Chapter 19: Trapped
"Shit!" Sark yelled hitting the door.
It was the first time that Sydney had heard him cuss and it shocked her. She watched in surprise as he swept the contents of a nearby counter onto the ground. He shook his head and looked at the mess as if confused as to how it happened. He turned to Sydney.
"Give me the antidote Sydney." His held out his hand expectantly. There was no trace of the earlier rage on his face, just his normally impassive one.
"This, is for Vaughn." Sydney said holding up the sealed vial.
Sark made a grabbed for it but Sydney twisted away so that all he grabbed was air. He quickly used his momentum and elbow to send a blow to her stomach causing her arms to be thrust forward. He grabbed her wrist with one hand forcing her hand to open in reflex and used his other hand to take the vial. Sydney quickly recovered and pivoted into his body using the momentum to elbow him in the neck and take the vial from him.
There was a slight pause as Sark stooped over to recover from the blow. He dropped low to the ground and sent out a sweeping kick that knocked Sydney's feet out from under her. The vial flew up into the air and Sark caught it in the air. Sydney kicked his arm sending the vial back into the air. Flipping to her feet she caught the vial as Sark's hand closed over hers, firmly but not too tight. Unable to pull her hand or the vial away, she tried to punch him with her other hand. He grabbed it before it did could connect.
She did the only thing left for her to do, she tried to kick him, two kicks with her right leg, and one with her left. He countered them all with his legs in a fluid dance. They swung each other around to the tune of a song only they could hear. He turned her around in a swing move holding her in his arm in a locked embrace. She kicked up over her head and connected with his head. The force knocked both of them back flinging the vial into the air. When they hit the ground she quickly rolled and held out her hand, catching the vial before it could shatter on the ground.
Sark knew that by continuing the fight, there was a good chance that neither of them would end up with the antidote. So he tried to reason with her. "Sydney, by the time we get out of here, Vaughn will most likely have entered stage four. It'll be useless to him." Sark realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere with her so he told her the full truth. "I gave Taylor instructions to take Yon Hee straight to Vaughn. She can recreate the antidote."
"Without her notes? Why should I believe you?" The slight hope was quickly extinguished by suspicion.
"I've never lied to you." There were no visible signs that he was lying but Sydney had a feeling that Sark could convince the anyone to his way of thinking.
"Your life wasn't on the line before now. If I hand you the antidote why would you help Vaughn? I have nothing to bargain with. Here's Yon Hee's research." She tossed the disk to him. "You have at least three weeks before you show symptoms. We'll be out of here by then." She said reassuring herself that Vaughn was the only one that mattered and that it was all for the best.
"Sydney, did you infect me with the virus you took from Vaughn?" He spoke calmly.
"Yes." She answered wondering what he was getting at.
"Normally, the virus would go through a dormant stage but since you injected me with the active virus, I went straight to stage one." He explained.
"Then you'd better get started on a new batch of antidote." Sydney said coldly not believing him. She reasoned that their fight was why Sark's face was a little flushed.
He walked toward her reaching for the gun strapped to his leg. She went into a defensive stance realizing too late that she'd left her gun next to the computer. Instead of shooting her he handed her his weapon. "I'm not your enemy Sarah."
Sydney watched him walk away from her wondering if he was playing mind games with her by calling her Sarah. She followed him to the back of the lab and struggled with the doubt that came over her.
He sat down and got to work in silence. It wasn't until a half an hour later that the symptoms came to a point where Sydney knew that Sark had been telling the truth.
"Damn it! What hell am I missing?" Sark asked frustrated. He pushed back his chair and started pacing. His hands were shaking and his face was flushed.
He turned to Sydney, who was sitting on the cot, and smiled lovingly at her as he knelt at her feet. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He then took both of her hands into his and kissed one and then the other. She was too shocked to move. The look he was giving her sent warm shivers throughout her body. She refused to acknowledge the slight pain of envy in her heart. Sark had truly loved Sarah. It wasn't the sick twisted kind that she had invisioned but the kind of love that she and Danny had only begun to cultivate before he'd been killed. "It'll be Ok Sarah, we'll be out of here soon." Sark blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. He seemed surprised to see himself at her feet holding her hands. He stood up quickly releasing her hands. "Part of the formula for the antidote is missing. Yon Hee must have deliberately left it off the computer so that her captures wouldn't get their hands on it. If you give me the antidote I'll be able to break down what's in it and make more."
"No! I can't risk it, not when it's Vaughn's life on the line." She said subbornly not able to look him in the eyes. She tried to ignore the growing guilt. It was Sark's fault that Vaughn was sick in the first place, wasn't it? Ok, so he was getting delusional but he had plenty of time didn't he?
Sark picked up a beaker and threw it. It flew across the room and shattered against a file case.
Sydney jumped up and went toward the file cabinet as a thought occurred to her. "Sark, would Yon Hee have written some of her research down on paper?"
"She may have." He said distractedly as he sat back down at the computer.
Sydney went through the file cabinet wishing that she'd paid more attention to the sciences. It was all gibberish and nothing made sense. She was about to give up when she found a notebook hiding under the folders.
It was labeled C-352. Wasn't that the name that Sark had given the virus? She flipped it open and she knew she'd hit the jackpot when she saw the first page.
Visible Effects of C-352
C-352 is undetectable during it's dormant phase. There is no know trigger to activating C-352 though the effect of the active virus is immediately visible.
Stage 1 C-352 attacks the pre-frontal cortex. Visible Effect: Subjects seem to lose control of emotions and actions.
Subjects A-F, and H-J have become violent and exceptionally strong, needed to be restrained immediately. Each subject became fixated on either a person or group that they wanted to destroy. Unable to determine how the target is selected.
Subject G showed minimal effects if at all. Only slight bursts of temper and not directed at one specific target.
Stage 2 C-352 attacks the amygdala Subjects seem unable to differentiate between the past and present and lapse into episodes where they relive a past memory. Environment may be a determinate in deciding what kind of memory is triggered. Subjects are not cognitive to symptoms.
Subjects A-F, and H-J entered stage two within 48 hours after symptoms of stage 1. Subjects A, I would lapse into childhood memories of camp where they were restrained by camp mates as a practical joke. Subjects B,H,J would lapse into teenage memories of being grounded and forced to stay home. Subjects C, D, E, F lapsed into memories of prison.
Subject G entered Stage 2 only 7 hours after entering stage 1. Subject G's memory lapses are more frequent and more seemless then other subjects.
Stage 3 C-352 attacks the hippocampus Subjects seem to be repeating the same series of memories endlessly until reaching next stage. Unable to specify time frame for entering Stage 3.
Unlike other the subjects, Subject G seems able to alter the outcome of a memory.
Stage 4 C-352 attacks the brain stem Subjects have lapsed into a coma. C-352 is systematically shutting down all systems within the body starting with the respiratory system. With the use of machines, we are able to sustain life.
Subject G is deceased.
"Shit!" Sark yelled hitting the door.
It was the first time that Sydney had heard him cuss and it shocked her. She watched in surprise as he swept the contents of a nearby counter onto the ground. He shook his head and looked at the mess as if confused as to how it happened. He turned to Sydney.
"Give me the antidote Sydney." His held out his hand expectantly. There was no trace of the earlier rage on his face, just his normally impassive one.
"This, is for Vaughn." Sydney said holding up the sealed vial.
Sark made a grabbed for it but Sydney twisted away so that all he grabbed was air. He quickly used his momentum and elbow to send a blow to her stomach causing her arms to be thrust forward. He grabbed her wrist with one hand forcing her hand to open in reflex and used his other hand to take the vial. Sydney quickly recovered and pivoted into his body using the momentum to elbow him in the neck and take the vial from him.
There was a slight pause as Sark stooped over to recover from the blow. He dropped low to the ground and sent out a sweeping kick that knocked Sydney's feet out from under her. The vial flew up into the air and Sark caught it in the air. Sydney kicked his arm sending the vial back into the air. Flipping to her feet she caught the vial as Sark's hand closed over hers, firmly but not too tight. Unable to pull her hand or the vial away, she tried to punch him with her other hand. He grabbed it before it did could connect.
She did the only thing left for her to do, she tried to kick him, two kicks with her right leg, and one with her left. He countered them all with his legs in a fluid dance. They swung each other around to the tune of a song only they could hear. He turned her around in a swing move holding her in his arm in a locked embrace. She kicked up over her head and connected with his head. The force knocked both of them back flinging the vial into the air. When they hit the ground she quickly rolled and held out her hand, catching the vial before it could shatter on the ground.
Sark knew that by continuing the fight, there was a good chance that neither of them would end up with the antidote. So he tried to reason with her. "Sydney, by the time we get out of here, Vaughn will most likely have entered stage four. It'll be useless to him." Sark realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere with her so he told her the full truth. "I gave Taylor instructions to take Yon Hee straight to Vaughn. She can recreate the antidote."
"Without her notes? Why should I believe you?" The slight hope was quickly extinguished by suspicion.
"I've never lied to you." There were no visible signs that he was lying but Sydney had a feeling that Sark could convince the anyone to his way of thinking.
"Your life wasn't on the line before now. If I hand you the antidote why would you help Vaughn? I have nothing to bargain with. Here's Yon Hee's research." She tossed the disk to him. "You have at least three weeks before you show symptoms. We'll be out of here by then." She said reassuring herself that Vaughn was the only one that mattered and that it was all for the best.
"Sydney, did you infect me with the virus you took from Vaughn?" He spoke calmly.
"Yes." She answered wondering what he was getting at.
"Normally, the virus would go through a dormant stage but since you injected me with the active virus, I went straight to stage one." He explained.
"Then you'd better get started on a new batch of antidote." Sydney said coldly not believing him. She reasoned that their fight was why Sark's face was a little flushed.
He walked toward her reaching for the gun strapped to his leg. She went into a defensive stance realizing too late that she'd left her gun next to the computer. Instead of shooting her he handed her his weapon. "I'm not your enemy Sarah."
Sydney watched him walk away from her wondering if he was playing mind games with her by calling her Sarah. She followed him to the back of the lab and struggled with the doubt that came over her.
He sat down and got to work in silence. It wasn't until a half an hour later that the symptoms came to a point where Sydney knew that Sark had been telling the truth.
"Damn it! What hell am I missing?" Sark asked frustrated. He pushed back his chair and started pacing. His hands were shaking and his face was flushed.
He turned to Sydney, who was sitting on the cot, and smiled lovingly at her as he knelt at her feet. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He then took both of her hands into his and kissed one and then the other. She was too shocked to move. The look he was giving her sent warm shivers throughout her body. She refused to acknowledge the slight pain of envy in her heart. Sark had truly loved Sarah. It wasn't the sick twisted kind that she had invisioned but the kind of love that she and Danny had only begun to cultivate before he'd been killed. "It'll be Ok Sarah, we'll be out of here soon." Sark blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. He seemed surprised to see himself at her feet holding her hands. He stood up quickly releasing her hands. "Part of the formula for the antidote is missing. Yon Hee must have deliberately left it off the computer so that her captures wouldn't get their hands on it. If you give me the antidote I'll be able to break down what's in it and make more."
"No! I can't risk it, not when it's Vaughn's life on the line." She said subbornly not able to look him in the eyes. She tried to ignore the growing guilt. It was Sark's fault that Vaughn was sick in the first place, wasn't it? Ok, so he was getting delusional but he had plenty of time didn't he?
Sark picked up a beaker and threw it. It flew across the room and shattered against a file case.
Sydney jumped up and went toward the file cabinet as a thought occurred to her. "Sark, would Yon Hee have written some of her research down on paper?"
"She may have." He said distractedly as he sat back down at the computer.
Sydney went through the file cabinet wishing that she'd paid more attention to the sciences. It was all gibberish and nothing made sense. She was about to give up when she found a notebook hiding under the folders.
It was labeled C-352. Wasn't that the name that Sark had given the virus? She flipped it open and she knew she'd hit the jackpot when she saw the first page.
Visible Effects of C-352
C-352 is undetectable during it's dormant phase. There is no know trigger to activating C-352 though the effect of the active virus is immediately visible.
Stage 1 C-352 attacks the pre-frontal cortex. Visible Effect: Subjects seem to lose control of emotions and actions.
Subjects A-F, and H-J have become violent and exceptionally strong, needed to be restrained immediately. Each subject became fixated on either a person or group that they wanted to destroy. Unable to determine how the target is selected.
Subject G showed minimal effects if at all. Only slight bursts of temper and not directed at one specific target.
Stage 2 C-352 attacks the amygdala Subjects seem unable to differentiate between the past and present and lapse into episodes where they relive a past memory. Environment may be a determinate in deciding what kind of memory is triggered. Subjects are not cognitive to symptoms.
Subjects A-F, and H-J entered stage two within 48 hours after symptoms of stage 1. Subjects A, I would lapse into childhood memories of camp where they were restrained by camp mates as a practical joke. Subjects B,H,J would lapse into teenage memories of being grounded and forced to stay home. Subjects C, D, E, F lapsed into memories of prison.
Subject G entered Stage 2 only 7 hours after entering stage 1. Subject G's memory lapses are more frequent and more seemless then other subjects.
Stage 3 C-352 attacks the hippocampus Subjects seem to be repeating the same series of memories endlessly until reaching next stage. Unable to specify time frame for entering Stage 3.
Unlike other the subjects, Subject G seems able to alter the outcome of a memory.
Stage 4 C-352 attacks the brain stem Subjects have lapsed into a coma. C-352 is systematically shutting down all systems within the body starting with the respiratory system. With the use of machines, we are able to sustain life.
Subject G is deceased.
