#clockwork archives

Orders came and the Industry has given me full responsibility in confirming whether or not if my theory about the two entities presenting themselves to us is true. And for me to continue and see if all our projects funnel down to our main goal. During my wait for the Industry’s orders, I've discovered that the last major test for Project Hello before it malfunctioned was at the same moment when the portal that the Warden’s soldiers go through opened. This occurrence may have been the cause of the second entity’s arrival. Though the portal is in a whole different room far away from where Project Hello is, it is still possible... It may also mean it is weaker than entity #1, because it needed the assistance of a portal and a machine before it can control one of our scientists. It also appears that entity #2’s powers are proximity based. The Warden’s soldiers were all victims of it and they may have all been in proximity of its presence. But until the Warden brings back any reports relating to the second entity, I will be focusing here and make sure to keep in track of the progress of various projects in the industry and of course make sure that I keep an eye of any activity that may relate to the first entity. Coincidently, about an hour after I received the Industry’s orders, I was sent a report from one of the handlers of Project Inspire, people from the North-West section of the building. Project Inspire works on a chemical substance that interacts with the human mind keeping them productive for a long amount of time. They came to me giving a report that they said I may be interested in. Their head scientist and his 16-year-old son is now dead while his 20-year-old daughter is missing and to top it all off, there was a report of mass suicide at the school where his children studied. It does sound a whole lot like what entity #2 would do, but there were so many things that did not add up. So with haste, I went to the school with 6 armed personnel from the Warden’s stockpile of soldiers, but once we got there the mass suicide was still ongoing. Parts of the school were on fire, screams and windows breaking can be heard from afar, students and teachers jumping off roofs and there were people standing on flames staring at me straight in the eyes... there was nothing but pure chaos in every corner of the facility. Firemen and the police were in the scene but even they were traumatized and confused as to what’s happening, so I told them to make sure no one gets in and out and that we will handle the situation from the inside. It’ll be a huge mess if the public knew that this situation was caused by us and that this school with a student population of fifteen thousand is affected severely. The soldiers surrounded me with guns up and senses on high alert, but no one was after us, people ran and screamed hysterically pass by us every minute and they’re all either bleeding or on fire. Once we’ve finally reached the school’s main lobby, I noticed one door with a dead body covered in blood leaning on it. The body had multiple scratches on his chest and face with his belly split wide open, the door too had scratches and broken parts, I tried to push it open but it was barricaded from the inside. A woman’s voice then shouted asking who was at the door, so I answered and told them that I was here to help. At first, they hesitated but eventually opened the door revealing a woman in a teacher’s uniform alongside three other students with bloody uniforms. I told the soldiers to guard the door while I talk to the teacher... and this, is what I found out.

CONSTANTINE: “I am here to help, can you tell what you know?”

TEACHER: “Sir... I honestly don’t know. I was just at the teacher’s lounge when suddenly one of our students barged in grabbing pens and pencils and then started stabbing it in her head and face...”

CONSTANTINE: “Calm down ma’am, can you tell me anything that you can recall?”

TEACHER: “There were many other teachers who grabbed Montero to keep her from stabbing herself and then... the other teachers that grabbed her started doing the same thing. I was so scared and when I ran out the whole school was... all the students and teachers... they were all killing themselves...”

CONSTANTINE: “That’s all I needed to know, thank you ma’am... Soldiers! You four! Escort these survivors to safety and make sure no one touches their skin and yours at all cost!”

SOLDIER: “Understood, but what about you sir?”

CONSTANTINE: “These are four people and I'm just one, you’ll need all the helping hands you can get. Now go.”

It was all clear to me then, these people that were driven by the urge to commit suicide were getting infected by each other through direct contact by touching one person’s skin. The teachers that the woman described started killing themselves after grabbing the student. This also explains why she and other students are still sane. The mere fact that she was in the same room with multiple infected people proves that it is not airborne nor it is transmitted telepathically. This also means that this event may not be caused by neither of the two entities. And also, Montero, that is the surname of the head scientist of Project Inspire. His daughter is already dead but long after her brother and father died. I wondered as to why, so I headed straight to the teacher’s lounge to look for her dead body. As I walk the halls of the lifeless while being accompanied by death as he reaps the lives of the people around me made me feel so... angry. The soldiers beside me were practically invisible to me while my thoughts are filled with nothing but anguish. On my way to the lounge, I heard a voice in my head whispering “I will end this, fix this.” I looked around and asked the soldiers if they heard that... but they didn’t.

Eventually, we reached the lounge. Fire crackles on the side while blood drips from hanging bodies and screams behind us can be heard from inside the small enclosed room. I stared straight into the eye of the dead Montero daughter, her body was on the floor with only one eye visible from all the pens and pencil piercing her face. I was trained hard by the Industry to a point that I can tell the difference between a jogger’s and a liar’s sweat... and those screams outside... they were all screams of pain, fear and agony. These people never wanted this, they were suffering... they all were.

CONSTANINE: “You! Hack this computer for me and look for the surname Montero with a female first name. And you, take her bag and look around her notebooks, papers and laptop and check if you can find complex math equations. I’ll be checking her phone.”

SOLDIER #1 and #2: “Yes sir!”

If my theory is correct, the reason she was near the lounge and that the teacher knew her is because she was a frequent visitor there, an honor student. A daughter of a very successful scientist may give her an advantage if her course was closely related to her father’s occupancy.

SOLDIER #1: “Sir I found a match, Angelica Montero. 4th year college student on Chemical engineering, she’s got straight A’s and is top of her class.”

SOLDIER #2: “Sir, I found the equations you were looking for in this notebook. It has twelve pages worth of it.”

CONSTANTINE: “I knew it, she knows about her father’s Project Inspire and tried to help. (Beep) This is Leonard Constantine, authorization level 9. Shut Project Inspire down immediately, I will be sending over a chemical equation and make those people who worked on that project to prioritize this equation and make an antidote as soon as possible! (Beep) You two, talk the police men and fire fighters outside and tell them to capture and tie down anyone left alive in this school and cover themselves up with no exposed skin. Tell them that in no circumstances ever get touched bare skin with the infected and put the entire school on lockdown.”

The situation was later contained and an antidote was made. Hundreds of people were saved while countless others perished by their own hands. I later then confirmed my theory that the daughter had a sure spot in the Industry after she graduates and that she’s been helping her father out on his project. She discovered that the substance her father was creating was highly unstable and she started running the numbers on her notebook to revert the effects. It was too late though, her father came home from work after getting mildly exposed by their experiment. The father and son were the first to get infected and the daughter left immediately just before the effects kicked in, and she most likely had skin contact with either her father or brother before she left. She went to school, hi-fived a few friends while she’s walking towards the teacher’s lounge and the rest is history. Countless lives were lost from such a small mistake... those people that were burning, bleeding, dying, helpless as their bodies moved for them towards death and all they can do is... scream. I’m guessing death will be around me more often, I thought I was already done hearing those screams...