Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! It helps me quite a bit, honestly. I'm glad that you guys are all really digging this story so far. As usual, I'm very open to constructive criticism. So if you guys have any thoughts, feel free to vocalize them in the reviews. :)
And also, don't worry, things are going to go to hell in the next chapter. ;)
September 17th, 2013
Jeremy Blaire's office had to be one of the most bland, musty rooms in this entire facility. Honestly, it didn't even look like he used it very much. Jeremy Blaire, a man in his late 30s with short, dark brown hair slicked to the side, stood in front of his barely used office desk in front of Kasha. She'd been seated in a well cushioned chair, her arms folded in front of her.
Silently, Kasha questioned if Jeremy Blaire had ever worn anything other than his dark blue suit.
His posture was a bit slouched as he supported himself by his arms, leaning back against his desk. "You've been a trusted employee of the Murkoff Corporation for long enough. I think it's probably about time that you paid a visit to our facility downstairs." He started, then shot Kasha a glare. "A part from some of your... Questionable bullshit, of course."
Kasha rolled her eyes. "Is this why you called me up here, then?"
He shrugged. "Well, if you'd rather me fire you... Which I would have no problem doing, of course-"
"Okay, okay. I get it." Kasha knew that she would never get "fired," anyway. And even if she did, she would never be able to leave this asylum. Was this his way of trying to scare her? She went on, "Just tell me what you need to tell me, and get to the point."
"What a disrespectful way to speak to your boss, young lady!" He said, his voice dripping with passive aggressive sarcasm. Regardless, he went on. "Like I said before, it's time for you to take the next step in your career here. And I'm not talking about a promotion, so don't get your hopes up. Today, you're taking a trip down to the Morphogenic Engine."
Kasha was slightly surprised, honestly. She'd already known of the Morphogenic Engine, but she'd never actually seen it. She didn't have the security clearance to gain access to the lower level of the asylum. So, why was today an exception to that? Why, all of a sudden, was she being treated like a special snowflake? Something wasn't adding up. Kasha skeptically looked Jeremy over, slight suspicion in her brown eyes. "Why? I'm not a Murkoff scientist, Mr. Blaire. I don't have any business down there."
He pushed himself away from his desk, holding a finger up. "Ah, but you see, that's where you're wrong." He started, beginning to aimlessly pace. "As a Therapist, I think it's important for you to study the effects of the Morphogenic Engine. That way, you'll have first hand knowledge of exactly what "side effects" your patients are experiencing as a result of being exposed to the engine. So, today, you'll be joining the team down there."
Kasha supposed that made sense. "Am I going alone, or will the other therapists be joining me?"
"Nope, it's all you today, bucko. The other therapists here aren't... Ready for the exposure." He grinned to himself, ceasing his pacing and standing in front of the seated Kasha.
Kasha wasn't getting a good feeling about this. But, honestly, she really didn't have much of a choice. They would probably kill her, or something worse, if she didn't comply with going down to the engine today. If there was anything that Kasha had learned while being employed at Mount Massive, it was to never trust the words of Jeremy Blaire. Or any executives, for that matter. Especially that Rick Trager guy, Jeremy's little "buddy." That guy was... Unique, to say the least. Kasha sighed, and shrugged. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, then. When do I leave to go down there?"
"You're right, you don't have a choice." He stated confidently, a small smirk on his face. "And, it'd be best if you left immediately. I've got some guys waiting for you by the elevator down the hall. They'll give you security clearance and escort you. We don't need you touching anything that shouldn't be getting touched, now do we?"
Kasha rolled her eyes once again, and stood up. Jeremy held his hand out to shake her hand, but Kasha ignored the gesture entirely and advanced toward his office door to leave. "I guess I'll get going, then. Hopefully, I won't get turned into some fucked up lizard thing by those doctors." She said as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
She proceeded to the elevator, where two scientists waited for her, and began her descent down into the depths of Murkoff's hell. Little did she know, however, that she was likely guaranteeing her inperpetuity within the asylum by witnessing Murkoff's true secrets.
It didn't take long.
Soon enough, Kasha found herself walking through a facility that seemed to drastically differ from the asylum above. This environment was foreign to her. The walls around her almost resembled ice, being white in color but completely jagged in texture. Wait, was it ice? She honestly couldn't tell. The floor beneath her feet was well polished, and her heels clacked drastically and echoed with each step that she took. Kasha couldn't help but notice the abundance of security guards down here. They'd been posted at nearly every single door.
As Kasha made her way through the rather pristine, professional facility, she could overhear some scientists speaking about their wives.
"Yeah, I have a wife."
"When was the last time that you saw her? I haven't seen mine in three weeks."
"Three weeks? Oh, that's nothing. I don't even remember the last time I saw my wife. I haven't even spoken to her in... Oh, god. I can't even remember."
Kasha shook her head and sighed softly as she overheard the conversation, silently hating Murkoff for their disregard of their employees personal lives. Kasha herself hadn't even spoken to her family in years. Not since she'd set foot in this place. She wasn't even allowed to email them. She knew it wasn't right... Everything in her screamed at her, and told her that the Murkoff Corporation was nothing but heinous corruption.
But she couldn't do anything about her gut feeling. She couldn't leave, she couldn't run. She couldn't do anything. And that, in particular, is what pissed her off the most. Feeling completely and utterly powerless, and helpless. Clearly, she wasn't the only employee here that felt this way.
"Waylon Park, employee number one four six six, report to Morphogenic Engine Monitoring immediately~" The intercom overhead rang out demandingly as Kasha made her way through. "Poor bastard." Kasha commented, "His ass is probably in trouble."
As the two scientists escorted her into the computer room, it was then that she finally laid eyes on the Morphogenic Engine for the first time. She could see the massive spherical hung of machinery clearly through a wall of glass, which overlooked the spacious room that held the engine. Around the engine sat a number of small pods. Kasha walked through, aimlessly glancing at the multitude of computer screens littering every inch of wall space within the room. A scientist was posted at almost every computer, analyzing the brain waves of a particular patient.
"Amazing, isn't it?" One of the scientists said, interrupting Kasha's thoughts. She jumped, startled, then turned her head to the right to see a pale man dressed in the typical blue garb of the scientists down here standing next to her. "Oh, did I startle you? I'm terribly sorry." He commented.
Kasha shook her head, "Jesus, man. You guys pop out of no where sometimes..." She replied, bringing her attention back to looking curiously at the engine. "That's... That's a complex piece of machinery right there. But what does it do?" She questioned, silently wondering why a mental health institution would need something so complex.
The scientist grinned. "That, m'lady, is what you're going to be learning today. Pay attention. We'll be bringing a patient in soon." He then left her side.
All around her, Kasha could over hear scientists and doctors commentating and talking about the upcoming patient's brain waves. And not only that, but... the patient's dreams? They'd been speaking of the imagery in their brain as well. Kasha tried to listen further...
"Let's see... The log has the first two as guided dreams. Classified as childhood, sexual, and with reptile imagery."
Kasha heard one of the scientists say, studiously examining some paperwork. What the fuck? Sexual reptile imagery? Now, that was quite a combination of words...
Shortly afterward, Kasha heard the door of the monitoring room open behind her. A skinny, pale, blonde-haired man walked past Kasha in quite a hurry. He'd nearly bumped into her, actually. She had to move out of the way for him.
"Ah, Park. You're cutting it close, next patient's incoming and Arterial Spin's still dark. We need you at the front terminal." One of the men said, likely to the blonde man that had just walked in.
As the blonde guy, "Park", sat down at his terminal, the scientist next to him shook his head. "Jesus, Park! You were 15 seconds away from getting fired! We need you to de-bug the system for us..." The scientist seemed to get distracted, looking up from his paperwork and out into the engine room. Kasha approached both this "Park" guy and the scientist, curiously observing the scene.
What she saw within those next couple of moments deeply concerned her.
She saw a man, violently fighting for his life, against the restraints of three men. He thrashed against them viciously as the three of them pulled the patient toward one of the many pods surrounding the Morphogenic Engine.
"Ah, for fuck's sake... They've got Gluskin out of his cell. Park, the Functional Imaging interface isn't talking to the ASL. We've got a patient moments away from integration, and we're blind inside his head!" The scientist barked, to which Waylon scooted his chair in and began typing on the computer in front of him.
Kasha raised an eyebrow. "Gluskin?" She thought to herself, standing behind Waylon, her arms folded in front of her. "That patient of mine from the other day?" Something told her that this was going to be getting interesting rather quickly... She looked on at the patient beyond the glass, however. She felt bad for the poor guy, honestly. After what she'd read on his file, aside from the horrible crimes that he'd committed, his past wasn't a happy one. And now, here he was, being forced against his will into doing god only knew what.
"I could call in to the chamber and ask them to delay, if you'd like...?" One of the other scientists said, to which the one barking orders to Waylon responded with, "No. I don't need another performance evaluation. Mr. Park here is going to have us up and running before we even know it. Right, Mr. Park?" Waylon was selectively silent. He continued typing on his computer, merely trying to do his job.
"Uh, Steve...? fMRI is still dark."
"You're doubting our friend Mr. Waylon Park? Which I consider more than unkind to to his programming skill and considerable dedication to the Murkoff corporation."
Kasha had the swallow the vomit ascending up her esophagus. God, ew. She was beginning to feel sincerely sorry for this Waylon Park fellow. He hadn't spoken a single word since his arrival, but this scientist was seriously kissing his ass. It was kind of... Creepy, honestly.
Kasha could then begin to hear Gluskin's horrified yelling as he thrashed against the restraints of the men, who had still been trying to detain him and hook him up into the pod.
"I KNEW IT WAS COMING, YOU FILTHY FUCKING MACHINES! You... You FUCKING MACHINES! No! No, not again! No! NO! Jack-booted FUCKS! I know what you've been doing to me! I KNOW what you've been- HELP! Help me! Help me, they're going to rape me! Rape! RAPE!" Gluskin shrieked, fighting against the men, until finally breaking free from their grasp. He then ran up to the glass of the monitoring room, completely stark naked.
Kasha jumped when he smacked against the glass with an unexpected thud, but she looked on at him sympathetically. "Nobody deserves this." She muttered to herself. "Nobody."
"HELP ME! Don't let them do this! Don't let them!" He yelled, banging on the glass frantically. Kasha stepped closer. "You!" He shouted, looking at Waylon, then at Kasha. "I know you can stop this! You have to help me! You have to-" One of the men then grabbed Gluskin from behind, dragging him away from the window.
Waylon, startled, had literally jumped up from his seat and backed away. He'd bumped into Kasha as a result. Kasha gave Waylon a rather observant look, but Waylon gave no attention to her. His attention was more focused on the security guard that had just grabbed him, saying, "HEY! Calm yourself! This is a high security-"
"It's all right, agent. Mr. Park was just surprised. I'm sure he's still calm, eager, and ready to finish his work. Take your seat." The scientist motioned to the chair, to which Waylon quickly took his seat again. "Quickly, Mr. Park! A head will need to roll if perfusion monitoring isn't active when they put Gluskin in the engine. Five seconds. Four... Three..."
Kasha stepped closer, curiously glancing at Waylon's computer screen over his shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw Gluskin's face pop up on the screen, with a plethora of tubes running out of his mouth, nose, and basically every other hole in his body. She shook her head, sincerely hating what she saw. What she was witnessing was inhumane, and unethical. To say the least.
But what she saw next only furthered her disgust. She watched as Gluskin continued to move against the tubing, but slowly, his movements ceased as the sedatives were pumped through his body. He quickly fell into a deep sleep, and integrated with the Morphogenic Engine's systems. As his head dropped, the skin on his face began to literally deteriorate and rip apart in small patches, primarily on the right side of his face.
Kasha looked away, shaking her head in disgust. She turned around and faced the scientist who had been speaking with Waylon. "I have a question. What, exactly, does this do to benefit the patient's progression towards a healthy mental state?" Her voice was heavy with subdued anger.
The scientist chuckled. "Help? Oh, no. This operation does not help the patients, ma'am. It helps Murkoff. What you're witnessing is Project Walrider, and the depth of it's magnitude is far greater than you can even comprehend."
Kasha stepped away from him, a scowl on her face. "I was brought down her today to "learn" about the effects of this engine on my patients. To "better understand" their mental trauma. Is that the side effect? Huh?" She barked, pointing to Waylon's computer screen. "Physical deterioration? For what, financial gain? You people make me fucking sick. That patient needs therapy. Not to be hooked up to some fucked up machine!" She hissed, challengingly glaring at the scientist in front of her.
He shook his head, grinning. "You really are an idiot, aren't you? Such a shame... I was looking forward to being in the company of a woman. But it appears that you're going to be a problem to the Murkoff Corporation..." Two security guards came up from behind Kasha, grabbing her by her arms. Immediately, she thrashed against them. "Fuck you! Get your hands off of me!" She spat, to which the two guards began dragging her away.
"Thank you for your services, ma'am. But Murkoff won't be needing them any longer." The scientist concluded, turning his back on Kasha.
Waylon turned around, watching the scene curiously. "Is that what happens when somebody speaks their fucking mind around here?" He thought to himself, shaking his head. "That's exactly the reason why I keep my mouth shut around here... Poor girl."
The two guards dragged Kasha out of the monitoring room, while she kicked at their legs with her own. "What the fuck is this place, then?! What is this shit?!" She questioned, to which the security guard to her right armed himself with a tazer. "If you don't comply with our restraints, ma'am, we'll be forced to detain you."
"Oh, cut the crap. You're going to "detain" me anyway, aren't you? Jeremy Blaire is probably going to order you to kill me." She hissed, glaring at the guard. After what she'd just seen, she now knew that the Murkoff Corporation was something far more vile than she'd originally imagined. She now knew that she wasn't going to leave this facility alive.
The guards brought Kasha into a secluded room at the end of one of the few hallways in the underground facility. They tossed her in carelessly, "Mr. Blaire will be here to discuss the terms of your employment any moment now. Behave." And with that, they shut the room's door and locked it behind them.
Kasha landed on the hard floor with a painful thud. She scrambled up and looked at her surroundings the instant they shut the door, looking for an escape route. All around her, there had been nothing but water heaters. Water heaters, and a shit ton of pipes all over the walls. No vents, and obviously no windows. Fuck. She wasn't getting out of this.
She sat on the floor with her back against the wall, sitting opposite of the door. She glared the door, waiting for Jeremy Blaire to walk in and potentially kill her on the spot. For all she knew, he could do that. She didn't know what to expect from these people anymore. Soon enough, the door opened. A couple of security guards entered the room first, followed by Jeremy Blaire. Kasha didn't move a muscle.
Jeremy knelt down on the floor in front of her, smirking. "Well, Kasha, it'd be too easy if I were to simply just scold you and tell you how disappointed I am. So, I've come up with another punishment for you. I think you'll like it." He said, standing up again. "Get the hell away from me." Kasha growled, her eyes never leaving Blaire. "What I just saw in there was no where near humane. I was under the impression that this facility aimed to treat mental illnesses, not accelerate them!" She yelled, her hands clenching into fists.
Jeremy laughed, "And to think, I thought that you'd be ready to witness the truth. I guess not. You being naive isn't my fault, Kasha. So... I think it's time that we discuss your future here at the facility." The security guards armed themselves, which made Kasha nervous. Blaire continued, "I'm sure you've noticed that we don't really... Allow female employees down into the monitoring room. Do you know why that is?"
Kasha raised an eyebrow. "... No? Oh, enlighten me. This sounds promising."
"Well, let's just say that the female reproductive system doesn't exactly cooperate with the Morphogenic Engine. Every single woman that's stepped into that monitoring room has either died on the spot, or died shortly after coming into contact with the engine... Except for you."
Kasha's face twisted into a disgusted scowl. "Did you... Did you send me down here today as an experiment? To see if I'd face complications like the other women? How fucking dare you-"
"And now," Jeremy interjected, his voice raising. "We'd like to see why you weren't affected. You'll still be useful to Murkoff after all, Kasha. As a patient."
The moment Kasha heard those words, her heart dropped into her stomach. God, no. Fuck. Anxiety dispersed throughout her body. She shook her head, "Jeremy, you don't have to do this-"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Boys, let's give Kasha a little... Anesthetic, shall we?" He said with a grin, watching as the security guards gathered around Kasha. Kasha began kicking at their legs, "NO! Fuck no! You can't do this!" She roared, to which a guard responded by punching her squarely in the face with brute force.
Kasha's world went dark, and she fell unconscious.
