The 27th Element: Project 863

Disaster's Aftermath and the Creation of Destruction

Should I just start?

State your name first.

Oh, ok. I'm Jordan. Oh, full name? Jordan Kendall.

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Now I wasn't really involved yet but I did hear gossip and I listened through doors. Wesley, Nelson, and a few others had gotten almost everyone out. The ones that they didn't save, their bodies were found-- all but one, Benjamin Cobalt. Gary Reynolds was busy complaining to whatever medics we had on site how 'injured' he was, but at Ben's name he admitted that Ben had been in the room where the fire started, and that Ben hadn't come out. Even after the explosion. Now, Deb, Wesley, and a few others, were panicked because he was their friend. They had found gas masks so they put those on and Nelson searched the right side of the building while Wesley searched the left. They each had a team of people with them. Nelson came back after a few minutes, Wesley still wasn't back. It wasn't till after twelve minutes that Wesley appeared with Ben propped up by one of his shoulders. It was soon discovered that Ben was unconscious. Wesley rushed over to the medical professionals, leaving Gary to complain to the air. 

Ben had a concussion and a few cracked ribs. A part of the building's structural support beams fell on him. I don't exactly like the guy, but that sounds painful.

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From what I'd heard, Ben was bedridden for a while. A few weeks after he was allowed to go back to work, he was called to Nelson's office. That's always where the juiciest conversations happen, so I followed and listened after the door was closed.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Ben still wasn't fully recovered and didn't sound great. Something to do with the smoke.

"Yes, I wanted to know what started the fire." 

That's when I thought, 'hadn't Gary told him what had happened?' 

Nelson continued,"I know Reynolds told me what 'happened' but I want to hear it from you. I have a feeling your story will have less, half-truths."

Ben went on to explain how he had been working on something, something that was almost done and would be on Nelson's desk not too far from then. Gary had knocked it over. It caught his sleeve and he freaked out. While Ben had told him to keep still, Gary continued to flail and the sparks caught on some chemical and the blaze escalated from there.

"This thing you're working on," Nelson led,"It sounds, unpredictable."

"It can be," Ben admitted,"I want to get it cleared so we test and fully understand it better." From what happened in the years after, I assumed Nelson nodded. I ran back down the hall so it didn't look like I was listening when Ben left. 

The 'thing' Ben had been, working on he called Vitae Sanguis, Life's Blood. And it would become the bane of everyone at Syntec's existence.

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(JK log ends)

(New log inserted)

Welcome back, are you ready to continue?

I suppose.

I understand you blame yourself for creating Lif-

I know my own feelings. I don't need you to tell me about them.

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Yes, I do regret making Life's Blood, but I didn't at that time. We started testing on rats almost immediately. It was a complicated journey. As I said before, the serum was temperamental. You had to get the perfect dosage amount for the rat to live. When it did work, LB increased the rat's strength and speed. So the question was, what if it worked on humans?

2001, March, Nelson gave the order for human trials to begin. And guess who had to inject the first person? Me. His excuse was that I created it, so I should be the one to administer the first test. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to be the cause of someone's agony and death. They screamed. They didn't stop screaming. It hadn't gone well. The patient died. I would eventually get used to that phrase.

With each failure or success of the 'pegasus serum,' as they renamed it, Nelson got more power hungry. Demanding more tests, more subjects, more vials, more progress. More. Deaths. The nightmares never stopped after that first subject. Screams, people yelling at me, throwing things at me, tearing me apart. I couldn't stand it.

I also noticed that if an employee said something against Nelson, their name would magically appear on a subject file, claiming they had volunteered. That's how Nelson gained power. Fear. We couldn't run, Nelson and Gary had people in high places, they would track you down. Do your job. Don't pay attention to the subjects. Especially if you recognize them. Follow orders. That's how we worked. How we stayed alive and off the files. 

Deb started having thoughts of rebellion. I should turn her in. But she was my friend. Was she really planning to take him on? If she ever ended up as a subject I had no idea what I would do. It wasn't her I had to worry about.

End of 2001, December 10th. People stopped signing up for the trials. No matter how much they said the salary was, everyone had heard the rumors. Everyone knew Nelson was getting desperate, so we all made sure to do good work and say nothing. But fate had other plans. I was called to Nelson's office, something that made my heart sink. It was like being called to the headmaster's office in school. You weren't there unless you had done something bad.

When I arrived at his door I had an urgent sense to run. To leave Syntec for good. How I wish I had. How much better things would have been. I disregarded my feelings and knocked.

"Come in." I heard from the other side of the door. It was his voice. It had the signature silky, smooth, and recently dark, sound. I entered. An action I would regret for the rest of my life.