Carly steps out of the taxi and looks up at the research facility. She walks inside, going straight to the receptionist’s desk. The man behind looks at her from his chair. “Hey Carly, here to see Dr. Post?” Carly begins to write her name on the sign-in sheet while answering him. “Yes, I am. Is Ceren in right now?” The man nods and takes the clipboard from Carly. He sets it aside and replies to her. “Yeah, last I saw him he was wheeling in a body bag. Smelt bad.” Carly nods slightly. “Thanks, could you let him know I’m on my way up?” The receptionist gives a thumbs up and wheels over to his phone as Carly walks off towards the elevator. She presses the button to go up and stands there, waiting.
A man clears his throat beside Carly, startling her. He is lanky and very tall, wearing orange pinstripe pants and suspenders over a white shirt. Carly couldn’t quite figure out how old he was. He speaks, albeit quietly, Carly could’ve sworn his voice came from inside her head. “Don’t get comfortable, Selenite. Everything is about to change. The sun is beginning to rise.” He tips his trilby hat before turning and walking off, when Carly turns to see where he went, she sees nothing. The man is just.. gone. Still confused, she brushes off the man’s words and turns back to the elevator, just now opening for her. Carly steps inside and presses the button for the fourth floor. The elevator closes and begins to move. She stares off into space, not quite being able to forget the cryptic warning.
Carly swipes a keycard, unlocking the door to her older brother’s lab. Stepping in, a pungent odor assaults her nostrils, causing her to gag. She closes the door behind her, listening for the telltale click that indicates the automatic lock. Her brother looks over from the middle of the room, standing over a table with a heavily decomposed corpse on its surface. “Carly, hello! Steven let me know you were on your way. How are you?” Carly sets her laptop bag on a nearby chair and walks to a sink to wash her hands. “Same soup, just reheated.” Carly answers, raising her voice over the faucet. Ceren chuckles lightly. “When are you ever gonna deviate, Carly?” The faucet turns off and she steps over to the table. “The day I end up on this table.” Carly answered, looking over the body.
“What did this one die of?” Ceren passes Carly a surgical mask and rubber gloves. “Tumors. I am gonna see if I can find what's left of them.” Carly looks up at him, a look of confusion on her face covered by the mask. “What for?” Ceren takes a large pair of forceps and reaches into the chest cavity. “There may be some leftover energy in the parasitic organism. I’m hoping it’ll help with the resurrection project.” Carly peeks into the ribcage and points at a moderately sized growth. “Is this proven, or just a wild guess?” Ceren slowly pulls out the tumor. “You got me there. I’d be able to really test it if the council would give me fresh bodies, but no. I have to take the 3 month old homeless corpses.” Carly continues eyeing the body. “Be glad you get funding, Ceren.” Her brother waves his hand dismissively. “I know, I know.”
Having removed all the tumors he can, Ceren takes off his mask and peels off his gloves, tossing it all in the trash. “Have you talked to mom recently? She’s been asking about you.” Carly sighs as she removes her protective gear. “No, I haven’t. You know how things went last we talked.” Ceren smiles softly. “She misses you, Carly. You and her argued so much, she just wants to say sorry.” Suddenly, Carly slams her fist on the table. “She had her chance. I’m not giving her another.” Ceren puts his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, Carly.” He lets out a deep breath. “Well, that’s all I need your help with today. Thank you.” Carly has already grabbed her bag and gives Ceren a wave as she walks out the door without another word.
