Lucky Charms:  A Serial

Lights up.

     As I began walking toward my office on the fourth floor of the McDermott Building, I started to think about what that man had said to me earlier.

     "It's coming. Which side will you take? I know where I will be. Do you?"

     This didn't bother me at the time, but as I reflect on it now, I realize what he was saying.  I too, know where he will be.  Right here in my lab, and he'll have to go through the testing that I have been planning for years.  When I got that call about a new project being organized, the one organized by the Women In Power, I felt that I was the only one was up to the task.

     I assembled a team of psychologists, surgeons, and doctors that I knew I could trust.  I told them about the bodies we'd use, about what we would be doing to them, and gave them the chance to leave right there.  They really didn't have a choice about it though, because an armed guard was standing in front of the door with orders from above to shoot if anyone tried to leave.  We were set to begin.

     I arrived at my office to find Ray Gentry, a prominent psychologist and trusted friend, sitting there waiting for me.

     "Fred, I came to see you because I have some disturbing news.  It seems that some of the derelicts that we have been using in our experiments were not pure.  Their bodies were ravaged by one disease or another, and so our research has fallen behind by three months."

     "Damn it Ray!  Why didn't you screen them before the tests began?  The Women In Power will not like to hear this, and I'm not the one who will tell them.  Who discovered this problem?"

     "Jones the neurosurgeon did.  He opened one of 'em up and had to throw it out because it was rotting from the inside out.  I don't know exactly how many were in that condition, but there were enough to have us running all over the city looking for more clean ones.  I'm sorry, but we just can't use the homeless for this.  We need to know how the people with good immune systems and strong bodies will be affected by this."

     "Don't you think I know that? The problem is, we just can't take people out of their homes and inject them with this stuff.  Do you know what would happen if word of what we were doing got out?  The project would be scrapped and we would be put in prison, or even put to death for this.  Killing hundreds of people just to test out a virus?  No one would take pity on us Ray.  No one."

     "But we have to find some healthy bodies, otherwise we will have to postpone the release of the virus.  The Women In Power would not like that at all."

     "Damn... Okay, here's what you do.  This is the only thing I think we can get away with.  The Women In Power have been paying off the police so we can take the derelicts.  The other people in this building don't know what we have been doing, so if we can get some of them to come with us to the lab, we can use them.  If the police ask us where these people went to, we'll just say we saw them with one of the bums down the street.  When they don't find him, they'll assume that the stinking bum either kidnapped or killed the person and he's on the run.  Tough problem, easy solution."

     "That sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if we'll be able to pull it off.  What if someone sees the person with us right before they disappear?  We're sure to be blamed.  What will we tell our colleagues?  They aren't stupid you know."

     "Easy.  First we'll only get the ones that stay late to work.  That way there'll be very few people in the building.  And even if a janitor sees us, who'll believe his word anyway?  Second, yes, our coworkers aren't idiots, but they know who signs their checks, and the door is always there for them to walk toward.  If that's their choice, then we'll have another fresh person to experiment with.  You know what I mean..."

     This comment left Ray speechless.  He looked at me like I had gone insane, which, now that I think about it, I may be.  He stood, thanked me for my time and left.  A thin smile came upon my lips as I watched him leave.  Good riddance to bad rubbish, as I always say.  He seems in good shape, so I think he'll make a good subject.  I'd had enough of this problem for one day, so I left for my house.

     As I boarded the elevator, I began to look among those around me for someone who would make my problem go away.  There were three others on the elevator with me, two strangers who I believed to be visitors to the building, and a man I knew as Jeff.

     Jeff, whose face rivaled only that of an ogre, was short and about seventy pounds overweight.  He looked like he could drop at any moment and have a heart attack.  No, he wouldn't work for my plans.

     As I pulled away from the parking garage, I saw someone walking along the street.  She looked to be about seventeen and she was very attractive.  I closed in behind so I could talk to her.

     "Hey there.  Where you heading?"

     "I don't know exactly where I'm going right now, but if you can help me out, I might know how to repay you."

     She winked coyly as she said this, so I knew what she meant.  This was the perfect chance for me to have some fun.

     "Come on and get in my car.  I know where you want to go, and I think I'm going to come along."

     I pushed the door open for her and she got in.  I drove to a place that I knew was safe to do what had to be done.  I looked over at her and smiled.  She had no idea what I was about to do to her.  She leaned forward and unzipped my pants.  I moved her hair out of the way to get a clear view of her neck.  I reached into the back seat and grabbed my running shoe.  As she started her business, I unlaced the shoe and started to giggle excitedly.

     "Do you like what I'm doing?" she said.

     "Yes, but will you look at me for a moment, I want to remember your face how it was."

     She looked up at me a bit confused.

     "How it was? What do you mean?"

     "Well, it won't look so good after we're finished with it."

     As I was saying this, I wound the lace around her neck and pulled it tight.  Oh, if I could have had a picture of her right there, I would have framed it and put it on my mantle.  The look of both wonder and fear that was there was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

     I put her body in the trunk of my car, and zipped my pants.  She wasn't so hot at her business anyhow, so I did some other dumb joe a favor.  It was good that I strangled her instead of shooting her or stabbing her because I didn't have any clean clothes to change into.  I got back into my car and drove back to work.

     As I pulled back into the garage, the attendant looked at me and smiled.

     "Didn't you just leave half an hour ago?" he said.

     "No rest for the wicked."

     He just looked at me and laughed.  It's better that he doesn't know what is going on in this building.  It would scare him too much.