Day 4: The Lab Clue
05:55 AM, GenCorp Biotech Facility—Exterior
The predawn chill bit through Jack's tactical vest as he crouched behind a rusted delivery truck, eyes locked on the lab's service entrance. The building loomed like a monolith, its black steel walls dotted with infrared cameras, each rotating in rhythmic precision. Lily knelt beside him, M16 gripped tight, her knuckles white—nurse's scrubs replaced by a scavenged military vest, bloodstains from Ethan still visible on her sleeve.
"Tara's in position," Mike whispered through the comms, voice shaky. The hacker was sweating, despite the cold, laptop balanced on a rock. "She's hotwiring a security truck—should draw the guards in 60 seconds."
Jack nodded, glancing at the dead scientist's keycard in his hand, Dr. Voss's name etched in fading gold. Access Granted, the scanner had said. But lab security wasn't just locks and codes—Mike had warned of AI-driven patrols and neurotoxin gas traps.
"Eyes on the cameras," Jack murmured. "Mike, you sure about the retinal scan?"
"Positive. Voss's retinas are still intact—freeze-dried, but the vascular patterns are unchanged. Biometric systems love old data." Mike paused, frowning at his laptop. "Wait… self-destruct timer's at 34 hours now. The blast from the rig must've triggered a fail-safe. We've got less time than we thought."
Lily inhaled sharply. "Then let's move."
06:00 AM, Service Entrance—Retinal Scan Gambit
The moment Tara's stolen truck screeched to life, sirens blared, and guards poured from the lab's main entrance. Jack and Lily sprinted for the service door, Mike trailing, laptop open to jam the camera feed.
"Now, Mike!" Jack hissed, pressing the keycard to the reader. A red light flashed—Retina Scan Required. Lily held up the portable scanner, Voss's decomposing eyeball perched grotesquely on the lens.
"Come on, come on…" Mike muttered, fingers flying. The scanner beeped—Access Denied.
"Shit!" Lily's voice trembled. "What's wrong?"
"Vascular degradation!" Mike shouted, over the distant gunfire of Tara's distraction. "I didn't account for tissue decay. Jack, you've got to pry the eyelid wider—expose more of the retina!"
Jack gritted his teeth, ignoring the stench of rot, and pried the corpse's eyelid open with his knife. The eyeball oozed milky fluid, but the scanner's green light flared. Access Granted. The door hissed open, revealing a sterile white corridor, lit by red emergency lights.
06:10 AM, Lab Level B1—Neurotoxin Trap
The hallway was a maze of steel doors, each labeled with biohazard symbols. Mike froze, staring at his laptop. "Motion sensors ahead—no, wait, it's a neurotoxin grid. Floor tiles are pressure-sensitive. Step on the wrong one, and we get gassed."
Lily frowned, pointing to faint footprints on the floor—old, but recent enough. "Someone else was here. Follow the tracks."
They crept forward, Jack leading, boots landing precisely on the worn tiles. Halfway down the hall, a mechanical hum echoed—security drone, spherical, armed with a taser cannon.
"Down!" Jack shoved Lily and Mike into an alcove, heart pounding as the drone rolled past, its red sensor light sweeping inches from their faces.
"Remind me to disable the drones next time," Mike whispered, sweating.
06:30 AM, Level B2—The Experiment Chambers
B2 was a nightmare of glass cells, each containing humanoid figures suspended in green fluid—failed test subjects, their bodies twisted, claws for fingers, eyes milky and unblinking. Lily gagged at the sight, but Jack noticed something else: each cell had a name tag—"Elysium Beta-7", "Gamma-12".
"These are the super-soldier prototypes," Mike breathed, scrolling through hacked files. "The virus was supposed to enhance strength, endurance… but it turned them into mindless predators. GenCorp tried to weaponize rabies with nanotech—classic hubris."
A sudden scream echoed—Tara's comms crackling. "Jack! Guards are back—too many! I'm pinned down!"
"Hold on, Tara!" Jack shouted, but a deafening alarm cut him off. The lab's AI voice droned: "Intruder detected. Level B3 lockdown initiated. Self-destruct sequence standby: 30 hours remaining."
Lily paled. "The alarm tripped when we entered B2. Mike, can you override the lockdown?"
"Negative. B3's sealed until we disable the mainframe on B1." Mike hesitated, eyes widening. "Wait—the kill switch emitter is on B3. We need that prototype and the cure formula from the servers."
Jack gripped his M16. "Then we split up. Lily, you and Mike hit the server room on B1. I'll go for B3—use Voss's keycard to bypass the lockdown."
"Jack, no—" Lily protested, but he was already moving, sprinting toward the B3 elevator, bullets from a distant guard pinging off the walls.
07:00 AM, Level B1 Server Room—Data Heist
Lily and Mike crouched behind a bank of servers, the room humming with power. The server terminal glowed blue, protected by a retinal scanner—Dr. Voss's final safeguard.
"Plug in the eyeball scanner," Mike said, hands shaking. "But hurry—the AI's tracing our signal."
Lily did as he said, wincing as the scanner absorbed the decaying retina's data. The terminal unlocked, revealing files labeled "Project Elysium Final Report", "Kill Switch Frequency Matrix", "Vaccine Protocols".
"Download everything," Lily ordered, scanning the room for threats. Her eyes fell on a security monitor showing Jack battling guards on B3—outnumbered, but using a grenade to clear a path. He's reckless, she thought, but he's buying us time.
Mike cursed. "The kill switch frequency—look at this! It's not just a neural disruptor. It's a genetic kill code." He scrolled through a lab report, voice trembling. "Anyone with the virus's DNA markers—even latent carriers—will have their mitochondria destroyed. It's a mass extinction protocol for the infected… and anyone exposed."
Lily froze, thinking of Ethan's mother, who'd hugged her son until the end. Latent carriers. Half our team could be infected without knowing it.
"Mike, does Tara know about this?"
"Jack told me to keep it quiet," Mike admitted, avoiding her gaze. "Said it was a 'tactical secret.'"
Lily's jaw clenched. Secrets get people killed. But there was no time to argue—the terminal beeped, download complete.
07:30 AM, Level B3—The Emitter Chamber
Jack kicked in the B3 door, shotgun ready, and froze. The chamber was a cathedral of glass and steel, central platform holding a glowing device—the kill switch emitter, pulsating with blue energy. Around it, rows of refrigerated containers held vials of green liquid—the cure, labeled "Elysium Antidote Serum".
But the room wasn't empty. A dozen security androids stood guard, their red optics locking onto him. GenCorp's last line of defense.
"Come on, you metal bastards," Jack snarled, firing his M16. Bullets pinged off their armor, but he aimed for the joints, disabling two before ducking behind a console. The androids advanced, metallic voices droning: "Intruder termination protocol activated."
He grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin, and rolled it between their legs. The explosion shredded three androids, but more emerged from the shadows. Shit—they're replicating? No, just more in storage.
Jack sprinted for the emitter, yanking it from its pedestal. It was heavier than expected, wires trailing, but he slung it over his shoulder. The cure vials were next—he stuffed a dozen into his vest, ignoring the warning labels: "Unstable. Refrigeration required."
A sudden slash of pain—an android's blade grazed his arm, drawing blood. Jack spun, shotgun blasting its head off, then stumbled toward the elevator, emitter in one hand, cure in the other.
08:00 AM, Lab Exterior—Tara's Last Stand
Tara was bleeding from a shoulder wound, barricaded behind her stolen truck, guards closing in. She'd taken down six, but more poured from the lab's main entrance, rifles raised.
"Tara! This way!" Lily shouted, emerging from the service entrance, Mike beside her, laptop clutched like a weapon. They fired at the guards, covering Tara's retreat.
"About time!" Tara grunted, limping to join them. "Where's Jack?"
"On B3—he's got the emitter and cure," Lily said, checking Tara's wound. "We need to regroup at the extraction point."
But the ground trembled—self-destruct countdown announced by the lab's AI: "Self-destruct sequence initiated. 25 hours until detonation."
"Dammit, Jack must've triggered it when he took the emitter," Mike said, pale. "The lab's rigged to destroy all data if core systems are breached."
Tara swore. "Then we've got 25 hours to get out of here and figure out how to use that damn emitter. Where's the Marine?"
08:30 AM, Level B3—Jack's Gamble
Jack limped to the elevator, emitter heavy on his shoulder, blood dripping from his arm. The elevator doors opened to reveal Lily, Tara, and Mike, guns drawn—relief flooded him, but only for a moment.
"Got the goods," he said, dumping the emitter and cure vials into Tara's arms. "Now let's—"
A roar cut him off—the lab's containment cells had breached. Infected poured into the hallway, these ones different: larger, faster, claws like steel, alpha variants, failed super-soldiers. Their growls were intelligent, coordinated, eyes blazing with predatory focus.
"Run!" Jack shouted, firing at the lead alpha. The bullet took it in the chest, but it kept coming, ripping a guard in half with one swipe.
They sprinted for the exit, Tara carrying the emitter, Lily clutching the cure. The alpha感染者 (infected) gained on them, their claws scraping the floor like nails on a chalkboard.
Jack skidded to a halt, pulling a C4 charge from his vest. "Go! I'll hold them off!"
"Jack, no—" Lily protested, but Tara dragged her away. "He knows what he's doing. Move!"
Jack planted the charge, ignited the timer, and ran, diving through the service door as the C4 exploded, collapsing the hallway, trapping the alphas inside—for now.
10:00 AM, Temporary Camp—The Truth Unleashed
They regrouped in a wooded clearing, miles from the lab, the distant hum of its generators a constant reminder of the countdown. Tara set the emitter down, examining its wiring, while Mike plugged his laptop into its interface.
Lily approached Jack, bandage in hand, eyes cold. "You knew about the kill switch's flaw. That it kills latent carriers."
Jack didn't meet her gaze. "Mike told you."
"Yes. And you kept it secret. People's lives are at stake, Jack—Ethan's mother, maybe others."
"I didn't want to panic the team," Jack said, voice low. "We needed to focus on getting the emitter."
"Focus? Or control?" Lily snapped, dressing his wound roughly. "Secrets make us enemies. If we're going to survive, we need trust. Not Marine 'tactics'."
Tara snorted from across the camp. "She's right, you know. Secrets get us killed faster than infected."
Mike looked up, face pale. "Guys? I think the emitter needs more than just the frequency. It requires a human test subject to calibrate—someone with the virus in their system. Otherwise, it'll fry everyone within a 50-mile radius."
Lily's blood ran cold. "A test subject. Like a latent carrier."
"Exactly," Mike said. "And we've got one: Ethan's mother. I saw her cough blood this morning—she's infected, just not symptomatic yet."
Ethan's mother froze, clutching her arm, eyes wide with terror. "No… I'm fine. I'm not—"
"Save it," Tara said, unflinching. "We all saw the bruise on your arm. Same as Ethan's."
Jack sighed, hand on his pistol. "Lily, you know what we have to do."
Lily closed her eyes, recalling the soft pop of the pistol, Ethan's body going limp. Not again. "No. We don't use people as bait. We find another way."
Tara shrugged. "No other way. The emitter needs a carrier to calibrate, or it's useless. And we've got 24 hours before the lab blows, taking the last of the cure with it."
The group fell silent, the weight of the choice crushing them. Ethan's mother began to cry, silent and defeated.
14:00 PM, GenCorp Lab—Alpha Invasion
Deep in the lab's ruins, the alpha感染者 (infected) prowled, their enhanced brains processing pain, strategy, hunger. The C4 blast had wounded their leader, but not killed it—its chest oozed green serum, the same as the cure vials, mutating further.
It snarled, sensing the humans who'd stolen its purpose, its reason to exist. The emitter's frequency hummed in its neural pathways, a challenge, a threat.
They will come back, it "thought," primitive intelligence blazing. And when they do, we will feast.
18:00 PM, Camp Debate—The Sacrifice
Lily paced, staring at the emitter's blue glow, the cure vials chilling in a stolen cooler. Jack and Tara argued in low voices, Mike feverishly working on the laptop, trying to find a workaround.
"Lily." Ethan's mother approached, tear-streaked but calm. "I saw what happened to Ethan. I know what I am now." She placed a hand on Lily's arm, gentle but firm. "Use me. Save the others."
Lily hesitated, then nodded, throat tight. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," the woman said, smiling sadly. "Maybe I can finally be with my son."
22:00 PM, Emitter Calibration—The First Test
They rigged the emitter to a generator, Ethan's mother strapped to a makeshift chair, trembling but resolute. Mike adjusted the frequency, glancing at Jack. "Ready?"
Jack nodded, avoiding Lily's gaze. The emitter hummed, blue light intensifying, focusing on the woman. For a moment, nothing happened—then she stiffened, eyes rolling back.
"Stop!" Lily shouted, but Mike shook his head. "It's working! The virus markers are destabilizing—"
The woman screamed, body convulsing, before going limp. Mike checked her pulse, face falling. "She's dead. But the emitter's calibrated. It'll target only active感染者 (infected) now… I think."
Lily turned away, sick to her stomach. Another life lost to this nightmare.
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "Don't. Just… let's get this over with."
23:00 PM, Lab Recon—Mike's Final Hack
Mike stayed behind, hacking into the lab's mainframe one last time, while the others prepared to move. He found a hidden file, labeled "Elysium Endgame", and opened it, eyes widening in horror.
"Jack! Lily! You need to see this," he said, voice trembling. "The kill switch wasn't a mistake. GenCorp designed it to wipe out all infected, including latent carriers—and anyone with genetic markers for resistance. They were planning a global cull, leaving only those immune to the virus to rebuild."
Lily paled. "So the cure… is it even real?"
Mike nodded, grim. "The antidote works, but it's rare. And the emitter? It's a weapon of mass destruction, disguised as a solution."
Jack cursed. "Tara's right—GenCorp needs to burn. But first, we use their own tech to survive."