2023-04-04 07:34:58*Inside the Last Standing, Functioning Building Containing the Final Radiation- Free Humans: One of the five islands of 'The Nation' after the nuclear war.*
The Island; Amerindias Unidas
Biomedical Lab
Time: 23:55
Year: 2085
A loud, grating alarm echoed through the sterile corridors of the lab, cutting through the heavy air like a knife. The youngest member of the team in Triangle Control Room folded his arms across his chest, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke. "Just jury- rig the darn thing."
His cocky attitude was not well received by his older, more experienced colleagues. They had been in this room, in this lab, for months- years, even- and knew their work inside out. They ignored his arrogance, understanding all too well the excitement of new recruits who thought they knew everything.
"Check the power output," Luke, one of the senior members, instructed calmly, dismissing the newcomer's bravado. He directed his words to the man seated in front of one of the main screens, focusing on the task at hand.
"Aculator- " the newbie began, but another man, gritting his teeth, cut him off.
"Would someone get this guy to shut the- "
"Shut it, newbie," mumbled the man with long-plaited hair and a pierced left nostril, almost as an afterthought. He deftly manoeuvred the ball in his hand over the seated man's shoulders, navigating the massive screen. They called him 'newbie' despite knowing his real name- Li- because he still needed to learn his place. Two weeks of enduring his know-it-all attitude had taught the older ones that he was just excited to be there. They all had been when they first joined this section.
This lab was like the ancient Harvard but in a world on the brink of collapse. Getting in here was a mark of superiority- proof that you were smarter, brighter, better than the rest. But unlike the others, Axel didn’t go around bragging. He just held his head a little higher, his confidence speaking for itself.
The atmosphere in the room wasn’t panicked, but there was an undercurrent of concern. The alarms blaring at all hours were familiar, but they knew this one was different.
"Containment clear," announced the computer’s monotonous voice, alerting them to the captain’s entrance. The automated female voice was designed to be calming, though it often did little to ease their nerves.
The walkie-talkie in the captain’s hand beeped. "Alpha 3 here, Alpha Team 1, come in. What seems to be the problem, guys? Over," came the only female voice in the conversation.
"Alpha Team 1 here," the redheaded man responded, pressing the button. "The reactor’s acting up, but we’re on it. No worries, Alpha 2? Over." The captain was a tall, burly man.
"Alpha 2 here. The coolant and core pressure are messed up, checking it. Over." His voice remained calm despite the growing tension.
Static crackled over the radio, followed by a frantic transmission. "Team Alpha 5, Circle is under ra…beep…static…I repeat, radiation leak in Circle…static…"
There was a brief pause before the captain asked, "Alpha 2, 3, 4, did you get what Alpha Team 5 said?"
"Yeah, radiation leak in Circle. Alpha 3. Over," another voice confirmed, the shapes of the rooms their teams occupied dictating their call signs.
*Static*
"Square? Over," the captain repeated, his voice more urgent now.
"Lethal…static…" came the panicked reply from a young man.
The silence that followed was heavy, the tension palpable as the man in Rectangle tried to radio the other teams for an update.
Then all hell broke loose. "Alpha 3 here, Square is at 1300 F. Over," came the frantic transmission.
"Team Alpha 4, high radiation breach… *static* ...primary…static…beep…over."
"With maintenance crew, update soon, Alpha Team 5. Over."
Four minutes later, another garbled message came through. "Alpha…beep…dam…breach…"
"Alpha Team 1 here, can you repeat?" the captain demanded.
"One of the…beep…*static* …escape…"
On the screens in front of them, a naked, bald female figure appeared, captured by two cameras angled differently. She jumped from a great height into the dam below. The alarms echoed through the corridors, followed by the automated voice, “Happy New Year 2086- ” A single beep from an alarm interrupted the message, “- may the year ahead treat us well. Please proceed to Central Hall. Remember, we are all in this together.”
At the end of one of the tunnels, an injured man and two security personnel in olive-green short-sleeved coveralls looked down at the water, watching as the body hit the surface and disappeared beneath it. The lights behind them flickered and then went out completely for a minute, but the men did not move. They stood there, eyes adjusting to the darkness, waiting for any sign of life.
Nothing.
Three more figures came rushing in: one in a long white lab coat and two others in charcoal grey coveralls. The generator hummed back to life, restoring power to the lab, but still, no body surfaced- lifeless or not.
"Marcus," one of the tall, slim-built men in grey coveralls slapped the shoulder of the man beside him. "It’s a goner. Come on, we’ve got some cleanup to do."
Marcus Min Lee, dressed in the same thick, long-sleeved white uniform, continued to peer into the darkness, blood soaking through the front of his shoulder. Beneath the heavy material, his entire chest and stomach were wet and sticky, soaked in his own blood.
The doctor was accustomed to bloodstains; they did not affect him much. After all, even if he lost a limb, his job was to grow human parts, and he already had a replica of his body in storage.
None of them had anticipated that the female would try to escape, but Min Lee figured the new system had confused her with memories of her human life. As he peered over the cliff, he thought that perhaps he should have played those memories in her brain for a few weeks before waking her. The scientist pondered this before returning to his lab.
Five years passed, and the same thing happened again.
With the same female clone. Marcus Min Lee frowned deeply as he once again looked over the edge where she had jumped.
None of the other clones had ever behaved this way. The digital consciousness had been a success for the past year, and their routine was simple: they would wake, answer some questions, take their medication, eat, and sleep. It was a controlled process, and after a few weeks, they would function on their own.
So what had gone wrong this time? And why her, again? What triggered her to attempt an escape from the only safe haven left after the nuclear war? Of course, she wouldn’t have known that yet- they hadn’t had a chance to explain before she grabbed a scalpel and sliced his arm open. Sharp’s thoughts wandered as he questioned why a scalpel had been there in the first place.
What affected C-3?
Marcus Min Lee, a man engineered to be devoid of emotion, twisted his head to the side as the clone's body floated to the surface hours later, lifeless once again. He could tell by the way she lay, face down, that she was dead. Most likely, she had drowned after hitting some rocks, perhaps even bleeding out underwater before surfacing- just as last time.
This was indeed peculiar. His forehead creased as he squinted, scrutinizing the bruised, pale skin of the female clone. He twisted his head slightly, wondering what her last memory had been. Was it of him? Or was it of what she had just done? He pondered on the cloned body of his late wife, Elizabeth Lee.
Escape.
A failed attempt, but still, an escape. These clones were supposed to make precise, calculated moves. So, what had caused this chaotic, very human-like, panicked action?
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45- Plan In Motion
The rooftop was eerily silent, save for the faint hum of the compound’s generators and the distant sound of guards’ boots striking against metal walkways below. Liz crouched low, her muscles coiled like a spring, ready to act at any moment. Sharp’s presence beside her felt heavier than usual, his normally calm demeanour fractured under the weight of their dire circumstances. She could almost feel his fear radiating off him in waves, a palpable reminder of the stakes they were up against. “We’re out of time,” Sharp whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant noise. His trembling hands clutched the rifle, the only weapon they had managed to smuggle into this disastrous mission. “They’re going to lock this place down tighter than ever.” Liz’s mind raced. Angela’s strained voice still echoed in her ears, her warning about the biometric scanners an unsettling confirmation that their plan was unravelling faster than they could adapt. And now, with Randall and Matt captured, their
45- Failed escape
The failed escape attempt was a disaster, more chaotic than anyone could have anticipated. The night air was thick with tension as Liz and Marcus Sharp crouched low on the rooftop, watching the flickering lights of the compound below. Everything had been meticulously prepared, down to the smallest detail. Sharp and Liz had scoped out the rooftop earlier in the week, calculating the exact distance they’d need to climb down and drop to each platform to reach the ground undetected because they had no rope. Angela had been set to free the frail man from his containment cell, with Matt and Randall stationed as lookouts to warn them if anything went wrong. Everything had been set in motion—until it wasn’t.The plan had seemed foolproof on paper: Angela would slip into the containment area, bypassing the guards and freeing the frail man they suspected might be a vampire- with the aid of the nurses- Polly-Ann. Randall and Matt were to gather the remaining supplies and prepare the escape route
43- Adrian Frost- the caged man
Inside the glass containment chamber, the man lay still beneath the weight of the silver bars that bound him. His body, usually pulsing with a cold, inhuman strength, was weakened by the silver. The memories of his capture flooded back, vivid and raw. He had been in the middle of a hunt, tracking a group of survivors who had crossed into his territory. They had been careless, leaving behind signs of their passage, and he had followed them with ease. But something had felt off that night. The air was thick with an unfamiliar scent, a blend of technology and something else, something dark and potent. But he did not know it was a trap- one laid out by BMA. He had ignored his instincts and continued, confident in his centuries of experience. But then they had come for him- armed soldiers, not the usual ragtag band of survivors but a well-coordinated team. They had moved with precision, their weapons loaded with silver bullets and other tools designed to subdue creatures like him. They
42- Scoping places
The days leading up to the escape were fraught with tension, planning, and a constant undercurrent of fear. Angela, Liz, Sharp, Randall, and Matt knew that if they were going to pull off this escape, they had to find a safe place to lay low once they broke free from Camp BMA. The area surrounding the camp was vast and overgrown, filled with remnants of a world that had long since crumbled into decay. It was a world where nature had reclaimed its territory, where civilization's ruins were hidden beneath a blanket of green. Matt was glad Blake was on board. He felt as if- if she could accept what he was, they could probably have something. Who knows. Among them were two soldiers as well. Mei and Troy- the one that zapped Liz. Randall and Matt still wanted to murder him for it but they put it on pause for now, seeing as Liz had other more important things to worry about. Humans who were on board as well were, all from the group that they’d taken under their protection except Polo. Nobo
41- Genesis of Cloning
Almost a century ago In the cold, sterile corridors of Facility X, where the air hummed with the quiet whirr of machinery and the faint scent of antiseptic, the pursuit of immortality had long been a silent obsession. The capture of a vampire- an ancient being whose very existence defied the natural order- had catalysed an evolution in their research that no one had foreseen. Dr Addison Carter, the Head of Genetic Engineering, sat at the helm of this clandestine project. Her sharp blue eyes were fixed on the digital readout of DNA sequences on the screen before her. Each line of code represented the unravelling of millennia-old mysteries buried within the vampire’s genetic makeup. The creature’s cells, unlike any human’s, held the secret to rapid regeneration and a kind of cellular immortality that had eluded scientists for decades. Addison’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Dr Marcus Min Lee, the Chief Biochemist, whose mind was just as consumed by the potential of their
40- Coming To Terms
Matt and Randall sat in the dark corners of the bunker room, the air thick with silence and the weight of their newfound knowledge. The revelation that they were clones- replicas of people who had lived and died in another time-had shaken them both to their cores. They had always known that their lives were anything but ordinary, given the post-apocalyptic world they inhabited. But this? This was something neither of them had ever imagined. Randall leaned back against the cold, concrete wall, his brow furrowed in deep thought. The moonlight from the single window, cast long shadows across his face, making him look even more haunted than he felt. Matt, sitting across from him, was no better. His usually easy-going demeanour had been replaced by a quiet, troubled expression as he stared at the floor, lost in his own thoughts. To make things worse they couldn’t even talk freely because the room had others in it. "I feel fine, you know," Matt finally said, breaking the silence. His voi
39- Carrying out the Plan
The next few days were a whirlwind of covert activity. Liz, Marcus, and the rest of the group worked in silence, each of them fully aware of the gravity of their situation. Liz found herself spending more time with Randall and Matt, trying to gauge how they would react to the news she had yet to break to them. The air was thick with anticipation. She could see the tension in Randall’s shoulders, the way Matt’s foot tapped nervously against the floor. “There’s something we need to talk about,” Liz began, her voice steady despite the nervous flutter in her chest. Randall looked up, his brow furrowed. “This sounds serious. What’s going on, Liz?” Liz took a deep breath, glancing at Marcus, who gave her a small nod of encouragement. “We’ve been planning the escape for a while now, but there’s something you both need to know. The man we’re trying to free…there’s a chance he’s not human. Marcus thinks he might be a vampire.” The reaction was immediate. Randall’s eyes widened in shock, wh
38- The Truth About the Frail Man
Marcus Sharp paced back and forth in the brightly lit room, the rubber flooring silencing his boots. His thoughts were a whirlwind, and his normally sharp focus was clouded by suspicion and doubt. Liz watched him from the corner, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall, waiting for him to speak. She could tell something was gnawing at him, unsettling his usually unflappable demeanour. The lieutenant had visited the frail man again some nights back and he had reacted the same way as before. “He despises me,” Marcus thinks. It was as if he could have sensed what he was and it repulsed him to know that Marcus was created from his DNA. “Marcus, what is it?” Liz finally asked, her voice cutting through the tension in the room. “You’ve been on edge since we started planning this escape. If there’s something you’re not telling me, now’s the time. Marcus stopped pacing and turned to face her, his expression grave. He took a deep breath before speaking. “Liz, there’s something you n
37- Matt and Randall Know
They spent days meticulously going over the plan, discussing every detail, every possible scenario. They would start hoarding supplies gradually- nothing too noticeable, just a few extra rations here and there, some medical supplies, and tools. Sabe would be in charge of disabling the security systems, and Angela would help with gathering information on guard rotations and routines. Liz would take on the most difficult task- telling Randall and Matt the truth. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was necessary. They deserved to know that they, too, were clones. But unlike her and Marcus, they weren’t built the same way. They didn’t have the same capabilities, the same resilience. That knowledge could break them, or it could make them stronger. As the days turned into a week, the tension within the group grew. Liz could feel it in every conversation, every sideways glance. They were all on edge, waiting for the moment when they could finally put their plan into action. Randall and Ma
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