The Aberration Read Online Free Page A

them.  “Little late for you, isn’t it? You uh, OK?”
    “Yeah.  I was just about to leave.  Can’t believe how dark it’s gotten.  Looks like rain.  Figures.”
    Guy’s voice crackled over the radio.  Even over the static and machine racket his voice seemed uncharacteristically on the edge of… panic .
    “Anyone have a copy?  Michael?  Rob?  Someone call an ambulance right now !”
    Rob’s eyes widened.  “What the…?”
    Michael’s voice fizzled in on the radio.  “What‘s going on, Guy?”  Even over the line, his voice made her heart rate do somersaults.  
    “Call an ambulance is what’s going on!”
    Rob picked up the lab radio.  “Uh, Guy?  Is something uh… wrong?”   She wondered if Rob’s grasp of the obvious was what qualified him for plant supervisor.    Her amusement faded quickly with the sound of Guy’s frantic voice.  Even through the static he seemed to be breathing heavily, and in the background almost drowned out by the machines, was that… weeping?
    “There’s… blood all over the place.  I have Drake… with me.  He found it.  Call an ambulance.  Get the… police too.  Think it’s… too late, though…”
    Michael’s voice returned on the line.  “Dammit.  You won’t believe this.  The phones aren’t working.” 
    Rob leaped for the lab phone.  When his face crumpled she knew that he got the same result.  Her throat tightened.  What the hell is going on?
    Guy’s voice crackled.  “Use your cell phone!”
    She groped in her purse until she found it.  Her heart pounded.  “There’s no signal.”
    Rob ran his fingers through his stereotypical corporate cut.  “Hard to uh, get a signal in the building sometimes.  I’ll uh… get my phone and step outside.”
    They both jumped when the side door banged open.  Guy rushed in, supporting Drake, who looked like one of those war refugees she’d seen on TV: tear-streaked face with eyes wide and staring at nothing.  Blood covered his fingers and was smeared on his face and shirt.  Rob helped Guy ease him into a chair.  He huddled with his arms around himself, trembling visibly.
    “What’s going on, Guy?  You uh, said something about blood?  It’s only his fingers…”
    “It’s everywhere , Rob.  The walls, the ceiling… has anyone called the police yet?”
    “The phone is out.  What the hell happened?”
    Michael dashed through the other door, making her jump again.  Her heart sank at the look on his face.  For some reason he was dripping wet.  Water pooled on the floor at his feet from his saturated clothes.  “You guys won’t believe this.  Look outside.”
    Through the narrow window nothing was visible except thick, unnatural rain.  A streaming curtain that obscured everything, it cascaded silently against the window.  
    Fran stared.  “That’s impossible.  Just an hour ago I saw the sun setting.  Clear as day.”
    Rob’s voice rose shrilly.  “Where the… hell did that come from?”  Fran half expected him to start wringing his hands.
    Michael eyed Rob worriedly.  “I don’t know, but it’s thick as soup .  I couldn’t even get a signal outside.”
    “Did you go up the stairwell?” Guy asked.  “Sometimes you have to go up higher…”
    “Are you listening ?  I couldn’t even see the stairwell two feet ahead.  That stuff is thick .  Never seen anything like it.  Plus it feels… weird out there.”  Michael’s eyes look challenging, as though he expected an accusation of cowardice.   “Thought I’d check in and see if anyone else had a signal first.”  He gave a start as he noticed Drake for the first time.  “What happened to him ?”
    “He saw it first.” 
    Rob’s eyes quivered behind his glasses.   “Uh… what did you see, Guy?  We’re all here, uh… right?  Where did the blood come from?”  
    “I think it was Greg.”  Guy’s voice was flat.  He seemed more interested in peering at the deluge