The Runners: Chapter 33
Chapter 33
‘Kush’ ‘Zing’. The ground area demarked by the light in the hexagon shape rose up about one foot above the ground by an unseen mechanical contraption. A blanket of vapor has formed at the ground as the cold air and moisture released from the newly exposed underground apparatus collided with the warmer air around the swamp. As the vapor dissipated, a hexagonal container emerged in plain sight. The sides of the box were laminated with yellow golden color with a single spike on every side. Upon closer examination, Jane determined that they were pointed tops of pyramid shaped metallic tiles. Each end point was surrounded by red light.
“Perfect!” Johansen exclaimed in a low tone. Then, in some predetermined sequence, he proceeded to push the end points of the tiles that formed the sides. ‘Sssss ‘Click’ ‘Pzzzzssss, with the releasing sounds of air, the bottom of the box slid downward, separating from the main housing unit. A small, brilliant silver container, of less than a cubic inches, became exposed as the floor part of the box was lowered towards the ground. Jane did not see any indication that the box could be opened at all. But, on one side of the box, Jane saw an insignia in the shape of three diamond heads that were all connected to a single stem.
“Ahh! The gateway to the new future!” After seeing the box in its container, Johansen exclaimed with excitement. Then he reached in and carefully removed the box from the hexagonal container. He placed the shiny item on his left palm and having admired it for few more seconds, “it is time,” he said as he looked up to Jane.
“What… what is that?” Jane asked nervously.
“This, my dear, is the key to my new future.” Johansen, looking down on the box in his palm continued “and you are going to make it a step closer to reality for me. You should feel honored!”
“I don’t understand! What are you saying?” Nervous than ever before, Jane asked.
“Neither of us is obliged to know the details. We only make deliveries. That’s all you and I need to be concerned with!” With a suppressed smile, Johansen wondered briefly looking forward to the big payoff that he was promised to. This would be the last significant delivery and if he was successful, he would be very handsomely rewarded. He will be well off for the rest of his life. He couldn’t hide his gleefulness, thinking about his imminent fortune.
“Let’s get the show started!” Bringing back the seriousness, Johansen explained what needs to be done.
“This is an organically created box. It cannot be carried out of the dome.”
“How do you suggest it be transported?” Nothing that Johansen said made sense to Jane. Her past training runs were simple. Receive item that was given to her, place it into a box and walk out of the VTT dome. No security concerns. She was assured that this run would not deviate too much although there may be some new protocols. She was now in an unchartered territory.
“I didn’t say it will be carried out. It will be implanted, I should say infused inside your body—”
“What?” startled at what she heard, Jane exclaimed and said that “you are not making any sense!”
“I’m not here to make sense for you. Your job is to do what I tell you to do! I’ve said more than enough and taken up too much time already.” He held up the silver container in his fingers then ordered Jane in a low tone.
“Turn around! It must be placed on the lower midsection of your back!”
“I am not turning my back to you. How do I know to trust you?” Jane resisted. Showing her back could put herself vulnerable to this strange old man. She knew from the beginning that what she was involved with wasn’t lawful and she took great caution with every situation that she had encountered. Opening herself defenseless by showing her back was the last thing she would do.
“Trust me? There is nothing here that can stop me from harming you if I wanted to. Do you believe that you can defend yourself against me? Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha…” Johansen broke out into a sarcastic laughter. Then, piercing into Jane’s eyes he said, “I will not waste any more time. I can subdue you and place it on your back. In which process, you may actually get hurt. Or, you can let me place it and no one wastes any energy and we depart shortly thereafter.”
“Just try!” Putting up both her fists in front of her chin, Jane stared back at him and biting her lips tightly she continued, “I don’t tolerate bullies!”
“Feisty! I like that. But, you failed to consider why you are here. All your loved ones, if you are hurt in any way and unable to accomplish this mission…, have you thought about them?” Johansen did not have any intention to physically overtake Jane. He wanted to shake her up a bit so that he could complete this part of the mission. If Jane got hurt somehow and the product was not delivered then he would lose everything that he had worked so hard for, not to mention the longevity of his life.
Jane loosened the grip of her fists on the mention of ‘your loved ones’. She got involved in this because this was the only way to save her mom who was her only surviving family member. Jane has come so far and couldn’t let her mom be a casualty of the mission’s failure and worse yet, that it would be herself who was the cause. Jane lowered her hands slightly, yet kept her eyes on this shifty character.
“I am still not turning my back to you. You let me do this myself or you have to take me by force before I expose my back to you. Just tell me what I need to do!”
Not interested in arguing over this any longer, Johansen decided that Jane’s suggestion was acceptable.
“OK, I will tell you what needs to be done.” Placing the silver case back on his left palm, he pointed to the side of the box with the leaf insignia.
“Do you see this figure? Place this side against your back between the 3rd and 4th vertebrae from the lower thoracic column. Do you know where it is?” Not knowing Jane’s background, he didn’t think that she would even know what he was talking about. He expected Jane to turn her back to him based on the instructions that he had just given her.
Then, he saw Jane place her left hand behind her back and slowly counting upwards from the joining point of the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae.
“One…two….three and four,” she found them with relative ease.
“OK, now, what?”
“Hmm, impressive, it could be easier than I thought. Now,” showing the other side of the box to Jane, and pointing to the red circular area in the middle of it, “once you place the leafed side of the box against your back, press this area. It is as you can see, protruding out like a switch, a button. Press it and it will do the rest!” Then, he handed the box to Jane.
Jane held the organic device in her hand. It felt cold to the touch and extremely smooth. She could not feel any bumps nor detect scratches by looking at it. She turned it over back and forth not knowing what she was looking for.
“Careful!” Johansen advised readily, “you drop it, we are both finished. Now, do as I’ve instructed you!” He was becoming inpatient and nervous as far as Jane could tell. Jane realized how critical this device was by Johansen’s reaction. She took her eyes off the device. Then looking up at Johansen, she flung her arm over to her back side with the device in her hand. She felt for her left hand that was on her backside and as she moved her hand away, she placed the device between the 3rd and 4th vertebrae. Finally, locating the circular button, Jane closed her eyes as she pressed it.
“Done!”
She felt tingling sensation at the location where the device was placed. Then immediately, it was followed with sharp pain as if thousands of small needles were digging into her skin. She fell to her knees and hands in excruciating pain. She groaned in silence, perspiring profusely. She sat up on her knees shaking as she endured the pain. Jane arched her back inwards and with intense pressure, she closed her eyes while she screamed in silent agony.
Johansen observed what was happening to Jane and put on a sly grin. He knew the device was burying itself deep inside her. It was engineered specifically to match Jane’s DNA. It will soon be fused with her spine and grow inside her in order to become part of her physical anatomy to complete its transformation. He has done this many times. But, it was the first time that the runner volunteered to do it herself. He knew the pain that it would cause on the unsuspecting recruit.
“It will soon be over…,” Johansen assured her quietly, somewhat impressed with Jane’s ability to tolerate pain.
With the passing of several minutes, the pain had finally subsided. Still perspiring, Jane felt cold from her back and began shivering. Johansen removed a portable heater from his shirt pocket. It was a size of a regular ball point pen. He pointed it at Jane after turning it on. Soon, Jane felt the waves of warm air hitting her body in regular intervals. It helped normalize her body temperature as she began regaining the control of her elements.
When she got up to her feet, Jane felt something drop off her backside. She turned to look at the object that had fallen off of her. It was hollowed out silver box with the shape of the leaf surgically removed. Then, she realized what had just happened as she moved her left hand to examine her back. Surprisingly, she could not feel any marks or cuts caused by the thousands of small needles. In astonishment, she looked down on the remnants of the box. Red, blue, and yellow flashes emitted out from the device and magically, it dissolved into the thin air as if it had never been there in the first place.
Sharply, at that moment, Johansen looked over to the left around the bush at the edge of the swamp as he heard strange hissing sound in the grass. He thought, perhaps, it was either a snake that was slithering around or sudden blow of strong wind that has broken the silence of the swamp.
“It’s finished! Turning back to Jane, “you should feel normal again. Were you followed here by any chance?” Johansen inquired Jane.
“No!” Jane answered.
“OK. Go now! You know what to do from here.”
With that, Johansen turned his attention to where the sound had come from as Jane made her way out of the swamp and headed back to the hotel.