We didn't get in the lab until after three this morning. I nearly had to pry Mick out of his chair. Mandy stopped crying a couple of hours before that, and instead has reverted to a near catatonic state. She'll do what she's told, but won't verbally respond or do anything beyond.
Thursday at 7:08am
When we got there, we found Dr. Chapone furiously working at the equipment. He shouted at us to help him before it was too late. If anything, he seemed more frazzled than I. I have to give the old guy some credit, though, at least he wasn't giving in, either. He started to tell us what's going on.
Thursday at 7:10am
Instead of replicating the physical properties of an object, the "replicator" ended up creating some kind of bridge into other dimensions. Dr. Chapone started going on about how many dimensions there really were. He seemed very excited that this project gave him the data to prove how many there actually are, but felt responsible to collapse the dimensional bridge first.
Thursday at 7:13am
He knew something, or somethings, had come across. They had been following him as well. He became very worried when I told him about my experiences.
Thursday at 7:13am
While we were talking, Mick had sat down at his own desk. It seemed that being in a familiar area helped him, as he started to calm down considerably. Mandy had walked over near to the vortex and stood staring at it. Being this near, with its slight humming sound, was keeping the whispering out of my head. I had hoped it was helping her, too.
Thursday at 7:15am
It seemed that between the efforts of Dr. Chapone and Mick, the vortex was starting to slow down and the humming noise grew faint. We all started to become visibly uncomfortable, as the whispering and thrumming sounds returned to our senses, but hopefully it would all go away if we were successful. Within a few seconds, though, Mandy had dropped to her knees and started to scream.
Thursday at 7:19am
I walked over to see how she was doing. As I neared her, the hairs on the back of my neck bristled and I was suddenly seized with the same fear I felt with Dan's mutilated body was nearby. Mandy's head turned around, but whatever was looking at me wasn’t' Mandy any more. Blood dripped from her eyes and the smile on her face was more the rictus of a corpse. She hissed at me and leapt.
Thursday at 7:23am
I managed to get my arms up, but all she did was push me aside anyway. She jumped straight for Dr. Chapone and started to claw at his face and bite at his neck. He screamed and tried to bat her off, but wherever she was getting her strength, it was more than enough to overcome him.
Thursday at 7:25am
I couldn't move, but could only stare in horror and fear as she mutilated him. His cries became less frequent as she tore into him, until he finally stopped struggling, with only one of his hands jerking in spasms.
Thursday at 7:25am
Mandy turned around and I could see corded muscles dangling from her mouth like a bizarre Italian restaurant scene. She smiled at me then. My stomach clenched at the sight. It seemed half the grin of a stalking jungle cat and half the grin of a seductress. Nothing would persuade me to find out which was stronger.
Thursday at 7:27am
Mick had watched the scene in silent horror as well, but was now trying to sneak out through the lab door. Mandy turned on him and shrieked. She jumped up, clearing two desks, and landed in front of the door, blocking his exit. I could see a stain appear on the front of his pants, as he stood rooted in fear.
Thursday at 7:28am
Mandy started to walk towards him, licking her lips, fresh warm blood still dripping from them. With a strangled cry, he turned and ran away from her, straight towards the vortex. He stopped just before it and looked back. Seeing her casually walking towards him with that horrific smile, he turned and looked at me.
Thursday at 7:30am
There was no light left in Mick's eyes. I don't know if he was trying to say good-bye or that he was sorry, and I will never know. After just a moment’s hesitation, he turned back and leapt into the vortex. There was a hideous shredding sound and on the edge of hearing I swear I could hear him scream. Then there was a horrible silence. Then I could hear the sound of Mandy walking towards me.
Thursday at 7:32am
Blindly I reached out and grabbed hold of the nearest object. A large metal cylinder was behind me. It took all my strength, but with overdoses of adrenaline boosting me, I picked it up and hurled it at her, hitting her in the chest and causing her to fall backwards.
Thursday at 7:33am
She had moved slightly more to the vortex and a panicked plan came to mind. I continued picking up objects, as large as I could quickly find, and kept throwing them at her. None of them seemed to hurt her, but she was forced backwards a little more each time. Finally she was nearly touching the swirling bridge between dimensions.
Thursday at 7:34am
I picked up the next object which turned out to be a chair. I grasped it firmly and rushed forward, smashing it into her, pushing her into the vortex. The same ripping sound came through the humming, but instead of a scream of pain, there was a shriek of failure.
Thursday at 7:38am
I fell backwards and landed against a desk. Every nerve was on fire and I could see dots in front of my eyes from over-exertion. I wanted to cry, I wanted to sleep, and I wanted to believe that none of this was real. Then I could hear the laughing.
Thursday at 7:40am
Laughing, loud and shrill, came from the vortex. I could see a hand, red with blood on it, starting to wriggle through the maelstrom of colors. Another hand started to push through, and against all logic and reason, the vortex was pushed wider from the other side.
Thursday at 7:41am
Mandy's head started to appear. Her eyes were glowing and her mouth was smiling wider than humanly possible. My legs took over, overriding my brain, and bolted for the door. I could hear the laughter follow me as I ran down the hall.
Thursday at 7:47am
I have now been cowering in my office for over three hours. The whispering has come back to the edge of hearing and I can still hear the Mandy thing's laughter in my mind.
Thursday at 7:51am
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