Rage
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Rage Chapter One
Leaning against the chrome rail of the second floor balcony, knuckles white, palms moist, staring down on the large lobby of Med Corp. Dr. Doris Klaus waited nervously. Not for test results from her most recent attempt in a cure for cancer. No that was much easier for her to handle. She was used to failed experiments, but this, what she had to do today was the one part of her job she anguished over. Today it was her turn to lead the tour of the facility. Even though her goal in life was to save people’s lives, to rid the world of cancer, Doris Klaus, the woman, was not good with people. It wasn’t her manner. She spoke well and her soft voice and smile always seemed warm, loving in fact. But beneath the surface of her calm and heart filled exterior, Doris was a bundle of nerves. Her heart pounded as the tour group emerged through the large glass doors and into the lobby below her. She studied each face as they entered, eyes wide and curious as they each seen the giant lobby for the first time, its stark white walls that reached up two stories high, white marble tile floor polished to a lustrous shine that reflected the sun light from the wall of windows at the front of the building, into a nearly blinding glare across the practically barren lobby.
All but one of them, the last woman to enter kept her eyes down, head tilted slightly to the floor. Her dark hair flowed down over her face like heavy drapes on a window. “Shy – like me.” Doris told herself, but there was something else about this woman, something oddly familiar that she just couldn’t put a finger on. Doris took a deep breath, shrugged her shoulders and straightened her lab coat. She pushed away the feeling and wrote it off as her nerves. She took another deep breath, turned from the railing and strode over to the elevator. Doris pushed the down button. The ding came quickly and the doors slid open with a slight swish. She stepped inside, turned, facing the open doors. “God, I really hate this.” She said as the doors began to close.
When the doors opened again Dr. Doris Klaus stepped out. She could see the small group gathered together next to the reception desk in the center of the lobby. Joe Meade, the most recent addition to the Med Corp security force, and one of the sweetest guys she had ever met, had already handed out their visitor badges and was giving them the run down, all the do’s and don’ts of their tour. She was halfway to them when Joe spotted her, announcing her arrival to the group. Suddenly all eyes were on her, and all she wanted to do was turn and run.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Klaus. She has graciously taken the time out of her busy schedule to be your guide today.” Joe paused, gave Doris a wink and added. “So be kind to her, she doesn’t get out of the lab much.”
He smiled and excused himself as Doris reached his side. Before walking away he leaned over to Doris and whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry, they’re gonna love ya. How couldn’t they.” And with a grin he was gone and Doris was left alone with the group of strangers.
She kept Joe’s final words at the front of her mind as she stared out at the faces before her. Twelve in all, she was glad it was a small group this time. Last month when Dr. Dale Holden had led the tour there had been twenty-five. Thank God for small miracles. She thought. “Okay, does anyone have any questions before we get started?” Doris asked her voice soft and a bit broken. Her nerves were getting the best of her.
“Yeah, I got a question.” A man called out from the center of the group. He stepped to the front and the sight of him surprised Doris. His voice sounded old and deep. But he couldn’t be more than twenty-five, and skinny as a rail. “You really a Doctor?”
The question threw her, although she couldn’t figure out why. She had been asked the same question with every tour group. She just didn’t fit the image that most people perceived a scientist to be. They always expect some over weight little geek with glasses and a pocket protector. And Doris Klaus was far from that. She was petite with a slim, shapely figure that was even noticeable beneath her long lab coat, wavy light blonde hair that cascaded down over her shoulders, nearly reaching the middle of her back. But what seemed to throw people most was how beautiful she was. To be quite honest she looked more like an actress playing the part of a doctor.
“Yes… I am a Doctor. I have a degree from Harvard as well as MIT. If you like we can stop by my office so you can see them.” Although the words seemed to have bite, her voice was so soft and comforting no one seemed to notice. No one that was except the dark haired woman in the back, quickly her dark lips pulled tight into a smirk and shook head, although slight, a disapproving shake staying tilted down toward the floor. But her dark eyes rolled up, peering from below her brow. Doris, like the rest, had not noticed the woman’s response and went on. “Does anyone else have a question?” She waited, scanned over the small crowd as they glanced at one another. “No. Then if you will follow me we’ll get started.”
Spinning gracefully on her modest heels, she began to lead them towards the elevator. Glancing back over her shoulder to make sure all were following and to see if Officer Joe was still watching. To her amazement and pleasure, he was. Doris could not believe how beautiful his eyes were. A deep blue sea surrounded by glimmering gold sands, set carefully into warm tanned flesh as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It was hard for her not to notice just how tall and strong he appeared standing next to his counterpart James Green. Doris had always liked James. He was pleasant and friendly, and was older then her grandfather would have been. He was over weight, a heart attack waiting to happen, not exactly someone that made her feel safe and secure. But Joe, he was another story, a story that she wouldn’t mind reading – if she had the time. She didn’t and that was why Joe Hampton would have to wait. Rather she liked it or not.
Doris stood by as her tour group filed into the elevator. Her eyes glued to Joe and his to her’s. He gave her a handsome smile as the last of them, the odd woman, entered, shoving her way into the back of the elevator car. Doris shyly returned his smile and stepped into the elevator. She gave him a casual wave before the doors slid shut cutting off their clumsy visual attempt of seduction. The tour group quickly made its way through the white halls and various labs. This time Doris was pleased that there had not been many questions so far. Either she had gotten lucky, and these people did not care what was going on at the Med Corp labs, or she had somehow done a better job of explaining the work this time. She didn’t know which it was, and honestly didn’t care. She was just glad that the ordeal was about over. Only her lab remained on the tour path and she was standing at the door now. Just a quick run down of her research, they would be gone, and she could get back to her work, tucked away safely in her lab. She could already feel her body starting to calm.
“Okay everyone, last stop.” Doris swiped her card in the electronic lock slot mounted next to the door and led the group in so they could only go as far as she would allow. The group quickly funneled in behind her, gathering just inside the door. To their right glass cages housing rats formed a low wall half way across the lab. On their left a row of desk with computer monitors, keyboards, and papers both printed and handwritten covered the flat surfaces. The lighting was dim, but bright enough to see clearly. Beyond the desks were a variety of equipment and glass tubes carefully placed in many holders. Two glass front cooler units were nestled into the near corner and some large contraption cover with a heavy cloth filled the other.
“Here I am currently working on a cure for cancer.” Doris began. “As I am sure you are all aware, cancer is a very complicated disease, attacking with out warning and with no true reason. Yes, you have all been told that this and that causes cancer - such as smoking. Though cancer is more prominent in smokers there are many that smoke and will never be inflicted with the disease. And just as many people that don't smoke and never have will contract it. So your chances are fifty-fifty either way. Most scientists have spent much of their time attempting to find a cause, thus finding a direction to a cure. It hasn’t work so far, and that is why I have taken a different approach. For years we have been battling cancer with radiation and chemotherapy, basically using poison to kill the active cancer cells. Some times it works, some times it doesn’t. You see we all have cancer cells in our bodies. It is part of our genetic design. The cells lay dormant until something triggers them. That some thing is different for each of us.” Doris paused, looking over the group anticipating a question or two. None came so she went on. “I believe that the trigger doesn’t matter. If we can rid the body of the cells, rather dormant or active then we remove the trigger from the equation completely.”
“So you’re talking about a vaccine?” An elderly gentleman asked. “Kind of like the polio vaccine or the flu shot - Preventative medication.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“How the hell do you do that?” A young woman asked gruffly.
“Well that is the hard part isn’t it - basically with a virus. You take a natural virus and alter it so that it attacks the cancer cells.”
“Is that even possible?” Asked a woman, standing in the center of the group, hand held high as if still in high school.
“Yes, I believe it is. At least that is what my team and I are trying to do.”
“Have you had any success?” The same woman asked. Suddenly Doris could feel the group’s heavy uncertain gaze.
“Some. I mean we have not found a cure as of yet, of course. But we have had some encouraging results.” Doris stepped slowly through the group, stopping next to one of the glass cages. “This little guy is Max.” She pointed at the white rat sleeping in a corner of the cage. “Two weeks ago Max here was full of active cancer cells. If he were human, we would have given him a month or two to live. He was the first test subject for my latest virus. The good news was that within a day of being injected his little body was clean of cancer cells, both active and dormant.”
“So it did work. You have found a cure.” The old man spouted with excitement.
“His cancer is gone. In that instance yes, I have found a cure. But rather it would work on a human subject, well I just don’t know. I am hopeful. But do to some severe side-effects human trials are a long way off.”
All of them focused on the rat sleeping away peacefully in his corner. But the odd woman seemed more interested then the rest. She starred at the rat with certain intensity. Almost like hatred. As the group turned their attention back on Dr. Klaus she did not. When everyone seemed consumed with the words coming from Doris Klaus, she made her move. The woman quickly and quietly opened Max’s cage, fisting the rat into her hand. She then opened the next cage, removed one of the four rats that scurried about within it, and tossed the second rat into the first cage. “This’ll teach you to screw around with my life, you slut.” She whispered to herself, reaching Max though the second cage door. “OWH! Shit, you little bastard.” She shouted after Max had decided to use her finger as his lunch.
The group quickly turned to look at the woman. She was holding her left hand in her right, shaking her head.
“What happened?” Doris quickly asked, dashing back through the group until reaching the woman.
“Nothing, nothing.” The woman said calmly while cursing in her mind.
Doris stared down at the woman’s hand cradled in the other. “Are you sure? Let me take a look. You can’t be too safe in here, you know.”
“I said I’m fine. I just forgot about having a safety pin in my pocket. It must have come open. When I reached in it poked me. That’s all.”
“You’re sure?” Doris asked glancing at the cages beside them. Something didn’t feel right to her. “You didn’t reach into any of these cages did you?”
“No! Why the hell would I do that?”
“I don’t know - why would you? These specimens especially Max can be dangerous. Now I’m going to ask you again. Did you reach into any of these cages?” Doris tried to look into the woman’s eyes but couldn’t. She still held her head bowed toward the floor.
“I already told you I didn’t.”
“Fine… Okay folks, that concludes the tour. If you all will please follow me back to the lobby. You can return your badges and be on your way.”
Doris thanked them for coming and watched each of them leave. She watched the odd woman especially as she handed over her badge to Joe. Doris still felt something familiar about the woman, even her voice. She got the feeling that she had seen her before, but where. She watched the woman as she left the building and walk swiftly toward the parking lot, glancing back over her shoulder every now and then. A strong gust of wind came upon her a few steps from the lot. Lifting her dark black hair up, revealing a full head of red hair underneath. It only took a second for Doris to register who was in front of her. It was Madeline Chambers. At that instant she realized what was out of place back at the lab after Madeline had screamed out. The cage with the fresh specimens was what was wrong. Three of the rats that had been running about doing what rats do, wasn’t doing it anymore. They where bunched together in a corner, scared. Scared of the forth rat. Doris rapidly searched her mind and replayed the scene in Max’s cage. He was scurrying about and digging in the bedding searching for food. Not slamming into the glass trying to get out as he had been doing for the last thirteen days.
“Madeline – her finger, oh God ...”