Chapter 67: The Survivors

Markus sat alone in the records room once again.

The lights above him flickered softly as the entire Foundation had gone quiet.

Most of the researchers had already left as most of the fighters were asleep but Markus couldn’t sleep, not after what he had discovered.

He stared at the terminal in front of him.

"MARK 8"

His fingers hovered above the keyboard, he typed the words into the search bar.

The system loaded and hundreds of thousands of files appeared.

Markus stared at them, "There’s no way..."

He scrolled past reports, medical records, experiment results, survivor records, death records and adaptation reports.

Markus leaned closer, his eyes moved across the screen.

"MARK 8 — SUBJECT DATABASE"

He clicked it and the screen changed.

A list of names appeared, hundreds of them.

Markus slowly scrolled through the list.

SUBJECT 001.

STATUS: DECEASED.

He scrolled.

SUBJECT 002.

STATUS: DECEASED.

Another.

SUBJECT 003.

STATUS: ADAPTED.

Markus stopped, "Adapted..."

He continued, some were marked deceased, some were marked adapted, some were marked survivors.

Others were marked unknown.

Markus leaned back, "So this is what Mark 8 did."

He kept scrolling, then he saw something strange.

A classification, "SURVIVOR."

Markus clicked on it and a new list appeared, with only a handful of names.

Markus read them...then he froze. One name stood out.

FELIX AINST

Markus stared at the screen, "Felix..." he remembered the name, the stories, the reports and the Foundation’s attempts to track him.

The man who had escaped.

Markus scrolled through Felix’s file.

STATUS: SURVIVOR.

MARK 8 RESPONSE: NONE

Markus’s eyes widened, "So that’s why." He continued reading, "Felix had survived.... Never getting infected and there’s only two people who ever did that him and Darius...Damn."

He scrolled farther. Then another name appeared.

"DARIUS."

Markus stopped, "Darius..."

He opened the file.

STATUS: SURVIVOR.

MARK 8 RESPONSE: NOTHING DETECTED

Markus stared, "Completely unaffected."

He read the report again.

Darius had been exposed, the parasite had entered his system but it had failed to produce the same effects seen in most infected subjects, no crystallization, no mutation, no deterioration....Nothing.

Markus leaned back, "So Felix survived by who knows how..."

He looked at Darius’s file, "And Darius survived without changing."

He stared at the screen, "What the hell is Mark 8?"

Markus continued scrolling and the list became darker.

Names, one after another dead, adapted, dead.

Markus’s face became serious, "All these people..."

He stared at the screen, "They were all infected."

He continued scrolling...some had adapted but most hadn’t.

Markus stopped, his eyes moved down the screen.

Then he saw another section.

SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION: SURVIVOR / ADAPTED / DECEASED

Markus looked at the list...then he noticed something.

His own name, Markus Cain

He stared at it. The system had placed him among the Adapted.

Markus frowned, "You named this after me..."

He looked at the screen, "But I don’t even know what the hell this is about."

He scrolled through his own file. There were pages of information.

His infection, his abilities, his command-type ability, his crystalline transformations, his ability to transmit Mark 8 through physical contact.

Markus’s expression changed, "They’ve been recording everything."

He kept reading. Then he reached a section he hadn’t seen before.

ABILITY CLASSIFICATION.

Markus clicked it and a new page opened.

The screen displayed several crystalline classifications.

DIAMOND TYPE

Markus stared, "So that’s where the diamond comes in."

He read the information. Different types of diamonds had been identified among Mark 8 subjects.

The rankings were based on strength, density, durability, energy transfer, and compatibility with the human body.

Markus scrolled and at the top was:

BLUE DIAMOND

GRADE: S

Markus’s eyes widened, "Blue..."

He looked at his own hand. The crystalline energy inside him shifted slightly, he remembered the blue diamond, he had seen it, he had felt it.

Markus continued reading.

BLUE DIAMOND — HIGHEST RECORDED GRADE.

He stared at the screen, "Okay."

He scrolled.

GRAY DIAMOND

GRADE: A

Markus nodded slowly, "Second."

He continued.

WHITE DIAMOND

GRADE: B

Then CLEAR DIAMOND

GRADE: C

Markus leaned back, "Blue."He counted on his fingers, "Gray." another finger, "White." another, "Clear."

He nodded slowly, "Okay..this is information he already told us.."

He stared at the screen, "Okay, okay, okay."

He rubbed his face, "I understand."

Then he stopped, "No."

He looked at the screen again, "I don’t understand anything."

Markus leaned forward.

The sheer amount of information was overwhelming...He had spent weeks training his ability.

He thought he understood what Mark 8 had done to him but this was different.

The Foundation had been studying this for years.

They had classifications, grades, survivor categories and adaptation records.

Markus looked at Felix’s name then Darius’s then his own.

He whispered, "Felix was a survivor."

Markus scrolled through Felix’s file again.

The report showed something else.

LOCATION OF ESCAPE: RUSSIA.

Markus froze, "The only one who actually escaped Russia..."

He stared at the screen. Felix had been there, the facility, the experiments. Mark 8 and somehow, he had escaped.

Markus leaned back, "Damn."

He looked at Darius’s file, then back at Felix, "I need to talk to Darius."

Markus stood. He shut the terminal down and the room went dark.

He walked toward the door then stopped.

He looked back at the screen, the words remained in his mind.

MARK 8.

SURVIVOR.

ADAPTED.

DECEASED.

Markus clenched his fist, "Man..."

He shook his head, "I should really figure out this Mark 8 shit before I move forward."

He opened the door and the hallway was empty.

Markus stepped out...he began walking but he didn’t notice the figure standing at the end of the corridor.

Watching him.

The next morning came quickly, the training hall was already active.

Ash stood in the center of the room, a small diamond hovered between his fingers.

He breathed slowly pushing it with his breath.

The diamond moved, left, right, up and down according to his breath.

Ash stared at it, his breathing remained steady.

Markus entered the room.

Ash looked over, "You’re early."

Markus didn’t answer immediately, he looked at the diamond, "You’ve been training."

Ash nodded, "Trying to get better control."

Markus walked toward him, "You need to see something."

Ash lowered the diamond, "What?"

"Not here." Markus said.

Ash followed him...they left the training hall but before they reached the next corridor, Markus stopped.

Reina was standing there, she looked at both of them, "Where are you going?"

Markus looked at her, "To find Darius."

Reina’s expression changed, "Why?"

Markus hesitated, "Because I found something."

Reina looked at Ash then Markus, "What did you find?"

Markus looked around, "Not here."

Reina nodded and joined in.

They walked together...three people, one question. What exactly was Mark 8?

In a dark room a single light hung from the ceiling.

Someone sat in a chair, their face was hidden.

A screen glowed in front of them. The screen displayed the same database Markus had accessed.

The list of Mark 8 subjects, the screen scrolled.

FELIX AINST — SURVIVOR.

The name disappeared.

DARIUS — SURVIVOR.

It disappeared.

Then another name appeared.

Markus Cain — ACTIVE.

The figure leaned closer, a hand moved across the keyboard and another file opened.

ADAPTATION PROGRESS: INCREASING.

The figure stopped then opened another file.

DIAMOND CLASSIFICATION.

Blue. Gray. White and Clear.

The figure stared at the blue diamond classification.

Then quietly said, "So he found it."

A second voice came from the darkness, "Found what?"

The figure looked toward the doorway, "The partial ranking."

Silence.

The second person stepped forward, "And?"

The figure closed the file, "He’s starting to understand."

"Is that a problem?" the second person said.

The figure looked back at the screen.

Markus’s photograph appeared, "No." A pause, "Not yet."

The screen changed and a new file appeared.

PROJECT: SHIBA

The figure stared at it, then smiled, "Let him keep searching."

Markus, Ash, and Reina reached the lower section of the Foundation.

Markus stopped outside a sealed door.

Reina looked at it, "Darius is in there?"

Markus nodded, "According to the records."

Ash looked at Markus, "You said he was unaffected."

"That’s what the file said."

Reina stared at the door, "Then why is he being kept down here?"

Markus didn’t answer. He placed his hand against the door.

The lock opened.

The three stepped inside...A long corridor stretched ahead, no scientists, no guards.

Just silence.

They continued walking then they heard something.

A voice, "Markus?"

Markus stopped. Ash looked at him.

Reina’s eyes widened, ’it is him.’

Markus slowly turned toward the sound.

A man stepped from the shadows.

"Darius."

Markus stared at him, "You’re Darius."

Darius nodded, "Yes...just ask that lady over there."

Markus looked back at Reina, "You too know each other?"

Reina answered, " Yes...we were tested on in the same room."

Markus stepped closer, "I need answers."

Darius looked at him, "About Mark 8?"

Markus froze, "How did you know?"

Darius smiled faintly, "Because you’re not the first person to come looking."

Markus narrowed his eyes.

"And if you’re looking for the truth about Mark 8..." He paused, "You’re already too late."

Markus stared at him, "What does that mean?"

Darius looked directly into his eyes, "Because Mark 8 isn’t what you think it is."

The lights suddenly went out and darkness swallowed the corridor.

Ash’s diamonds immediately formed between his fingers illuminating their surroundings in a faint blue light.

Reina stepped backward as Markus’s hand crystallized.

Then a sound echoed from somewhere deeper inside the Foundation.

A door opening.

Darius whispered, "They found us."

Markus looked into the darkness, "Who?"

Darius didn’t answer, something moved beyond them.

Markus raised his hand as ash prepared his diamonds and somewhere in the darkness...someone laughed.