This choice: Try possessing that colonel. • Go Back...Chapter #4Try possessing that colonel. by: Seuzz   You hang out with the other unlucky sons of bitches after Chalmers and the others have left, but eventually excuse yourself by saying you need to take a shit. Instead of going to the latrine, though, you head back over the colonel's office. You're not confident you can pull off a move, but you do have an idea for how to go about it.
The colonel's door is closed, and the captain you'd seen with him is sitting at a desk in the outer office. He looks up noncommittally as you salute. "Begging your pardon, but is the colonel is free?"
"What's it about," asks the captain.
"It's about the building we've been cleaning up, sir. I found something earlier that ... Well, I thought it might be important."
The captain raises his eyebrows. "Let me take a look, corporal. No reason to bother the colonel if it isn't."
"Yes sir."
Thinking quickly, you take a handkerchief out of your pocket. You start to unfold it, but then hesitate and look around. "If you don't mind, sir," you stammer, "I think it might be best if I ... er ... didn't wave it around out in the open." The captain beckons you over without rising from his own chair. You move behind the desk and bend down next to him.
The captain has only a second to glance down at the empty handkerchief before you grab him by the back of head and thrust your open mouth over his. You already feel yourself rising in the back of Liebrecht's throat as you make your move, and everything goes black as you feel yourself shooting violently out and over the captain's face. You are dimly aware of a thud, and of the captain jerking back, but you stick tightly to him and frantically push yourself into his mouth, which has fallen open in shock. You feel teeth and muscles working around you as force yourself down his throat. You become aware of a distant roaring, which resolves itself into the sound of blood rushing in your new ears.
When your vision and sense of touch and place returns, you find yourself sitting and looking down at the unconscious corporal. You are still staring at him when a sharp word brings you around. You look up dazedly into the narrow face and cold eyes of the colonel. "What's going on out here, captain?"
You look up at him dumbly, then look back down at the corporal. "This man, er, came in and said he wanted to see you," you stutter. "And then he just came around here and, well, collapsed."
The colonel glances briefly down. "Get the medics out here," he orders. You jerk in your chair and grab up the phone receiver. But what is the number? What button do you push? The captain's mind feels like it's AWOL.
There's a pregnant pause, and you feel the colonel's eyes on you. Then he reaches down and pushes a button on the console. You feel your cheeks pale as the line buzzes and a voice answers. "Send some medics around to ... to—" You freeze. Where are you, exactly? "To Colonel Lord's office," you finally are able to blurt out. "We've got a man here who's sick and has fainted."
You hang up and look at the colonel; he is eyeing you closely. "Are you feeling alright yourself, Sanchez?" he asks softly but coolly. "You seem pretty shaken up."
"It's just a shock, sir," you lamely reply. "But maybe—" You swallow. "Maybe I'd better go along too." You very much want to get away from his gaze.
The colonel purses his lips. "Just get yourself water and try to collect your wits." There's more than a little acid in his tone.
The medics show up while you're draining a cup from the water cooler, and you repeat the vague story about Liebrecht's sudden collapse. The corporal himself begins to come around as the medics lift him up, and he looks about with a confused expression on his face. The colonel starts to question him, but he can only look back in bewilderment. This isn't a surprise: just before exiting him you suppressed all his memories of having come to the office and talked to anyone. When it becomes clear that Liebrecht can't explain himself, the colonel has the corporal carted away to the infirmary for recuperation and observation. "Excitement is over," Lord says icily to you after everyone has left. "If you've got your head together, see what you can about those interview transcripts."
* * * * *
You shuffle papers for awhile and do other office-like things while pretending to work. In reality, though, you are trying to figure out as much as you can.
You are now inside Captain Eric Sanchez, chief aide to Colonel Quincy Lord. The colonel is in charge of several "black technology" projects that are being secretly developed at Fort Suffolk. The compound that you found (officially called "SX-2") is not actually part of any of those projects—it's just a side project developed by Dr. Jillian Harding, one of the base's chief scientists—but after the incident it has been suddenly reclassified.
That's because base cameras caught a base intruder—you—in the act of messing with it. Worse, they actually recorded your transformation into a pile of goo and your subsequent flight from the base. And, worst of all, they know that the kid on the videotapes is a high school student named David Johnson.
You glance down at the papers in front of you. They are not enlightening reading, though they contain a few things that make you smile. Caleb, after high-tailing it from the base, returned in his car via the main gate in order to alert the authorities that a friend of his was inside the building; naturally, he was closely questioned by Colonel Lord. (He spent a lot of today back on the base being interviewed again.) He didn't have much to say, of course, though they forced him to say it at length. You are a trifle amused, though, to see that Kay Cussler figures prominently in what he had to say; maybe the old sourpuss will find herself on the receiving end of some uncomfortable scrutiny for having unwittingly inspired your visit.
You also now know that there is some more of the compound in another one of the buildings, where it is being closely held; the colonel, who is now very interested in the stuff, has made its study a top priority. You've already decided you want to derail those plans.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025 Seuzz (UN: seuzz at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Seuzz has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author