Meteorite Strike by A. G. Taylor Page B

the papers – a printout of a lengthy email. “Sent by our chief scientist to General Wellman. She doesn’t know anything about our real plans yet, but she’s a potential problem.”
    â€œI’ll keep an eye on her, sir,” Major Bright replied.
    â€œVery good.” The colonel put the printout in his desk and slammed the drawer shut.
    â€œThe matter in the desert has been taken care of,” Major Bright continued. “Our men just radioed it through. We’re ready to proceed.”
    Colonel Moss smiled coldly. “Excellent. Have you briefed the men?”
    Major Bright nodded. “Special Forces have been informed we’re stepping up the programme, sir. They’re ready to institute a full lockdown of the base if necessary. But I don’t anticipate problems: these scientists have no stomach for a fight.”
    â€œGood work, Major,” Colonel Moss replied. “It’s time we got some real results. Prep the tank for the experiment. I want Sarah Williams to be the first test subject. Project Superhuman is a go.”

15
    Robert screamed.
    Sarah! Sarah! Help!
    She’d been dozing, half asleep although the lights were fully up. They’d taken almost a pint of blood earlier and given her some new pill. It made her feel so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open. She’d been having the strangest dream – something about Daniel and an endless desert. They’d been running through the sand together, desperately looking for something they’d lost…
    Sarah!
    Robert’s voice rang through her brain as clearly as if he was in the same room. She almost fell out of bed.
    Robert, it’s okay!
she sent back.
Can you hear me? What’s happening?
    There was no response.
    Sarah ran to the mirror and placed her hands on the glass.
    â€œIs there anything wrong, Sarah?” Mandy asked. Something in her voice suggested she’d been expecting some kind of reaction from Sarah right at that moment.
    â€œI want to see Robert,” Sarah demanded. “He needs me!”
    â€œAnd what makes you say that?” Mandy asked, a note of triumph in her voice, as if she had backed Sarah into some kind of corner. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
    Sarah lowered her hands and stepped away from the mirror. Her instinct cried out in her mind once more: that she should keep it a secret from Mandy. But now Robert needed her. Sarah stood motionless, torn between keeping her secret and revealing all in the hope it would get her to see her brother sooner. In the end, it was decided for her.
    The door beside her slid open without warning. A stranger stepped into the room. He wore a protective suit and helmet, although one bearing the black and gold of the Special Forces. Sarah judged that he was in his mid-thirties – there was a hardness to his face that she immediately disliked. A nameplate on the chest read
Major Bright.
    â€œYou promised to tell us everything, Sarah,” he said, fixing her with piercing eyes as she shrank back on the bed. “But I don’t think you’ve been one hundred per cent honest with us, and neither has your brother.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Sarah cried out as a soldier in a similar uniform and mask stepped into the room.
    â€œTake her to the tank,” Major Bright commanded.
    The soldier grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her towards the exit.
    Moments later she was in a bubble and being half led, half pushed towards a building she’d never been inside before. It was larger than the others and stood slightly apart from the rest. Two armed guards on the door stepped aside as they approached. Sarah stumbled on the bottom of the ramp, but one of the suits gave the bubble a push, rolling her forwards in the most undignified way possible. She cried out in protest, but the suit gave no sign of having heard.
    Then she was inside the building.
    Sarah struggled to her feet