Part XII:
Caleb slipped on his bright yellow protective suit and entered the fenced in area that stood between the antechamber and the main rooms of the greenhouse. The door closed behind him, creating a tight vacuum seal. Through the protective mask, he could hear the hum of the worker bees.
Jessica sat in the folding chair that had been placed across from the television. The video began like an infomercial on the History Channel. She couldn’t quite figure out what she was supposed to glean from this informational movie on bees, but she did her best to pay attention to it. The unconditioned air of the room was beginning to grow thick and she could feel the perspiration building on her forearms and forehead. She quickly gulped down the entire bottle of water in an attempt to cool down.
All of a sudden, Jessica began to feel faint. The walls of the room appeared to be caving in around her. Black spots began to appear in her vision. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Within a few moments, the entire room turned black and she toppled over in a heap on the floor. In some odd way, it seemed as if she had been drugged.
To be continued…