Date: July 3, 1996
It all started with one disappearance -- Allison Greeley, a communication/environmental biology major at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Working under a well-known physics professor, Dr. Alexander Ord, Allison had wiled away her summer in an underground lab, deep in the catacombs of the science building. Her live-in lover, Thomas Morton, began to get worried when she started losing weight and acting paranoid. One night, in early September, Allison came home in a complete frenzy. Eyes dark and scared, she began to talk to him about leaving. Thomas was, as one could imagine, suprised. Then angry. They fought bitterly for some time, finally coming to an impass. Throwing her hands up in frustration, she told him "stay here, I'll go to the lab and get something that will convince you." That was the last Thomas ever saw of Allison.
A search of the area yeilded no trace of the beautiful college co-ed and the authorities were convinced that the girl had simply moved on. But, leaving her things? No money?
Two months later, in November, another disappearance. This time, a popular Jamacian exchange student named Jawl Shaba. A student senator, intermural basketball star and local personality, Shaba also held a blackbelt in Kempo Karate and taught classes on Tuesday nights to his fellow students and friends. He was also a graduate researcher under Dr. Ord. The police, after searching Shaba's apartment, found a tenth of an ounce of jamacian gold and chalked Jawl's disappearance up to a drug deal gone bad.
Finally, Timothy Butler. Timothy Butler wasn't the type of student that attracted attention on campus. A shy, quiet, introverted computer science major -- Timothy kept to the underground networkd of computer labs under the social science building, rarely venturing out amoung the "mundanes". Always dressed in a black overcoat, he blended into the background always. His disappearance was completely ignored, as it was beleived that he fit the profile of someone who would wander if depressed -- which he often was. A correlation that few noticed was that he had started working for Dr. Ord just a scant two weeks before disappearing.
And what about the elusive and mysterious Dr. Ord? A PhD from Stanford, Dr. Ord's specialty was particle physics. In the 20+ Years that he taught at CSU, all of his research was kept under lock and key -- he never published results, carefully screened assistant researchers and made them sign detailed contracts of secrecy.
The group met at a local hangout, a usual Tuesday night gathering. This was to be a 'different' sort of night, however, as Thomas Morton had a few things on his mind, and a plan of sorts.
Thomas began by telling everyone his suspicions concerning his girlfriend, Allison's, disappearance. He confided that he considered Dr. Ord, her superior, suspicious and quite possibly responsible. Also, about the run-around he got when he tried to speak to Dr. Ord. Desperately, he asked that his friends help him break into the lab that night, maybe dig up anything that might give a clue as to where Allison was.
After some reluctance, everyone agreed to help. It was a known fact that one of Dr. Ord's 'quirks' was that he locked his lab at 2am every night, without fail. No matter what was in the works, it went no later. So 2am was the time.
Spencer had the slide card and code for the main door.
Willie had the electronics expertise to deal with the alarm.
Paulie had the burglar background.
The rest possessed intelligence and keen eyes.
Thomas was sure they would find something.
2am, they all met in the parking lot behind the science building -- dressed in black. As expected, Spencer's code and key worked. After winding their way through the staircases and hallways, they ended up at the sub-basement door to Dr. Ord's lab.
Getting in wasn't easy. Willie began to work on the keypad immediately, finally causing the door to come open, but also setting off an alarm. Paulie, who had walked to the end of the hallway, was just in time to see the main sub-basement door slam and lock. Nila, Gabe and Flynn jammed a fire extinguisher in the door just before it too would lock. Willie continued to work furiously, finally suceeding in disabling the alarm. The only way to go was inward.
Thomas went straight for the student researcher lockers. Gabe, to a file cabinent. Willie, of course, to Dr. Ord's cubicle and the computer flickering inside. Nila was not far behind him. Paulie headed to the back of the room, to a large steel door, curiously prodding it. Spencer and Flynn stood in the middle of the room and kept lookout.
After Paulie alerted Willie to the door, Willie began to try to find any information he could on it. He was able to find a file, encoded, and set about breaking it. Not long after, the door slid open.
Paulie, followed by Spencer and Nila, went in -- searching for a light in the absolute darkness. And then, in a flash, they were gone. Right in front of Flynn's eyes. Thomas went in to investigate, and was swallowed as well, turning 90 degrees away from everything just as Spencer, Nila, and Paulie had.
"My God, we've got to get out of here...," Willie said, softly, just as the room was covered in white dust as the fire extinguisher exploded from the continued pressure of the closing door.
There were no other exits, being underground. No windows, no fire exits, only the absolute blackness on the other side of where the large steel door had been.
Gabe and Flynn, both skimming the file cabinets now, were the first to hear the thunder of boots in the hallway, coming closer. Flynn looked around the room, decided there was no other way out, and, drawing his fencing foil, leaped into the darkness with a cry of "Tally Ho!" Gabe soon followed, leaving only Willie in the room.
The footsteps stopped outside the door, now closed (and covered with the powdery white from the fire extinguisher), and a few thuds sounded. Willie was left with a decision: wait for the door to be opened and face certain arrest and definite jail time, or follow the others into the absolute blackness.
The gunshots decided him. And Ord's laughter followed Willie into the darkness.
Whiteness. All whiteness.
Disorientation. Substance lost.
Joel N. Fischoff