Page 51 of Tracking the Alpha
“That’s what a coward would do. Some of us have morals,” Barrett hissed. “So what’s it going to be? You gonna unlock that door, or am I going to get revenge for what you did to me?”
The guy shuffled to the scanner and held his face in front until it beeped and the door unlocked.
“See how easy that was,” Barrett crooned, staying close behind as they entered the main building.
“How did you change back?” the fucker asked as the door sealed shut, leaving them in some kind of storage area with boxes stacked neatly against the walls. The next portal didn’t seem to have a lock.
“Arrow to the chest,” Barrett replied as he scanned the space for a camera. Nothing. Good. It wouldn’t do to set off alarms too early.
“Extreme trauma seems to be the trigger with the subjects who’ve melded properly,” the guy murmured.
“What’s that mean, melded properly?”
“The protocol, or should I say serum, doesn’t work on everyone the same. Some, like you, can flip between man and beast with a bit of help, while others somehow lose everything that made them human and end up stuck in their animal shape.”
“Like the coyote,” Barrett murmured.
“You saw it?” He sounded surprised.
“I killed it. I take it escaped by accident?”
“Yeah. The general assumed Patient 33 was a dud. He’d tried forcing the shift a few times before to no result. He decided to give it one last shot. It seemed like it hadn’t worked, and rather than patch her up, he ordered a soldier to dispose of her.”
“Only it did work. She changed and fled into the woods,” Barrett summarized. As to why she’d been intent on attacking Tanis? Did rabid animals need a reason to kill?
“General was super pissed.”
“I’ll bet he was,” Barrett’s less-than-caring reply. He eyed the fellow who had decided to cooperate. “What’s your name?”
“Wendell.”
“So listen here, Wendell. We’re going to leave this room in a second, and you’re going to get me to that elevator and down to where my people are being held prisoner. Do that without raising any alarms and I’ll let you live.” A sour promise Barrett for cooperation but he did console himself with the fact he didn’t speak for anyone else. Most likely a member of his section would do the job for him.
“Setting them free isn’t a good idea.”
“I get that some of my people might not be feeling themselves, but at the same time, you do realize I can’t leave them here. What you and the others have been doing is wrong.”
“Oh, I know it’s sick.” Wendell had the grace to look ashamed. “When they brought me into the project, I had no idea what it would entail.”
“And once you did?”
Wendell shrugged. “What could I do? You of all people know the general and his major sidekick are psycho.”
“You do realize they will kill you rather than let you go.”
“Which is why I’ve ensured I remain useful.” Wendell’s shoulders rolled. “Not sure what else you think we should have done. Once they had us here, the options were work or end up in one of the cells as a patient, or the worst-case scenario, as food.”
It hadn’t occurred to Barrett that some of the white coats might have been coerced. Only one thing didn’t mesh with Wendell’s supposed coercion. “If you’re going to lie and try to pass yourself off as a prisoner, you probably shouldn’t have let me see you playing on your phone.”
“You mean the phone that gets no signal?” Wendell pulled it from his pocket. “No bars. No service. No SIM card either. General let us keep them as a perk, but they’re useless for anything but listening to music or watching movies we’ve downloaded. If we do good, then we get an hour of supervised internet once a week to refresh our content.”
Sounded plausible, but Barrett still didn’t trust the guy. “Hand it over.”
Wendell sighed but slapped it into Barrett’s hand. It took less than a minute to confirm the phone was indeed useless. “Fuck.” Barrett grumbled as he tossed it onto a workbench.
“Told you.”
“I’m aware. We’re wasting time. How do we get to the basement levels?”
