HORIZON: The Fall

Chapter Seven - The Serum (1)

LOCATION: THE GLASS CLIFFS (DEFIANT, REGAL SYSTEM)

"What is it, doctor?" I asked, staring at the screen.

"Well, it appears to be an extremely powerful chemical substance that targets the emotional center of your brain, which leads to an uncontrollable emotional reaction," she said.

"English, please."

She sighed. "It's basically a rage serum."

"I see... Do we know if it is in the blood of the accused?" I questioned.

"Not yet, we are still doing blood samples." She paused. "We had to have them in an induced coma for several days now."

"May I ask why?"

"Well, last time they were awake, they almost killed one of my doctors."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, then, thank you for your time. Update me as soon as you find something out."

She nodded, and I walked towards a window in the harshly lit room. It looked into one of the hospital rooms, this one containing one of the accused. His arms and legs were strapped down into the bed, presumably after the first incident. As I watched, one of the doctors was carefully extracting his blood. The vial quickly filled with the crimson liquid. The doctor quickly ran out of the room with the blood. They had definitely been spooked by the suspect.

I walked out of the viewing area, and into the hallway, where Murus waited. "Captain," he said, dipping his head.

I nodded. "Yes, Murus?"

"Did the eggheads tell you anything?" he asked as we walked towards the residential sector.

"They've told me a great deal, most of which is classified," I said. "You okay?" I asked, attempting to change the subject.

"A bit shaken up, but I'm fine otherwise," Murus responded, obviously lying.

We had reached my door, so I wished Murus a goodnight and walked in. I flicked up the lights to the now familiar room, light killing the darkness. The storm outside had fled, leaving only the light of Prometheus on the horizon. I could hear the waves splashing up the cliff, drops landing on my window. I rolled into bed, sleep claiming me.

* * *

The cold air tickled my face, and I slowly rose out of bed. The sunrise had started to shine through the window, making strange rays of light that bent in odd angles. The dawns here on Defiant were always more vibrant than the ones on Achilles. But that was probably due to the fact that there was barely any smog on Defiant.

The alarm had not yet gone off, so I went back to my office to try to see if I could connect any dots. For starters, the discovery of the rage serum changed the situation significantly. But not only that... the way that the attacker had positioned himself whilst attacking made it so neither the victim nor the cameras could identify him. Or her. Or it.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Computer, identify times in which the person that the accused was talking with was unidentifiable."

A camera view popped up, with a similar scene to yesterday on the hologram. The figure had bathed himself in the shadows of the hallway, obscuring his face. Two more views popped up, all showing the same thing. One of the accused holding his gut for a moment, as if sick, then continuing on. The accused then met up, and after talking, went towards the gym.

Interesting, that means the assailant could remotely activate it, or they would've probably attacked him. It also must've been able to destroy a very brief memory. The attacker definitely would've needed help from an outside source for the serum. It had to have been from a foreign power, since no gangs or pirates had enough equipment to make something like this.