Wasteland [PREVIEW]

Dr. James P. Marquel eyed the cardiac monitor, keeping his back faced towards a pale, naked, frizzy redheaded girl in her late teens to early twenties fetal-like and floating in a cylindrical case. She was surrounded by a thick, purplish substance that was meant to keep her invulnerable to any possible dangers. There was one other person in the cold, white lab room; Dr. Marquel's assistant, Janette.

"Janette," Mr. Marquel looked over his shoulder, but didn't look into Janette's eyes. It was a habit he couldn't get rid of. To many, and this may be partly the reason Marquel grew used to this habit, Marquel thought too highly of himself. "Read me her files one more time," he commanded.

Janette subtly nodded her head. Strands of her hair fell out of her messy bun and fell onto her face. She flicked her brown locks away and opened the folder in her hands. Her heels clacked loudly on the polished tiles as she approached Dr. Marquel.

Janette cleared her throat. "Subject Number: 01853; Date of Birth: August 1st 1984; Monitors: Agent P.K. Williams and Agent T.R.R."

The voices trailed off in Cassidy's ears. She caught glimpses of the two silhouettes in white lab coats. The male figure stared intensely at a strange contraption opposite of him while the female was concentrating on reading aloud the words from the portfolio in her hands.

Cassidy felt a strange twitch in her brain. Images quickly passed by; a boy holding his mother's hand as they walk down the street, a girl blowing a candle on her birthday cake, an old couple dancing to an eighties tune, a lady in her mid-thirties lying in her death bed. She felt her body convulse violently as more pictures continued to come to view. Cassidy's body was trembling rapidly. A delicate hand held cotton candy as her doe eyes followed the man on the trapeze. Cassidly's eyes opened widely and foamy saliva dripped from her mouth down to her chin.

*

Dr. Marqel and Janette looked at the lifeless body that was now sprawled onto the ground. Marquel sighed heavily and Janette closed her folder. Marquel pulled out a tape recorder.

"After a promising progress, Subject 01853 has failed to complete the last stage of the genetic enhancements," Marquel spoke into the recorder. He took a glance at his watch. "Roughly around eleven thirty a.m. of May 30th 2045, Subject 01853 reacted negatively to a new chemical introduced into the body, thus giving her a seizure that stopped her heartbeat." Marquel stopped the recording and walked to the glass door that lead to a hallway which contained entrances to another hundred test subjects and an elevator that brought scientists deeper underground to the main headquarters.

He pressed a large red button beside the door and soon after, four men dressed in protective gear entered the room carrying a silver case suited to fit Cassidy. The four men placed the case beside Cassidy, opened it, and lifted her gently inside. Janette hated this part almost as much as she hated the first stage of testing. The scene she was watching was like a funeral gone wrong. Janette took her last glance at Subject 01853, otherwise known as Cassidy Wales in her life before the Genetic Mutation Facility (GMF) took her, as the men closed the coffin and walked out the room with her.

Marquel shook his head. "Another failure. Such a waste, too. I had such high hopes for this one," Marquel said to no one in particular.

Janette agreed. "She had been here the longest compared to the ones before her. She was a fighter."

They started to leave the room. It was to be cleared out and new equipment would be installed later that day. As Janette trailed after Dr. Marquel in the long corridor, she caught a glimpse of the men dressed in white bringing Cassidy into Room 165. She heard the voice of Jean from her spot.

"Off to the Wasteland you, go 01853," he said, dumping her casket into a shoot that brought her into a world that coincided with Earth.

***

Cassidy woke with a start. She didn't recognize her surroundings, but there was a sense of familiarity. She was lying down in a barren cave that echoed with the sound of water droplets. She feebly stood up and dusted herself off. She was dressed in a body-hugging jumpsuit with a large slit that reached down to her torso.

Cassidy started to make her way out of the cave when she heard the sound of shuffling headed towards her... There were others.