Dr. Evelyn Winters
Log One: 19<sup>th</sup> August 2037
Location: Undisclosed
The video blurred out and then snapped into being to show a middle-aged woman with black hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was leaning forward against a wide wooden desk, fingers splayed out as a feverish light filled her eyes as she began to speak to the camera in a raspy voice.
“Subject is nineteen years of age. Physical health is robust, medical records have no pre-existing conditions. He was transferred to our facility at midnight local time today.” She leaned back from the camera and the creak of her chair was loud as her smile was cold and clinical.
“Subject was registered with a temperature of 100.03 degrees Fahrenheit, elevated blood pressure and heart rate. Conditions persisted even after medical intervention. No bodily wounds were found besides a laceration across his chest, three inches long and half an inch wide. “The doctor tapped her fingers together, lost in her thoughts.
“We will continue to monitor the situation,” she said, leaning over and switching off the camera with a flick of her fingers.
Dunn looked around at his small crew, all of their features hidden behind steel. There was sense of impeding doom in the air as they all knew what was coming. The energy from moments before had dissipated and now there was only a solemn sense of duty. A duty to observe the end.
Log 3: 21<sup>st</sup> August 2037
“Patients heart rate has continued to climb to alarming levels. No use of pharmaceuticals or natural remedies has been able to alleviate this condition. Furthermore, a rash has spread across his lower extremities.” She froze and she tapped a fingernail against her tooth.
“Rash is the best description I can think of. It’s a skin discoloration that is affecting how the dermis grows. It has thickened and there is a changing to the structure of it. I have never heard of anything like this before. It’s like there’s a layer of rock, obsidian, growing right beneath the outer layer of skin.” She reached over and took a sip from a glass of clear water.
“Private Jennings reports minor irritation where the rash is currently. As well as the incision on his chest which has begun to heal and scab in a unique way. Similar to the change in the dermis, the skin in an inch circumference of the initial incision has begun to change. While the rash spreads a smooth texture through the dermis, this wound is causing a roughening of the epidermis.” A crash sounded outside and the doctor jerked her head uptowards it and frowned before turning off the camera.
Log 4: August 22<sup>nd</sup> 2037
“Last night there was an incident with the other two subjects. Both have been removed and relocated. Both were exposed to the same singularity event as Private Jennings, but neither sustained any wounds. Now, as for Private Jennings, his condition continues to advance with no sign of slowing.”
Log 9: September 3<sup>rd</sup> 2037 This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Private Jennings has fallen comatose. Currently the entirety of his epidermis has become gray and has mineral like growths affecting him. All hair has fallen out and thick calluses developed over his eyes last night. Surgeons are discussing a way to open his eyes again. We removed a sample of the epidermis and looked at it under a microscope. The cells were like nothing I’ve ever seen,” her voice had risen and there was a trace of fear in her voice.
“I have managed to communicate with my colleagues who are with the other two subjects. They are being monitored. They didn’t say it out loud, but there were clues. Something is happening with those other marines. Something they haven’t told us.”
Log 27: September 23<sup>rd</sup> 2037
“Private Jennings died last night. For two and a half minutes his heart stopped beating and all brain activity stopped. Then at two minutes and thirty-three seconds his heart restarted and all brain activity resumed. Brain activity is abnormal though, EEG testing shows a sharp deviation from normal patterns.” Her fingers were drumming on the desk in a rolling pattern that Dunn couldn’t make out.
“Maintenance is trying to find a way to get him out of his room for further testing. His body is under rapid change, the thickening of the epidermis layer has created rocky growth along his skin. I will try to secure a video of it for my own notes. The dermis is now unfortunately obscured with no way to measure it without severe measures. His weight has increased substantially, but again, we have no way of measuring the growth at the moment. He has lashed out whenever anyone has tried to move him and no drugs are working on him,” she looked down at her nervous hand and frowned at it.
“He has yet to regain consciousness.” The camera clicked off.
Log 28: September 24<sup>th</sup> 2037
“He woke up. I can’t explain it. One moment he was comatose and then the next he was awake and speaking. It was a language no one knows and honestly,” her face twisted and her mouth curled as if she had swallowed something sour.
“I don’t believe it is human. He became violent and was restrained, but I don’t know how long we can keep him contained. Director Vaught has reached out to the local command and they will be coming to secure the facility. Something is wrong though. His room is inexorably hot, no amount of fans or cooling can lower the temperature and the humidity is affecting the machines.”
Log 29: September 25<sup>th</sup> 2037
The background was different now. A red light was strobing behind the doctor as she sat at her desk. Her face had a sheen of sweat that was slick under the light as she looked about wildly as the camera recorded her. The formerly restrained doctor leaned in and began to whisper as fast as she could.
“Soldiers arrived last night and went into Jennings room to restrain him. He woke and broke free of his restraints and killed all four of the soldiers. Director Vaught immediately put the facility into lockdown and called the base for more soldiers. After the soldiers were killed a light came out of Jennings room, red and…and…and…angry? I don’t know, I turned and ran. I’m going to gather my notes and leave the facility,” her rushed whispering ended as the sounds of gunfire rattled about. She looked back at the camera and then lunged for it and the camera went dark.
Caspar appeared where the doctor’s terrified face had been before. He looked tired as he leaned in and looked outward and toward the middle of the room. When he spoke again there was anger in his voice.
“Dr. Winters never made it off the island she was stationed at. Her personal notes were recovered later by Sergeant Dupont and his team, though most were heavily damaged. When they arrived at the facility two weeks later after the island went dark there was a rift there at the facility. Sergeant Dupont cleared and closed the rift, but Private Jennings was nowhere to be found. With the knowledge we have now, I postulate that after forming the anchor to the rift that Jennings retreated under water and began to create rifts along the seabed.” Caspar’s scowl darkened.
“It’s hard not to blame them. That if Jennings had been euthanized quickly and humanely that humanity would have lived. That we would not be forced into this desperate act that I don’t believe has much possibility of success. Maybe it was time though. Maybe we had reached some latent level of energy and rift would form naturally. Or maybe if we had killed Jennings…I don’t know.” He wiped at his face and then took a deep breath and began again.
“It’s hard to say where to next point of our fall is at but I have found personal body camera footage of one of the earliest rift spawns in a populated region on the West Coast of North America.”