//------------------------------// // [3] Welcome to Noril'sk? // Story: Winter of Our Discontent // by CommunistTaco //------------------------------// As we walked into town it seemed like something was off. No-one and I mean literally no-one was on the street or even visible through any windows. All the shops were closed, every last one of them and the town seemed all but deserted. "Um guys, is it possible that this is a ghost town?" I voiced in concern. "I don't think so. Nothing here looks worn down. Everything seems to have been abandoned in the last few days or so." Makar replied rubbing his chin with a hand. "This is creepy man. It reminds me of those zombie apocalypse movies I used to watch in high school," Sergei said shakily. "I sincerely doubt its zombies Sergei," I replied coolly, "There has to be a logical explanation to this." "Look! There's the police station! Maybe we can find some answer there!" Makar exclaimed pointing to a building that clearly read Станция Норильский полиции (Noril'sk Police Station). We broke into a brisk jog to the small local police building and were pleasantly surprised to find the door unlocked. The small reception area was completely empty and the four holding cells in the back were also void of human beings. This mystery was getting the best of us and we still had no clues. "Where's fucking Sherlock Holmes when you need him!?" I snapped getting frustrated. "In England where he belongs. Now lets try looking through some of the paperwork on this desk." Sergei said pointing a finger at said desk. We began sifting through the endless papers of reports of random petty crimes like shoplifting and disturbing the peace. Then I pulled up one report that captured my eye. Noril'sk Police Report Date: December 16, 2014 Time: 10:39 pm Felony Reported: Breaking and Entering Details: Middle-aged woman by the name of Ellen Barishnokov reported a male assailant broke into her home and drugged her husband and son with unknown substance (most likely poison or chloroform). Call was cut short by what sounded like a struggle, officers deployed to scene. Reports of unconscious people upon entering the hom... The comment cut out right there with a smudge mark that looked like the person had been forcefully removed from the desk "Guys take a look at this!" I exclaimed showing them the police report. "That is strange. What could of happened to this guy?" Makar questioned with a stumped look on his face. "Maybe well find out if we look around the town a bit more," Sergei suggested shrugging his shoulders. "Good idea. C'mon guys," I replied as I walked out the door. The sun had long since set over the horizon and the town was now engulfed in the artificial light of street lamps. We continued looking around the main street finding nothing really of interest. All we saw were closed shops and empty houses as far the eye could see. "This is fucking creepy. How do 1000 people just vanish into thin air?" I asked astounded. "Oh shit, maybe there was a serial killer that murdered everyone!!!" Sergei exclaimed glancing around nervously. "I sincerely doubt that considering it's been 3 days since whatever happened occurred and no feds or police have arrived to lock this place down. If it was a serial killer, word would've most likely gotten out before he could kill every member of the town." Makar explained. "Then what could of happened?" I asked. "I'm not sure.. But I say we find out!" Makar replied. I stopped in my tracks upon spotting something on the ground. An iPhone... "Hey guys look!" I said pointing to the object an then picking it up. I pressed the power button and was pleasantly surprised that it still had power after being out in the freezing cold for days. I slid the screen to find that whoever was the idiot that owned this phone didn't keep it unlocked. What I was greeted with startled me. The dial pad was currently open and the number 112 (Russian Emergency Phone Number) was displayed. It looked like someone had been trying to call for help but was interrupted just before they could make the call. "Look how close they were to getting word out that something was wrong..." I said sadly showing my friends the phone. "One tap of the finger and they would've been able to possibly save the lives of the townsfolk." Sergei said in the same solemn tone as I just did. Just then the phone screen flashed and died out as the phone finally succumbed to the frozen air. I had been reaching to actually dial the emergency number at that moment and threw the phone on the ground after it denied me my call. "Fuck, now we can't call for help!" I exclaimed in frustration. We all just sat there for a moment before deciding to continue our venture into the city of the unknown... Today had been rough. After waking up and finding the transformations, I had to figure out how to walk correctly again much to my frustration. I had been wandering through the now-deserted town since noon. I found everyone else in the same condition as me and helped them set up a refugee camp. It turns out that I was out for 3 whole days and I couldn't be angrier at the idiot who did this to me. HE was no longer present and I presumed he crawled back into whatever hole he came out of. I was walking along the main street of my desolate home town and began strolling down the now dark road. Suddenly, I heard voice of some sort and dived into an alleyway out of instinct... "T--s -s f----n- c-e--y. H-w d- ----sa-- p-o-l- v--is- i-to th-n a-r" I heard a distant voice say. I couldn't make out the words but someone else was definitely here. I peeked around the corner and was astonished at what I saw. Three young men were walking down the road conversing as they went... And I had thought that HE had gotten the whole town... They were talking about something that I couldn't quite make out until they managed to get within earshot. "Hey look!" one of the shouted pointing at something on the ground. They all rushed around him as he picked up what looked to be a cellphone... my cellphone to be exact. I had dropped during my chase with HIM while trying to dial 112 for help. They began examining it and even managed to power it on and notice my failed attempt at dialing for help. Yeah I leave my phone unlocked, so what? After discussing something that was muddled to my ears the one that had picked up the phone shouted out in anger and threw it on the ground. "That's my phone you prick.." I muttered under my breath. Oh well not like it was much use to me anyway. They began walking down the street again and I dipped back into the shadows of the alleyway until I was sure they had passed. I decided right then and there to follow them and maybe figure out just how they escaped the fate of the rest of us... I looked down a side street and saw a building that caught my attention. Норильский химических исследований фонда (Noril'sk Chemical Research Facility) said the sign out front. And another godsend was several lights were on inside. "Guys we should go in there. Maybe there's a scientist inside who can explain what's going on," I said pointing to the pastel white concrete facility. "Anything sounds good right now, lets go already," Sergei whined. We began our approach on the chemical research facility with high hopes. My dad was a well known Russian chemist before he passed away and I could possibly gain some respect by mentioning he was my father. He had even took the time to teach me the basics of chemistry when I was in kindergarten in hopes that I would follow in his footsteps. After his death, I never had interest in chemistry again but my very limited knowledge might useful as of now. I pushed open the front door relieved to find it unlocked and stepped into the lobby. It was a plain white lobby like you would find in a hospital with a bench pressed against the wall. The reception desk was empty which was strange and the security system seemed to not be working considering the security cameras on the receptionist's monitor all stated 'OFFLINE'. "This place is just as weird as the last. Lets stay together and search rooms alright?" I commanded. "Fine with me," Makar said nodding. We began searching the rooms of the research facility. I made sure grab us some gas masks in case we would need them at any point. The first few rooms were pretty pointless considering they were just small offices that provided no information whatsoever. The seventh room we cam across was a laboratory but it had nothing of interest, just research for a new herbicide. The second lab we came across was just as unhelpful containing research for a more effective cold medicine. We continued down to the last of the three labs on the first floor and read the sign on the door. Laboratory 47A Authorized Personnel Only On the door handle was what looked like a key code but to our luck the door was ajar allowing us access. I flipped on the light switch and was greeted by a much larger lab than the previous two. I walked over to the file cabinet and began sifting through the papers. One stack of documents caught my eye so I picked up the first page and read the title. Project 56457G Genetic Manipulation of Humans [CLASSIFIED] "Oh shit look at this" I exclaimed beckoning my two friends over. The pile of documents I had the grabbed the first one from contained all sorts of research on human cloning and human development including research on how to manipulate human genomes. "This is fucking sick! Look at all the creepy stuff these guys were researching!" Makar exclaimed. "I know, who the fuck would authorize such cruel research?" Sergei said solemnly. I left the documents for Makar and Sergei to look at the rest of the laboratory. A whole chemistry station was set up and running, producing what appeared to be a neon blue substance. Upon closer inspection I read that the liquid was 'Formula P'. I picked up a vile of the stuff and read label more closely. FORMULA P Ingredients: [CLASSIFIED] Safe For Human Consumption: YES Application: CAN BE CONSUMED RAW OR IN FOOD AS WELL AS ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. 10 ML REQUIRED TO TAKE EFFECT EFFECTS: [CLASSIFIED] I looked at the neon substance a bit more. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The contents seemed to swirl in vile like there was some invisible current running through them. I decided to call my friends over to see what they thought. "Hey guys come over and look at this!" After reading the label Makar eased the cork of the top. "Whoa there, we don't know what that does," Sergei said uneasily. "It said it was safe for human consumption. I doubt it could be that bad..." Makar replied sticking out a finger and slowly turning the vile over. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," a new voice came from behind us startling us and causing Makar to nearly drop the vile. We whirled around and were absolutely stunned at what we saw. "Holy shit!" Sergei exclaimed backing up. It front of us was the most confusing thing I had ever seen in my 23 years of life...