CHAPTER 19

  "Something's got a hold of me lately

  No, I don't know myself anymore

  Feels like the walls are all closing in

  And the devil's knocking at my door, whoa

  Out of my mind, how many times

  Did I tell you I'm no good at being alone?

  Yeah, it's taking a toll on me, trying my best to keep

  From tearing the skin off my bones, don't you know."

  -Teddy Swims

  ...

  Royles stood outside the rift room, his mouth hung open. For the first time in years he felt fear.

  Real fear.

  The kind that takes a man who was usually in control of every situation, and makes him feel like that control was all just an illusion.

  He needed to check on Carl before this got any more out of hand than it already was.

  He headed to the housing unit, he swiped his badge and entered the hallway. Penny's door stood open, she had gone back to the infirmary to help until the rest of the medical staff arrived.

  Carls door exploded off its hinges and slammed into the wall sideways.

  Royles froze.

  The suit is powered down.

  He shouldn't be able to...

  Carl stepped into the hallway, he screamed and grabbed his head. He fell to his knees, he was slapping the top of his head and drooling on the carpet, his body slick with sweat.

  "Carl?"

  Carl jerked his head toward Royles, his eyes were blood red, foam at the corners of his mouth.

  "I CANT...AAAARGH...GET AWAY! I CANT CONTROL..."

  He growled and jerked to his feet. His head snapped toward Royles, the recognition was gone.

  Royles almost stumbled as he backed up.

  "Carl? Are you still in there?"

  Carl didnt answer, he growled and ran at Royles with his hands out.

  Royles bolted to the security door at the end of the hall.

  He fumbled with his badge and got it open and slammed it closed before Carl could get through.

  It was a steel door with chicken-wire reinforced glass.

  It should hold right?

  He pulled his cellphone out and made a call.

  "This is Phillip Royles, I need a full team of Gov-tac agents to facility designation D-seven. Now!"

  He hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket.

  Carl was at the door.

  He had his forehead pressed to the glass, his blood red eyes following Royles every move.

  Royles moved slow, never taking his eyes off Carls. He backed through the hallway, one step at a time.

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  Carl was done waiting.

  He put his fist through the reinforced glass and snarled as he reached out.

  Royles quickened his pace.

  He got to the next security door and locked it behind him. He was in the rift room now.

  He turned to Nano.

  "Nano. We need you."

  He reached out and touched the armor. The blue eyes flickered to life.

  "Carl, I...Phillip? Where is Carl?"

  There was a crash and the squeal of tearing metal.

  "Hes been infected."

  There was a pause.

  "I understand. I require a moment to reboot. I will attempt to contain him. Have sedatives ready."

  "Ok. I'll get them now...be ready, hes coming."

  "Matt! I need the strongest sedatives you have, Carl is infected. Hes not himself."

  Matt ran around grabbing vials and syringes. He filled three syringes with a powerful sedative.

  "Two should do it, but hes got superstrength. Use the third if you have to."

  Royles nodded, took the syringes and headed back out to the lobby.

  "Winston, Gov-tac will be here shortly, direct them to the housing unit. Tell them this is containment only. They are not to use lethal force."

  The guard nodded.

  Royles went to the security door into the rift room and peered through. Nano was walking out toward the security door. Carl was on the other side grabbing his head and snarling. Behind him, the security door to the housing units was a mangled mess of twisted metal.

  Nano opened the door and reached out to Carl.

  Carl reacted violently and punched the suit, sending it back against the wall of the free-standing safe the rift was held in. Royles could see inside the safe, there was now a huge dent in the vague shape of a human. Nano pulled himself out of the dent and went at Carl again. This time he wrapped his arms around Carl and kind of absorbed him, until Carl was forced into the suit.

  As Royles watched, Nano took control and started walking towards him. He got to the door, Royles swiped his badge and cracked it.

  "I have the sedatives."

  "Ok. I'll open up a spot to inject him...wait...Carl! No!"

  Royles slammed the door shut.

  Nano stumbled back and then the suit of armor exploded outward, the nanomaterial shattering. Carl flexed and roared. His eyes landing on Royles again. Royles bolted, the guard in the booth looked at him as he ran through the lobby with a confused expression.

  Royles looked at him and yelled,

  "RUN!"

  Carl was tearing through the lobby and office area, hunting for anyone he could bite. His jaw worked constantly as he smashed through the facility, sniffing the air like a predator. Royles and Winston, the lobby guard, had retreated to the science wing, the infirmary on one side of the hall, Matt’s lab on the other.

  The infirmary door was open.

  Andy was resisting the sedatives.

  His eyes burned a bright red as he snapped his teeth like an animal, straining against the restraints while Matt fought to tighten them.

  Royles peeked into the lobby, keeping his body pressed tight to the wall so Carl wouldn’t see him.

  He glanced at Winston.

  “Go help them get Andy under control. Lock the door behind you.”

  “Sir, if he gets in here...”

  “I’ll be fine. Go!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Winston moved.

  Royles rolled up his right sleeve and flicked the button on his gauntlet. The holographic sight bloomed to life in the air before him. He didn’t want to hurt Carl, but there were other people in this facility to think about.

  Something heavy slammed into the hallway door, denting it inward.

  Royles jumped at the impact. He ran for the lab and sealed the security door behind him, dropping to one knee and peering through the reinforced glass at the warped metal in the hall.

  He knew he wasn’t safe here.

  But with Carl’s strength, nowhere was.

  The hallway door disappeared and there was a smashing sound in the lobby.Carl stepped in, his gait weird and jerky. His head tilted back sniffing the air. His teeth snapping together, he went to the infirmary door. He put his nose to the crack in the door jamb.

  Royles couldnt let him get in there. He quietly opened the door and slid out, his gauntlet aimed at the back of Carls head.

  "Over here."

  He ran towards the lobby, but Carl grabbed the back of his shirt with surprising speed.

  Royles tried to spin and fire but Carl had a strong hold on him. He was pulling Royles toward those snapping teeth. He had no other choice, he shot Carl in the foot. Carl roared and threw Royles against the infirmary door. Royles cried out. Something inside him broke. He still clutched the syringes, he struggled to his feet. Carl slapped him aside. He rolled into the lobby and groaned.

  "Phillip, are you ok?"

  Nano had put himself back together and stood offering a hand to Royles.

  "I'm fine, stop him from getting into the infirmary!"

  "Yes sir."

  Penny had a rolled up towel she was holding Andy's head down with. She had it between his teeth so he wouldn't break them as he snapped at them.

  "Why isn't the sedative working?"

  "I dont know...its like he burned it off. This one should be strong enough."

  He injected Andy and the mans body stiffened, then went completely slack.

  "Ok, we need to make sure-"

  There was a scuffle in the hallway, a shot fired. Penny and Matt looked at each other, both could hear Carl howling like an animal.

  The door shook.

  They heard Royles scream.

  Winston who had been quiet so far, stepped in front of the door.

  "I wont let him hurt you guys."

  The door was ripped off.

  Carl grabbed Winston and went to bite his shoulder. Nano slammed into Carl, Winston went flying down the hall. Carl shoved Nano off of him, sending him down the hallway as well. He turned back to the meat in the infirmary.

  Penny stepped forward.

  "Penny! Stop...hes not himself."

  "Carl...please. listen."

  Carl snapped his teeth at her, his bloodshot eyes seeing nothing but a meal. He reached out as Penny backed up. Suddenly Nano was between them, he slowly melted backwards onto Penny.

  "What?...Nano? I dont..."

  Carl grabbed the helmet and slammed it into the wall.

  Penny grunted from the force.

  "I am sorry Penny. I will do my best to contain him.

  Penny, now dazed, mumbled,

  "What?"

  "Stay safe."

  He melted off of Penny and pushed Carl back out of the infirmary, then Nano ran at him and tackled him out of the hallway and back into the lobby. Carl was holding on to Nano trying to bite it. The lobby door chimed and Gov-tac agents rushed in. Royles was leaning against a wall. Getting his feet under himself again, he was in pain, but determined to contain the situation.

  "NON LETHAL...DO NOT KILL HIM!"

  Yelling hurt his side.

  Carl threw Nano into a wall and ran at the agents. They fired their tentacle cuffs at him and Carl shook them off and shattered them like they were plastic. He grabbed the nearest agent by the collar of his chest armor. Carl held his head and peeled the armor off, the man screaming the whole time, powerless to stop it. The squad leader said

  "Fuck this."

  He fired his gauntlet at Carl. The bullets hit him in the shoulder. The other agents all raised their gauntlets, ready to follow suit but Carl threw the man he held at the agents. He grabbed the squad leader by the gauntlet crushing his gauntlet and arm together. He pulled the mans arm off his body and bit at the flesh. The other agents were recovering from their teammate bowling them over. The squad leader lay on the floor, screaming, blood rushing from where his arm used to be. Nano had recovered and flew across the lobby, he grabbed Carl and flew him into the wall.

  "PHILLIP! THE SEDATIVES!"

  Royles limped over to Nano and Carl.

  "I can only hold him another a few minutes, my power source is overheating."

  Royles hobbled as fast as he could. He pulled the covers off the syringes and approached. Carls hand shot out and grabbed Royles by the throat. He was squeezing, Royles was about to lose conciousness, he jabbed the syringes in Carls chest.

  Royles world went dark.

  THREE WEEKS LATER...

  Royles slammed his fist down on his desk, he couldnt concentrate with all that banging.

  He stood, grabbed his phone and slid it into his pocket. It wasnt the workers fault, it was his. The facility wouldn't be ruined if he had taken the proper precautions. The inquest had been brutal, but he took full responsibility. The Protectorate was surprisingly understanding. He was quite sure thats because one of the panel members was a close personal friend. He walked out into the lobby, the workers were making their way through the facility, repairing the damage, bit by bit. The bloodstains were still in the carpet though, his eyes landed on them and he felt that tightness in his chest. He came so close to death.

  He sighed.

  He refused to blame Carl. Everyone else did, but he knew.

  He screwed up.

  He kept saying it to himself over and over.

  Not because he thought he would ever forget, but because he had to be better. He was responsible for not just his team, but every person in the building.

  He and Steve had put their heads together, things were going to change around here.

  They had to.