NEXUS POINTS : Chapter 23-24

————————————

Chapter 23

Kora looked over the assay results in front of her one more time. She sighed, turning off the holo display. 

Yet again, her experiment couldn’t detect any somatic mutations in the degenerative tissue samples taken from her own limbic brain, specifically the hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala. What am I missing?

Since her trip to Rene Bartlett’s home, Kora had been practically living at the State Central Hospital’s microbiology lab, sometimes sleeping on the small sofa in Cody’s room. But after three days of experiments, she had produced zero result.

Meanwhile, Sandberg’s own research into the FS Project had yielded very little new information. Kora had hoped that SCH might have patient records that linked to the FS human trials, but the only thing Sandberg found were a few admission records. The information in them was likewise sealed. 

The pace here was much slower compared to NID. There were no deadlines and no reports to file, yet Kora felt a great sense of urgency. 

At her suggestion, Sandberg had begun testing the brain tissue of patients in the hospital, starting with those in the oncology wing. The results should be ready any day now. 

Kora stood to stretch her arms and legs, then headed towards Sandberg’s office. A commotion down at the opposite end of the hall caught her attention. She headed towards the noise. As she rounded the corner, she saw a crowd of spectators gathering. 

A woman about her age was wrestling with three nurses. Her long brown hair was unruly; her light blue hospital gown half-torn, exposing her right breast and leg. Her dark brown eyes had a crazed look in them, almost violent. She was screaming for the nurses to let her go. 

Suddenly, that familiar resonating tone rang in Kora’s ears. She stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes, steadying herself against the swirling sensation threatening to overwhelm her. The noises around her disappeared. 

Kora opened her eyes. She found herself standing in the middle of a room with thick dark blue carpet, someone’s office, by the look of it. Facing her was a large wooden desk sitting in front of windows with sheer, cream colored curtains. Images of two children were displayed over the small holographic projector on one corner of the desk. A leather armchair sat behind the desk. She could smell sandalwood incense in the air. 

A door opened to Kora’s left. A woman with short light brown hair walked into the room. 

Kora looked at her closely. The woman looked slightly older than herself. She had brown eyes over a button nose and thin lips. She was about Kora’s height but more athletically built, wearing a light grey notched collar jacket over black pants. 

The woman walked behind the wooden desk, took out a syringe, and squirted a clear liquid into a glass of water. She then walked to the middle of the room and looked around. Satisfied, she left, closing the door firmly behind her. 

Curious, Kora walked around the desk and looked into the glass. It appeared to be a normal glass of water. 

Just then the door opened again. In walked a woman with dark olive skin and curly dark hair. She was wearing a dark grey, form-fitting, knee-length skirt suit that showed off her feminine curves. She walked past Kora as if she weren’t there, then sat down in the leather armchair behind the desk. She reached for the glass of water. 

“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you!” Kora warned. 

Too late. She drained the glass in one long gulp.

Kora knew her from somewhere. It was as if her name was at the tip of her tongue. But before she could say it, there was a knock on the door. She turned towards it, only to find herself looking down a long empty hallway at the State Central Hospital. The crowd that was there just a moment ago had dispersed. She shook her head, trying to clear the fog in her brain. 

Remembering that she needed to go talk to Sage, she headed in the direction of her office. 

The door to Sandberg’s office was open. She looked up at Kora. “I was just about to go see you. I’ve got the biopsy results.”

“Let me guess. You found more people with the same degenerative condition in their brain.”

“Just like you said. Kora, what’s going on?”

“Yong Liu suspects the condition is wide-spread. There are some very powerful people involved, and they’re trying to cover up something. All this is somehow connected to the FS Project.”

“There’s something else...” Sandberg paused. Sadness appeared in her eyes. “Cody’s assay came back positive. He also has the condition.”

Kora’s heart sank. No. Not Cody...

“We still have time. The degeneration rate is slow.” Sage tried to sound optimistic.

“Does Cody know?”

“No, I haven’t told anyone. Frankly, I’m not sure what to tell them.”

Kora’s mind raced. She realized there was only one thing she could do. “I’m going back to see Rene Bartlett.”

Chapter 24

Yong Liu couldn’t remember what day it was. He hadn’t slept for days. He felt raw and on edge, emotional. A knock on the door made him jump. He wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his jumpsuit. 

The door opened. Yong squinted his eyes, adjusting to the light flooding in from the hallway. A woman walked in, wearing a white uniform. He recognized her as the nurse from the infirmary.

“Are you having trouble sleeping again, Dr. Liu?” she asked.

“I’m...very tired. I... I... need something to help me sleep.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” The nurse smiled. Her short light brown hair had some kind of shimmer in it. It seemed to glow in the light, giving her an almost other-worldly appearance. 

Or is it me? Yong honestly couldn’t tell. In his lucid moments he knew something was wrong. He wasn’t behaving rationally. 

Yong considered himself a positive person. More importantly, he had made peace with the death of his wife and daughter, the pain and the guilt, or so he thought. But in the past couple of days, he’d felt as if Lisa and Annie were right here in his room, calling out to him, begging for help. He could see their disease-stricken bodies. He could feel their torment, and his own anguish and helplessness of not being to do anything about it. 

He was watching them die right in front of his eyes, all over again. And the pain was becoming unbearable. He could feel himself slipping away, slowly losing his grasp on reality. 

The nurse was now sitting next to him. She pressed a syringe into Yong’s right shoulder. He felt a small pinch.

“There. Now get some sleep.” The nurse left the room, closing the door behind her.

Yong tried to relax. The medication should be working by now, yet sleep continued to elude him. He lay awake. Every time he closed his eyes, the face of his daughter Annie would appear in front of him. Her small face was covered with pus-filled blisters. Her beautiful almond eyes were bloodshot. She was having a hard time breathing. Whenever she coughed, blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. 

“Help me, Daddy!” she called to Yong with her small voice. Her body was so ravaged by her illness she barely had the energy to speak.

“Daddy is trying. I’m doing everything I can.” Yong held back his tears.

“Help us, Yong.” He turned to see his wife Lisa. Her nose was bright red, blisters had started to appear on the sides of her face and neck. Her long blonde hair was limp with sweat. 

“You’re the only one who can help us.” She pleaded with Yong with her light brown eyes.

Yong started sobbing. “I’m trying, my love. I’m trying...” He curled into a fetal position on the narrow bed. Time slowed to a standstill...

- End of Chapter 24 -