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 Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:44 pm
A lot of people say that flights over the ocean are very beautiful.
Zachary couldn't really give a testimony to that. He had his eyes tightly shut the entire time. It was terrifying enough to be flying, but over water just doubled the danger. Terrible notions got into his head; for instance, what if the engine were to fail? He gave a quiet groan and sank further into his seat.
He was an odd sight, even to the pilot, who was used to a wide variety of one-way passengers. The young man was short, stocky, and dressed in a whimsical fancy. The key difference between him and most others was that there was a distinctive lack of a left arm. Where it went, only he could have known, and he seemed to be doing a bad job of hiding this, leaving his shoulder to move a loose, crumpling jacket sleeve.
The sleek black chopper cruised through the air over choppy waters. The skies had cleared of rainclouds, making for smooth sailing the entire way over. A lush green emerald of an island came into view. They'd be landing any minute.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:59 pm
Today was the day. Sabin was waiting on the helicopter landing pad - now completely cleared of any sort of debris or wreckage - standing by the company jeep (now repaired of the damage that had been done to it).
His eyes were glued to the skies. This was his subject. His reward. THe man of whom he would make into the creature of legend. The smile refused to wipe from his face, even though the dark gleam that had rooted itself into his blue-grey eyes ever since Moreau had left the island in his dubiously-capable hands, and along with it the power trip of a normal lifetime.
He was still dressed in covering, dark clothing that hadn't been in style in over a hundred years, complete with shading top-hat.
The brim served well, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun on the tropical island.
Zachary had been hand-picked. Chosen from a literal stack of possible subjects. What had ended up catching his eye were two notes... one: that the man was meek, since losing his arm he was easily frightened. Sabin .... enjoyed fear. It was a dark, dangerous obsession that had been well obscured in the halls of Harvard. Here, however, he could exalt in it. Two: that the man believed himself to be a descendent of King Arthur.... the irony was too delicious to pass.
Sabin remained unblinkingly still as the winds picked up and whipped all around him as the helicopter began its descent. The only movement in the man other than his long white hair whipping around his face was his grin, broadening even more.
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:11 pm
With the grace of a giant bowling ball, the helicopter touched down. The blades continued to whir above, slower and slower, though they still blasted a cloud of dust in all directions. The diminuitive man practically leapt from the chopper. Ground!
He got a shock when he turned around though - he'd bumped right into someone, white haired and black-clothed, looking altogether out of place on a tropical isle. He cried out a moment in confusion upon seeing them and their expression - one he took to be of aggression - then began a muttered apology, brown eyes intently studying the tropical dirt at his feet. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to - I mean, I almost - sorry!"
The sharklike grin on the stranger's face was unnerving, but he had the dutiful look of someone who knew where they were and why. Right hand shaking, Zach tore his eyes from his shoes and slowly tried to meet the gaze of the person he'd accidentally run into.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:20 pm
Sabin's eyes graced the empty sleeve only momentarily before returning to study the man's fear-lined face. The smile remained on his mouth, turning a bit more genuine and welcoming, but never completely softening his eyes.
"Zachary Bloodstone, I presume?" The man purred. "My name is Dr. Sabin Duvert. I'm... staff you might say. I'm here to escort you in, show you the things that need to be seen and done, and then set you up with your residence for your stay here."
Sabin's eyes were traveling over Zach, picturing the sketches in his mind, wondering how the serum would effect him over the stages. He very nearly licked his lips in anticipation.
"There are a great deal of old land formations here. And an extensive series of caves below ground that we'll be able to take you to once you get all settled in."
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:29 pm
Zach just barely avoided a hyperventilation episode. Now that he got a better look, the man wasn't so frightening. Though there was something odd about the eyes... but it wasn't anything he could put his finger on. He disregarded it.
"Oh! Yes, that's me." He was a little relieved that he'd arrived at the right place. He held out his right hand. It still trembled a little. "Dr. Sabin... Duvert, is that how you pronounce it? Pleased to meet you." Duvert was a doctor, after all. Doctors worked to help people, and no matter how scary they seemed, Zach had some respect for those that carried the title.
"I'm v-very excited to see the caves... You mentioned they are untouched by man? A really rare find..." His rambling picked up speed with his confidence. Geology was his passion, and it took the fears right out of him temporarily. He didn't notice the look that flashed across Dr. Duvert's face while he talked.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:33 pm
Sabin nodded enthusiastically, taking the bags from him without saying anything of it, and effortlessly putting them in the back of the jeep.
"Quite extensive - I've explored them a bit myself, careful of the structures, mind you. A few others have been in them, but not many, and certainly no other geologists. There are quite a few.... oddities about this island you might say..." He mused with a dark smile as he offered him a seat in the vehicle.
"Please, take a seat. We need to go by the laboratory headquarters first... a few routine innoculations against the dengue fever."
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:42 pm
Zach's mind worked to imagine it. A whole cave system that he could explore and study, alone... it sounded fantastic. Far better than what he'd been doing the past few years. That helicopter ride didn't seem as bad, now. He was finally somewhere that he'd enjoy himself. He was surprised the doctor had been in the caves.
"You go spelunking?" he asked increduously. He didn't dare ask about the 'oddities' that the man mentioned - he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if it turned out to be some kind of horror story. He stepped around the vehicle and climbed in with a little difficulty. His balance was shaky, but he managed.
Then he heard a word that chilled him. "Innoculations...?"
Gulp. There was a real mood-killer.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:52 pm
Sabin... paused... as the shiver ran down Zach's spine, smiling secretly with his back turned to the man as he turned the ignition in the jeep.
"Amateur spelunker you might say." Sabin confirmed after a moment. "There were caves where I grew up as a boy, and I loved exploring them." He paused, the jeep rumbling into power, a hint of humanity flashing in his eyes at the memory before extinguished again as he turned back to the frightened young man.
"And they are completely necessary.... nasty side effects you see.... hemmhoraging.... vomiting, rash...." He glanced back, a misplaced shine of amusement in his eyes.
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:04 am
He jumped at the sudden roar of the engine (whether intentional or not, he'd never know).
Zach was again surprised. So, this man was also a spelunker... The coldness he'd sensed vaguely from Dr. Duvert had disappeared for a moment in the tone he described memory in. But Zach could not speak in time to keep the ember of humanity aglow, for the icy front returned too quickly. Awkwardness prevailed.
With each side effect the doctor listed, Zach grew paler. He'd heard of Dengue Fever, all right... and immediately he found his right hand clutched tightly on his left shoulder, knuckles white. It was his involuntary reaction to fear. He soon released his sore stump of an arm and flexed his right fingers before turning back to the doctor, still in a slightly cold sweat despite the jungle heat.
When he looked, he noticed the helicopter pad was far beind them in the distance, lost among the jungle underbrush.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:13 am
"So!" Sabin smiled as he kicked the car into gear. "Innoculation time, yes?" He continued in a sickening cheer.
"There's a rather rare strain of it here, but fortunately that's what vaccinations are for." Sabin liked this fellow. He was.... fun. And the man's fear put Sabin's already high spirits even higher. Today was HIS day to shine.
Not moments after the engine had turned over, Sabin kicked it into motion, and it sped off down the gravel road towards the laboratories, branches whipping by only inches from the side of the vehicle.
With practice, Sabin guided the jeep down the twisting, bumpy road.
"Pity.... spelunking is such a dangerous activity....." he glanced to the clutched part of the man's body. "I was not without my own .... accidents. Though I was fortunate to get away with a few breaks as opposed to a complete loss. I would imagine that that would be quite the hinderance when it comes to navigating caves. With my arm in a splint I ended up breaking my leg." He grimaced at the memory of the pain.
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:29 am
"I suppose..." His voice trailed off uneasily, but his true thoughts were obvious by his body language. Just kill me now, he thought to himself, eyes wide while they approached their destination. Rare strains of disease loose in this thick jungle didn't surprise him though.
The wind whipped Zach's long hair into his face and behind. He leaned a little more inward of the vehicle to avoid a particularly large branch, and was able to hear the doctor's story. He remembered his own, and again shuddered from its vividness.
"It's dangerous but rewarding... broken bones are a hazard of job. Sounds like you got it particularly rough. In all honesty, though, I didn't notice a limp, so you must've broken it long ago."
Then he looked back down at his own shoulder. "I didn't lose this as a professional, though. I was pretty young, and stupid, and I fell into a cave crevace during a hike. I landed on my arm and completely... completely sh-shattered it..." He didn't feel very well. Just talking about it made him faint. But the doctor looked very eager to hear more. "There wasn't any hope of healing the bone, and it was already so lacerated. It was amputated because the only other option was to bleed to death."
He really felt ill now. Maybe he had that Dengue Fever already.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:36 am
"Ages." Sabin agreed with a smile. "I was hardly more than an impetuous boy at the time.... over curious and overconfident." He patted his thigh. "Fortunately, after the second break I kept away long enough for the bones to knit."
He looked agian towards the stump. "It must have been quite a fall." Sabin commented, watching the man's reactions to the painful memory more closely than the sharp turns in the road. Many a time it looked as if he would drive the bouncing jeep straight into one of the thick trees instead of making the turn.... but always - sometimes at the last minute - the wheel would turn and the jeep would veer off to safety.
Finally, a huge gate loomed ahead, fences stretching to either side. The gate opened on their hinges, welcomingly, and the jeep skidded into a parking spot.
With a bounce in his step, Sabin was out of the vehicle and opening the door for the young scientist. "Up to the labs, now."
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:45 am
Zach could do nothing but nod politely and keep his mouth shut at this point. He was feeling motion sickness, and didn't want to take his chances with talking until it subsided. Only now did he begin to notice the unusual curiosity that the doctor was paying to him... but it still didn't ring the alarm bells in his head that it should have.
Zach seemed to slide out of the car rather than stand, owing to his shaky legs. Worry was getting the better of him. The one that loomed in his mind most was the shot, and it was the one he was basically walking into. It still beat a hemmorhage, but that didn't make it any less painful.
He raised a pointer finger as he leaned against the car. "One moment, Dr. Duvert. I think I've got motion sickness..."
He steadied himself a moment, taking care to keep his empty sleeve from tripping him, and then followed the doctor toward the huge silvery building ahead.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:04 am
Sabin seemed impatient with the man's carsickness, sighing and sliding his hands into pockets as the man steadied himself on the vehicle.
Then, as soon as he was finished, Sabin busied him into the laboratories, eager to get him into the proverbial hotseat. He barely paused as he walked through the automatic doors, past the plush lobby, empty secretary's desk, through the double doors with "employees only" printed over it, and down the sterile hall to the elevator bay, which seemed to anticipate their arrival, and open with a ding.
As soon as they stepped inside, Sabin spoke in a clear voice, "Floor 8" And teh doors closed, and the machine lurched into service.
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:13 am
There was barely time to marvel at the high-tech environment around him. Zach hurried after the doctor, whose strides were much longer than his own, and still barely kept up pace. He didn't want to get lost here.
There was no note taken of the lack of secretary. The facility still maintained a strangeness to it, whether it was Sabin himself or just the emptiness of the place. He only stopped when they reached the elevator. It shot up quickly at Dr. Duvert's words, and gave Zach's stomach another twist. He closed his eyes. Just be glad you can't see the view.
Another ding! They'd arrived.
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