Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  The others had the grace to look ashamed, Billy putting his book away and

  concentrating on the professor with an interested look in his face. Amy just shook her head; she

  was never serious when talking about the rumors. They just amused her and she collected

  conspiracy theories like other girls collected jewelry or CDs.

  “So, if you all are ready?” Dr. Carnesby continued. He flipped open the folder, arranging

  the papers in front of him as if for a lecture. Looking around the room, the professor met each of

  our eyes as if judging us suitable or not.

  “What kind of medical trial are you performing?” I asked, unable to keep silent when his

  eyes met mine.

  “We will get to that. First, why don’t you share with me your names since I don’t think

  any of you have been in my classes,” he replied, smiling. We went through the whole introduction thing again, with Amy giving both our names

  again, stating our names and majors. Our goals were said quieter, shyer. Dr. Carnesby nodded

  after each one, an attentive, interested look on his face. When we were finished he nodded and

  pulled out a sheet of paper.

  “As you know, I’m Dr. Adam Carnesby,” he began, tapping a finger on the paper. I could

  see that it had bulleted points on it but it was too far away for me to read easily. “I’ve been a

  professor here at the University of Chicago for fifteen years. My specialty is biochemistry and I

  work in the research and development department. This is not the first medical trial I’ve held but

  it is one of the more interesting ones. I’ve never had a subject die or have any serious adverse

  effects so you can rest easy on that score.”

  “What about not-soserious effects?” Amy asked curiously. “I’d imagine that not

  everything was all butterflies and roses.”

  “No indeed. The worst that happened was a mild allergic reaction and a coughing fit,” Dr.

  Carnesby replied, inclining his head towards Amy. “And since I perform all trials at an offsite

  facility, I am able to keep requisite emergency personnel on site. The subjects are required to

  live there as well for the duration of the trial in case anything untoward happens.”

  “How do you pay for all that?” Sandra asked, disbelief dancing in her tone. “It must be

  expensive having paramedics or doctors on site along with the costs of renting a building. Plus,

  you offera lot of money for this trial and I imagine the others were no different.”

  “I get funding from several sources, most private,” Dr. Carnesby replied smoothly. “And

  the government gives me a small subsidy as well, since much of my work can help soldiers and

  other government personnel.”

  “And it’s safe for you to be conducting this trial?” Billy asked, his soft voice hard to hear

  in the room. “You’ve gotten all the appropriate agreements and everything?” “That I have,” Dr. Carnesby replied, looking happy that someone had asked. “That is part

  of my presentation. If we are done with questions for the moment I’ll gladly answer any more

  you have once my presentation is finished.”

  He stood then, flipping the papers into a specific order. I pulled out a notebook and a

  pen, wanting to take notes on the presentation. I didn’t know if I was going to participate yet but

  I wanted all the information at hand if I decided to after this meeting. Amy nudged my shoulder,

  rolling her eyes, but I just shrugged. I liked to have things in a written format, easily referred

  back to.

  “Well, as it said on the flyer, I’m looking for volunteers to participate in a month long

  medical trial,” Dr. Carnesby said after clearing his throat. “I’ll start with the stick. You must stay

  at the facility you will be housed in for the entire month. You will not be able to leave and doing

  so disqualifies you for your payment and the study will end for you. Basically, all the comforts of

  home will be there. And now for the carrot. Each participant will have their own room with

  attached bathroom. There is a lounge with a tv, radio, video games, books, and magazines.

  Unfortunately, internet is not available because we don’t want any information about the trial

  leaking out. At the end, you will each be paid five thousand dollars.”

  “But what if we have important things to keep track of on the internet?” Michael

  interrupted. “I’m working on a project right now that involves daily checks online.”

  “You will either have to suspend the project, have someone else check it for you, or not

  participate,” Dr. Carnesby replied, shrugging. “The lack of internet is non-negotiable. I’m sorry.

  Before committing to this trial, each of you will be required to undergo a physical to verify your

  health. This also gives us a baseline for any side effects that may happen with the trial. During

  the month, you will be required to participate in some activities related to testing the drug we will

  administer. Other than that, your time is your own.”

  “Will we be able to contact our families while we’re doing this?” Sandra asked. “Again, because of possible leaks, there are no phones available to participants,” Dr.

  Carnesby explained, looking apologetic. “You also will not be able to have visitors because we

  don’t want outside contamination.”

  I fidgeted a little in my chair as I wrote; this was sounding more and more ominous. I

  mean, I understood the reason for no internet and phones but they’re basically taking us for a

  month and making us disappear. I wracked my mind for a few moments, trying to think of other

  students who’d participated in medical trials with Carnesby. None came to mind, which caused

  me to clear my throat and stand.

  “What other students have participated in your trials?” I asked, my voice a little shaky.

  “Because, honestly, it almost sounds as if you take the participants and brainwash them or

  something. No contact with the outside world for an entire month? You could be doing anything

  in there and no one would know.”

  “All participants are required to sign non-disclosure agreements,” Dr. Carnesby said,

  quiet amusement evident in his words. “So I would not be able to reveal their names nor would

  they. But I can assure you that we aren’t brainwashing people, as you say. We merely want the

  most controlled environment for testing.”

  “George, it’s all right,” Amy hissed at me, plucking at my sleeve to try to get me to sit

  back down. “He wouldn’t get funding from the government if he wasn’t aboveboard. Just sit

  down and let him finish.”

  With a sigh, I sat down and picked my pen back up. I still had my reservations but was

  willing to listen. Now, of course, I wish I had just walked out and dragged Amy with me. Hell,

  dragged all the others with me, too. Nothing good came from this medical trial we all

  participated in and a lot of evil was performed. Some of it my own. But jumping my story again

  here, so back to the meeting.

  “I have these non-disclosure agreements here if any of you decide that you do want to

  participate here and now,” Dr. Carnesby continued, pulling out a stack of stapled papers. He handed them around, each student taking one and reading interestedly. I took mine and

  skimmed the wording, only understanding one in every three or so. “Since Sandra here is

  studying to be a lawyer, perhaps she can help with any misunderstandings in the contracts.”
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  “I don’t think we’re going to participate,” one of the triplets said, while the other two

  nodded. They stood up together and moved towards the entrance.

  “Thank you for coming,” Dr. Carnesby told them, smiling as they walked out. He looked

  back at the rest of us expectantly.

  “Sure, love to,” Sandra nodded, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Silence

  reigned again while we all read our contracts. Michael was the one who asked Sandra the most

  questions, law-speak being somethinghe didn’t understand very well at all. Listening to her and

  Michael, the rest of us were able to make sense of our own copies without too many questions.

  Everything seemed legal and clearly defined but I still couldn’t shake the bad feeling. Seeing

  Amy pull out a pen to sign, I panicked and grabbed her wrist.

  “What are you doing?” I murmured to her, not wanting to be overheard. “I thought we

  agreed to just come and listen.”

  “No, youagreed to come and listen,” Amy retorted, shaking my hand off her arm and

  signing. “I had already decided to participate. We could really use the money, George, and it

  seems like easy money. Why are you having such problems with this?”

  “I already told you why,” I muttered sullenly, trying to articulate to myself why exactly I

  was feeling such forebodings. “There’s just something off. I don’t like this.”

  “I’m sorry, George, but that’s just not enough to stop me,” Amy said, sliding her paper

  toward the center of the table. “Besides, this is something I want to do and it’s not like it’s going

  to kill me. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  Shaking my head, I signed my own agreement as well. If she was doing this, there was

  no way I was letting Amy go there by herself. The sparkle in her cerulean eyes and the dazzling smile she sent mealmost made it worth it. Almost. I just hoped I’d shake the anxiety and worry

  by the time the trial actually started.

  Looking up, I saw that all the others had signed and were looking at Dr. Carnesby

  expectantly. Apparently, we were all going to be part of this. The others were excited, acting like

  kids at an amusement park.

  “Very good, this group is the perfect sample size,” Dr. Carnesby said, gathering up all

  the agreements and placing them in the manilla folder. “Since you’ve all signed, I can tell you

  about the drug we are testing.”

  “What is it for?” Billy asked. “And does it have a name yet?”

  “It’s called Gnotret and I don’t want to tell you what it’s for just yet,” Dr. Carnesby replied.

  “I don’t want to color your perceptions when you’re given it. I can tell you that it’s an injection.

  You will receive it once a day for the first week. The next three weeks will be an observation and

  evaluation period. You will each keep a journal of your daily activities, how you feel, any odd

  thoughts that come to you, and any changes to your health, personality, or mentality. You will

  each observe the others and document any changes you notice in each other. Nothing is too

  small and nothing should be overlooked.”

  “Wow, that all sounds really intense,” Michael murmured slowly, the reluctance to

  participate now obvious. “You’re turning us all into spies on each other.”

  “Not at all,” Dr. Carnesby demurred, shaking his head. “You’re all going to act as a check

  on each other, that’s all. There may be small changes that you don’t notice about yourself but

  others will. Take, for example, George and Amy. They know each other well since they’re dating

  so they’ll be able to pick up on minute changes in the other’s personality or habits.”

  Amy nodded at that, eagerness etched onto her features. She had taken to leaning

  forward in her chair, her fingers laced together on top of the table. I recognized this as her

  completely-intent-on-the-proceedings pose, something she did when whatever was in front of

  her had her complete attention. I nodded as well, seeing the truth and the sense in what Dr. Carnesby was saying. It was a little comforting to know that we would all be looking out for each

  other.

  “It’s like we’re taking care of each other,” Sandra said, echoing my thoughts. “It’s not

  spying. Besides, don’t you think we’re going to learn a lot about each other in the month we’ll be

  spending together? We’ll only have each other and any doctors who are going to be

  participating.”

  “That would be just me,” Dr. Carnesby interrupted smoothly. “I’ll be administering the

  injections and monitoring you inside the facility. All the other researchers associated with this

  project will be watching closed circuit cameras set up throughout the facility. And before you

  worry about your privacy, the cameras are set up in the public areas and bedrooms. Not the

  bathrooms so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Exactly like lab rats,” Billy cut in, tilting his head to the side. It reminded me a lot of

  those puppies you saw on dog food commercials.

  “In essence, you are human lab rats,” Dr. Carnesby admitted, his face twisting with

  annoyance. “But we don’t consider you guys just test subjects and you shouldn’t either. You will

  be giving us valuable data for Gnotret and your safety is going to be paramount throughout the

  trial. Have we covered everything you wanted to know?”

  “I think so,” Amy asserted, her face scrunching up in concentration. I loved that look and

  had to stop myself from kissing her. “I guess the only question I have now is when does the trial

  start?”

  “Since you’ve all signed your agreements today, the trial will start in a week,” Dr.

  Carnesby replied. “Is that enough time for you all to put your affairs in order for a month?”

  “I think so, Dr. Carnesby,” I admitted when everyone else was silent. There were nods all

  around as we looked at each other.

  “Call me Adam please,” Dr. Carnesby replied, smiling happily. “We’re all going to be

  living and working in close quarters for a month so there’s no call for formality. Since we’ve covered everything now, I will see you all again in one week. The facility is located in the

  warehouse district. I will be emailing the address to all of you along with a list of supplies to

  bring with you. Thank you for participating in this trial and have a good dayeveryone.”

  At the clear dismissal, we signed our emails on the paper Dr. Carnesby put out and

  walked out. I still had second and third thoughts, but I was going through with it. For Amy. I tried

  to ignore the squirmy feeling in my stomach and thought about what I needed to do to prepare

  for a month away. The first thing was to contact John Kittlesby, my employer at the little

  bookstore I worked in downtown, and arrange for a month’s leave. I only hoped that he would

  be understanding and let me keep my job. Chapter 3

  Though, of course, the first thing I needed to do with my day was deal with the two

  classes I had in the afternoon. Biological anthropology and chemistry were classes I was taking

  to fill in required slots but they were fun in their own ways. Amy bounced off to her economics

  class, obviously overjoyed to be participating in this trial. And that I was going to do so also,

  above my own reservations. I shook my head as I watched her leave, wondering where she got

  all the energy from. Some days, she tended to run
me ragged with her enthusiasm.

  The day passed slowly, a surprise quiz in chemistry doing little to raise my mood. I

  passed it, though, which bodes well for my retention of facts not directly relatable to my life, I

  guess. By the time dinnertime rolled around, my stomach was growling. I met Amy at the same

  cafe we met in earlier, brushing a quick kiss over her lips.

  “You want to go out for pizza tonight?” I asked, taking her hand and walking to our car. “I

  think pizza sounds really good about now.”

  “Yeah, pizza’s great,” Amy replied, though she seemed a little distracted.

  “What’s going on, Tink?” I teased, giving her hand a little squeeze. “You’re quieter than

  usual.”

  “I’m just thinking about the trial,” Amy muttered, slanting a look at me. “Thanks again for

  doing it with me. I would miss you if you weren’t there. But I’ve been wondering what Gnotret is

  and what its purpose is.”

  “We’ll find out, eventually,” I chuckled, forcing a little bit of cheer in my tone. “Besides, if

  we knew beforehand, we might convince ourselves we were feeling things or having effects we

  actually weren’t. Everything Dr. Carnesby said leads me to believe this is a legitimate trial.”

  “Of course it is!” Amy huffed, indignant. “The university wouldn’t let him recruit students if

  it wasn’t, would they? I mean, he works here so he had to get the okay to ask for student

  volunteers, right?” “Maybe, maybe not,” I hedged, unlocking the car and sliding in. I started it after Amy got

  in and drove out of the parkinglot. “I mean, he may not need to go through the administration at

  all, especially since the trial isn’t taking place on campus. But, like I said, it seems legitimate.”

  “Good,” Amy stated decisively. “This sounds really interesting and we could be helping

  people by participating in this. It seems like a good thing all around. And just imagine what we

  could do with the money once the month is up.”

  I nodded noncommittally, looking for our favorite pizza place. The restaurant was close

  to campus and was frequented by the students. I always wondered how the place survived in

  the summer when most of its clientele went home. It was busy today and I stood in line to order

  while Amy found us a seat in a booth near the back.