Dead Hunt

CHAPTER 9 – The Cellar

Lucy looked around the cellar; piles of old junk, broken furniture, rusted tools and dusty, old boxes lay everywhere. Next to the steel door, a computer monitor sat silent, its dusty screen blank. Lucy looked into the blank screen.

“What’s behind the door, Robin?”

No response.

“I know you can hear me, Robin. What’s behind the door?”

Robin’s face appeared on the dusty monitor. “It is only storage. Nothing to be concerned with.”

“Just storage, huh?” Lucy asked, not believing her. “Then open it.”

“I am not…” Robin paused for the tiniest moment, “Able.”

“You’re lying,” Lucy told her. “Open the door.”

“Lying?” Michael asked. “Can computers lie?”

“This one can,” Lucy answered.

“There is nothing of interest behind the door,” Robin stated.

“Then why are you here?” Lucy asked her with a quizzical look.

Michael looked at Lucy, puzzled, as she continued to question Robin.

“If this is just a dusty old cellar filled with junk, then why did the Professor take the time to install a monitor and camera?”

Robin did not answer.

“Robin, you said he was only worried about the security of the lab, so why install a steel door and security camera in a damp and dusty old cellar that’s just filled with junk?”

Robin still did not answer.

Lucy waited then asked, “Robin, can you see inside that room?”

“I am not able to see inside the room,” Robin answered immediately.

“But you know what is in there?” Lucy asked, not expecting an answer.

Robin did not respond.

“What if…” Lucy said with a mock look of fear, “What if your father is in there?”

Robins face on the monitor took on a more concerned look as Lucy continued her charade, “What if he is hurt? If he is hurt, Robin, we can’t help him if we are locked out here.”

Lucy tried her best to sound sincere. She wondered if she would be able to trick Robin into opening the door. Michael nodded approvingly with the hint of a smile. A moment later, the silence that enveloped the dusty cellar was broken by the sound of a loud metallic click. Michael pushed on the steel door and it groaned open.

The two teens stepped through the door into a long, narrow room lit with a lone light bulb suspended from the ceiling. Directly below it sat a large stainless-steel canister with tubes and wires that ran from the canister to a computer terminal. Unlike every computer monitor that had seen so far, Robin’s face did not appear on this computer; Robin watched them from outside the door.

Michael nudged Lucy and pointed to the far corner. A dozen or so steel cylinders labeled “Liquid Nitrogen” stood in the corner. The entire room was lined with steel and concrete walls; the stainless steel canisters gleamed against the all gray room. A solitary chair sat next to a canister labeled “LifeCorp”.

“What is all this?” Lucy asked, turning to the doorway to see Robin.

Robin did not answer.

Lucy read the label on the big, stainless-steel canister, “LifeCorp.”

“LifeCorp?” Michael asked.

“That’s what it says.”

“LifeCorp,” Michael repeated. “That name sounds familiar.”

Lucy looked back out the door and saw that Robin was watching them.

“What is all this stuff for, Robin?” Lucy asked her.

“I am not permitted,” Robin’s voice echoed through the open doorway.

“Of course not,” Lucy cursed under her breath.

“I remember!” Michael announced excitedly. “LifeCorp. I read about them in one of my dad’s old Sports Illustrated Magazines. Some baseball player died years ago… Jimmy something… Jimmy ‘Fastball’ Williams. Yeah, that’s it. Anyway, he died and they froze him.”

“They froze him?” Lucy asked incredulously.

“Yeah. I think it had something to do with his family arguing over how his remains were supposed to be disposed of. Some wanted a burial, others wanted cremation, or some nonsense like that. Anyway, they had LifeCorp freeze the guy but his skull cracked. The family was pissed. It was a big scandal”

“That would explain the liquid nitrogen,” Lucy said, more to herself, as she looked back to the LifeCorp canister.

“Yeah, it’s called Cryo-something,” Michael added. “Cryogenics.”

“Cryogenics,” Robin spoke up, “is the study of the production of very low temperatures and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. Cryogenics is often used incorrectly to refer to cryonics, which is cryo-preserving humans. It is a common mistake.”

Lucy looked at Michael and whispered mockingly, “It is a common mistake.”

Michael smiled and rolled his eyes.

“So,” Lucy said in a more serious tone, “Now that we know what is in there, the big question is who? Who is in there, Robin?” Lucy pointed to the canister by the chair.

“I am not permitted,” Robin answered.

“Listen, little-miss-I-am-not-permitted, how do we know that the Professor is not in there? You’re a computer, the Professor could have been dead for years, and you wouldn’t know.” Lucy paused for a moment, “Or you won’t tell us. I’m tired of your games. Who is in that canister?”

“I am not per…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re not permitted. Either you tell us who’s in there Robin or we are just gonna have to pop this sucker open and have a little look see for ourselves.”

“You are not permitted to do that. If you open the capsule without following the proper procedure it will destroy…” Robin paused. “It will destroy the cells.”

“Well, that’s a chance I am willing to take,” Lucy said as she moved towards the canister. “It’s not like we are hurting anyone. They’re already dead. And since you won’t tell us who’s in there…”

“I am,” Robin answered.

“What?” Michael and Lucy asked in unison.

“I am in the canister.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked.

“When I was twelve there was an automobile accident. I died. My father placed me in cryonic preservation. The project we were working on…” her voice trailed off, as if thinking. “He was trying to discover a way to reanimate me.”

“Reanimate you?” Michael questioned, “As in bring the dead back to life?”

“That is correct,” Robin answered.

“That sounds just a little too far fetched to…” Michael’s voice trailed off as his mind grabbed hold of the idea. Secluded laboratory, re-animation, green liquid spilled into the creek, zombie-like people eating other people. Robin broke his train of thought.

“I implore you,” she begged, “please do not open the canister or all will be lost.”

“You’re still here. She’s still in there, so it didn’t work, did it?” Lucy said, more of a statement than a question.

“No, it did not,” Robin answered.

“I think it did,” Michael thought as a cold chill raced down his spine.