[[Lamallay- Act 1- The Container]]As a journalist, Ana had never really subscribed much to conspiracy theories. If the moon landing or the JFK assasination came up during the dregs of a cocktail party, she was always the first to extricate herself. But this wasn’t a cocktail party, and she was stone cold sober.
[[Look around]]Ana reached for the flashlight in the pocket of her jacket. She flicked it on and cold white light illuminated her brown leather boots perfectly. She clutched the flashlight tighter and began to move towards the wrapped mound until she was standing over it.
Most of it was covered in white plastic but peeking out she could see what looked like an arm.
[[Unwrap]]
[[Look at hand]]
Ana was suddenly very aware of how badly her hands were shaking as she gently moved the tarp.
There was no mistaking now, the plastic was indeed wrapped around a body.
At first glance, Ana might have mistaken it for a normal corpse, but when she looked closer she could see that whoever it was had suffered from some kind of skeletal abnormality. There were ridges of cartilage along the shoulders. The skin that stretched over the wide back muscles had a bluish-green tinge. Ana blinked several times. For a moment she wondered if she was dreaming. The body was turned towards the wall of the container, facing away from her.
[[Turn body over]]
Ana trained her flashlight on what she thought at first was a large human hand. There were almost no nails and she could see a thin slip of skin, almost transparent, folded between each of the fingers. The skin of that hand was a light shade of bluish green, and while most of that probably had to do with the overall condition of the body, there was a distinct shimmer that Ana did not associate with decomp. She suddenly felt very confused.
[[Turn body over]]
Ana pulled the plastic bag out of her pocket and wrapped her own trembling hand in it. She reached over and grabbed onto the upper arm. Here there were no ridges but the flesh was like ice. Ana pulled hard, her arm muscles burned in protest but at last the heavy body turned over. It flopped onto its back with a wet thud. Ana gasped!
[[Look at chest]]
[[Look at face]] “What are you?” Ana breathed despite herself. The creature was now on its back like a patient etherized on a table. As she stared at the face, she realized the wide-set black eyes were staring back at her. It was watching her!
[[Scared]]
[[Not scared]]Ana jumped to her feet, her flashlight clattered to the floor, and she hugged the side of the container. // It’s alive!// The thought buzzed in her mind like a neon sign she couldn’t turn off. Just then there was a loud banging and the container was plunged into complete darkness. Ana screamed realizing that the door had been closed. She held fast to the side of the container, trying to catch her breath, her heartbeat roaring in her ears.
[[Run to the door in darkness]] Ana’s mouth opened in wonder as she moved her light across the blue-green face. Watching it now she could tell there were micromovements in the body, the thin wide mouth twitched ever so slightly and on each side of its neck were two shimmering flaps of thick flesh that reminded her of a trip to Cairo years before.
“Can you understand me?” Her voice sounded small and hollow in the vast container.
Just then there was a loud banging and they were plunged into complete darkness. Her flashlight slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor. Realizing that someone must have have closed the container door, her heartbeat roaring in her ears, Ana tried to catch her breath.
[[Find your flashlight]]
Biceps still stinging, Ana moved her flashlight over the body. The chest was a strong column of corded muscle and the skin stretched over it was that same puzzling shade of blue-green. If she bent and looked closer, Ana thought could detect a slight rise and fall.
It was breathing!
[[Scared]]
[[Not scared]] Gathering what was left of her wits, Ana reached for her flashlight and quickly made her way to the closed door.
[[Bang on the door]]
[[Kick the door]]
[[Scream for help]]Throwing all caution to the wind, Ana leapt away from the wall and ran towards the door in the darkness. Her foot slipped on the ridges of the container and before she could stop herself, Ana fell forward and her head hit the floor hard. She immediately passed out.
[[Everything went dark]]
Ana kicked and screamed and banged on the door over and over again until her voice was hoarse and her body ached. The metal was too thick. "This is probably why they smuggle people in these things” She thought grimly. She dropped the flashlight and sank to the floor of the container. She hung her head between her knees.
Ana had been in scrapes before. It was, after all, a part of her job- her job! In the commotion she had forgotten about the pack! Ana opened her eyes and reached for her flashlight but before she could do anything, she noticed that the container was no longer in complete darkness.
[[Investigate the glow]]
[[Find your backpack]] Ana kicked and screamed and banged on the door over and over again until her voice was hoarse and her body ached. The metal was too thick. "This is probably why they smuggle people in these things” She thought grimly. She dropped the flashlight and sank to the floor of the container. She hung her head between her knees.
Ana had been in scrapes before. It was, after all, a part of her job- her job! In the commotion she had forgotten about the pack! Ana opened her eyes and reached for her flashlight but before she could do anything, she noticed that the container was no longer in complete darkness.
[[Investigate the glow]]
[[Find your backpack]] Ana kicked and screamed and banged on the door over and over again until her voice was hoarse and her body ached. The metal was too thick. //This is probably why they smuggle people in these things// The thought was grim. She dropped the flashlight and sank to the floor of the container. She hung her head between her knees.
Ana had been in scrapes before. It was, after all, a part of her job- her job! In the commotion she had forgotten about the pack! Ana opened her eyes and reached for her flashlight but before she could do anything, she noticed that the container was no longer in complete darkness.
[[Investigate the glow]]
[[Find your backpack]] Ana searched, the bright beam of her flashlight washing out the glow. There, only a few feet away, was her grey canvas pack. It was like seeing an old friend.
[[Search backpack]]
[[Turn off your flashlight]]Ana reached into bag and inside she could feel her usual kit:
Her camera-
//a simple Nikon point and shoot, decent zoom but small enough to fit in your hand.//
Her ipod- //Spanish hip hop and American funk. //
Her old school headphones-
//James always asked her if she was landing planes or listening to music when she wore them.//
Her water bottles-
//Always carry two, she was notorious for leaving one behind.//
Her 'machete'- //Really more of a jack-knife, but the blade was very strong.//
Her phone- //only two months old and she had sprung for the 5G!//
Her snacks-
//3 Granola bars- 2 chocolate, 1 fruit and nut. She always tried to carry at least one that wasn't just a glorified candy bar.//
Running her hands over these objects Ana felt more secure. Here was everything she needed. She hoped. She felt parched and her hands closed on the water bottle.
[[Drink water]]
[[Forget water! Call for help! | Call someone]]
She looked carefully at the shimmer of its blue-green skin. //Almost like scales...// Ana shuddered as this thought crossed her mind. But then she remembered the icy feel of the creature's flesh. "No, not a snake" she said aloud. This was a very good thing as Anna was terrified of snakes.
[[Inspect carefully]]
Transfixed, Ana began to make her way towards the glow. A few seconds later, she realized that it was coming from the body! The body was glowing!
Ana shook her head in disbelief even as she got closer and closer.
She could see it now, the silver tinge of blue-green skin had increased and it seemed to be glowing as if lit from within. //Beautiful!// Ana looked into the black eyes and was amazed to find that they were staring back at her.
'Where did you come from?' She asked, the question echoed very little in the long metal corridor and Ana realized she was speaking very softly.
Nonetheless it looked like it was trying to answer.
[[Inspect carefully]]
[[Turn on your flashlight]]
She was standing at the entrance of a 20' shipping container. Rust had eaten away at the blue paint of the container’s interior and she could just make out some wooden crates piled near the back wall. Golden streaks of September sunlight poured through the open door, but Ana felt a familiar shiver run down her spine. In the center of the container lay something wrapped in plastic. The size and shape of it left little to the imagination.
Her stomach jumped and Ana took a deep breath. She pulled a white grocery bag out of her pack and tucked it into her pocket before putting the pack down by the container wall. If she was going to throw up, she wasn’t about to leave evidence of it for the police- or get it on her things.
[[Go further]]
Ed had warned her that there might be some gruesome sights along the way when she'd first brought him the lead.
Girls had been disappearing from the neighbourhoods around compton at an alarming rate. It was the sort of story the big papers rarely ran. A bunch of chicas without two cents to rub together disappearing into the night was hardly headline material. But Ana was obsessed. Ed had tried to change her mind. //Human trafficking ain’t no joke Ana, these are some of the most unrepentent jackasses out there.// Ana had smiled and waved him off with a joke. //You don't need to worry about me Ed, I grew up in El Salvador. I don't go anywhere without my machete//
Ana noticed that the deeper she moved into the container the colder the air around her became. She shivered.
[[Further still]]
Ana turned, snatched up her pack and headed back out into the September sunshine. She searched for container 50603 until the sky turned red but found nothing. She tried asking the attendant but he was dozing in his booth. When she tried to find the open container again, she saw that all the doors were closed. Around 7:30pm Ana gave up. As she drove out of the lot, the attendant gave her a grin. His two front teeth were missing.
"No luck Senorita?"
"None"
He shrugged "Eh- sometime you go fishing, you catch a boot."
Ana smiled at him. "I think I brought the wrong bait today."
"You come back tomorrow?"
"Maybe, I'd like to get to the bottom of this." She took one last look at the lot in her rearview mirror.
[[Drive away]]
The drive home was quiet. The leaves were just starting to change and Ana turned the dial to a station that was playing an old Spanish song. She thought that perhaps tomorrow she'd try to schedule a meeting with Ed so they could make a new plan.
Five days later when the waves came, Ana had the sinking feeling that it was all somehow connected.
She closed her eyes and remembered-
[[Think back|Go further]]
Ana could feel the ache reverberating through her skull as she struggled to open her eyelids. She had no idea how long she had been out. She had scraped her hand when she fell and she could sense a bit of blood and a dull ache there too. As she struggled to her knees, she realized that the container was no longer in complete darkness. Her fear forgotten for a moment- Anna began to crawl towards the source of the light.
[[Investigate the glow]]
[[Find your flashlight |Turn on your flashlight]]
When she leaned in, Ana could see silver flaps on the sides of its neck were convulsing, they looked bruised and the tips looked brittle. She could see the thin lips were convulsing as well and Ana thought she could read desperation in the bright black eyes. All at once, she understood that it must be in pain and her heart went out to the creature. After all, she had found it wrapped in a plastic tarp all alone. It too was a victim.
Ana wanted to help. She tried to think of what the creature might need.
"What are you?" She breathed as she stepped back and looked carefully.
[[An alien]]
[[A fish]]
[[A snake]]
Ana's eyes adjusted as she flicked off her flashlight. A faint glow filled the darkness again. //Like filtered sunlight through a glass.//
[[Investigate the glow]] A few feet away from the body, Ana could see the dark profile of her flashlight, which was casting a very small and useless circle of light on the container wall. Ana went over and picked it up, casting it around like a searchlight. The bright beam of her flashlight washed out the glow.
[[Find your backpack]]
[[Investigate the glow]]
Ana scanned the narrow corridor of the shipping container with her flashlight. Towards the back there were stacked several wooden crates. There were shipping labels on each crate but Ana was too far away to make out what they said.
[[Examine crates]]
Ana uncapped the water bottle and took a big swallow. The cool water soothed her mouth, and for a second she forgot that she was trapped in a pitch black shipping container with an inexplicable being. //But nothing is inexplicable// Ana corrected herself. She had always believed that chaos was only an illusion. Growing up in San Salvador, she had learned at a young age that there was no such thing as inexplicable. The reasons were always there, you just had to know where to look.
[[Call for help | Call someone]]
[[Eat a granola bar]]
"Maybe you're an Alien? but then how can I help you? Do I even believe in aliens?" Ana considered this. Her head hurt.
[[Inspect carefully]]
Ana thought back to that market in Cairo. She remembered the long silver-green bodies in the warm egyptian sun. They seemed to shimmer as the creature did. The cold flesh, the wide set eyes. It all seemed to fit.
Ana cocked her head to one side, suddenly incredulous. "Are you like a- mermaid?" She asked, a slight sarcastic tone to her voice. "Like an actual mermaid or merman or mer..-thing?"
The creature said nothing but Ana could see that the convulsions were getting worse. She needed to help.
[[Find your backpack]]
She looked carefully at the shimmer of its blue-green skin. //Almost like scales...// Ana shuddered as this thought crossed her mind. But then she remembered the icy feel of the creature's flesh. "No, not a snake" she said aloud. This was a very good thing as Anna was terrified of snakes.
[[Inspect carefully]]
Ana's hand brushed over the granola bar briefly before she thought better of it. She took another drink of water.
[[Drink water]] As soon as Ana look at her phone the motion sensor clicked and the display hummed to life. On it was a photo of James by the sea. He was smiling and the sun was reflecting off of his glasses. Ana quickly swiped past it to the main screen. With relief she saw that there was plenty of battery life. Her signal, unfortunately, was incredibly weak.
[[Call James]]
[[Call the police]]
[[Call Ed]]
[[Call mom]]
[[Look at your surroundings]]
Once she got closer Ana could see that each crate had the same label. The neatly printed tags read 'Yard 12- Facility Lam' followed by a series of numbers and letters that varied on each box, almost like a barcode. She tried to open the crate closest to her with her bare hands but it was nailed shut.
[[Look for a pry bar]]
[[Kick the crate]]
Ana's voice caught in her throat as she dialed James' number. She felt almost relieved when finally, 5 rings later, his answering machine message played in her ear.
There were frequent interruptions of static. "Hey there, you've--ched James Klo- I"m away -ow but leave me a message if you like, or call back -ater, th o--ns are -ndless."
[[Leave a message]]
[[Hang up | Call someone]]
Ana carefully pressed 9..1..1 on her phone. Immediately a static-filled voice on the other line picked up
" 91- hat's your --mergency"
She said nothing.
"Hello? an-- ou-- firm ---location?"
Ana realized she had no idea what to say. She wasn't sure who was behind this. She thought back to all those dumb cocktail party conversations. What if the authorities didn't know about the creature? What would they do if they found it? Grotesque images of labs and scalpels flashed through her head. She hung up the phone.
She checked the time, 9:55 pm. It had been a little over four hours since she'd first stepped into the shipping container. It felt like a lifetime ago. //The lot must be closed by now// she thought to herself.
[[Call someone else | Call someone]]Ana checked the time. Almost ten o'clock. No chance Ed was going to pick up. Instead she texted him the address of the lot and the description of the container. She paused before pressing send on the second text. It simply read:
-Either crazy or I just found the holy grail. Safe so far but not sure for how long. Send reinforcements ASAP. Tell no one. Pulitzer here we come.-
The blue bar didn't complete, 'Try again later' her phone said. Ana was furious, she felt betrayed. "Goddammit!" Her voice echoed in the container and her cheeks flushed. She immediately felt stupid.
"Sorry" she muttered in the direction of the creature though she wasn't sure if it could hear or understand her.
[[Call someone else | Call someone]]
A terrible idea. Ana hadn't even finished dialing her mother's number before she thought better of it.
[[Call someone else | Call someone]]"Hi James, I'm not sure how much of this you'll hear, reception is really bad where I am right now. I..love you in case I don't get to..say it to you later. There's something going on. I'm not even sure how I would explain it yet. I'm pretty sure you'd think I was crazy. Maybe I am crazy! who knows- Let's just say it might be the most important story of my life."
Ana realized she didn't know what else to say. There was scratchy silence in the receiver for a moment.
"Take care of yourself. Don't forget to water the plants."
Ana hung up the phone just as her eyes began to sting with tears. She didn't have time to cry right now.
[[Call someone else | Call someone]]
After a quick search Ana ascertained that there was no prybar hidden anyhere in the container
[[Give up]]
[[Search backpack| backpack puzzle]] Ana kicked the bottom crate hard. It didn't do anything but it made her feel a bit better.
[[Kick it again!]]
She was about to kick it again as hard as she could when a terrible thought crossed her mind. What if what was inside the crate was alive too?
She stopped mid-kick. She had to get them open.
[[Look for a pry bar]]
Ana pushed the thought out of her mind.
[[Search backpack| backpack puzzle]] In her pack, Ana had:
Her camera, an Ipod, old school headphones, 2 water bottles, 3 granola bars and a knife. Her phone was in her jacket pocket. She glanced at it now, 10:30. Time was passing. She wondered how much oxygen they were consuming. She wished she knew more about oxygen depletion in closed spaces. Ana tried to remember what Ed had said about being trapped in the trunk of a car once but her recollections failed her.
"I've had just about enough of this crap" She muttered. Ana needed to get those crates open
[[Use Ipod]]
[[Use water bottles| water bottle fake]]
[[Use Knife]]
[[Use Snacks]]
Ana briefly debated setting the Ipod to Issac Hayes, slipping on her headphones and waiting for the sweet release of death...
But then she was pretty sure she'd be condemning them both and, as tired as she was, she wasn't ready to take an innocent life- no matter who or what it belonged to.
[[Look for something else| backpack puzzle]]As she made her way across the container she heard a smacking noise coming from below. Startled she looked down and realized it was the creature. The sound was a result of its webbed hand hitting the floor, she looked at the black eyes and realized that it was desperately staring at the water bottles she was holding. //Of course!//
[[Share water]]
The jacknife glinted in the beam of the flashlight and as she walked by the creature, their eyes met and Ana saw terror in the black pupils.
[[Reassure creature]]
[[Ignore it and get to the crates]]
(Set: $UseKnife to 1)
Ana realized she was getting hungry and she might not be the only one. What did that thing eat anyway? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
[[Look for something else| backpack puzzle]]"You're thirsty!" Even as she exclaimed this Ana knew it didn't make sense. Fish, if that is in fact what this thing was, didn't 'drink' water. Fish 'lived' in water. Not that she even had enough water in the bottles to fill the container. More importantly, if she did that, she wouldn't be able to breathe.
Ana had seen drowning victims before, their open eyes and rubbery flesh, faces swollen like masks covered in tiny bubbles, their hair like clouds of rotting seaweed. She shook her head to clear away these images.
She needed to focus on the matter at hand. Maybe she should have eaten a granola bar after all.
[[Pour water into mouth]]
[[Pour water onto neck]]
Ana bent down and shook her head. "I'm not going to hurt you" she said to the body on the floor.
//Not unless I have to anyway// she added silently. Ana walked to the crates. Sliding the blade under the lip of the wood and using the handle as a lever, Ana felt the connection begin to give. After a little exertion she'd managed to get all of the nails loose.
Ana held her breath as she lifted the lid-
[[Look Inside]]
She ignored the fear in the black eyes and walked to the crates. Sliding the blade under the lip of the wood, Ana felt the lid loosen as she pulled. After a little exertion she'd managed to get all of the nails loose.
Ana held her breath as she lifted the lid-
[[Look Inside]]
She laughed out loud.
Here at last were the manilla folders! She pulled out stacks and stacks. All of the files were labeled LAMALLAY. There were full body nude photos inside, along with diagrams and charts full of what looked like descriptions of chemicals and compounds. Ages and net worths were listed, family lineages, brief histories. All at once Ana realized she was looking at a bunch of naked billionaires. //What the hell is going on here?//
[[Open another crate]]
[[Examine photos]]
Ana repeated the same procedure with the next crate. Once the lid was open she pulled out another stack another of manila folders but this time when she flipped them open, she froze. She couldn't believe her eyes.
There were the charts with the chemical compounds again but this time the photos were different. The people in them..well they weren't- Ana's mind reeled as she looked through the files. There were photos taken over a period of weeks, sometimes even months documenting what looked like a transformation. They were the kind of before and after shots you would see in the office of a plastic surgeon.
Sometimes the skin was more green and the webbing more prominent but, for the most part, the after pictures looked nearly identical to the creature lying 5 feet away from her.
A sharp shiver ran down her back, her hands were shaking again.
[[Examine photos]]
[[Go talk to creature]]
Ana looked closer at the profile shots. She noticed that all the people in the photos sported a tattoo. A series of numbers and letters scrawled along their upper thighs in blue ink. For some reason the colour of the ink seemed familiar to her, but she wasn't sure why.
[[Open another crate]]
Ana let the files slide from her hands. The papers made a rustling sound as they pooled at her feet. She closed the jackknife but slipped it into her back pocket for easy access. She stepped past the mess. She wasn't sure what she was going to say but the last few minutes had made it painfully clear that of the two beings trapped in this sealed container, she was the worst informed.
[[Talk to It]]
[[Examine thigh]]
When Ana reached the body this time, she noticed right away that the glow was fainter than before. She could see that the brightness was fading from the intelligent black eyes and panic sounded in her brain. She couldn't let it die! She had to know what was going on. Ana thought quickly.
[[How could she save it?]] When Ana reached the body this time, she noticed right away that the glow was fainter than before. She could see that the brightness was fading from the intelligent black eyes and panic sounded in her brain. She couldn't let it die! She had to know what was going on. Ana thought quickly.
[[How could she save it?]]
In her pack, Ana had:
Her camera, an Ipod, old school headphones, 2 water bottles and 3 granola bars Her phone was in her jacket and the jackknife was tucked safely in her pocket. She knew she could draw it in less than 15 seconds if she needed to. She'd timed it once.
[[Play Ipod]]
[[Use water bottles]]
[[Eat Snacks]]
Ana thought about slipping the headphone over the creature's ears. Did it even have ears?
[[ Think again |How could she save it?]]Her stomach was really growling now, and she knew that she had to fill it with something before she got delirious.
//I'll eat once I get out of here// The thought seemed utterly optimistic given her current predicament.
[[ Think again |How could she save it?]]Ana uncapped one of the water bottles and gingerly leaned over the creature's face. It's wide mouth was apart, and the thin lips looked cracked. She poured about half a cup of water into the mouth and noticed that the convulsions subsided a little. A few seconds later the flaps, or gills as she was starting to call them, looked less bruised as water poured through them onto the container floor.
"Gross!" she exclaimed watching the process. The black eyes looked at her. "Sorry".
Ana wondered what to do next.
[[What else can you do?]]
Ana poured a little of the water onto the neck of the creature. Immediately she noticed that the thick flaps of skin looked less bruised. The creature gratefully closed its eyes and the convulsions subsided somewhat. She saw that once the water evaporated however the convulsions returned.
[[Pour the rest of the bottle on the neck]]
[[Pour water into mouth]] Ana remembered reading somewhere that the definition of insanity was repeating the same actions and expecting different results. While her circumstances might have been insane, she wasn't quite ready to call it quits with reality just yet.
[[What else can you do?]]
Ana suddenly had an idea. She took one of the water bottles and uncapped it, holding it tight to the left side of the creature's neck. The water in the bottle settled and the gill sprang to life so quickly it startled her and she almost dropped the bottle. Amazed, she watched as the gill gently flapped in the plastic bottle. The creature's breathing seemed to ease and deepen. Ana did the same with the second bottle on the right side. Same result. Still, she couldn't exactly kneel there and hold the two bottles in place without risking spilling one.
"Can you hold them?" She asked the creature. It offered no response. Ana tried to think.
[[Use crate]]
[[Search backpack| Fish water puzzle]]Ana wondered if she was able to somehow lean the bottles up on the crates, but after trying to move them she relaized they were far too heavy. She would have to come up with a better solution.
[[Search backpack| Fish water puzzle]]
In her pack, Ana had:
Her camera, an Ipod, old school headphones, and 3 granola bars Her phone was in her jacket and the jackknife was tucked safely in her pocket. The precious water bottles were sitting on the ground beside the fish creature. Ana knew she had to figure out a way to get them around its neck, but how?
[[examine backpack]]
[[Examine headphones]]
[[Eat granola bar]]
Ana emptied her pack and cosiderered cutting it up to create some kind of harness for the water bottles, but she wasn't sure how well she could construct something rigid enough to to keep them in place. She shook her head and put the items back. She would have to find something else.
[[Search backpack| Fish water puzzle]]Ana looked at the industrial headphones. The metal was very rigid. a good sign. She knew she had kept these things around for a reason!
[[Use knife with headphones]]
[[Use water bottles with headphones]]
[[Break headphones]]
Ana unwrapped and ate one of the chocolate covered granola bars. It tasted incredible and the sugar seemed to revive her. She felt better. But she was running out of time and things. She had to think fast.
[[Search backpack| Fish water puzzle]]Using her knife, Ana painstakingly removed the screws that held the hard plastic earpads in place. Carefully, she jammed one water bottle into each of the empty holders. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her hands. She was going to have to go very close to it to help.
[[Place water mask]]
Ana tightened the caps on the water bottles and tried to shove them through the earpieces but the hard plastic got in the way. Ana sighed but she felt like she was on the right track.
[[Examine headphones]]
Ana tried but she wasn't strong enough.
[[Examine headphones]] The voice on the phone had said 'box 50603'. It was an unlisted number but Ana didn't care. A break was a break. She had grabbed her pack and was in the car in five minutes.
The address the voice gave was in Santa Ynez, one of those strange little towns that flank Los Angeles but feel like they could be anywhere in America. She was there in an hour, having broken the speed limit at least twice. Santa Ynez was dusty and the streets were mostly deserted, on the far side of town she had found the lot. The attendant, older with a heavy mexican accent, had smiled at her. Ana had smiled back. A hundred dollars and some self-deprecating Spanish jokes later the gate had lifted. "You take your time Senorita"
She had thought she was home free until she saw that most of the shipping containers had lost their labels to rust and age. In fact, this was the only one she had seen with an open door. Coincidence? Maybe. Then again Ana believed coincidences were about as likely as conspiracy theories.
Ana chewed her bottom lip, something about this felt all backwards. She had been expecting a bunch of manila folders and maybe, if she was really lucky, a flash drive. Instead she was looking at a corpse.
Ana debated turning around and getting the hell out of there.
[[Leave]]
[[Keep going]]
Ana winced a little as her hands brushed against the icy flesh of the creature's chest. She gingerly placed the water mask on its neck and watched in wonder as the convulsions stopped. It began to breathe more deeply and the black eyes closed for a moment. It looked peaceful, and as the skin began to emit a steady silver glow, Ana thought it looked beautiful too.
"I think I just saved your life"
The creature said nothing.
"Oh, what's that? Thank you Ana? Muchas gracias? Oh No, no problem my friend, de nada! I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me. My pleasure, really!" Ana realized she was talking to herself and stopped. The last thing she needed was to lose her marbles.
[[Look at thigh]]
[[Check phone]]
Ana remembered that she had seen strange blue tattoos on the bodies of the people who- she shook her head as if trying to clear her mind. She fixed her flashlight on the upper thigh of the creature. The light washed out the silver glow of the skin and under it, as if written with a dull blue pen, she saw 2E34566KPAT. She stood up, she felt as if she might fall.
[[Go find 2E34566KPAT]]
[[Check phone]]
Ana considered pouring water on to the wooden crates and waiting until they were rotten but she wasn't sure she had that kind of time.
[[Look for something else| backpack puzzle]]Ana took her cell out of her pocket. 11:30 PM. There were no messages and her message to Ed hadn't sent. She felt suddenly like crying.
She looked at the creature who seemed to be in repose. "No one here but us chickens!" It said nothing. Ana sighed. "You know if we're going to die together, the least you can do is laugh at my jokes."
[[Look at thigh]] Ana was holding a file. Staring back at her was was Ashan Patil. Ashan was 35. His father, Ana read, owned a series of large fabric manufacturing factories and some Colombian mines. His father's name was Maneek. Ana didn't understand what she was looking at. She kept flipping through the folder. Ashan had a nice smile, he had a Phd in biology. Under interests the file listed reading and astronomy. Ana turned back to the handsome brown skinned man with the bright smile on the first page. She double checked the numbers. There was no mistaking it. The 2E34566KPAT was tattooed onto his skin in the same dull ink as on-
" What the fu-"
Just then she felt the entire container shift, the floor and the walls shook and Ana had the sensation of moving through the air. She fell to the floor when the container righted itself again. Her knees hit the ground. She was about to scream at the top of her lungs when-
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["Thank you"]
Ana turned around dumbfounded. The creature was looking at her.
[[What?]]
Ana looked at it, at //him//
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["Thank you"]
The creature had pulled itself against the container wall, It had drawn its legs up against its chest. The gesture was so human, it startled her. When it spoke, there was a slight modulation in the voice that made it sound mechanical somehow, like it was coming through a speaker. //It must be the water// she thought.
[[Talk to it]]
"Your voice, you-" Ana paused. "You have vocal chords." she finally finished. The sentence seemed impossible.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["I am Ashan. That is, my name is Ashan"] the creature said.
"I know I saw," She indicated the folders on the floor. "I saw you, in there...You speak English?"
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["I was born in London."]
Ana was dumbfounded. "But you're a-"
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["Listen, there isn't time for all that. Thank you... thank you so much for saving my life, but there isn't time for all that now. I need your help."]
Ana felt adrenaline rising in her blood. "There certainly is time for all that! What on earth is going on here? She paused, her eyes widened. “Are you, like, are you an alien?"
A sound issued from Ashan's wide mouth which Ana recognized as laughter. (css: "color: LightBlue;")["God no, I'm from England!"]
[["Because you look like an alien..."]]
[["I don't believe you"|Don't trust]]
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["Yes right, I understand why you might think that-"]
"And you're glowing! I mean- why are you glowing?"
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["It's the bioluminescence, it's not exactly- it's just one of the side effects. Listen-”]
“So you’re not an alien...”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“My father-. Listen I need-”]
“You need? What about what I need? I saved your life. I gave you all my water!”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“I know and I'm actually very thankful, But-”]
“Why would someone with your kind of money, why would someone do this to themselves? It just- I don’t understand” Ana finally conceded.
There was a pause as Ana felt a distinct sensation of motion, it was like being on a train. She realized that the container was now moving.
[[“Who- what -What was that!?”]]
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Most likely they’re taking us to the Facility.”]
“The what?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;") [“Listen we haven't much time. What I'm going to tell you is going to sound mad- ]
“Crazier than being trapped in here with you?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Indeed. Listen. These men, men like my father, they’re trying to trigger a shift. In 8 days, hundreds of nuclear bombs will be set off along the Marianas trench causing a series of tsunamis. Earthquakes the likes of which recorded history has never seen will shake the planet. Cities will crumble, the tectonic plates will move and the waters-”]
“Will rise” Ana finished for him.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes, exactly. The waters will rise. We have to stop them!”]
“Billions will die!” Ana was horrified.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes, that’s why we have to stop them.”]
“We?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes we- listen they’re taking us to the facility, I'm sure of it. We need to get into the control room- we need to-”]
“Why were you in here?” Ana interrupted. She look at Ashan with suspicion.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“I told you-”]
“No in here, why were you in here?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“I-”]
[[“Someone was trying to kill you.” ]]
Ashan didn’t say anything.
“I found you, here, wrapped in plastic. Someone had left you for dead. Someone was trying to-
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes I was-taken off the project. None of that matters now. If we don’t-”]
“Why?
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Why what?”]
“Why was someone trying to ‘take you off the project?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Because- because I was doing my best to sabotage it.”]
Ana remembered the bright smile on the handsome face. “But you, you wanted this. You volunteered..”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes. I was-”]
She was starting to put the pieces together. “You’re a doctor!”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“A bio-geneticist.”]
“You- you did this! You knew!” She felt a wave of revulsion.
[[Ashan is to blame]]
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes. I learned about the LAMALLAY project several years ago when my father’s team recruited me on to it. At the time I was foolish enough to believe what they told me. I see that I was wrong now. Please-”]
“Why should I believe any of this?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Why would I lie to you?”]
It was a good question. Ana thought about the missing girls.
“Those disappearances, the girls- do you know anything about them”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes.”]
Ana was afraid to ask. “What happened to them?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Some may still be alive. If we can get to the holding cells in time, we can save them.”]
“You keep saying 'we'”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Yes, I can guide you, I know the facility well. But you have to do it, I’ve been out of the water too long, and I'm not going to be very fast I’m afraid. It’s up to you Ana.”]
“The girls-”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Every experiment needs test subjects.”]
Ana felt sick. “You’re a monster.”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Maybe, but I am the best shot you've got”] Ashan paused. (css: "color: LightBlue;")["Can you trust me?"]
[[Trust Ashan]]
[[Don't trust Ashan|Trust Ashan]]
"I don't believe you- I-" Ana began to pace. She was starting to hyperventilate now.
"I mean- am I supposed to die here now? And what for? My whole life- I have one shitty Corolla and it doesn't even have power steering. Do you know how hard that is to drive? This story was going to be my big break, my big opportunity to do good in the world and make a little scratch, maybe save one kid's life! 1! And instead you want me to what? SAVE the WORLD! It's too much. It's too much." Her chest felt very tight.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["You're having a panic attack. Please, you need to sit down and breathe!] The blue-green face became a mask of worry.
[[calm down|getting calmer]]
[[Still upset]]
Ana took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The more she screamed the less oxygen she had. Suddenly there was the distinct sensation of motion, it was like being on a train. She realized that the container was now moving.
[[“Who- what -What was that!?”]]
Ana screamed!
The creature looked at her with worry.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")["Please, please try to calm down"]
[[Keep screaming]]
[[getting calmer]]
Ana couldn't stop. It felt like her mind was fraying at the edges. When she finally passed out, she realized she was finally at peace. Ana never had to see the waves come.
As the lights in her brain slowly flicked off she finally [[calmed down|getting calmer]]Ana sighed. "What choice do I have?"
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“We will arrive at the facility soon. They won’t be expecting you. You still have your knife?”]
“Yes.”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Get out of sight and when the time comes, you and I need to find a way off this container.”]
“How?”
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“When the time comes. Now please, if they see you it’s all over”] Ashan returned to his original position on the container floor. (css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Can you help me?”] he indicated the tarp.
Ana walked over and covered Ashan’s torso with the tarp, just before she covered his face, Ashan reached up to stay her hand. She winced at the cold of his wrist.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Please, can you tell me your name?”]
She looked into the black eyes. “I'm Ana, Ana Flores."
Ashan's wide jaw moved in the approximation of a nod. (css: "color: LightBlue;")[“Thank you, Ana Flores, for saving my life.”]
“Don’t thank me yet.” She covered the glowing silver face.
[[Hide]]
Ana slipped in behind the crates, she shut off her flashlight, drew her knife and waited in the dark. She wasn't sure what the next hours were going to bring. She remembered briefly hesitating at the door of the container on an Autumn day that felt like a lifetime ago now. She remembered idling away last Sunday afternoon at the beach. //If I had known that lead was going to bring me here, would I have still- the lead!// A small flare went off in Ana's brain.
"Hey Ashan! Did you- somehow call me earlier today?" She asked already knowing the answer.
(css: "color: LightBlue;")[Call you? On your mobile? No I'm afraid I didn't know who you were."]
Ana's brows knit together in the darkness. It didn't make sense for it to be him. //But then who had called her, lured her here? who else knew about Lamallay?// Ana was trying to piece together what she could when she felt a distinct settling and then the scratch of rusted metal as the container door was opened. Her hand began to sweat around the knife handle as the footsteps became louder. //[[Someone was coming in! ]]//
Lamallay- Act II- The Facility
To be continued...
[[Play again|Lamallay- Act 1- The Container]]