CHAPTER THIRTEEN
In Callen’s dream, the world moved as if he was being carried. He looked down to see his father's arm wrapped around him as he floated down a cement hallway. His father's thick beard and dark hair could be seen out of the corner of his eye. The air was stale and cold, like a man made cave. Several men worked on facility electronics as they walked.
He looked over his father's shoulder into the glass windows of several laboratories. People in containment suits worked in some of the rooms, in others people were dressed in lab coats conducting their research. A cry came from the room as they walked past raising the hairs on Callen's little neck.
From around the corner ahead of them came a group of men in lab coats pushing a metal bed labeled with subject VI. A pitiful creature with long pointed ears slightly folded against the bloody sheets was strapped against. A variety of medical devices dangled from the hapless creature. It was no bigger than a child and was missing its right arm. Its stark white skin rippled into a sneer as it past them, but it's eyes couldn't lock with Callen's as he stared at the creature. It's sockets were empty and its nose curled as it sniffed the air.
Callen's flesh crawled. "Daddy, what's that?" He shook with a child's fear.
"Don't worry about it son, she can never hurt you."
He relaxed a little.
Alex stopped moving in front of a metal door that hissed open. They entered a room with cardboard boxes stacked in the corners and a variety of empty glass shelves waiting to be inhabited by the stacks of books that rested near the boxes. The books looked like ancient tomes filled with a combination of information on magic, alchemy, and scientific principles. Alex's various degrees in nanotechnology and biophysics hung on the wall.
Alex put Callen down and activated his computer. The thin screen erupted with images of various research projects. He zoomed in on the project marked 'Panacea.' He flipped between two images one marked 'Test 26-Niknak' and 'Callen-Primary.' After scanning through some data, he turned towards Callen. "We're getting close Pup...very close..."