Chapter 4
A Heroic Beginning
Chapter 4
“Fool. Moron. Idiot. Nut job.”
Sam called himself all of these things as he raced back to the generator room. The few remaining workers making their way out barely even noticed him running past them. Nobody tried to stop him.
He retraced his steps as he made his way through the Institute. The place was completely abandoned, with no trace of anybody anywhere.
“Somebody probably got to him. They had to see him. I’m sure somebody called for help and they got him out. There is no way they left him in there. He’ll be fine,” Sam thought to himself.
Sam tried to say something, anything, to convince himself to stop what he was doing and head out of the Institute. None of it was working. Sam was an average liar as far as teenagers went, but he never was very good at lying to himself. He knew that nobody had gotten to that man. Hell, when he first saw the shooting, nobody else even noticed. It happened at the far corner of the room, near the back exit. When the siren went off, he doubted anybody would check for their co-worker, with banks of equipment separating the gunman and his victim from the rest of the staff.
“He’s probably dead, you know. He’s dead and you’re just killing yourself for no reason. What will your parents think? You won’t be killing yourself, you know; you’ll be killing them, too. All for what, a dead stranger? He’s a nobody. It’s too late. Save yourself. You just might be able to get out.”
Sam had to admit that what he was thinking now was most likely true. The man was probably dead. There was, in all likelihood, nothing he could do to save him. If Sam kept going and he did die, he would be putting them through the worst grief imaginable. Yet, not even this fact dissuaded him.
The same thing that applied to Sam applied to every policeman, fireman, and rescue worker who put his or her life on the line to rescue those in danger. These people had parents too and they risked their lives not once, but every day. Sure, they got paid, sure, they were trained, but the danger was still real and no amount of money or training could ever change that.
So Sam kept running. It only took a few more minutes for him to get back to the generator room. Before he could make his way down to the corridor, a rumble stopped him in his tracks. It felt as if he had just walked into a minor earthquake. It was as if the generator itself was trying to convince him to turn back. Sam didn’t turn back. The wounded man was right there in the next room.
He went past the stairs and down the corridor, eventually going through a now open metal door.
When Sam entered the room, the machine was much different than from when he last saw it. Originally, the machine’s center was clear and transparent with small bright dots flickering in and out of view. Now the machine’s center was a whirlpool of color as a seemingly countless number of particles swirled around in a frenzy. The colors were also much brighter. Sam was forced to raise a hand to block out some of the light.
And the room was filled with the smell of metal and rubber burning. Looking around, Sam could see smoke coming from several of the large wires feeding into the machine. Sparks and smoke erupted out of every orifice as the machine whined under stress. Sam was momentarily taken aback by the sight of the machine. His belief in his own imminent death only solidified. Before despair could overtake him, he saw the prone figure that he had risked life and limb to save.
Sam raced over to him, but before he even reached him, another tremor struck. This one was much stronger and it tripped Sam so that he fell to the ground several feet away from the fallen worker. The Generator Room floor was cold and unyielding and Sam hit it with a hard smack but Sam’s adrenaline dulled the pain to a tolerable extent. Struggling to get off the ground, Sam looked up and saw the worker, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, still and unmoving. Half-crawling and half-stumbling, Sam finally reached him. As he inspected the man closely, another unwelcome surprise hit. He recognized the man as the worker he had seen earlier before the tour started. Sam grabbed him and tried to drag him away while at the same time pleading.
“Oh not you, not you. You’re not dead. Come on. I’m gonna get you outta here. You’re gonna see that lady friend of yours again and you’re gonna have a bunch of kids and live happily ever after. You aren’t going to die here.”
Sam continued to speak these useless words of encouragement. He wanted desperately for the man to still be alive, but it was all in vain. Sam knew he was gone.
It had all been for naught. He had failed and probably killed himself in the process. Before he could wallow too long in despair, he heard a cry. Sam turned his head and saw another man near the machine. The light prevented him from making out exactly who it was right away, but as he took a couple steps closer, Sam recognized him. It was Dr. McBride. He was at a computer terminal typing away furiously.
“Computer! I re-established Safety Protocols! Do you hear me? I re-established safety protocols!”
“Generator running at 120 percent capacity. Overload imminent. Please evacuate.”
“Terminate input power, activate all power shunts. Do it. DO IT NOW!”
“Dr. McBride?” Sam said.
McBride did not answer. The man, working furiously at the computer control, ignored him.
“Dr. McBride!” Sam said louder.
McBride continued to ignore him. Sam gently grabbed his shoulder. McBride turned around abruptly, nearly knocking Sam over.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“I was a student on one of the tours. I was trying to rescue one of the workers here. Look, we have to get out of here.”
“You shouldn’t be here. You’re getting in my way.”
McBride turned back to the terminal and resumed his efforts.
“Doctor, we have to leave. I don’t know much about particle generators, but I can tell that we are in danger. This is not a place we want to be. We have to leave. You don’t want to die here. I don’t want to die here.”
Sam looked back at the dead worker.
“We don’t have to add to the body count.”
Sam’s words fell on deaf ears as McBride continued his frantic attempts to rescue the machine.
“Doctor, I know this machine means a lot to your Institute, but is it really worth your life?”
McBride suddenly leapt away from his control station and grabbed Sam with both hands. His eyes were wide with desperate rage. His teeth bared as if he was a wounded animal and Sam was an attacker. McBride’s face got close enough so Sam could feel his breath.
“You have no idea what this machine means. No idea. Do you know what I’ve sacrificed? Do you know what we all will lose if the machine is destroyed? I think not. None of you would. Now leave me be.”
Before Sam could respond, pipes started to burst, the wires not already shorting out burst into flames and the machine’s tremors grew in strength. They were now radiating out almost continuously. The tremors were powerful enough to cause McBride to stagger back, which forced him to break his grip on Sam. He stumbled to his console and Sam was knocked down to the floor. As he struggled to get up, he could hear the doctor screaming at the console.
“No. No. This shouldn’t be happening. It can’t. No. Stop.”
Sam managed to regain his footing. The light emanating from the machine hurt his eyes. Its center was as bright as the sun and Sam quickly closed his eyes to block out the glare. He heard another guttural scream from the doctor, which soon was overwhelmed from a loud roar.
“Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry.”
The roar gave way to a bang. Sam could see a brief flash, even with his eyes were shut. His whole body felt sudden warmth. Then, he was out.