June 5th, 2008
4:06pm
Ryan's Apartment - Harrison Street
Seven red, five orange, and two blue Freeze Pops later, Ryan still felt overheated. He'd returned to his apartment and the single, aging window air conditioner did little to combat the sweltering heat and humidity. Curse this mass of curly hair, he thought as he sat on his bed, facing his box fan. Everything today feels so oppressed by the heat, like the world is moving slower. Everybody's getting testy and impatient, too. The humidity made his curls get frizzy and the fan blew them every which way, which was a tolerable annoyance given the ambient temperature.
He tried to pass the time by surfing the internet. Nobody's updated their blog, and I've read all my webcomics. "Geez," he said to aloud to no one "is Facebook really the most interesting website that's updated today?" He was about to find something else to do when he received an instant message:
GregS: Hey buddy. Gametime?
Damnit.
RyanG: Damnit. Well played, sir. What are you doing?
GregS: Just got off work. You?
RyanG: Absolutely nothing. I was about ready to do next week's homework out of pure boredom.
RyanG: Wait, I thought you were off today?
GregS: My boss called in sick. Said he had to stay home because his daughter woke up really sick today, and he doesn't know what's wrong with her.
RyanG: Bummer. Way to pick up the slack.
GregS: Wanna come over and rock out? Watch House reruns?
RyanG: Sounds great. Can you come pick me up?
GregS: No can do. Chad's borrowing my car because his is in the shop.
RyanG: No problem. I can take the trolley over, and it should be cool enough tonight to walk back. Be there in a bit, depending on when the trolley gets here.
GregS has signed off.
Ryan packed up a few video game essentials into his bookbag before putting on his flip-flops and heading outside. It was a short walk to the trolley station across from the Wood St. parking garage, but with the sun starting to dip lower in the sky casting long shadows, and the stuffy heat, the walk was eerily quiet.
I know there's usually less activity during the summer, but today seems especially dead Ryan thought as he waited for the trolley. He pulled his mp3 player out of his bookbag, not quite sure what songs he'd last loaded onto it. The first album was Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil, which he felt was an abnormally hardcore soundtrack to something as mundane as hailing a trolley, better suited to doing something awesome.
Eventually the 5:30 route stopped by, and after squeezing past dozens of students not wanting to walk in the heat (he didn't blame them) Ryan rode past the shopping center, and down Chauncey Hill. A quick tug of the stop cord, and the trolley paused to let him out directly in front of the Wabash Landing movie theatre. This was was the closest he was going to get to Greg's apartment by way of public transport.
Ryan walked across the nearly empty parking lot in front of the Neon Cactus, knowing full well the walk back home would be treacherous - Thirsty Thursdays would mean huge crowds of inebriated students stumbling around. He walked around the far end of the strip mall to Greg's apartment in the complex behind.
Greg greeted him at the door with a cold can of Mt. Dew and a guitar. They started playing Guitar Hero III right away, 5-starring their favorite songs. They'd played the game so many times that for them it was less about beating the high score, and more about what they termed "style points". They tried to keep an unbroken string of notes while playing behind their backs, playing back to back, and liberal use of windmill and duckwalking through guitar duels until their fingers were aching.
After several hours of bothering the neighbors with a constant barrage of noise, they gave in to hunger. They ordered pizza and waited for the delivery while watching season two of Prison Break. Greg had seen it already, but didn't mind a seeing it again as Ryan caught up.
After a few episodes, with a decent walk still to go, Ryan said goodbye. He was much more comfortable outside now that the sun had gone down, though it was eerily quiet (except for a few scattered yells from drunks). Attempting to avoid the bar scene as much as possible, he stayed on the far side of the Cactus parking lot and walked along the bank of the Wabash. Passing the ice-skating rink on his way to the landing and Rt. 26, he felt a shiver along his spine.
He shrugged it off as just the cooler night air giving him a chill, but he did not notice the shadowy figure stalking him...
Current Word Count: 4,216
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Nomenclature Clarification
I just know I'm going to forget to use real names and slip into nicknames. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ship of Fools, I'm going to give you a quick summary:
Ryan - T.Rex
Renee - Kamikaze
Andrew - Peace
Eric - Beard
John C. - Cowboy
Stu - B.O.
Steve - Angel Hair
Brant - Rubble
Alex - SoG
Benji - Hallway
John T. - Tripod or Freshman
Kyle - Sweet Speak
Also, I'm adding a poll to the right sidebar. Cast your vote!
Ryan - T.Rex
Renee - Kamikaze
Andrew - Peace
Eric - Beard
John C. - Cowboy
Stu - B.O.
Steve - Angel Hair
Brant - Rubble
Alex - SoG
Benji - Hallway
John T. - Tripod or Freshman
Kyle - Sweet Speak
Also, I'm adding a poll to the right sidebar. Cast your vote!
Chapter 2 - Delayed
June 5th, 2008
12:35pm
Pappy's Sweet Shop
Jenny should be here by now, Ryan thought. Fighting back the sneaking suspicion something had happened to her, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket to check for a message he might've missed. Damn. No reception in the basement. Great, and my battery needs charged, too.
He tried to take his mind away from paranoia by pulling his big blue notebook from his bookbag. It contained all of his notes about the improv club, including the upcoming show for the summer. The Fools had booked an performance as the opening act for a Chicago comedian, and several retired members of the troupe had mentioned possibly reuniting and joining them on stage. The final head count of members, however, was far from set. Ryan reviewed who he knew would be here over the summer, who couldn't make it for sure, and who was a possibility.
It was just then when Jenny walked up and greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, sorry about the delay. There was some sort of accident near Krannert, so my bus was delayed." She slid into the booth across from Ryan with a sigh.
"It's okay. The whole campus seems to be in a funk today - there was something in the paper about a drunk guy biting somebody. Anyway, I was just going over the roster for the upcoming Chicago Show."
"Oh yeah? Who all's gonna be in it?"
"Well, me, of course. Let's see" he scanned the checklist "Renee, Andrew and Eric, for sure. Stu's probably not going to make it. Kyle and John T. graduated, so they're out. Steve and Brant aren't staying here over the summer, but I'm pretty sure they said they would make it. John C. will be here. Benji and Alex are big question marks."
"Sounds like fun trying to plan all of that together. How about you keep working on that, and I'll get some lunch?"
"Sounds great," he said, pulling out his wallet "here's a twenty - get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a cherry coke, will ya?"
"Of course. Back in a few."
Ryan scribbled a few notes while Jenny waited in line for lunch. She returned with a pair of burgers, cokes, and a large plate of fries.
"I've got a quiz I need to study for, okay?" Jenny said, removing a large packet of notes from her bulging bookbag.
"Sure. Is that the only other thing you have today?"
"Well, I've got my afternoon class with the quiz, and then a group meeting, and I work tonight at Hillenbrand. There's a huge bunch of people moving into the hall for a conference and I'm on duty."
"Can I come over and keep you company?" he asked between bites of fries.
"I don't think that'd be the best idea. I have a lesson plan to write and rounds, so I'm gonna be really busy. Perhaps this weekend we can hang out, instead?"
Ryan sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll try and get a hold of the Fools and find out for sure who will be here. I just hate how lonely my apartment is right now." His roommate John had graduated and was working in Michigan at a reactor, so his room was just empty until the lease ended in August. Ryan's other current roommate, Alex, was out of town visiting his girlfriend Steph. "Even our upstairs neighbors are gone for the summer, I guess. I saw a moving truck outside last week and it's been really quiet for once."
She paused to swallow the last bite of burger before noting "At least you don't have to deal with their shitty music past midnight anymore."
"True. I definitely enjoy having the freedom to crank up and rock out."
They continued to chat while they finished lunch. Finally, as the clock neared 1:15, Jenny put away her notes. "Well," she said "I think it's about time for me to get to class. Thanks for lunch."
"No problem. I hope your quiz and group meeting goes well. Have fun at work tonight, too."
"And you have fun tonight. Why don't you try and invite some of the Fools over and do something? Play a game of Settlers of Catan, perhaps?"
"We'll see."
Ryan watched as Jennifer packed up her things and left. Little did he know that he might never see her again...
Current Word Count: 3,400
12:35pm
Pappy's Sweet Shop
Jenny should be here by now, Ryan thought. Fighting back the sneaking suspicion something had happened to her, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket to check for a message he might've missed. Damn. No reception in the basement. Great, and my battery needs charged, too.
He tried to take his mind away from paranoia by pulling his big blue notebook from his bookbag. It contained all of his notes about the improv club, including the upcoming show for the summer. The Fools had booked an performance as the opening act for a Chicago comedian, and several retired members of the troupe had mentioned possibly reuniting and joining them on stage. The final head count of members, however, was far from set. Ryan reviewed who he knew would be here over the summer, who couldn't make it for sure, and who was a possibility.
It was just then when Jenny walked up and greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, sorry about the delay. There was some sort of accident near Krannert, so my bus was delayed." She slid into the booth across from Ryan with a sigh.
"It's okay. The whole campus seems to be in a funk today - there was something in the paper about a drunk guy biting somebody. Anyway, I was just going over the roster for the upcoming Chicago Show."
"Oh yeah? Who all's gonna be in it?"
"Well, me, of course. Let's see" he scanned the checklist "Renee, Andrew and Eric, for sure. Stu's probably not going to make it. Kyle and John T. graduated, so they're out. Steve and Brant aren't staying here over the summer, but I'm pretty sure they said they would make it. John C. will be here. Benji and Alex are big question marks."
"Sounds like fun trying to plan all of that together. How about you keep working on that, and I'll get some lunch?"
"Sounds great," he said, pulling out his wallet "here's a twenty - get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a cherry coke, will ya?"
"Of course. Back in a few."
Ryan scribbled a few notes while Jenny waited in line for lunch. She returned with a pair of burgers, cokes, and a large plate of fries.
"I've got a quiz I need to study for, okay?" Jenny said, removing a large packet of notes from her bulging bookbag.
"Sure. Is that the only other thing you have today?"
"Well, I've got my afternoon class with the quiz, and then a group meeting, and I work tonight at Hillenbrand. There's a huge bunch of people moving into the hall for a conference and I'm on duty."
"Can I come over and keep you company?" he asked between bites of fries.
"I don't think that'd be the best idea. I have a lesson plan to write and rounds, so I'm gonna be really busy. Perhaps this weekend we can hang out, instead?"
Ryan sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll try and get a hold of the Fools and find out for sure who will be here. I just hate how lonely my apartment is right now." His roommate John had graduated and was working in Michigan at a reactor, so his room was just empty until the lease ended in August. Ryan's other current roommate, Alex, was out of town visiting his girlfriend Steph. "Even our upstairs neighbors are gone for the summer, I guess. I saw a moving truck outside last week and it's been really quiet for once."
She paused to swallow the last bite of burger before noting "At least you don't have to deal with their shitty music past midnight anymore."
"True. I definitely enjoy having the freedom to crank up and rock out."
They continued to chat while they finished lunch. Finally, as the clock neared 1:15, Jenny put away her notes. "Well," she said "I think it's about time for me to get to class. Thanks for lunch."
"No problem. I hope your quiz and group meeting goes well. Have fun at work tonight, too."
"And you have fun tonight. Why don't you try and invite some of the Fools over and do something? Play a game of Settlers of Catan, perhaps?"
"We'll see."
Ryan watched as Jennifer packed up her things and left. Little did he know that he might never see her again...
Current Word Count: 3,400
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tentative Title
With the help of my sis, I've got a title. I'm still not sure, so I will call it a working title for now. I would solicit suggestions, but perhaps you [the reader] want to read more story, first.
Chapter 1 - Press Coverage
June 5th, 2008
11:47am
Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, room 180
"If you look on page 72 of your text, ladies and gentleman, you will see a diagram of what is called a 'normal' distribution." said the TA
This is so boring, Ryan thought as he sat through yet another day of IE 230. I've already taken AP statistics and I already know this stuff. It looks like a perfect day, and I'm stuck inside with summer classes. At least it's a technical elective, and not another thermo class. Just four weeks of this and I'll be that much closer to finishing my degree. It wouldn't be so bad if class wasn't two freakin' hours long.
Looking around for something to do, Ryan spied a newspaper on the floor next to his neighbor. "Pssst" he called to the barely-awake girl.
"What?" she hissed back.
"Can I have your The Exponent?"
"Whatever." She kicked it across the floor.
Ryan stealthily folded the student paper under the desk so that the seventh page corner was on top. He waited until the TA was facing the board to flip the paper onto the desk. He clicked forth some graphite at the tip of his pencil in anticipation - only to be disappointed to find the sudoku had already been solved. In ink.
Damnit, I should've seen that coming. Ryan thought. I've already done the reading for this class, and the homework for Friday. I wonder what else is going on this week at Purdue.
Ryan scanned the newspaper quietly, taking advantage of his rear seat in the large lecture room to hide his alternate reading material. The most interesting news story was on page three:
Taking advantage of the Stewart Center's a/c was a top priority. Unfortunately, this slight detour meant running into a throng of people in line for a presentation by the Dean of Students in Loeb Theater. The presentation didn't start until 12:30, apparently, and the people in the line grew restless. They stood uncomfortably close, crowded against each other because of maintenance work in the same hallway.
"Excuse me, pardon me, comin' through" Ryan tried politely to squeeze through the mass of people. Jeez, he thought I never knew this guy was so popular. It's like the Day of the Dean or something.
Finally through the mindless horde, he ducked into a stairwell and headed downstairs, passing underground to reach the Union. Not only was it less crowded, but it was air-conditioned and out of the blazing sun.
He emerged directly across from the recently renovated Villa Pizza. Getting out of class at the top of the hour did have it's advantages -most of the students would be out and about between 12:20 and 12:30, and glancing at the clock on the wall Ryan saw he still had a few minutes before Jenny's class let out. He walked briskly past several studying students sipping Starbucks.
Across from the arcade, Ryan entered Pappy's, grabbed a booth near the back and waited for Jenny to arrive.
Current Word Count: 2,670
11:47am
Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, room 180
"If you look on page 72 of your text, ladies and gentleman, you will see a diagram of what is called a 'normal' distribution." said the TA
This is so boring, Ryan thought as he sat through yet another day of IE 230. I've already taken AP statistics and I already know this stuff. It looks like a perfect day, and I'm stuck inside with summer classes. At least it's a technical elective, and not another thermo class. Just four weeks of this and I'll be that much closer to finishing my degree. It wouldn't be so bad if class wasn't two freakin' hours long.
Looking around for something to do, Ryan spied a newspaper on the floor next to his neighbor. "Pssst" he called to the barely-awake girl.
"What?" she hissed back.
"Can I have your The Exponent?"
"Whatever." She kicked it across the floor.
Ryan stealthily folded the student paper under the desk so that the seventh page corner was on top. He waited until the TA was facing the board to flip the paper onto the desk. He clicked forth some graphite at the tip of his pencil in anticipation - only to be disappointed to find the sudoku had already been solved. In ink.
Damnit, I should've seen that coming. Ryan thought. I've already done the reading for this class, and the homework for Friday. I wonder what else is going on this week at Purdue.
Ryan scanned the newspaper quietly, taking advantage of his rear seat in the large lecture room to hide his alternate reading material. The most interesting news story was on page three:
Party Animal Crashes Late Night GatheringThere were a few other minor headlines, including:
By Jason DeSoto, Assistant Campus Editor
West Lafayette Police responded to a disturbance call at a Harrison Street residence late last night. The authorities were phoned in by irate neighbors after "screaming and loud moaning" were heard for several minutes. When units arrived on scene, officers found one student had attacked other party goers after showing up late.
Doug Erickson, a senior in the College of Technology said "we didn't recognize him at first, but we offered him something to drink...he kinda went crazy and got all up in our faces". Officers subdued the offender, who was reported as "extremely lethargic and uncooperative" with suspected blood alcohol levels well over the legal limit.
Property damage was minimal. Four students and one officer were taken to Purdue University Student Health Center for treatment of lacerations and bites. All but one were released this morning, she remains in good condition.
Purdue to Host Biochemistry ColloquiumRyan grew restless as the minutes ticked by and the TA droned on. Finally noon rolled around, and the lecture ended. He packed up his notebook, shouldered his bookbag, and headed through the Engineering Mall, at one point contemplating an impromptu fountain run. Resisting the siren call of the cool water spray, he headed past the Bell Tower to the Union for a lunch date with Jenny.
Electrical Problems at Lynn Hall
Above Average Temperatures Strain Facilities
Graduate Student Reported Missing
Coach Tiller's Offseason Thoughts
Purdue Prepares to Welcome New Administrator
Taking advantage of the Stewart Center's a/c was a top priority. Unfortunately, this slight detour meant running into a throng of people in line for a presentation by the Dean of Students in Loeb Theater. The presentation didn't start until 12:30, apparently, and the people in the line grew restless. They stood uncomfortably close, crowded against each other because of maintenance work in the same hallway.
"Excuse me, pardon me, comin' through" Ryan tried politely to squeeze through the mass of people. Jeez, he thought I never knew this guy was so popular. It's like the Day of the Dean or something.
Finally through the mindless horde, he ducked into a stairwell and headed downstairs, passing underground to reach the Union. Not only was it less crowded, but it was air-conditioned and out of the blazing sun.
He emerged directly across from the recently renovated Villa Pizza. Getting out of class at the top of the hour did have it's advantages -most of the students would be out and about between 12:20 and 12:30, and glancing at the clock on the wall Ryan saw he still had a few minutes before Jenny's class let out. He walked briskly past several studying students sipping Starbucks.
Across from the arcade, Ryan entered Pappy's, grabbed a booth near the back and waited for Jenny to arrive.
Current Word Count: 2,670
Prologue 2
June 4th, 2008
2:45am
Pranav's secret lab
"Roger?" Pranav asked, nervously shouldering a large file cabinet over the defective door.
Silence greeted him.
"Typical. I got here late because I had another paper to work on, okay? I'm sorry." He shined a flashlight slowly around the room, seeing the familiar grey tarps blanketing parts of the room, some with a bit of unfamiliar plaster over them. Counting, he came up one short, and couldn't figure out why. He nervously fumbled for the light switch on the nearby wall and clicked it on.
"Damn it, this place is falling apart. It's no wonder it's not being used. Roger, are you okay?" Pranav surveyed the damage. Part of the roof showed signs of water damage, and a few ceiling tiles had fallen apart, coating his precious experiment with bits of plaster and exposing some pipes and electrical wires. The wires dangled lifelessly into the room. Roger's gurney wasn't there.
Walking closer, he saw that a rather large chunk of a support beam had corroded away and fallen, creating the hole. He panicked, searching the area frantically before noticing a familiar grey tarp at the back of the dim room.
"Roger, did you try and get away from me?" He marched back to the shadowy recesses and was relieved to find the tarp-covered gurney had wheeled behind a desk, probably because of a bit of the ceiling falling. He gently steered Roger back to the lab benches and drew back the tarp.
Roger remained lifeless, lying on the gurney with small colored patches over his arms, legs, and torso where Pranav's samples had been tested. Most looked benign, but a few had either burned away the tissue or had reacted in some way.
"Ooooh, what have we here?" Pranav said, excited that any tests showed signs of life. He recorded the results in his notebook, and took a close-up picture of each test patch in sequence with a digital camera. He washed his hands and pulled on a pair of surgical gloves before pulling a small kit from his bookbag. Opening it, he gently extracted a scalpel, and turned towards Roger.
"This might hurt a little bit, Roger. Look away." Pranav tried to force the skull to look the opposite direction, but found that rigor mortis left the neck quite stiff. He struggled against it, grunting, before a wet snap finally echoed through the room.
"You big dummy! Watch what you're doing! ...sorry, Roger, that was to me, not you."
Pranav carefully sliced a small sample from the first test site on the corpse and ran it under one of the microscopes on the lab bench.
"Dang. Nothing. Oh well, we've still got 49 other promising samples to take, right buddy?"
Silence.
"Oh, it sounds like somebody is a little sore about the neck thing. I'm sorry, okay? It was an accident. Another pinch." Pranav consoled the cadaver as he took the next sample, and ran it under the microscope again.
This continued on for some time. Test samples 21, 23, 30-35, and 42 all showed signs of promise, he noted in his notebook. The last one, in particular, seemed to almost move under the microscope, a most unusual response. He noted this in his notebook before wiping his brow. His nose rankled at the scent that seemed to hang in the air.
"Geez, Roger. What did I tell you about the smell? You're gonna get us caught."
Roger stared at the wall, unapologetic.
Frustrated, Pranav decided to risk turning on the vents, if only for a few minutes to clear the stagnant air in the basement. He went to the far end of the room and studied for a moment the panel of controls near the instructor's desk.
"Hrmm...let's see...I'll try 'medium' ventilation" he said as he clicked the dial twice to the right. A moderate hum seemed like a deafening roar in the otherwise quiet basement. The additional power use made the dangling wires in the middle of the room spark, and the lights flickered. Looking around nervously, Pranav's nose tickled once more.
"Roger, this isn't going to work. The vents are so old they're just blowing around stale air. I can't risk the noise of medium, either. We'll try the low setting, and open the door just a crack, okay?"
Roger did not object.
Pranav adjusted the vent system and shouldered the cabinet to the side, leaving the door slightly ajar before going back to work. He removed his gloves and pulled a large textbook that was falling apart from his bag and set it on the counter.
"Don't give me that look, Roger. Professor Anderson has a giant ego - that's why he insists on writing his own book for the class, and making pointless updates each year to keep his grad students poor. I'm sure this book will work just fine." He paused to inspect the faded cover. "I'm sure this, uh, G. Ramero guy was a very respected author in his day."
A pause.
"No, Roger, I ordered it online. It was even cheaper that way. Don't you give me that tone - I had to pay some pretty important people to look the other way to set up this little experiment."
Scanning the textbook, Pranav made note of several characteristics of the samples. He scanned the next chapter, and spent a few minutes searching the cabinets for exotic chemicals required for the next part. Gathering them, he mixed precise amounts into a large beaker to prepare a special concoction.
I've never heard of this in my other classes before, he thought as he sniffed the slightly less pungent air. He stopped to read aloud, a nervous habit he had when he needed to concentrate.
"Create a small incision at the base of the neck, blah blah blah, inject the solution into the flap at the juncture of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae...got it. Slice n' pour. Well, Roger, that means we're going to have to flip you over."
Roger remained mute.
Grunting, Pranav managed to turn the stiff remains over on the gurney. Holding the beaker of solution in his left hand, and the scalpel in his right, he braced himself against an odor that was worse now that Roger was face-down. Hoping to avoid inhaling much more, he quickly cut into Roger's neck about where he thought it should go, and poured the solution over the incision.
Roger's body did not react well to being moved in such a manner. As the solution coursed through his slowly decaying body, what was left of his internal organs succumbed to gravity and shifted. The massive mound of tissue sloughed downward in his chest cavity, and because of the undrained amount of body fluid still pooled inside his lungs, the result was a sickening loud splorch. This was followed by a dark red ooze that flowed from Roger's body orifices.
Pranav, however, was unaware of such biological nuances, and was caught off guard by the sudden and disgusting sights and sounds. Startled, he dropped the beaker on the floor as his right arm flew back in horror. The scalpel in his hand connected with the dangling live wires from the ceiling, his other hand resting on Roger's shoulder. Sounds of the shattering beaker went unheard as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through Pranav Lee's fragile body and found their way into Roger's bloated corpse.
Pranav collapsed onto the floor as the stench of burnt flesh hung in the air.
Current Word Count: 1,906
2:45am
Pranav's secret lab
"Roger?" Pranav asked, nervously shouldering a large file cabinet over the defective door.
Silence greeted him.
"Typical. I got here late because I had another paper to work on, okay? I'm sorry." He shined a flashlight slowly around the room, seeing the familiar grey tarps blanketing parts of the room, some with a bit of unfamiliar plaster over them. Counting, he came up one short, and couldn't figure out why. He nervously fumbled for the light switch on the nearby wall and clicked it on.
"Damn it, this place is falling apart. It's no wonder it's not being used. Roger, are you okay?" Pranav surveyed the damage. Part of the roof showed signs of water damage, and a few ceiling tiles had fallen apart, coating his precious experiment with bits of plaster and exposing some pipes and electrical wires. The wires dangled lifelessly into the room. Roger's gurney wasn't there.
Walking closer, he saw that a rather large chunk of a support beam had corroded away and fallen, creating the hole. He panicked, searching the area frantically before noticing a familiar grey tarp at the back of the dim room.
"Roger, did you try and get away from me?" He marched back to the shadowy recesses and was relieved to find the tarp-covered gurney had wheeled behind a desk, probably because of a bit of the ceiling falling. He gently steered Roger back to the lab benches and drew back the tarp.
Roger remained lifeless, lying on the gurney with small colored patches over his arms, legs, and torso where Pranav's samples had been tested. Most looked benign, but a few had either burned away the tissue or had reacted in some way.
"Ooooh, what have we here?" Pranav said, excited that any tests showed signs of life. He recorded the results in his notebook, and took a close-up picture of each test patch in sequence with a digital camera. He washed his hands and pulled on a pair of surgical gloves before pulling a small kit from his bookbag. Opening it, he gently extracted a scalpel, and turned towards Roger.
"This might hurt a little bit, Roger. Look away." Pranav tried to force the skull to look the opposite direction, but found that rigor mortis left the neck quite stiff. He struggled against it, grunting, before a wet snap finally echoed through the room.
"You big dummy! Watch what you're doing! ...sorry, Roger, that was to me, not you."
Pranav carefully sliced a small sample from the first test site on the corpse and ran it under one of the microscopes on the lab bench.
"Dang. Nothing. Oh well, we've still got 49 other promising samples to take, right buddy?"
Silence.
"Oh, it sounds like somebody is a little sore about the neck thing. I'm sorry, okay? It was an accident. Another pinch." Pranav consoled the cadaver as he took the next sample, and ran it under the microscope again.
This continued on for some time. Test samples 21, 23, 30-35, and 42 all showed signs of promise, he noted in his notebook. The last one, in particular, seemed to almost move under the microscope, a most unusual response. He noted this in his notebook before wiping his brow. His nose rankled at the scent that seemed to hang in the air.
"Geez, Roger. What did I tell you about the smell? You're gonna get us caught."
Roger stared at the wall, unapologetic.
Frustrated, Pranav decided to risk turning on the vents, if only for a few minutes to clear the stagnant air in the basement. He went to the far end of the room and studied for a moment the panel of controls near the instructor's desk.
"Hrmm...let's see...I'll try 'medium' ventilation" he said as he clicked the dial twice to the right. A moderate hum seemed like a deafening roar in the otherwise quiet basement. The additional power use made the dangling wires in the middle of the room spark, and the lights flickered. Looking around nervously, Pranav's nose tickled once more.
"Roger, this isn't going to work. The vents are so old they're just blowing around stale air. I can't risk the noise of medium, either. We'll try the low setting, and open the door just a crack, okay?"
Roger did not object.
Pranav adjusted the vent system and shouldered the cabinet to the side, leaving the door slightly ajar before going back to work. He removed his gloves and pulled a large textbook that was falling apart from his bag and set it on the counter.
"Don't give me that look, Roger. Professor Anderson has a giant ego - that's why he insists on writing his own book for the class, and making pointless updates each year to keep his grad students poor. I'm sure this book will work just fine." He paused to inspect the faded cover. "I'm sure this, uh, G. Ramero guy was a very respected author in his day."
A pause.
"No, Roger, I ordered it online. It was even cheaper that way. Don't you give me that tone - I had to pay some pretty important people to look the other way to set up this little experiment."
Scanning the textbook, Pranav made note of several characteristics of the samples. He scanned the next chapter, and spent a few minutes searching the cabinets for exotic chemicals required for the next part. Gathering them, he mixed precise amounts into a large beaker to prepare a special concoction.
I've never heard of this in my other classes before, he thought as he sniffed the slightly less pungent air. He stopped to read aloud, a nervous habit he had when he needed to concentrate.
"Create a small incision at the base of the neck, blah blah blah, inject the solution into the flap at the juncture of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae...got it. Slice n' pour. Well, Roger, that means we're going to have to flip you over."
Roger remained mute.
Grunting, Pranav managed to turn the stiff remains over on the gurney. Holding the beaker of solution in his left hand, and the scalpel in his right, he braced himself against an odor that was worse now that Roger was face-down. Hoping to avoid inhaling much more, he quickly cut into Roger's neck about where he thought it should go, and poured the solution over the incision.
Roger's body did not react well to being moved in such a manner. As the solution coursed through his slowly decaying body, what was left of his internal organs succumbed to gravity and shifted. The massive mound of tissue sloughed downward in his chest cavity, and because of the undrained amount of body fluid still pooled inside his lungs, the result was a sickening loud splorch. This was followed by a dark red ooze that flowed from Roger's body orifices.
Pranav, however, was unaware of such biological nuances, and was caught off guard by the sudden and disgusting sights and sounds. Startled, he dropped the beaker on the floor as his right arm flew back in horror. The scalpel in his hand connected with the dangling live wires from the ceiling, his other hand resting on Roger's shoulder. Sounds of the shattering beaker went unheard as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through Pranav Lee's fragile body and found their way into Roger's bloated corpse.
Pranav collapsed onto the floor as the stench of burnt flesh hung in the air.
Current Word Count: 1,906
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Prologue 1
June 3rd, 2008
3:04am
In an abandoned basement lab, deep in the heart of Purdue's campus...
Pranav Lee gently squeezed the bulb and released precisely seven droplets of green fluid into the otherwise crystal clear solution. He then methodically adjusted the bunsen burner to a whiter flame and set the timer to count backwards from seven minutes.
"Professor Anderson kept telling me my thesis wasn't radical enough. Kept telling me I wasn't breaking any new ground. Well I'll show him, Roger. We'll show him, together! Isn't that right, Roger?"
Roger the corpse stared back at him, lifeless.
"That's okay, Roger. Just a few more minutes and I can try Test Solution #21. Where would you like it this time? On the arm, perhaps?"
No response.
"Oh, you'd like that very much, wouldn't you, Roger?"
Still no response.
"Don't let me forget, Roger, to turn out the light when I leave. Last night we almost got caught because of your shenanigans. It's a good thing nobody uses this lab anymore, because the door doesn't shut quite right. You be good when I'm at class, okay?"
Roger's lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling.
Startled by the quiet beeping of the timer, Pranav jumped and looked around suspiciously before scribbling some notes into his lab book.
"Professor Anderson always liked good note-takers, Roger. Said the only way to prove a new theory was to record everything so it could be tested and repeated." he said as he grabbed the beaker of light green fluid with a pair of tongs. Gently pouring a few drops onto Roger's arm, the hot liquid sizzled on the dead flesh and produced an acrid odor that caused Pranav to recoil. He returned the liquid to the stand and noted the result, before measuring out more white powder from an unmarked container.
"Pop quiz, Roger. What is Professor Anderson's wife's name?"
Silence.
"Ooooh, I'm sorry. Time is up and I'm afraid the correct response is 'Bethany'. Would you like to risk all of your winnings for a second chance question?"
No response.
"Fair enough. I know it's hard to concentrate when the samples haven't been working very well lately. Maybe the next batch will work better - I'm going to try increasing the ratio of scopolamine to catechol-o-methyl. Perhaps that will generate some response."
The next hour passed in relative silence as the two continued testing various combinations of the chemicals Pranav had smuggled into the building over the past semester.
"The Exponent says that this week is gonna be extra hot, and since everybody thinks this lab isn't being used, I need you to try not to stink up the place while I'm gone, okay Roger?"
Roger said nothing.
"Atta boy. Whew, you already smell pretty rank. I wish I could turn on the ventilation hoods, but I'm already risking a lot using the outlets for the lab equipment. It'll be worth it, though, if I can prove my theory. Anderson will be old news, and I'll rub it in his face."
After carefully washing his hands, Pranav pulled large tarps over his work-in progress before pulling his backpack on. He pulled the last tarp over the gurney.
"Goodnight, Roger. Sleep well."
Current Word Count: 652
3:04am
In an abandoned basement lab, deep in the heart of Purdue's campus...
Pranav Lee gently squeezed the bulb and released precisely seven droplets of green fluid into the otherwise crystal clear solution. He then methodically adjusted the bunsen burner to a whiter flame and set the timer to count backwards from seven minutes.
"Professor Anderson kept telling me my thesis wasn't radical enough. Kept telling me I wasn't breaking any new ground. Well I'll show him, Roger. We'll show him, together! Isn't that right, Roger?"
Roger the corpse stared back at him, lifeless.
"That's okay, Roger. Just a few more minutes and I can try Test Solution #21. Where would you like it this time? On the arm, perhaps?"
No response.
"Oh, you'd like that very much, wouldn't you, Roger?"
Still no response.
"Don't let me forget, Roger, to turn out the light when I leave. Last night we almost got caught because of your shenanigans. It's a good thing nobody uses this lab anymore, because the door doesn't shut quite right. You be good when I'm at class, okay?"
Roger's lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling.
Startled by the quiet beeping of the timer, Pranav jumped and looked around suspiciously before scribbling some notes into his lab book.
"Professor Anderson always liked good note-takers, Roger. Said the only way to prove a new theory was to record everything so it could be tested and repeated." he said as he grabbed the beaker of light green fluid with a pair of tongs. Gently pouring a few drops onto Roger's arm, the hot liquid sizzled on the dead flesh and produced an acrid odor that caused Pranav to recoil. He returned the liquid to the stand and noted the result, before measuring out more white powder from an unmarked container.
"Pop quiz, Roger. What is Professor Anderson's wife's name?"
Silence.
"Ooooh, I'm sorry. Time is up and I'm afraid the correct response is 'Bethany'. Would you like to risk all of your winnings for a second chance question?"
No response.
"Fair enough. I know it's hard to concentrate when the samples haven't been working very well lately. Maybe the next batch will work better - I'm going to try increasing the ratio of scopolamine to catechol-o-methyl. Perhaps that will generate some response."
The next hour passed in relative silence as the two continued testing various combinations of the chemicals Pranav had smuggled into the building over the past semester.
"The Exponent says that this week is gonna be extra hot, and since everybody thinks this lab isn't being used, I need you to try not to stink up the place while I'm gone, okay Roger?"
Roger said nothing.
"Atta boy. Whew, you already smell pretty rank. I wish I could turn on the ventilation hoods, but I'm already risking a lot using the outlets for the lab equipment. It'll be worth it, though, if I can prove my theory. Anderson will be old news, and I'll rub it in his face."
After carefully washing his hands, Pranav pulled large tarps over his work-in progress before pulling his backpack on. He pulled the last tarp over the gurney.
"Goodnight, Roger. Sleep well."
Current Word Count: 652
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)