THE CEO'S APOCALYPTIC EDEN

4

Inside the biogenetic laboratory of the city's most prestigious university, Vada Nathasea stared into her microscope with sunken, panicked eyes. She had been trapped in here for three days; on her desk, there were only the remains of dry biscuits and a glass of murky tap water.

Near Vada, a blackened mutant corpse lay on the floor. Vada had managed to defeat it and extract samples for research.

"The cellular structure of this mutant... they lack a stable genetic code. The radiation carried by the mist acts as a catalyst, accelerating cellular mutation to the point of destruction."

Vada set down her pipette. A loud thud echoed from behind the steel laboratory door, which was beginning to dent. Something large was pounding, trying to get in. Outside, the campus corridor that was once filled with the laughter of students had become a waiting room for the predators awaiting her death.

"If anyone hears this... or perhaps there are no humans left," Vada looked at the recording camera with a bitter smile. She pulled out a small bottle containing a dense blue liquid—a serum she had concocted herself from leftover laboratory reagents. "I will not let myself become one of them."

She raised the bottle to her lips. Her hands trembled. The steel door in front of her buckled violently. A sharp claw pierced the iron plate, tearing through the metal like wet paper. Vada closed her eyes, preparing to swallow the lethal liquid.

The lab door shattered into pieces.

Vada jolted, dropping the bottle, which shattered on the floor. Thin smoke billowed from the doorway, and from behind the mist, a shadow clad in pitch-black metal stepped inside. It wasn't a mutant. It was a human in combat gear that looked like technology from the distant future.

Sloane emerged. Her power suit hummed softly, locking every body movement with the support of hydraulic servos. Sensor lights on her suit's shoulder scanned the room, then turned green upon detecting Vada’s heartbeat.

"Doctor Vada," Sloane’s voice sounded distorted through her tightly sealed combat helmet. "I am here to retrieve you."

Vada backed up until her spine hit the reagent rack. "Who... who are you? Are you from the military?"

Sloane did not answer. She turned, raising her double-barreled assault rifle directly toward the corridor, which was now filled with dozens of mutants. The wave of monsters charged, crowding the hallway with ear-splitting roars.

"Close your eyes, Doctor," Sloane commanded coldly.

Sloane pulled the trigger. The rifle spat out plasma projectiles that scorched the air. Every shot tore through the bodies of the mutants with surgical precision. Charred flesh and blood flew everywhere. In seconds, Sloane moved like an unstoppable killing machine, dancing between claw swipes with the help of small thrusters on her suit’s back that allowed her to leap ten meters in a single burst.

Vada could only stare in shock. She watched as Sloane sliced a large mutant attempting to pounce from the side with a vibrating blade mounted on her suit's wrist. The monster’s head came off cleanly, rolling onto the marble floor that was now slippery with blood.

"Follow me!" Sloane shouted as the corridor began to clear of the primary threats.

They ran through the campus. Sloane served as the protector, shooting every shadow moving in the darkness. Outside, the sky was still a suffocating blood-red. Acid rain began to fall, burning the surface of the roads.

"Where are we going?" Vada yelled, trying to match Sloane's rapid pace.

"Eden," Sloane replied briefly.

Sloane activated the navigation protocol in her helmet. A blue laser projection line appeared on the ground, showing the safest path to the extraction point. However, when they reached the campus square, their steps halted.

An Alpha Mutant blocked their path. The creature held a streetlamp pole it had ripped from its roots as a mace.

Sloane stopped. She could feel her power suit warning that energy levels were beginning to drop. "Stay behind me," she whispered through local transmission.

The giant mutant roared, a sound that shook the windows of the buildings around them. It swung the light pole with impossible speed. Sloane activated the energy shield on her left hand.

KLANG!

Electric sparks exploded as the metal pole slammed into Sloane's shield. Sloane was pushed backward, her feet carving deep furrows into the asphalt.

"Doctor, help me distract it!" Sloane shouted.

Vada, still carrying her small bag of research data, pulled out a chemical vial she had kept.

Vada threw the vial containing a modified corrosive agent. The vial shattered right on the giant mutant's face. The substance reacted instantly, melting the mutant's skin layer down to the bone. The monster screamed in pain, momentarily distracted.

That was the opening Sloane needed.

Sloane leaped, her hydraulically reinforced legs cracking the ground. She soared into the air, igniting her vibrating blade to maximum energy. As she passed the mutant's head, Sloane swung her blade in a circular motion.

The mutant’s body went still. A fraction of a second later, it split into two perfect halves. Thick black fluid flooded the square.

Sloane landed gracefully, though she was panting. She approached Vada. "Good work, Doctor."

They arrived at the campus back gate, where a light armored vehicle belonging to Hilgord Industries was waiting. With agility, Sloane helped Vada inside the vehicle.

Inside, the atmosphere was hauntingly quiet. Vada stared at Sloane, who was now removing her combat helmet. Sloane’s cold face, with a thin scar beneath her eye, looked starkly contrasted against the ruined world outside the window.

"Who sent you?" Vada asked.

Sloane stared out the window, toward the blue light of the Eden dome growing nearer. "A man who saw the future when others only saw the apocalypse."

"Shane Hilgord?" Vada asked, recognizing the company name on the vehicle's chassis.

Sloane nodded slightly. "He is building something. We are the chosen ones; you, with the data you carry in that bag... are the key to understanding how we will win this war."

Vada gripped her bag tightly. She remembered the bottle of liquid she had almost drunk earlier. She looked at Sloane’s hands, still stained with mutant blood.

"And if I refuse?"

"Out there, there are millions of things that want to eat you, Doctor. Here, you have the choice to be part of the future, or simply become a fossil on this asphalt."

The vehicle passed through the large, opening gate of Eden. Neon blue light greeted them.

Vada stared at the tall buildings within the Hilgord district that were still intact. Technology, electricity, and order. Everything seemed as if nothing had happened inside this dome.

Shane Hilgord stood on the balcony of the highest tower, watching the district entrance. Beside him, the Aura hologram floated calmly.

"Target secured, sir," Aura reported.

"Welcome to Eden, Doctor Vada," Shane murmured.

Sloane led Vada through the underground laboratory corridors, which were far more advanced than anything Vada had ever seen on campus. This was the true secret facility of Hilgord. Thousands of supercomputers flickered on the walls, processing genetic data at a terrifying speed.

Vada was stunned. In the center of the room, there was a massive console mapping human genetic structures. On one of the screens, Vada saw a simulation of how radiation fused with human DNA to transform them.

"Doctor Vada. I am glad you finally arrived. I have been waiting for your research data."

Vada stared at Shane, the man who now held control over the lives of thousands. "Shane Hilgord, did you know this would happen?"

"I didn't know. I only believed that this world was too fragile. And when the world collapses, only those most prepared will lead."

Shane handed Vada a data tablet. "The outside world is already a hell, Doctor. But here, we can turn back the clock. We can find the cure. Or better yet... we can take their power and make it our own."

Vada looked at Shane, feeling the predatory aura radiating from the young man.

"I need a full lab," Vada said firmly, "I need complete equipment."

Shane chuckled. "You will get whatever you ask for. But remember one thing, Doctor. In Eden, there is no time for failure. We are racing against time."

Vada took a deep breath. She looked at her research bag, then toward Shane. She knew she had been trapped in a game much larger than herself. However, when she saw the computer screen displaying the mutant data she had brought, a glimmer of hope began to emerge. Perhaps, with Hilgord's resources, she could accomplish things she had only dreamed of.

"Get to work," Shane commanded.

Vada walked toward the lab table, leaving Sloane behind.