Chapter Ten
Dain holds Lisa while they travel, wounded and weary, but alive. Brendon turns to Dain. "Hey, where are we going exactly?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "To see Floyd, and I'm only escorting these two because I know they can help." Dain said, nodding towards Jacron and Masa. "Floyd, eh? I've heard plenty about him in that pit of despair. I'd love to tag along, but as soon as Lisa is awake, we're taking our leave." Brendon said, matter-of-factly.
Jacron caught up to them, "Aw, c'mon. Don'tcha want to stick around for the adventure? The fun? I mean, look at us. We just saved, like, a hundred people from some psychopath money-lover. Not to mention we saved your hides." Brendon spoke up, "Actually, you guys just got Lisa out. I would've gotten out somehow. Besides, Cyprus put us all through the wringer and the only one I saw standing his ground was Dain." Jacron stuck his tongue out.
Brendon looked back towards Lisa. His face suddenly went white. "Dain... Dain, she, isn’t breathing... Lisa is not breathing!" He began to panic. "No... This can't be right. I gave her the right medicine... I'm sure of it." Dain gave Brendon a serious look. "Is she allergic to anything?" He thought for a second, "She complains about pollen a lot." Dain sighed and rolled his eyes, "BESIDES that. Anything special or specific?" Brendon's eyes widened, "Yeah she's allergic to... Uhm... It's uhh... Oh! It's one of those ingredients in chloroform." Now it was Dain's turn to think, "Hm... Oh, I know the one. I can't pronounce it, but it's a key ingredient in the pill I gave her..." They both looked at Lisa with concern. Brendon spoke, "Is she-?" Dain set her down and placed his fingers to her neck. "Yeah... She's gone."
Brendon suddenly grew angry, "You killed her! You monster! Murderer!" He yelled, shoving Dain with every sentence. "Cool it, hotshot. Since I kinda accidentally killed your wife or girlfriend, I'll take you to Floyd as well. He's got a machine to bring people back from death caused by illness or heart attacks. It only works once per person, though. Technically her allergies are considered illness, so I have no doubt it'll work."
Dain said, managing to keep his cool. Brendon stopped his assault and scoffed, “Whatever.” He looked Brendon in the eye, "Don't shove me again." He said giving Brendon a side stare.
Jacron voiced up a bit, "Hey about that Cyprus guy, before you off-ed him, what was he saying? That I looked like someone?" Dain looked back at him, "Started with a 'K' I think. If it's a relative, we can find 'em back at Floyd's." Jacron's ears perked up, "Really? How?" Dain smirked, "He's got some sort of DNA analysis machine there. It's his first invention. He tends to keep his discoveries away from the world."
Jacron gave him a puzzled look, "Why would he do that? Those things would definitely benefit the world as it stands, maybe even all 31 Districts!" Dain shook his head, "Your optimism is refreshing, but Floyd's work is no longer trusted. Nobody would ever step close to anything Floyd made. Not since the start of the Abomination incident." Now Jacron was even more confused, "Abomination incident?" He questioned innocently.
Dain began with a sigh, "Long ago, roughly fifty years or so, Floyd was a respected scientist working for the government of the 14th District. He was trying to make a cure to all diseases with a single pill, a super-pill of sorts. It’s kinda like that SCP legend. His first test up to his last were all fails. Each test resulted in massive patient mutation depending on the ailment. The worse their condition, the more severe the mutation. Floyd kept them in containment, trying to make another invention to possibly turn them back.
His work was beginning to gain ground, but not fast enough for the government's liking. They ordered him to begin tests and the such to the mutated subjects. After much arguing, Floyd had no choice and had to use his unfinished machine to try and alter the patients back to normal. Most of the patients were hysterical, sad or just in shock at what they had become, so they were all more than happy to test this invention. Floyd created the machine to be able to transform an entire room back to normal at once, so he gathered all the patients into that massive room.
He pulled his switch and the room came to life, then something sparked, and a large bolt of lightning came down the in the center of the room. Everyone was electrocuted until presumed dead. Floyd lost his job after that, having two failed inventions and the murder of hundreds of innocents. The government thought that natural decay would just take effect on the bodies, so they dumped them all in a secluded part of the nearby forest. Whether the people were not dead, or the wildlife got infected, nobody knows, but within a few days, Abominations began running about.
They started in the 14th District, their saliva infecting others and causing them to change in the same way. Eventually, the government tried and failed to make a cure, but eventually failed. The world was losing fast, but then Floyd stepped up once more, using a lab he had been living in as a research station, he created what is known as the A-Vaccine. It was made so the virus was no longer effective against any species. That didn't stop some from contracting it by secret and boarding one of the Tele-Trains.
At first it was only in the 14th District, which meant the cure was only in the 14th District. Other Districts quickly became infected and began demanding the cure. The 14th's government saw this as a marketing opportunity and quickly started marketing the cure off at a price that they even wouldn’t even agree to. Floyd saw the injustice of the government and their greed, so he mass produced the cure by himself. Giving the cure away for free, the government was no longer profiting and saw it fit to step in. They didn't confront Floyd about it. They instead hired every known mercenary around to capture or kill. Floyd wasn't only a renowned scientist but was a skilled swordsman of trade. He knew the government was going to try and stop him, so he prepared. He loaded into the special ammo of his weapon a new strain of his virus, one without a cure.
He fired without hesitation and watched as several began changing that very moment. Floyd then easily found a cure and offered it to the government for a high price. When they refused; however, Floyd sent a massive biological grenade into the other Districts, causing their residents to turn, but only the sick ones. The healthy stayed as such but were still attacked by the creatures. Any contact with the virus, given the patient was not ill, would only result in slow, painless death. Floyd then gave the cure away, free once more.
His government since stopped looking for him, because after this incident, he moved his facility to a secluded part of the mountains, so he could continue his research on changing the Abominations back." Jacron thought for a second and then spoke, "If the people were just sad, even as the Abominations, why did they start attacking?" Dain simply looked at Jacron, "Once they were hit with that large shock, their nature changed. They no longer acted humane. They basically went insane, driven by sadness and pain into killing. Little did the original know that their strain was unique to them. Only they would convey any sort of humanity again, the newly changed were just intent on killing. They had no mind to change back. Sadly, I nor Floyd know if any of the originals survived. If we could find only one, we might be able to make a final cure for all of them."
The group walked in silence for some time, taking in the information and sharing sympathetic faces. Dain looked determined, as if this sad past wasn't going to stop him. He knew he could one day help Floyd to make amends.
Masa spoke up, slowly, "That's... Awful. He was doing his best, why couldn't they let him continue?" Dain gave a small, heartless chuckle, "Because, Masa, that last screwup ruined his and the government's reputation. They need to be able to influence the population in order to sustain peace and control. Once they saw that Floyd was the cause of the whole thing, whether by choice or force, the government denied any connection to Floyd and booted him out. The population wanted him dead, killed for what he had done. The government; surprisingly, had a heart and allowed him to live, but he was ‘banished from civilization.’ They claim he escaped from their grasp, so they had wanted posters all around town and in every district to see that he doesn't change location."
Dain suddenly stopped. "And his lab... Is right up there." He pointed to a small, suspicious-looking dibit in the side of the nearby mountain. Jacron gave a confused expression, "Hey, I thought you said he was stuck on District 14. We're still on District 2." Dain chuckled again, but he had some actual amusement in it this time. "I never said he listened to them."
They walked up to a small panel off to the side of the path. Dain lowered his hood to show a decrepit man, with what seemed to be more age and sadness than anything else. His skin was a dark-tinted green, almost rubbery in texture. He pressed a few buttons before a whir made the tablet fire a red line of light into Dain's eyes, scanning them. A small voice emerged from the tablet, "Eye exam complete. Welcome home, Floyd."