Opportunity Of A Lifetime

  Sometimes it is hard to realize when you are experiencing a life changing moment. But when I walked into the interview that day, I somehow knew my life would never be the same. 

  It had been an agonizing two weeks of waiting for the editors to select a journalist. The assignment being an exclusive interview with Dr. Howard, world renowned experimental epidemiologist. This interview was easily one of the biggest breakthrough stories of the decade. Almost guaranteeing a spot in every respectable scientific magazines throughout the country. 

  So when they had given me the news that they were giving me the assignment. I thanked them for the opportunity with grace, and then went to the bathroom and sobbed tears of joy. 

 However the one downfall being that the interview would take place at Dr. Howard’s lab which is located in the most secured government funded building in the state, also sitting in the middle of a military base. So the clearance needed to enter the premises was extensive. 

I would wait over a year for my clearance results, and another month or so for my stack of non-disclosures to be approved.

  Resulting in my impending torture to last over a year. 

  Finally after what felt like years I flew to Maryland and was escorted to the base. I reached the lab with 30 minutes till the interview. 

 I finally made it through security and when I did the building structure changed drastically. The lights got brighter and the walls got whiter till I was practically squinting from the change. When I reached the secretary’s desk I was nearly frantic with only 5 minutes till. 

  The lady was hiding behind a monitor when i approached the desk. 

  “Hello, I am here for my interview with Dr. Howard.” I waited for the lady to acknowledge me but she continued to aggressively type on her monitor. 

  I wondered if she was shunning me for my rudeness. 

“Ma’am?” Finally I stepped to the side and peered around her monitor and felt my jaw drop. The older lady was sitting there in nothing but a bra. 

 I ducked back behind the monitor, standing in shock for a moment before remembering the time. I tapped the top of the monitor and she finally glanced up. 

“Hi... I’m here to see Dr. Howard.” 

  “Awe yes here you go, Mo.” She handed me a keycard that read ‘full access’ with an eerie smile stretching across her face. 

“Are you sure this is the right keys-?” I broke off sentence realizing the lady had already gone back to typing on her monitor. I kept my eyes averted away from her mustard colored bra but I wondered to myself if she even worked here. I watched her eyes as they darted over the screen. They were bright blue, though so severely bloodshot that you couldn’t tell. 

  I glanced around but I didn’t find anyone else. I did however spot a clock on the far wall. 2 minutes till. 

 I glanced back at the lady realizing she wasn’t going to be any help.

  I remember reading in the informational packet that Dr. Howard’s lab was located on basement level. However that’s the only information given and I briefly wondered if they expected me to be escorted past this point. 

  Finally finding the stairs I ran down them two at a time. When I entered the basement floor it was similar to the first floor. A maze of labs made out of glass and badge secured doors. I rushed down the hallway reading the plaques on the wall. 

 Ever since I made it past security I have felt... odd. Only realizing now that she had went down multiple corridors and did not see one person other than the secretary. 

  I finally found Dr. Howard’s lab. Which seemed significantly different from the other labs she passed along the way, his being the only one that had the lights flicked off and the blinds drawn. 

  I tried the badge on the door and it lit green before i pushed it open. 

“Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing across the dark room. The only light came from the hallway and a room in the very back of the lab that was barely ajar. 

  My eyes needed time to adjust from the assaulting lights from the hallway. I focused on the light as I blindly made my way across the lab. When I reached the door I lightly knocked before poking me head in. 

  He sat behind his desk, his head snapping up at the sound of my voice. He stood angrily “What do you think you’re doing in here!” He yelled. 

  “Hi Dr. Howard I am Kathleen Bell I am here for your interview.” My voice came out so rushed and mumbled, I was shocked he understood me at all. 

  Something flashed across his face and he sat down pointing at a chair in the corner that was stacked with papers. Glancing around the room i realized everything was cluttered in papers. 

  I moved the papers aside and moved the chair closer to his desk. And when I turned back to him I nearly leapt out of my skin. His angry outburst was replaced with a creepy smile that oddly reminded me of the secretary’s. 

  It wasn’t until now that I got a good look at Dr. Howard. I have read many articles he has published but I never seen any pictures of him. The best word to describe him would be sickly. He looked so frail that a small gust of wind could come and snap him in half. His skin was clammy and pale. Another similarity to his secretary was his eyes. His were severely bloodshot as well. Although Dr. Howard’s eyes were accompanied by thick, dark circles underneath them. 

  I reached into my bag pulling out a notebook. I began to read out my first question when he cut me off.

  “Would you like a coffee?” My throat did feel dry so I gratefully accepted the coffee. Glad, I glanced down into the paper cup before taking a sip. The color was seemed off, like it had a strange red tint. I held the cup to my nose and sniffed, it smelled like coffee. However she sat it down next to her bag without taking a drink. 

  If he noticed he didn’t seem offended and she attempted again to ask her first interview question when she was interrupted again. This time by his hysterical laughing. With nothing to prompt the laughing fit I only sat there bewildered for a moment. 

  I couldn’t help glancing around the room, looking for hidden cameras and 

briefly wondered if this was all just wrapping around to being one of the worlds worst prank. 

  Now hunched over his desk, he rested his head into his folded arms. Still laughing so hard no sound came out at all, causing his shoulders to shake. 

  “Dr. Howard?” When he heard my voice his laughed abruptly stopped. He sat for another few moments with his head down until he began to slowly sit up. 

  When he did I leapt from my chair and leapt away from his desk. 

  Blood was running from his eyes, smearing down his face. It was something straight out of a horror movie. 

  “Dr. Howard, what’s happening,” I cried unable to recognizing my voice coated in fear. 

  With absolutely no restraint Dr. Howard bashed his head into his desk over and over again until blood flowed from his forehead as well. 

  Then he stood, never once breaking eye contact and began walking around the desk. I knew I should move but I was frozen in terror. 

 However before taking two steps a muffled shot rang out, and he dropped to the ground dead. 

   I turned and that’s when I saw the soldier standing in the doorway. I could only see his eyes through his mask and he held a heavy looking gun pointing directly at my head. 

  I didn’t resist when he told me to get on the floor, nor did I when he cuffed my arms aggressively behind my back. 

  I found myself looking under the desk into Dr. Howard’s blank, starring eyes as the puddle grew dark around him. 

  I’m not sure when I stopped crying. I numbly wondered to myself if this is what shock felt like. However nothing felt real anymore, hadn’t felt real since I had walked into the building. 

  So I only sat for who knows how long staring into Dr. Howard’s eyes, wondering if they would somehow find their way into my nightmares. 

  Until someone in a hazmat suit finally came to collect me. She helped me to my feet but before leading me out, she warned me to keep my eyes forward and not to look around the lab. I didn’t understand what she meant until I decided to ignore her warning. When I walked through the lab before, the light had been off. She did not see the pile of dismembered bodies piled in the middle of the floor. 

  They were mutilated beyond recognition. The once spotless white floors now painted in every inch in blood.

  Hunching over I emptied the contents of my stomach which was not easily with my hands still cuffed behind my back. 

  The lady gave me a moment to regain myself however I though I heard her mumble, “ I told you.” 

  The lady lead her up the stairs and past the secretaries desk and laying on the ground in a pile of blood was the secretary. 

  She led me into a small conference room and closed the door behind us. 

  I sat silent as she tried to explain starting with, “I’m sorry this happened to you.” 

  She then told me that nobody knows where the breach came from or how the disease was released. But within an hour the entire building was infected. The nature of the disease was unknown, and it essentially appeared to rapidly attack the part of the brain that control the thoughts and functions of the host. 

  Within a few hours after exposure the infected person is driven into madness. Until the blood vessels in the brain burst. 

  I tried to understand what she was saying however her words sounded distant and far away. 

  “I was exposed…. Am I going to die? I asked, numbly. The lady only blinked at me through her shield. Answering my question without saying a word. Although for some reason, her silence was not enough, she needed her to say it. 

  I slapped my hand hard on the table, unable to control my anger, “AM I GOING TO DIE?” 

My scream echoing against the walls. 

Finally she responded, “it is a possibility you are infected as well.” 

-BDS