Page 38 of G8
“It would seem so,” the man agreed. After another quick glance at P8 and F8, he gave them the lowdown. “All right. Here’s what we’ve discovered so far. We managed to get inside the main lobby of the building, but that’s the extent of it. The elevators aren’t working, of course. And the place is like a tomb. We’re not going to get the lights back up, nor are we going to try to turn anything on.
“When we enter the place, you’ll immediately notice the smell of smoke, which tells us there eitherhasbeen a fire and could still be burning, or it was recently extinguished due to lack of oxygen. We’re hoping for the latter.
“Miss Shyne, since you’re the person most familiar with the place, you can help us with mapping out the interior.” He pointed upward. “As there’s only two levels above ground, we’re figuring the majority of the labs and all are below ground, correct?”
“That’s correct. The two upper stories are offices. The labs themselves, as well as the living accommodations, are sublevel.”
Korris frowned. “Living accommodations?”
“That’s where me and my family were held,” G8 explained.
P8 walked up to stand beside him. “Maybe we need to give you a brief overview of where we came from.”
“I’d say that’s an excellent idea, but we need to make this brief,” Chief Adams suggested.
P8 gave a nod. “All right. Here’s theReader’s Digestversion.”
Korris snorted. “Man, I haven’t heard that phrase in ages.”
“Go ahead,” Biggs urged P8 as F8 walked up to stand on the other side of Ingrid.
“Short and sweet. All our lives, we were told the Earth was destroyed in a nuclear war in nineteen ninety-one. Civilization, cities, everything was gone. The land turned into the next ice age, and all the survivors now lived underground.” P8 pointed to G8 and F8. “We were told we were unique because our parents had caught some radiation. They showed us pictures of other children who were also affected, but they were misshapen. Deformed. And they eventually died, as well as our parents. As did all the other people who’d been caught in the aftermath of the blast. They also told us?—”
“Who is ‘they’?” Korris inquired.
“The scientists and all the others who worked with us.” P8 continued, “But we, G8 and F8 and I and the others, somehow managed to survive. We were told the future of mankind rested with us. They wanted us to have sex and make babies, but we couldn’t. It just...” He shook his head.
“It didn’t feel right,” G8 took over. “It was wrong. It felt wrong, and we told them so. Good grief, we were barely into puberty!”
“Bet they didn’t appreciate being told that,” Chief Adams commented.
“No, they didn’t. And that’s when they started experimenting on us. Trying to impregnate us,” F8 confessed. “K8 and I got so sick. They kept pumping drugs into us to help us conceive. And when those didn’t work, they took babies they’d conceived in test tubes and implanted them into us.” She bowed her head as the memories of the pain, the humiliation, and the horror returned.
G8 and P8 automatically took a protective stance beside the two women as Ingrid drew her arms around F8 and shot the officers a hard look. “I think you get the gist of it by now, right?” she challenged them. Sheriff Biggs had the dignity to be embarrassed, as did the other two.
Pointing to the labs a short distance down the road, Ingrid continued to glare at them. “Are we going to keep standing here talking, or are we going in there to see what’s left of the place?”
P8 chuckled and pointed a finger at G8. “Looks like you’ve got a feisty woman on your hands.”
G8 smiled as he looked directly at Ingrid. “Yeah, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
19INFILTR8
They donnedhazmat suits with built-in oxygen tanks. When they were ready, Ingrid led the way inside Docenti Labs. As predicted, it was dark inside. And the farther they moved away from the front doors, the darker it became.
F8 sniffed. “You’re right. There’s definitely an odor of smoke in here.”
G8 saw her shudder and put a hand on her shoulder. “I know what you’re feeling. It’s creepy, returning to this place.” She flashed him a smile through the clear plexiglass shield in her helmet.
Ingrid drew in a lungful. “Your nose must also be super sensitive like your eyes and ears,” she quipped. “You can smell it through your suit?”
“It’s faint, but there’s no mistaking it,” the petite woman confirmed.
“It makes us wonder if entire levels were on fire, or just sections,” Biggs remarked.
“I know for a fact that sections of the labs were set on fire,” Ingrid informed them. “I can’t tell you if all of the labs were set ablaze, or if any other areas were affected.”
“I take it you’ve already checked the upper two stories,” P8 questioned as they approached the stairwell adjacent to the elevators.
