The Toxic Vaccine: A Pandemic Medical Thriller

By Dr. Soham Sonis

In the midst of a pandemic, when the entire world is in lockdown, ten slum children are transported to an unknown location. Their anxious faces twitch when injected with a mysterious liquid. The reward is too high to complain.

The teenagers are certain they are going to change the world.

Meanwhile, Dr Sahil Shrivastav, a physiotherapist, arrives at a tiny village for an orthopaedic camp. The village is nestled beside a vast lake. The lake holds an eerie past that the villagers know but are terrified to address. Strange things start happening around Sahil which are beyond his imagination. When two of his students go missing, Sahil has to act.

Can a physiotherapist unravel a dark conspiracy?

The Toxic Vaccine is a gripping medical thriller that revolves around an alternate reality of the Covid-19 vaccine, a conspiracy brewing in the deep underbelly of human trials.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9789356109384

Dr. Soham Sonis

Soham Sonis lives in the vibrant city of Pune, India. He is a Physiotherapy graduate with a Post Grad in sports medicine. He loves football, and has learnt the Ukulele just to impress his friends. He is the founder of an innovative technique to test muscle strength. His clinic muscle diagnostics and treatment is one of its kind.Soham had always been interested in stories and science, which inspired him to write a medical thriller novel, The Toxic Vaccine. The story highlights the horrors that can happen if vaccine synthesis goes wrong. A vaccine is supposed to save lives, but in this story, a vaccine turns toxic.Soham was homeschooled after sixth grade. This experience taught him that doing things differently was completely fine.Soham also loves genetics and the biomechanics of the human body. He believes that humans are made of nothing but microbes, governing a physical being. Thus, this makes all of us surrogates of the microbial universe.The Toxic Vaccine is his debut novel.

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Prologue

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It was just before sundown in tiny Mapgao, a village nestled in the robust Sahyadri Ranges of South-Western India. A teenager was walking agitatedly along the central road in the village. It led to a giant lake, which separated the village from the mainland. The boy was livid. He didn’t look back even once to find out if he was being followed. He had had a huge fight with his parents and had left the house, fuming. His parents had refused him permission to go to his friend’s house at the district place, to join his group’s new year celebrations. The boy wanted to punish his parents somehow.

As he reached the lake, the sun vanished behind the Sahyadri hills and the village receded into darkness. He saw the outline of a boat moving on the lake’s surface. It was tied to a log on the bank. The boat belonged to his father. His name was Babanrao, but he was Babu to everyone. Every morning, he would carry children and working professionals to the opposite bank and bring them back in the evening. As the boy glanced at his father’s boat, his eyes were full of contempt. He would have loved to lay his hands on the keys of the boat, only for one evening. But Babu had firmly rejected his pleas. And he had ruled out any argument, declaring sternly, No more discussion.

Babu had his reasons. His friend’s son had vanished in the lake some months ago. Everyone thought that he had either drowned or something mysterious had happened to him. They’d never found his body. That incident had persuaded the village sarpanch to declare a rule that the lake would be out of bounds for the villagers after sundown. The rule was being implemented strictly.

The sharp, pointed stones on the bank brought the boy back to the present. He slowed down to avoid them. The wind picked up washing over the lake, gliding over him. But he was still a seething inferno. He desperately wanted to do something that his parents had prohibited. The lake was all too quiet but his father’s angry words continued to reverberate in his head: If you ever enter the lake after nightfall, I will break your legs.

He is not my boss, the boy asserted. He decided to dive into the lake just to prove that his father was clearly and simply wrong. He shed his clothes, stacked them neatly on a rock and headed for the water. As he took a few steps inside, he realised that the water was colder than he had anticipated.

There was still no soul around. The boy took a final look behind him. He took a deep breath and dived underwater. The first few strokes were a bit difficult. He remembered that he had eaten something just a short time back. But soon, he began to glide effortlessly on the surface of the water.

The lake was in complete darkness now. He was swimming away from the village, away from his controlling parents, away from everyone. He could barely see a few metres ahead. He had not planned anything. He certainly did not wish to swim for long. It was a gigantic lake and he was not a great swimmer. But he pushed himself over some more distance with big strokes, as he wished to let off steam. He was sure that the elders were stupid to prohibit them from swimming in the lake after sunset. Yes, the water was a bit too cold. But there certainly was no monster lurking under it.

After a while, the boy started floating on the water as his limbs began to give signs of fatigue. He floated in a supine position, noting the enormity of the dark sky. Stars in the night sky were his only companions. The lake was gradually assimilating around him. He surrendered to the strong feeling of becoming one with the lake, and yet he felt strangely alone. Cold, dark water splashed against the sides of his body as he floated to the centre of the large lake. He closed his eyes and began to enjoy the soulful experience.

The boy had wanted to join his friends at their new year party. His friend had a huge bungalow in town, and on that day, they had the entire house to themselves. After the year of infinite constraints that he had had, the boy had been in dire need of some excitement. His friend had promised that he would invite some girls as well. The town girls were friendly, he thought wistfully.

Self-pity was building up quickly in his head. And then, without warning, a contorted hand pulled him under. The sequence of the smooth happenings of the night was rudely broken. He was dragged into the water by a strong, invisible force. His frail limbs were like matchsticks against its power. Water forced its way inside his body through every opening. The boy tried hard to push himself back to the surface. He began to feel dizzy. Desperately kicking hard, he still couldn’t get a foothold. And, all this time, the great force kept pulling him down, deeper into the lake. Finally, he abandoned his fight for survival. The only thing he remained aware of was the darkness. And at last, he thought, "The elders were right!"

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Chapter 1

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The scorching May heat had permeated the atmosphere in the region. The dry air had sucked out all the moisture from the state. A bus was struggling along a free road, leaving puffs of diesel smoke clouds in the air. A boy, only fourteen, sat at a window seat at the rear of the bus. His silky black hair had strands of maroon, which stood up in spikes. He was a tall and lanky fellow. His crooked teeth shone brightly whenever he smiled. But today, Siddhant, the boy, was a bit out of sorts and seemed to be yearning for his mother. He was well aware of the fact that she was far away. He knew he had to be brave, for his family and himself. These were testing times. But perhaps, he would be able to pull his family out of the dumps. This was his only chance to achieve that goal.

There were other children on the bus. In fact, the bus was full of them. The mini-bus carried ten children, aged twelve to sixteen. He scanned the bus. His eyes fell on a girl sitting quietly on the aisle seat, two rows in front of him. She looked calm but determined. In stark contrast, other children looked scared and confused. They were clearly apprehensive about what was about to happen to them. The aisle seat girl wore a simple white kurta dotted with green spots. It was clearly rather large for her. But she didn’t care. Her sharp nose pointed straight ahead.

Siddhant got up, and balancing carefully in the moving bus, made his way to the girl. He tapped her on the shoulder. May I join you? I have been bored stiff, sitting alone, he said.

She looked at him with her brown eyes but nodded without any expression. Her sharp nose and bold eyes reminded Siddhant of royalty. Siddhant tried to guess her mood by looking at her face but could not decode her expressionlessness. She seemed sad. But whatever she felt, her act seemed elegant.

As he sat beside her, he introduced himself, Hi, I am Siddhant Pal. He extended his hand, but she responded with raised eyebrows. Oh sorry, I forgot, we aren’t supposed to shake hands, he said, withdrawing his hand and offering a fist instead.

She looked at him with a mind full of uncertainty. However, she managed to fist-bump him, although a bit awkwardly. A hint of a smile began to emerge on her serene face for the first time. I am Ruchi, she mumbled.

The traffic is slow, right? Siddhant asked, looking out of the window. They looked at each other and burst out laughing: they had not seen a single vehicle after leaving Mumbai.

Some teenagers on the bus turned to look at them. Siddhant saw that they were younger than both Ruchi and him. A couple of them, who were trying to look out of the window, still had moist eyes. Siddhant sympathised with them. It was difficult to leave your home and join strangers on a journey to nowhere.

So, where do you think we are going? Siddhant came out with a question that had been troubling him right from the beginning of the journey.

Um, I don’t know. And honestly, I don’t care, Ruchi said. She seemed quite indifferent to their uncertain status. If they keep their promise, I am ready to go to Pluto, she said.

Don’t you miss your parents? Siddhant asked.

My parents have passed away. I will miss them more if I remain poor and can’t make something of my life, she said, Ruchi seemed to be an over-wrought enigma.

I am so sorry, Siddhant said apologetically.

"It’s okay, I guess. Many people have lost family members during this pandemic. I am proud that my parents were at the front line and helped as many people as they could. They worked in a government hospital as cleaners. During the first wave, the hospital was jam-packed with patients. My parents stayed put in their job, while many of their friends and acquaintances ran away to their villages.

My father was infected while transporting bodies. It wasn’t too long before my mother caught the virus too. One evening, they didn’t return home. A week later I was informed that both of them were no more. I couldn’t meet them, nor see their bodies because of the strict pandemic norms. After that, I stayed with my uncle. A couple of days back, this organisation picked me up and here I am.

While Ruchi was recounting her heart-breaking tragedy, her manner was matter-of-fact, as if she was speaking about an unknown person. However, Siddhant sensed that she was burying her emotions deep within her heart. He felt that she was either a very strong individual, or that she continued to be in enormous shock.

What about you? Do you have family in Mumbai? Siddhant looked at Ruchi and nodded. Then, to hide his deep grief from her, he looked away. I left my family in Mumbai. But by now they must have reached our village in Uttar Pradesh. At least, I hope they did, he said.

Siddhant took a deep breath and continued, My parents were daily wage labourers on construction sites around the city. I have a nine-year-old sister. We lived in Dharavi. My sister and I were students at the government school near our slum. As the pandemic hit, my parents lost their jobs. All the construction activities around the city stopped. We survived for a month on our savings. The virus was spreading. One day, there were positive cases in our neighbourhood. We were almost out of money. Fearing for our lives, my parents decided to leave Mumbai. The day we were to leave, two men came knocking on our door. They wore safari suites. They said they wanted to hire teenage children for some amateur academic work. For every child, they promised to pay the parents Rs 25,000, for a one-month job. They assured solemnly that the child would return to the parents. If we completed the job, we were to receive Rs 25,000 more. My parents were broke and desperate. They needed the money to reach our village. My mother took me aside and pleaded with me to go with the two men. She said it would help my little sister to survive. And as soon as I finished the job, I could join them in our village. I didn’t want to be away from my parents, but my mother’s pleading eyes persuaded me to do her bidding.

That’s so sad, Ruchi exclaimed. I thought they had only recruited orphans like me. I didn’t know they had torn families apart.

It is what it is, Siddhant said, with a forced smile. We have to sacrifice for our families. My only hope is that we get good beds to sleep in, wherever they are taking us. I want nothing else in life. I am tired of sleeping on the hard, rocky floor in my house.

The sun had travelled to the west by now. Siddhant could see it running between the trees on his left. They were already far away from Mumbai.

Just when he thought of resuming his talk with Ruchi, the door of the driver’s cabin opened. A short man with a clean-shaven face, but dirty curly hair rushed out. He looked at the children and his eyes stopped at Siddhant and Ruchi.

No talking among yourself. Everyone sits alone, he yelled. You too, hero, he said, pointing at Siddhant and signalling him to get back to his seat. Reluctantly, Siddhant moved back to his seat. Meanwhile, the curly-haired man had taken out some eye patches and begun blindfolding the children one by one.

The children looked at each other in complete confusion. No one knew how to react. The man was not careful in his job. He was rough. He used excessive force while tying the patches, hurting the kids in the process. I am standing right here. No one tries to act smart or be a hero, he announced as he blindfolded everyone.

The bus continued its run. Siddhant felt stupid, sitting there with an eye patch on. The man had not made a sound after blindfolding them. Siddhant never liked to be kept in the dark. He was afraid of the man. To him, he looked scary. Siddhant didn’t want to be thrown out of the job even before starting. He needed the money.

But what was happening was very confusing. Why were they blindfolded? What was so secret about the job? And most importantly, where were they being taken? Other teenagers had remained silent, but Siddhant needed to know.

He had always been a boy people tend to describe as naughty. Once, he and some of his friends had tried to peek into the bedroom of his newly-married neighbour at night. His friends had made some noise, but it was only Siddhant who had been caught. His father had thrashed him black and blue. But his curious nature hadn’t changed.

Sitting with a blindfold on for about half an hour had piqued his curiosity. The bus had, by now, left the highway and was travelling on a road full of potholes. We must be close to our destination, he reasoned.

At last, he decided to investigate the matter. He turned his head towards Ruchi’s direction and lifted his eye patch by a millimetre. For the first few seconds, his vision was a blur. He half expected to see the man standing in front of him. As his eyes adjusted slowly to natural light, he saw that the aisle of the bus was empty and that the driver’s cabin door was shut. It was past twilight, and the bus was almost in darkness.

Seeing that, his confidence grew. He got up with the idea of waking up Ruchi. As he reached her seat, a dangerous voice whispered in his ear, I told you to not be over-smart, you slum-pig!

The last thing Siddhant remembered was a needle prick and a sharp pain in the side of his neck. He collapsed.

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Chapter 2

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Siddhant had a beautiful dream. He was at the Juhu Chowpatty with his friends. The sun was setting. The cool winds washed away his fears and anxieties. The dance of the waves calmed him down. His friends watched other people and some couples on the beach and joked about them. Siddhant was a person always weighed down by worries. He suspected that he was an insignificant creature and that there was nothing special about him. He was scared of his future. But on the oceanfront, he forgot all such anxieties, stayed in the present, and enjoyed it. He didn’t want the dream to end. It was his best memory from his life in Mumbai.

But soon, he could feel those dream moments slipping away from him. He slowly became aware of the whisperings going on around him.

Should we wake him up?

No, no, let him sleep. He has been through a lot.

But he might know what we are doing here. I can’t handle the suspense any longer.

Siddhant was wide awake now. All that he needed was to open his eyes. He still felt a dull pain at the side of his neck, where the needle had been inserted. Finally, he opened his eyes. He was surprised to find the teenagers surrounding his bed. Ruchi was looking at him with a worried expression.

How are you feeling? She asked gently.

A little heavy in the head and rather dull, Siddhant responded. But where the hell are we? he asked, glancing around.

It looked like a dormitory where around a dozen beds had been placed in two parallel lines. There was a small, cheap cupboard beside each of the beds. It looked like a hospital ward, because of its granite floor. The room was long and the beds were placed at a considerable distance from each other. The walls were painted off-white. And there was a small bathroom at the far end.

Well, this is the place we have to live in and work at for the next month, Ruchi said. This is all they have told us so far. I think we should get some sleep before work starts tomorrow.

One by one, the teenagers retired to their beds. Ruchi occupied the one beside Siddhant. It was already dark. The lights automatically switched off in the next ten minutes.

Hey Ruchi, Siddhant called out in the dark. Are you awake?

Yeah, but I am trying to sleep, Ruchi said.

Did you see the surroundings when they brought you here? Where are we? he asked.

I have no idea, Siddhant. We were blindfolded. And after you became unconscious, the short guy became even stricter, Ruchi said. Siddhant fell back on his bed, disappointed.

I remember hearing the ringing of a school bell, though, Ruchi said. Maybe it’s an institution for hopeless cases like us.

Siddhant couldn’t sleep until late. He kept thinking about the job. But even if someone had shown what was happening in the room above his, at that very moment his naive mind would have never understood it.

Orn

Everyone was woken up at dawn the next morning. Still rubbing their eyes, they brushed their teeth and got ready. They were given blue overalls, jumpsuits and an I-card with their names on it. It contained information like their gender, blood group and hair colour. They huddled together, waiting for the work to begin.

As the clock struck nine, the door opened and a group of young men and women, all wearing white coats entered the dorm. Some of them had excitement in their eyes. Two male doctors carried a tiny metal case. They kept it on the table and opened it with a click. They pulled out some syringes and prepared to inject a clear light blue liquid. Siddhant keenly watched their moves. The teenagers stared at each other with obvious fear.

A female doctor announced, There is no reason to be afraid. Each of you will receive an injection in your arm. It will hurt a bit, but then you are free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day. Food will be served thrice a day and you can eat to your heart’s content. Any questions?

She looks too young to be a doctor, Siddhant thought. Might be in her early twenties.

Are we free to go home after that? a little girl named Pinki asked. The young doctor smiled and continued with her preparations.

Roll up your sleeves, everyone, and sit in a line, she said softly.

They did as they were told. One by one, each of them got their first dose. The doctors withdrew from the room, leaving the children to themselves.

Everyone looked at each other with doubts of all sorts in their eyes. No one knew what to do. Finally, taking the reins in his hands, Siddhant announced, Boys and girls, as the doctor said, we are free to do as we please after the injection. Maybe taking the injection is the job they have hired us for.

But what will we do for the entire day? Ruchi asked.

I see a TV set here. Let’s find out what programmes are on, another boy said.

I think if we are going to stay here for a month, we should get to know each other first, Siddhant said. Being the eldest and the most outspoken, he had already established himself as the leader of the group. Everyone nodded and the introductions began.

The dorm had ten teenagers. All had stories similar to Siddhant and Ruchi’s. They had been picked up from slums by some men and promised Rs 25,000 for the work. Work had almost ceased to exist in the slums because of the pandemic. Thus, it was easier to lure their families with the bait of a large sum of money.

Poverty made people desperate, Siddhant knew. He didn’t blame his parents for leaving him and going to the village. He would have done the same. Poverty teaches you survival. Nothing was more important than survival.

The children spent the rest of the day chatting and watching Bollywood dance numbers. They were served food at a regular interval. The meals consisted of rotis, vegetables, rice, fruits, eggs and even orange juice. On the first day, Siddhant couldn’t believe his eyes. He had seen such a feast only at weddings. After eating to their heart’s content, they sat together licking their fingers and talking in excitement and awe.

They had nothing much to do in the dorm over the rest of the day. After the dose in the morning, the doctors left them alone till the evening. Some junior doctors and nurses would come in the evening with a form and ask them questions about their day. These included basic questions about how they were feeling, did they have any side effects, or did they have any pain?

The teenagers were having a blast. For the first time in their lives, they were getting something like a vacation. Watching TV the whole day and eating as much as they liked! It was a dream come true for them. They thought this was the easiest Rs 25,000 they would ever

earn.

By the end of the week, as soon as the doctors arrived at the door, Siddhant would announce that everyone was fine. They were in the middle of their favourite cartoon, Shin-Chan, and had no wish to be disturbed. Shin-Chan had eaten all the sweets and there were none left for the guests. His mother was about to bash him for doing that.

But the doctors would check everyone before they called it a night. They said the boss demanded a detailed report and didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. With a heavy heart, the teenagers would switch off the TV for some time.

After the questionnaire was filled out by everyone one night, the young doctor exited the dorm. Her name tag shone brightly on her chest. The name, Dr Sneha, was embedded in it. She made her way through a long corridor with a tablet in her hand. The tablet contained the forms that were filled by the teenagers every night.

The corridor was long and painted in a familiar dirty white, just like the dorm. Sneha entered an office at the far end of the corridor and closed the door behind her.

A tall, slender man sat behind the desk, working on some notes. He looked up as Sneha entered. How are they? He asked the same question every night.

Well, they have adjusted well. Considering we picked them up when they were in such dire conditions, she said, sliding the tablet on the table. We should keep an eye on Siddhant Pal, sir, she continued. He seems to be their natural leader.

Dr Kevin nodded, as he picked up the tablet and started scrolling through the teenagers’ answers.

How did you find this place, sir? It looks quiet, isolated, but well-equipped, Sneha said.

Time will have all the answers for you, Sneha. Have patience, Kevin said. We have a long way to go. This is still a makeshift setup. I have big plans for the teenagers.

"I hope everything goes as