Chapter 2

The team I was with seemed to be just like me. People desperate for money, something to do or just a change in their lives. They didn't seem to care about what they had to do, or for how long. We gathered into an elevator and began our journey down into the depths of the rig. It was a long, quiet ride down into the dark. No telling what we would see, I could only imagine what the others were thinking about. A few minutes later the door opened with a squeak. We walked into the place and I found it to be creepy the floor was a weird metal screen. you could see right through to the ocean, and underneath that you could see a faint glow beneath the waves. "Welcome to a place we like to call, The Lab" The foreman said as he turned around. "This group here will get the night shift, your job is basically harvesting the secret ingredient from the sea. Basically just make sure the machines don't overload." And the guy with the white had proceeded to get others to lead us each away one by one. Long story short I was treated like a monkey with a hat, basically told it the pressure went over the red line I needed to push the green button to relieve the pressure. Yeah, it was a boring job over all but it was my in. Now I could learn more about this place.

Three weeks of watching a pressure gauge revealed nothing. I was bored and in three weeks time I only had to push the lousy button twice. Each time got me a pay raise. On breaks though other late night workers used to tell stories of terrible noises coming from the water below. Other people spoke of weird readings that would spike at random. Ghost readings were not exactly front page news material. I needed something more and soon I would get way more then I ever asked for. As it turned out the elevator went down even further, but you needed a special key card to get there. The mission was clear. To steal one of these cards and most likely get fired from my job or worse to serve my other job, it took a fair amount of planning and the assistance of an above average looking woman to help me. Unfortunately I had to play match maker between the boss and her, it was easy enough, it only took me three days to get him distracted enough to take that card when he took it off to clean it, set it down at a well time pressure overload that the alarm got to sound off on. In the confusion I was able to get that card and hide it away. Lucky me.

The last few hours were insanely slow. I so wanted the shift to be done, get on the elevator alone and check it out. But the waiting was hard. Coming to an end, that bell signal to end the time was the best sound ever, but I had to control myself. My time came and soon I was the last one to leave, but I wasn't going home. Taking one last thought of consideration to my future actions I swiped the card as the door closed. The little red light turned green and instead of going up, I was now going underwater, deep. Five minutes later the doors opened into a high tech world completely different then where I came from. I heard voices in the distance so it was obvious in the direction I should be going, but I didn't want to hear what conversation I walked in on.

"So, what about the new chick on the pressure control button?" One guy was saying to another. "Yeah, she's hot, but not too bright. Three times the pressure almost over loaded, we are gonna need a replacement for the job because we need more testing for the stronger version of the chemical." The other said. "The original did nasty things to the body, this new stuff should prove to work better." The guys laughed and kept walking, but they didn't notice me. I'd keep following as long as I could. The place was like walking into another world from some overly detailed science fiction movie. It was scary to a point though. What kind of chemical would have to be treated in such secrecy. This rig shipped off hundreds of gallons the chemical nearly every week to the factory on the mainland, but still the farther I went into this place the more I was convinced that there was something more to all of this, I wanted to follow the science guys, but at the same time I needed to know more about this place, the truth is what I needed.

I crept over to the computer closest to me. Apparently security was not a major issue out here on the rig, the computer was an open book. I didn't have time to search through all the details and files like I wanted to, lucky for me I was prepared for such an event. The techheads I knew back home gave me something special. I plugged the flashdrive in and the computer seemed eager to respond to me. It wasn't long before started the copying process. I was worried there would be too many files for just one trip. Unlike most of the typical movies and situations you hear about, this was quick and easy. I got my little device back and continued into mysterious parts I was destined for. I lived for this stuff.

I was able to remain hidden mostly when I caught up with the others. "As you know, the substance has drastic effects on the human body. This is the original video of the test results." I took a look around the corner. There were men in black standing there watching, you know. Government types that reminded me more of sharks then actual people. I turned my attention to the screen. There was a man in a lab coat there. "Testing Vitamin Z for the first time is a special occasion for me. I know the FDA said it wasn't safe for people but I believe it can do much good for people, so I will test my own discovery!" The man picked up a glass of this red liquid and drank it in one shot. At first there was no real reaction, but that didn't last. The man fell to the ground, passed out." The video was paused. "Now as you know the rest of this hasn't ever been seen by anyone else until now. Brace yourselves." And the video resumed. The man was now in a room, isolation cell two days after the consumption. "You guys, you've got to let me have more. That was what was wrong. I just needed more." When I saw him say these words, I could tell why he was in the cell. What ever this Vitamin Z was, he was completely addicted to it after one shot and was begging for more.

The video went forward two more days. The man had physically changed since the last time. His clothes were tight on his body to the point of tearing open. The camera then changed view. "We don't understand it, but the chemical has begun a chain reaction metamorphosis. Basically all of his fat cells have been thrown into some kind of hyperdrive. They are growing and dividing at an incredible rate. We don't know why. There is nothing in the chemical itself that would indicate this at all. At this rate the man will end up at eight hundred pounds at the end of the week with no signs of stopping." The camera turned back to the man who was now standing up, and those clothes already seemed worse off then moments ago, and all the while he was still asking for the chemical hopelessly, not interested any of the food it seemed.