�All right, what do you want me to do with this sack of shit?� shouted Carlton as he dragged Joel�s unconscious body through the lab.
�Dammit man, keep him unconscious!� Sellers shouted as he directed Anna and the other associates. Joel�s body was strapped onto a gurney, the zip-ties were cut to restore circulation to his swollen hands and feet.
Anna donned a stethoscope and took the vitals. �I want blood, tissue, bone, hair, and genetic samples now, then put him in the isolation room and keep the oxygen level at 18.0%. We�ll need to keep him unconscious.�
�What about oxygen starvation? Won�t there be some brain damage if he�s kept in that state too long?� asked Sellers.
Annoyed at her boss for playing doctor, she shot back �No, he�ll be in a medically induced deep sleep which will reduce his need for oxygen and reduce his movements during examinations.�
�Anna, how long before you have something to go on from the samples?�
�I couldn�t tell you. At least four or five days maybe a week unless I�m lucky in finding something.�
The gurney arrived at an operation theater where the sounds of pneumatic tools revved up for use.
It was the usual morning for Special Agent Madeline Byrne. She woke up late and skipped breakfast as she always done before. She arrived at her cluttered desk with a chicken biscuit and a growling stomach. A blackboard propped up behind her partner had several photos of missing people pinned up on it.
She thought to herself �Two months investigating those missing people and no connections, no bodies, or motive. What in the world does a mother, two frat boys and a jeweler have in common besides their disappearance near Paradise.�
�Morning Beth, what do have there?� as she bit into her biscuit.
Her partner Elizabeth DeWitt sat at her desk reading a file. �You�re not going to believe this. Go ahead and read it.� She tossed her partner the manila folder.
Madeline Byrne read the folder. �Joel Gonzalez, mechanic, yada, yada, yada. What�s the big deal?�
�If you look more closely to his recent activity, you�ll see he was in a one car accident at Paradise. Santa-Fe Missing Persons just sent us this report on him yesterday. He�s been missing for almost two weeks.�
�So why the hell are we just getting this report now?�
�The only reason we got this was because someone in Missing Persons read the report of those Paradise disappearances and those abandoned cars.�
�How come that Sheriff from Paradise didn�t tell us about this one?�
�I just got off the phone with Sheriff Tumlin. He said the man wasn�t missing like the others. They found him at the accident site. So he figured this one didn�t count.�
Madeline�s cheeks reddened at the last comment. �Dammit, why couldn�t he let us decide that one. Anyway who filed the report?�
�Uh, his girlfriend. A Dr. Janice Cheng over at St. Vincent Hospital.�
�Let�s follow this one up. And then we�re heading back to Paradise. I want to talk to that sheriff again.�
Sellers paced back and forth near Anna as she looked over some more findings on her computer. �Anna, you�ve had two weeks with those samples and after all that time you�re telling me that you�ve still found absolutely nothing on him?! Nothing?!� Ranted Sellers.
Anna tuned him out. At first he was cordial, but now he was just in a full-blown fit. She felt her patience slowly ebb away from her body as she balled up her hands, ready to smack him. She exhaled for effect. �Except for the slight radiation spike, there is absolutely nothing unusual with him. His blood, bone, and tissue densities, not to mention their make-ups are normal. He�s not a drug user. And so far the DNA tests all show up with nothing, and those could take months to finish.�
Sellers, unable to accept the findings, slammed his fist to the desk. �Yes, yes, I know. X-ray, MRI negative, all negative.� Sellers slammed his fist on the desktop. �But somehow, he�s doing it. Naturally! Without machine support! He�s living breathing proof that it is possible for matter to reach near lightspeed!� Sellers took a deep breath to relax himself. �We have no choice. Wake him.�
�What if he tries to escape?�
�He can�t go anywhere. There�s no way for him to leave that room and this glass is fiber reinforced three inches thick. Besides that, there�s no food or water in there. He�s not going anywhere.� Sellers� eyes focused on Joel�s body with a determined clarity. �Wake him.�
Agents Byrne and DeWitt pulled up into the driveway of the house. To their surprise, Janice met them as she ran out of the house followed by Melissa. Her face showed the worry, fear and disappointment that had built up over the past two weeks. Realizing that it wasn�t Joel coming home, Janice dropped to her knees sobbing hysterically in front of the two agents. Believing in her mind they found his body somewhere. Sympathizing with her loss, Madeline and Beth both IDed themselves and helped Melissa pick up Janice from where she fell. They took her into the house where they sat her down on the couch. Melissa fired up some water for coffee as Madeline asked Janice some questions.
Branson sat in his car nearby. He listened through an earpiece that was linked to a bug in the telephone. Not liking what was being said, Branson got on the cellphone to Sellers.
Anna toggled the oxygen level from her computer. The green gauge read. �18.5, 19, 19.5, 20, 20.5, 21 percent. There, he should be awake in a few minutes.�
Sellers stood by the observation window.
Anna toggled another switch that was answered with the distinctive clink of a latch popping open. Joel�s head moved from side to side. Slowly his eyes opened. His vision blurred. The inside of his throat felt thick and coarse. �W..where am I?�
Sellers flipped the intercom switch. � Take it easy. Don�t exert yourself just yet.� The phone rang. Sellers cut off the intercom and picked up the receiver.
�Sellers here.... Hmm... The FBI is involved... That�s unfortunate... No, you�re not to interfere with the agents... Just stand-by and keep me informed.�
Joel moved about the bed. He felt the soreness from lying down for so long. Not only that but he also felt another kind of soreness. The kind when you skin your knee, a raw tender feeling. His eyes cleared up and he saw a distinct patch or redness where skin was removed.
Sellers flipped the intercom back on. �We needed it as a test sample. You see, you are, how can I put this right, an unfortunate byproduct of this facilities research.�
�What the hell are you talking about?� Joel looked through the glass, and recognized the face. �Hey, you�re that FBI agent.�
Ignoring the last statement. �You see, this is a private energy research facility. In layman�s term we were exploring the possibilities of cold fusion through the use of some rather exotic materials, but in our endeavors, we�ve discovered some unusual side-effects from our studies. One member of this research team disappeared without a trace. He was our chief researcher. Not to mention some unfortunate passerbys on the nearby highway. To put it bluntly, we know what you are capable of doing. We have some footage of your exploits. You have acquired the remarkable ability to accelerate yourself to the point that the world seems paused. You are the only person that we know of to have this ability and we know that it was the result of this facility�s research and it�s for that reason we can not let you leave here. Ever.
The words took a few seconds to sink in. �YOU FUCKS!!!�
The next instant the observation window bowed and fractured in every square inch, but it held in place. Sellers jumped back in total surprise. Joel laid on the floor, his hands bloody, his breathing harsh. Every piece of furniture and equipment in the room was splintered into so many pieces, all smeared and crusted in blood. The monitor on Anna�s computer monitor swirled with colors as it quickly readjusted the medical readings from the sensors attached to Joel�s body. �Oh dear god, get him out of there. NOW!!�
�What the hell is going on?!�
Anna read the medical readings on the monitor �He just lived through four days in there. He�s severely dehydrated. His electrolyte levels have dipped dangerously low and he must�ve pulled his sutures, he needs immediate treatment.�
�NO!! Leave him there!�
Anna grabbed her med-kit. �He�ll die! And then you�ll have no way of finding out what happened or how he did it!�
Relenting to her insistence. �Fine, you go see to it but seal this room when you leave.�
Anna left the monitor room. The rubber seals clamped down to the doorframe sealing the door from being opened. She moved to the observation room door and opened it.
Joel saw the door opening. Fearing for himself, he mustered his strength as best he could and thought. �ARGHHHHH!� He felt the shift. His mind ached with pain. The door had stopped opening. He moved to it pushing the door wider. A med-tech stood in his way. Joel shoved her aside and ran for the door. Then down the hallway through two other lab-coated people frozen in mid-conversation. Seeing the entrance nearby, Joel darted outside into the sunlight.
�Where the fuck am I?� As he looked about the ruins of some 1950�s mining ghost town. The buildings were all abandoned and marked with some sort of a nuclear fall-out warning sign. Another lab-coated individual was climbing out of his car. It didn�t take long to move him aside minus his lab coat and grab the car keys. Using the coat for bandages, Joel concentrated again despite the protest of his throbbing head.
�HEY!! MY CAR!!�
The car peeled away across the desert sands. Electrical lines nearby marked a road.
�ANNA!!�
Anna, her whole body slammed against the wall, slumped to the floor unconscious. Sellers unsealed the room and ran out to her. He cradled her in his arms. He took out his cellphone. �Branson!.....�
Melissa donned her jacket. �I�m sorry but I have to get to work. I know he�s okay somehow. I�ll check on you later. You�ll be okay?�
Janice nodded absently.
Melissa opened the door and walked into a tall barrel-chested man. He reached out and grabbed her.