[Chapter Twelve]

"Ugh…"

"Coffee anyone?" Dr. Philips was the first one to get ready for the day. They naturally know that the man that was assigned to help them was a lot older and may have problems leaving his bed, Dr. Parks and he was roommates together with Dr. Griffin and Dr. Fowler.

Since they lived in one building which was only one floor, the facility had taken into consideration to have a separate kitchen meant for the people working on the now confirmed test subject number 7384. They were not allowed to pass through the cafeteria where other doctors and researchers eat their meals. Dr. Philips raised a kettle of hot water as he asked those who just came into the kitchen. This was the third day since the first time they’ve done a biopsy and autopsy on the specimen. Yesterday, they went and looked for clues on the brain of the specimen. There was a white fungus coating the medulla. The test subject 7384 nearly died, its heart nearly stopped as they were on the part where they were sewing the skin back together. They had luckily taken a sample of the white fungus for further research, it was still unknown as to what role that fungus contributes itself to.

Previous test subjects like that infected little girl had been killed before they had the time to observe it internally, but there was no fungus present on any part of their body. There was also a noticeable improvement to the cell of number 7384, the wounds that were made from the incision was healing. They’ve kept all samples from it inside a freezer in room 173, sealed tightly to prevent any cross-contamination while they are being preserved.

“No thanks…” Dr. Parks’s muffled voice was heard behind Dr. Griffin’s slightly slouched figure. He had covered his mouth as he yawned when he was replying to Dr. Philips’s inquiry. His eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. While the female beside him shook her head in response, her short blond bouncing upon the motion of her head.

Dr. Philips shrugged his shoulder at the feedbacks he received and poured himself a mug of plain black coffee. Their diets were monitored by dieticians despite the lack of presence of these people in their place. He brought his mug of black coffee back to the table to join the others for dinner. They couldn’t possibly do anything more to the test subject as the director had not yet returned to the safe zone, they had just received word that the number of undead running rampant outside the safe zones had somewhat increased. The directors of each facility had to take a chopper to return to their respective zones, the higher-ups could not take the risk and let these men travel on the ground with the usual escorts.

Dr. Aberly and Dr. Lucy were a bit worried about their director. Seeing that they could not do much experimentation or gathering of data from number 7384, they were to work with what they have collected. He would’ve wanted to stay there in room 173 to observe it during the time that it was awake. They had made slight modifications to that room, adding on a monitoring camera and a few more devices.

The team wanted to know how that little specimen interacts with the surrounding, in the meantime, they have kept it slightly sedated. A test would be needed to prove their hypotheses; there are brain activities present indicating consciousness. Fungus found could reverse the infection, and cause the fast healing process of the cells. They were aiming to find answers to these three questions, at least as these are pressing matters of the moment. He wiped his mouth with the table napkin, it’s almost time for work.

“Let’s split the observation of the samples. Dr. Griffin, you specialize in microbiology, am I correct?”

“That is correct Dr. Philips, I can handle the fungus if that is what you meant.” Dr. Griffin smiled reassuringly at him. Assigning these people to separate task of which they have mastered, should give them a much advantage in the time progression and the authenticity of the results. Results would be discussed with the director before they proceed to tamper with the specimen.

“I’ll stay to operate the machines with Dr. Lucy”, the other male said, mentally noting to drag the surgeon to the control room of the place. The other doctors felt that something must have been amiss as their eyebrows shot towards their hairline, they dismissed any assumptions as early as it passed through their mind. Dr. Lucy couldn’t say a word as she had fallen asleep on the dinner table before she was able to shove her spoon in her mouth.

“That’s that then… Dr. Marquez, Dr. Preston, and Dr. Fowler, the tissue samples then. Dr. Aberly and I will monitor its brain functions and any deviation to the condition of the specimen. Last time wasn’t good, the condition as of now should be slightly critical.”

They all went and hurried back to the same room which they confined themselves in until the moon has become bigger in the sky and morning was approaching. They have scanned multiple files about the infection but none were complete before the research was terminated or unaccomplished. It was not much of a help with the one they are studying. Aside from comparing the subject to the ones in the research files, the contents were useless and cannot lead them on the right course of action for the one they have.

Hmmmmmm…

Hmm… mmm…

“This is…” a very immature voice that was humming greeted them when they passed through the multiple doors. They had stopped on their tracks and were unable to move.

“Dr. Aberly, no one can enter this room like you said right”

“Y-yes, that is correct.” Dr. Aberly stuttered an answer at the inquiry. No one could enter this room aside from them. They moved after a while of being in a state of shock.

“This song is a lullaby…” Dr. Preston said uncertainly. The tune seemed like that of a lullaby for her and it was once she might have heard during her childhood.

The specimen was sitting on the floor humming to herself as she played with the linen they had left for her to cover the metal bed. It was not startled to see them and kept humming as she scanned them. They had surgically removed her rotten skin and bandaged it to prevent it from rotting and stitched a couple of her wounds. She was now covered by bandage although not completely. She kneaded the linen in her hands when she saw that no one was coming towards her.

The initial sleepiness they felt had suddenly vanished as they hurried to the control room to see whether the hidden camera in the room caught something helpful for them. The initial works would still be needed to accomplish and left the two to survey the footage for significant events. Dr. Anton served as the mechanic for the group for the meantime and deftly encoded the needed data to hack through the footage while Dr. Lucy sat beside him typing away on a separate monitor.

Dr. Philips signaled the control room to release the sleeping gas inside the big glass tube where the specimen was contained. It did not take long before it had fallen asleep on the sheets of linen it was crumpling a while ago.

Thwup- thwup- thwup…

It was night time when the sound of the chopper reverberated throughout the ground outside the facility. The leaves that had been piled by the gardeners were blown in random directions scattering them as the wind carried all of them away from the ground. Two men wearing a black suit came down once it had landed, one of them was shaking hands with the others that were still on and the other holding a suitcase. They ran away from the machine as fast as they could before it flew away again, carrying its passengers away. The sliding doors slid open, the building was still bright even when it was nearly midnight.

“Director Avillido, welcome back”, the cheery voice of the receptionist was the first to greet him when he entered. “Secretary Dolce, welcome back”, she added.

“Is there anything left for me to do?” Director Avillido muttered to his secretary lowly after they had passed the reception area.

“Yes sir, the reports were sent to your office. One of it being urgent sir.” The secretary was browsing through its tablet, arranging the matters of the facility. He had placed the urgent ones at the top of his list. “The zombie study had a few requests about the place of research. They also request your opinion of the matter with the specimen and your approval.”

“Let’s sort this out tomorrow, send the files to my room.”

The director felt outrageously stunned. It was not long before the requests of the group were accepted, the facts were indisputable.

It did not take long for the facility to change the place where the research would take place. They are being funded by the government for the research of the cure. Although the fundings were very limited, despite the unbelievable reason for it, it was done in a matter of weeks. The specimen was left to rest for the remainder of that time as the researchers study the samples that they took from it. Dr. Anton joined with studying the type of fungus that was seen on the medulla of the specimen.

The fungus had revealed many characteristics both similar and not from the usual fungus. This one was unable to spread any further away from the medulla because it had died a long time ago. The only way was to try and revive the fungus somewhere else.

The specimen has been moved to a new place, this time it had a bed and was furnished like a little girl's room. Before it was transferred there, they had debated whether to surgically remove all its teeth or shove a mouthguard in its mouth again. They, in the end, opted to remove the teeth since safety won over them. The specimen was laid in the bed and covered in quilts. All they had to do was observe the reactions and how it interacts with its surrounding.