitchen to snag breakfast. It was a nice surprise to see Jessica already up and about, munching on a granola bar at the table. She looked much more put together today, still pale but in a more flattering way that contrasted nicely with her noticeably healthier black hair. Nothing like a little injection of hope to get the self-care train going. She rolled her eyes when she saw him staring.
“Yes, I’m fine, how are you?” She said between bites.
“Just nice to see you looking better.” Chase answered, fishing a granola bar of his own out of the pantry and filling a mug with coffee. Automatically restocking coffee, truly it would be the greatest of blessings if it wasn’t the kind that tastes vaguely of burnt rubber and sadness. You’d think a fancy lab like this would spring for something better.
Jessica was giving him an odd look as he sat down, and Chase tilted his head in confusion. “Sorry, I was just surprised. Feels like you normally would have made a joke there.” She explained.
Chase shrugged. “There’s a time and a place for banter. That time is after I’m awake enough to think of jokes, and that place is outside of slapping range.”
“And it lasted two sentences, a new record! He almost stuck the landing there, but he does lose a few points for bringing up the slapping incident, as the judges already ruled that one perfectly justified in light of his egregious taunting of fate.” She was smiling at him over the rim of her mug as he tipped his in a mock toast.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. It felt like a good idea at the time? No, that’s not even true. Why did I do that?” Chase pondered, taking another sip of coffee. It definitely wasn’t just to lighten the mood, I like to think I have a little more tact than that. It was like it was suddenly the only idea in my head and I had to act on it. Weird. My impulses aren’t usually that strong.
“Let us know when you figure it out, okay? Just so we know how much to mock you. In the meantime, think you can keep it under wraps? I don’t think we have time to deal with that much extra fallout today.”
“I promise only to try.” Jessica threw a bit of granola bar at him for that, which miraculously bounced off his forehead and into his last bit of coffee. With a shrug, he chugged it down even as she made gagging noises.
“Alright!” Chase clapped his hands as he rose from the table. “Onward to glory! Or the security office. Whichever comes first.”
The two of them made it all the way to the dorm exit before realizing a critical flaw in their plan - neither of them actually knew where the security office was. Tom probably did, but of course he and Kayla had already left by the time Chase got out of bed. So they were left wandering, slowly making a circuit of the lab’s outer areas and trying to ignore the eerie atmosphere.
It wasn’t just that it was empty yet clean, their steps echoing off largely bare walls and barren hallways. It wasn’t just the shifting green and purple lights and shadows that drifted through the nearly solid wall of windows ringing the first floor. Both of those factors did lend a certain horror movie atmosphere to the whole excursion, but it was the creeping knowledge that even though Chase’s tempting of fate didn’t get a direct response, it was still more than likely that they weren’t alone. So naturally, Chase turned to his ultimate form of distraction: banter.
“So, regret not being paired off with Tom yet?”
Jess gave him a sidelong glance and smirked. “Of course, but we both know you wouldn’t have survived going off with Kayla.”
“Too real. I honestly thought she was gonna kick my ass when she barged in last night. And you know she fights dirty.”
“I’ll have to take lessons.”
“I mourn for your lost innocence.”
“I am as pure as the driven snow.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Falling from clouds made of smog over the chemical plant, near the nuclear testing site.”
“Does that make you the chemical plant or the nuclear testing site?”
“I have been called the bomb before.”
Jess giggled. “Alright, you win that round. Any sign of the security office?”
Chase made a show of looking around. “Just a lot of poorly marked doors. Which would be a good strategy for a security office, looking unremarkable. Should we just start busting them down and go in guns blazing?”
“I’d really rather you didn’t.” A deep voice answered from behind them. Chase spun, cursing himself for getting so absorbed in the conversation that he didn’t notice the frankly enormous man emerging from a door behind them. He must have been at least six and a half feet tall, broad shouldered and barrel chested. Really, every part of him looked like it had been inflated to near-ridiculous proportions, including a hefty overhanging gut. He looked like a football player who had retired but never adjusted his diet back down to normal levels, packing on layers of fat over the muscle. The nametag on the security uniform almost comically stretched across his frame read “Bobby”.
“Hey, just the man we didn’t know we were looking for!” Chase greeted, only to be silenced by an outstretched arm from Jessica.
“What Chase means is that we were looking for the main security office. Hi, I’m Jessica, is that the office there behind you?”
“Yep, you found it. Come on in, dunno what I can help y’all with but it’s not like I got much else to do.” Bobby gave a languid wave and plodded back into the office, followed by Chase and Jessica. It was honestly underwhelming, a simple desk and chair in front of an array of video monitors. A small kitchenette with a microwave and mini-fridge adorned one wall, and there was another door off to the side, maybe a bathroom or some kind of holding room if the police had to become involved.
Bobby settled heavily into his chair, letting out a sigh of contentment. He took a long drink from an open soda can on his desk before fixing the two students with a relaxed yet curious eye.
“Don’t get many people looking for the security office, especially lately. Hope you don’t need someone escorted off the property, not so sure I can do that anymore.”
“It’s nothing like that, sir.” Jessica said sweetly. “We were actually hoping we could take a look at the security footage from last night. I… I think I saw something a little after midnight and I know it’s probably my mind playing tricks on me, but I’d really sleep better if I could see for myself.”
“Huh.” Bobby grunted. “Normally, I’m not supposed to do that sort of thing, but it ain’t exactly normal around here. So sure, why not? I’m gonna keep an eye on things here, but video archives are just down that hall there, second door on the right. Password is there on a sticky note, could never remember the damn thing before I did that. Just don’t erase anything, that’d be a pain to fix.”
“Thank you sir! We’ll be quick. Come on, Chase.” Jessica’s prodding brought Chase back to the present. Bobby’s appearance and demeanor reminded him of something, and not something flattering. He seems like exactly the stereotype of a lazy security guard. Sitting around watching monitors, leaving passwords on sticky notes, even his size. I would have thought a fancy place like this would have at least someone more motivated. Maybe he just doesn’t see the point anymore?
The video archives room greatly disappointed the part of Chase that had spent his middle school years watching investigative dramas. It was barely more than a glorified closet, with the bulk of the space taken up by a large flatscreen monitor. Sure enough, there was a yellow sticky note attached to the front declaring the password to be vArchive1. Jessica punched it in and they were greeted by location and hour-by-hour timestamps.
“Should we just try anything from around midnight?” Jessica asked.
Chase nodded. “Try to get one with people if you can. How bout that one, the north break room?”
Jessica brought up the video and Chase immediately felt something about it was off. On the surface, nothing looked wrong. There were people milling about, getting food and eating. The north break room was close to the central parts of the lab where most of the senior researchers had sequestered themselves, making it the prime spot for them to grab a snack from the vending machine and for those not permitted into the central labs to badger them with questions. Only, not much of that seemed to be happening. People were still getting snacks and sitting down to eat them and chat with each other, but to Chase’s eye it looked almost mechanical. Just another part of the routine to get done.
“Chase,” Jessica breathed. “Check the length of the video.”
And that confirmed it. A video starting at midnight on the dot with a length of twenty-six minutes and 2 seconds. So much for their idea of recording the blank 34 on their phones, but as long as they were here they might as well be thorough.
“Fast forward, let’s see the last minute or so. Who knows, maybe those two extra seconds are key.” Chase suggested. Jessica queued up the last minute of the footage, and they watched in silence as the same seemingly scripted actions played out. Nothing seemed to provoke a reaction, and Chase was reminded of nothing more than the plays he’d done in high school. Specifically, those first few rehearsals once everyone had memorized the script but no one was quite comfortable with all of their lines and blocking; it made for a stilted, awkward parody of a performance, much less real life. The pattern continued until those last two seconds.
There wasn’t a flash of light or any obvious visual indicator. There wasn’t a signal, at least not within the camera’s field of view. Yet every single person in the room froze at the exact moment the minute ticked over. It was only for two seconds, but it took the overall impression Chase had of the footage from weird straight into the uncanny valley. People didn’t freeze like that, there was always some sort of subtle fidgeting or twitching. The human body had all sorts of tiny movements that added up to bigger visual indications. Chase guessed one or two people freezing for a couple seconds wasn’t too weird, but this was a dozen people - three of which were chewing - that all simultaneously were put on pause.
“Is that - is that what happens to us? Do we all just stop? What the hell, what the shit, what the fuck.” Jessica trailed off, nearly hyperventilating. Chase was definitely breathing more quickly himself, but he recognized the need to distract Jess before she spiraled into a panic attack as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Jess,” Chase spoke softly, but tried to inject a solidity into his voice that he certainly didn’t feel. “Can you pull up the next video for me? The one starting at 1 AM?” She looked up at him wide-eyed before giving a shaky nod. If the mouse pointer was trembling a bit more as she navigated the menus, Chase didn’t mention it. She needed something to do to keep her grounded and they both needed more context on what they’d just seen. It was one thing to look at a clock and realize you’d somehow skipped 34 minutes; it was quite another to see what that looked like from the outside.
Other than everyone in the break room beginning in the same positions they’d last seen, the 1 AM video played out almost normally. Chase thought the people almost looked refreshed, a little more rehearsed and comfortable in their actions. The resolution wasn’t quite high enough to see for sure, but he’d bet the vending machines had just been refilled and the crumbs had disappeared from the tables and floors. It was the same scene, just slightly more realized or idealized.
“It’s not just resetting.” Chase couldn’t help but voice the realization that crashed over him, turning his blood to ice. “It’s refining.” Jessica met his eyes and swallowed thickly before agreeing in a small voice.
“Whatever it is, it’s changing us.”