(This story contains foul language, trauma, and attempted suicide. Reader discresion is advised.)

Billy played the next video and again, Dr. Heathcliff was in front of the camera.

“The subject is quite fascinating.” said Dr. Heathcliff. “What we’ve discovered is a real marvel of science.”

The footage switched to video record of scientists in protective gear working on and around a man strapped to an operating table, with IV fluid bags pumping him with copious sedatives. His veiny and pulsating, misshapen head suffered from severe hair loss, and his dilated eyes were bloodshot. He appeared to be in a catatonic state, his mouth frothy and thick saliva dribbling down the sides. As the personnel worked, Dr. Heathcliff continued speaking.

“Subject 1-TW, aka Tom Wiley, appears to be in the advanced stages of a rabies virus infection, with some yet unexplainable additional symptoms. Though the subject seems to be in bad shape, there’s no blockage of airways, seizures, exhaustion, or widespread paralysis. He should be dead for all intents and purposes, but somehow instead of succumbing to the final stages that would lead to the infected’s death, they have not manifested and he’s still alive.”

The footage returned to showing Dr. Heathcliff as he read over his notes.

“There must be a connection between Subject 1-TW’s psychic abilities and the staving off of the infection’s lethality. Could it be the brain’s chemical make up? How it’s naturally wired? This calls for so many tests.”

And many tests were indeed performed. Video after video, Billy listened to Dr. Heathcliff detail research and watched as scientists surgically examined, injected, force-fed, and scanned the actual Tom. If they weren’t doing that, they found ways to make him test his mental powers out on various test animals and death row inmates. Whenever he started to get out of their control, they increased the power of special implanted electrodes to dampen his abilities. The videos would continue like this until Billy got to the thirtieth video. Unlike the other videos, Dr. Heathcliff looked disheveled and was taking pills.

“Something unexpected happened in the laboratory earlier today.” Dr. Heathcliff said, gritting his teeth to hold back the apparent aches he felt. “Subject 1-TW has… I’m not sure…just watch.”

The next segment of footage that played showed Tom howling, shaking, and pulling about in his restraints on the operating table. Scientists were trying to find out if something was going wrong with the electrodes, or if the sedatives were not being administered appropriately. A loud and long constrictive gasp abruptly escaped Tom’s mouth as he stared ahead towards nothing, while levitating off the operating table, breaking the restraints holding him down. The scientist backed away from him as one set off the alarm. Now floating in the air, Tom's skull was revealing an enlarged, bloody brain; the rest of his head crumbled away as the brain continued to swell exponentially. Armed security personnel rushed in with their weapons trained on the growing brain, as the scientist took to hiding behind them. Not knowing what to do, the armed security requested orders. Just then, the noise – the same back on the copter – hit everyone in the vicinity, causing everyone to drop and react in anguish.

The camera returned to the current state of Dr. Heathcliff.

“He did something to us.” said the doctor.

“That area is now restricted, and the entire facility has been placed on lockdown until further notice, but I fear it might be too late. Since the incident, everyone within the effected radius has been stricken with flu-like symptoms and severe headaches. It hurts to think. I’ll give any update if I can.”

The next few videos told of what sounded like a progression into hell. The staff were suffering through migraines and fever-like symptoms, but then the mania and hallucinations complicated things even further. The water and lighting systems were being sabotaged throughout the installation because people were saying that it made the sickness worse. Then one video had Dr. Heathcliff hiding under his desk, covered in blood, as screaming, shooting, and alarms were going off in the background. In addition, the sounds of flying objects and smashing could be heard too.

“Everyone is turning on everyone!” Dr. Heathcliff tried shouting over the chaos.

“Somehow, some of the facility’s staff have gained the same psychic powers Subject 1-TW exhibited and began attacking those around them. Everyone was already on edge, so now violence has erupted across the complex. Virtually nobody trusts each other now and are making that point by trying to murder one another. I’ve locked myself in my laboratory until everything calms down.”

The next video showed the doctor back sitting in his seat. Unlike the prior videos, he had taken off his shirt and lab coat, had an opened half-empty whisky bottle, and a bloody nose.

“Forgive the lack of shirts, somebody broke the complex’s central air conditioning system and I’m still running a fever.” said the doctor in between sniffles and an undertone of sadness and discomfort. “This is my last video entry, as it seems whatever Subject 1-TW… Tom gave us awhile back, appears to have affected us radially. The closer in proximity someone was to the psychic blast, the sooner they succumbed to what I term ‘psionic meltdowns.’ Symptoms include telekinesis, telepathy, mind reading, levitation, bilocation, mind control, and most of all, hyper-aggression.”

“However,” he points to his nose, “the first thing that happens before gaining those powers is that you get a bloody nose, like so. I’d think I’d enjoy trying these newfound abilities out but compounding them with the lovely added prospects of mania and hallucinations, I’m going to have to check out early.”

He pulls up one of the air cylinders he’s been carrying around later.

“If you are watching this, if someone is bleeding from their nose, do not go anywhere near them. They’re extremely dangerous. This is Dr. Sid Heathcliff, signing off. Good luck.”

Placing the mask over his face, he then twists the valve open and breathes heavily. Giving a thumbs up, he turns off the video.

“Obviously that wasn’t the end of you.” Billy said aloud moving on to the next video file. “So, what happens next?”

Playing the next file, he sees a tired Dr. Heathcliff hold the gas mask in hand.

“As you could probably tell, I’m still alive. Seeing the old test run footage of this nerve agent I got from Chemical Weapons Storage #20, I know I should be dead from breathing it in. What the gas seems to have done instead was stop the unchecked symptoms like fever, hallucinations, and migraines, and gave me control over my mental abilities.”

He then raised a hand and brought a beaker into his grasp.

“I can feel the power has been weakened from how it could be without the gas, but that’s a tradeoff I can live with. What could be a problem is that I can’t breathe without the nerve agent beyond an hour’s time, otherwise its effects wear off, the discomfort returns, and I’ll lose control of myself.”

He looks around himself and wonders, “It has been a while since I’ve heard any activity outside of this room. I wonder if anyone else is still alive?”

The next video Billy played showed the doctor, recovering from being beaten and battered, now accompanied by two others wearing breathing apparatuses like his in the background wandering around, but at different stages of severe infection.

“I managed to find two others still alive and, after some difficulty, administered the gas. It worked, though with limited success. One of my colleagues still suffers from the occasional migraine and spike in aggression despite it, and the other hallucinates somewhat. There was a third I tried to help, but the gas placed them in a permanent vegetative state. I theorize the experimental nerve agent works best the sooner it is given as when symptoms appear. It renders the most severe cases brain dead, due to whatever advanced viral damage the cerebral tissue incurred prior to treatment. With this knowledge, I have a plan that might be able to bring Tom down.”

The following video after, the doctor was by himself, pacing back and forth angrily with his mask off.

“It didn’t work! He knew we were coming! He sicked the last remaining survivors on us! Only I survived by using one of their own homemade machetes against them, and I never had the chance to get even close to Tom with the nerve agent!”

Taking a wide swipe at the air, he sent the laboratory equipment on one side of the room flying into the wall. Heathcliff then calmed himself down before continuing to address the camera.

“There’s got to be some way of defeating him. The installation’s security personnel have an arsenal here filled with military weapons. Maybe there’s something that can be used. I sense that there’s a weak spot between the neck and brain. Maybe if there was a way to distract Tom, I could get a clean shot at it.”

He stops and looks around in a panic. The noise hits him, causing him to hold his head and curl up screaming. The camera distorts and ends the video.

Billy continues to the next file, which is only the audio, as with the rest of the recorded files near the end of the project’s folder. He hears someone heavily inhaling and exhaling in a breathing apparatus.

“This is Dr. Heathcliff. It tried doing me in via mental connection, but I found another benefit of the gas. The nerve agent seems to guard me from influence. That’s not all, since I came out of that assault on my mind with some incredible, yet very disturbing news. I was able to peer into Tom’s mind, and I learned that Tom doesn’t exist. Not anymore. I’m not too sure if I’m describing what happened with justice, but whatever the rabies virus did to reactivate the abilities, it has found a way to use his psionic energies to slowly infuse itself into its host’s being. Eventually, Tom stopped being an individual with a virus, and became one with the virus. Now, Tom is the virus, wanting to spread itself beyond here and out into the world. Why not send those it had already infected out when they were still alive? I must be a threat to whatever plans it has in store, so I may not be able to confront it head on, but I’ll be a thorn in its side as long as I live.”

After the file’s end, Billy started the second audio file. He noticed something haggard in the doctor’s voice as he spoke.

“This is Dr. Heathcliff. It’s been a while since my last entry. I noticed as time goes on, I can’t be without the gas for longer durations like I used to when I first started. The effects wear off sooner now. Meanwhile, ole Tommy boy’s been trying to find different ways to chip away at my defenses, but no such luck.” The doctor laughed, “You gotta try better than that you freak!”

It was easily the shortest audio file in the folder. A few others afterwards weren’t much longer, and they all were filled with unhelpful gibberish. Billy was about to give up listening to what was left, until he reached a file created just one or two days ago.

“This is Dr. Heathcliff, I sensed something happen earlier today. Tom released a massive amount of psionic energy; however, it wasn’t against me, but was directed against something outside. I ventured topside to track down where it was last felt. I found a helicopter had crash landed not far from here, and everyone was still alive. Thinking back on what I learned from its attempts to invade my mind, I now remember an instance where someone was mind controlled to break lockdown protocol and email information to the outside world.”

The doctor’s voice suddenly changed from agitated to enraged. “I know you had something to do with this!” Heathcliff yelled. “Damn you! What are you playing at? You want to play games? If I ever get the chance, I’m wiping the floor with your pink ass! You hear me?”

Afterwards, the doctor’s voice returned to a calmer yet agitated state and continued talking.

“At least I found that the psychic disease’s infectiousness carries little if any potency at its furthest distance. However, though I didn’t sense anybody infected, I did see one of the crash survivors with a bloody nose. I’m not taking any chances, so I’m returning later tonight and putting an end to whatever Tom is scheming before it goes any further.”

Billy stopped listening to the files for a moment. He remembered what happened, and he wondered if the final two audio files would delve into the horrifying details. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear any of it again, but he steeled himself and played the second to last audio.

“This is Heathcliff, I levitated the suspected infected away from the camp and killed him, though I accidentally woke up the others in the process. Afterwards, I had to take out his wife, and sent another guy off chasing after a projected double of myself. I found the two other crash survivors unaware of me, so I took one of them back here with me to jumpstart a plan I have.”

That was when Billy heard a voice all too familiar in the background.

“Wh-what h- where am?” Billy heard himself talking in a daze in the background. “My head…it hurts… it hurts so bad.”

“I brought him to Tom, and Tom couldn’t resist.” said the doctor addressing the camera. “Now, he just started bleeding from the nose, so I’m going to give him the nerve agent. The two of us can then take on Tom once I explain what’s going on. Maybe, depending on how this goes, I can capture another one and it will be three against one.”

Billy then hears footsteps leading away from the recording, the squeaking of a valve, and the hissing of gas escaping. He heard himself begging Heathcliff to not do it and to stop before his yelling became muffled. Billy stopped the audio prematurely. After calming down a bit, he played the final media file.

“Damn it!” Heathcliff could be heard yelling angrily.

“I managed to catch another one of the crash survivors, but that stupid, ex-soldier followed me back, freeing her and my recruit! I killed that persistent fuck, but now my plan is shot so now that…”

It was quiet for a moment before the doctor continued in a panicked tone.

“This was your plan, wasn’t it Tom? In my need to destroy you, you tricked me into bringing your new carriers. If they leave with nothing to contain the infection, it will mutate further inside them, and they’ll spread the infection. No. No! I must find them before they escape the mines. They can’t. They can’t leave. They can’t leave!”

Dr. Heathcliff repeated himself again and again, sounding angrier and louder, until the audio cut itself off and ended.