Genesis Cure (Genesis Book 7)

by Eliza Green

Ben nodded before the connection ended.

  A new pop-up message appeared on screen asking him if he wanted to connect with ‘mystery101’. He clicked okay and joined the Wave as ‘tagman’.

  Who is this? he typed.

  The message came back. Margaux. I’m on Anton’s monitor in one of his labs. I don’t have much time, Bill. It’s starting. I can feel it.

  He replied: What’s starting?

  A feeling. Things are not right here. I’m the only one who knows it. Help them.

  Margaux clicked off from the session, leaving Bill alone in the encrypted chat room. Why was the former elder from District Eight contacting him? She flickered regularly between moments of lucidity and madness. Which state had she been in when she contacted him?

  Despite not knowing, her message had Bill worried. He could not ignore it.

  11

  On her way back to her quarters after Clement’s session last night, a pulsating energy in the district had sent a shiver down Laura’s spine. Maybe Clement had opened out her new skill, allowing her to see the manifestation of lies. Deep shadows had both darkened the floor she walked on and marked the already dimly lit tunnel walls.

  She dismissed the idea. It was more likely her new skill was on the fritz.

  A good night’s sleep chased away the shadows and her worry about it. But days of living underground and lack of exercise had turned her muscles soft and her body stiff. She got up and dressed in the light-coloured tunic of the Indigenes. Wearing her old clothes felt too strange in an environment where she was trying to fit in, not stand out. She checked the oxygen levels on the canister that fed air to her gel mask and left her quarters.

  The tunnels had returned to their usual ambiance. Laura’s stomach growled as she headed to get food. In an accommodation area rarely used except for human visitors, Anton had placed a food replication machine. She had the option of the blood bags too, but Laura hadn’t been brave enough to try one.

  The walk helped to loosen up her stiff muscles, tight from standing for too long during Clement’s training session. It had felt good to exercise her mind, but her body needed exercise too. Clement must have forgotten she was only half Indigene when he’d ordered her to stand still for over an hour. The blue-eyed Indigene wasn’t entirely to blame for her stiffness, though. Too many hours spent sitting with Serena and watching the construction house before their session had contributed to her soreness.

  During her walk, she thought about asking Arianna to take her up top to get some air. Maybe it was the gel mask she wore, but today it felt more restrictive than usual. She tugged at it a little, to relieve the pressure. Where the mask suctioned to her face, her skin was clammy and red. Laura could leave anytime she wanted, but with restrictions of movement in place for the Indigenes, to flout the rules might not go down well.

  Some passing Indigenes greeted her silently, a form of communication she had yet to feel comfortable using. Other Indigenes regarded her warily. She didn’t blame them; Laura was a former ITF communications officer and human, no less. She had expected some animosity towards her while she figured out who she was. Still, the tension bothered her.

  Maybe the lack of exercise was adding to her struggle to fit in. She held on to that idea as she swapped the tunnel for the Central Core.

  The space buzzed with silent interaction as groups of male and female Indigenes huddled in separate groups. Discussing what, she wondered? The Indigenes cast shadows on the rock face behind them. Groups of Evolvers gathered in one corner of the large space, at the teaching alcoves. According to Arianna, their lessening numbers had reduced the number of alcoves in use. Arianna had also told her she used to be one of those teachers. That hadn’t surprised Laura. Her gentle and inquisitive nature made Arianna the perfect choice. But with the recent attack still on everyone’s mind, her Indigene friend had swapped her teacher role for a more prominent role helping Stephen.

  The large space was nowhere near close to full, but there were enough Indigenes present for the energy Laura had felt last night to pick up again. A wind that shouldn’t exist in this airtight environment skittered across her skin. She rubbed her arms, drawing curious glances and glares from the Indigenes.

  ‘Laura!’

  Her friend’s voice startled her. Arianna separated from one of the female groups and bounded over to her. Had she been here all this time? How had she not noticed?

  Arianna’s fast approach forced Laura’s arms up. But the only thing that hit her was a soft brush of air on her cheek. She lowered her arms to see Arianna chuckling at her.

  ‘That still amuses me. It shouldn’t, since you do it every single time,’ she said.

  ‘Still not used to the speed you all move at.’

  Arianna linked arms with Laura. She caught the looks of disgust on the faces of some Indigenes who were of a similar age to her.

  ‘Are you on your way to eat?’

  Laura nodded, trying not to look at one group that stared the hardest. Shadows danced on the walls behind their heads, more violently than before.

  Arianna started to walk, but Laura stopped her. ‘Hold on...’

  ‘What is it?’

  Laura’s pulse quickened as she looked around. Her gaze lingered on the shadows acting up behind the heads of one group. The shadows deepened for a moment, turning an inky black rather than their usual deep-grey colour.

  Ignoring the hostile looks the group was giving her, she narrowed her eyes and tried to put Clement’s training into practice. She concentrated on the shadows themselves but they acted too erratically, like those produced by firelight. None of the shadows attached themselves to a given Indigene.

  Laura checked the area where the Evolvers sat. The same inky figures marked the entrances to the alcoves too.

  ‘Are you seeing something?’ Arianna asked.

  Laura smiled and shook her head. ‘It’s nothing. I’m just hungry and my mind is playing tricks on me.’

  Arianna hooked her arm in hers again and walked. Laura moved faster, keen to leave the continuing animosity behind.

  ‘What did you see?’ Arianna asked as soon as they’d left the Core and entered the tunnel.

  How could she explain she was seeing shadows everywhere? It sounded lame, even for her. She understood that to be her skill, but the lies manifesting as black figures weren’t presenting as they normally would. She was still too unpractised to know what it meant.

  ‘Nothing. I thought I heard something, a rumbling noise.’ She flashed a smile at Arianna, hoping to stem her curiosity. ‘It was probably the traffic on the road above. I’m still not used to the sounds in this district.’

  ‘Hmm,’ was all Arianna said.

  ‘You don’t believe me?’

  Her friend kept the walking pace even. ‘I only wish I had your skill to see the lies others tell. But I also know you need to eat, so we’ll let that lie slide.’

  Laura released a quiet breath. Arianna had been her closest friend here, knowing when to push her and knowing when to hold back.

  ‘What’s on the menu for today? Porridge, beans?’ asked Laura.

  The replicator used energy that the district didn’t have in large supply. Laura was careful not to use it too many times in one day. She chose meals that would fill her up.

  Arianna glanced at her.

  ‘What?’

  She set her eyes forward. ‘How does wolf sound to you?’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Stephen and Anton caught one yesterday.’

  Laura had never had wolf before. In fact, the only place to sell it was Cantaloupe. The breeding programmes were repopulating the animals and offering some for sale to exclusive restaurants.

  ‘It sounds... good.’ She paused. ‘Do I have to eat it raw?’

  Arianna tightened her hold on Laura. ‘Not if you don’t want to.’ She rolled her eyes and her hand. ‘Anton was like, “Oh, she can eat it raw. No problem.” Then I said, “You will not make her eat it raw. Build a fire so she can co
ok it. And get salt. Humans like salt.”’

  Laura chuckled at Arianna’s impression. ‘What would I do without you?’

  ‘Dine like an animal, probably. My mate does not understand the human ways. He never was one.’

  Laura nudged her. ‘Neither were you.’

  ‘Yes, but I’m a quick learner. It might be my empathic side. I’ve also observed you when you eat our food. While I don’t care for the taste of cooked meat myself, I can see how it might appeal to you.’

  Laura patted her stomach. ‘My digestive system thanks you for it.’

  They arrived at Anton’s lab, where Laura had expected to find an open fire to cook her meat on. But what she found was a sophisticated, wood fire contained inside a stainless-steel box.

  Anton hovered nervously next to it, watching and waiting for her reaction.

  Laura walked up to the makeshift oven.

  ‘Will this do?’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Arianna said I needed to build one.’

  Laura choked back a laugh. Seeing this Indigene with super strength worry about what she thought amused her.

  ‘Looks great, Anton.’

  He opened the oven door. Laura looked in, surprised to see a fire but feel no heat. The flame was low. A slab of meat was cooking in the centre. She stuck her hand out and felt an elastic resistance.

  ‘Fire needs more oxygen than we have down here.’ Anton closed the door. ‘I’ve contained the flame using a bubble from the insignia rock. It contains air from the surface. The bubble fuels it enough so the fire stays small but the heat is intensified.’

  Laura waited several minutes for her meat to cook. When Anton plucked the meat out of the oven with a set of tongs, the smell of roast wolf hit her. Her mouth salivated. Damn, she hadn’t tasted real meat in a long time. Replicated food did not taste good.

  Anton set the meat down on a silver platter.

  He stared down at it. ‘What now? I’m not used to cooking it this way.’

  Laura walked over to the meat. ‘Do you have a knife?’

  Anton checked around him, rubbing his chin. He lunged for a laser scalpel on the desk and handed it to Laura.

  Laura laughed. ‘This will do.’

  She carved the meat into wonky slices. Laser scalpels were not the best tools for cutting meat.

  ‘Oh.’ Anton picked up a jar off the second workbench. ‘Arianna said you’d like some of this.’

  Granules of white sat in the bottom of the jar. The salt, she presumed.

  She tasted it then sprinkled some on a slice of hot meat. Without offering, she stuffed the meat into her mouth.

  Damn, that tasted good. The gurgling sounds in her stomach dissipated.

  With a stuffed mouth, she said, ‘Well, that solves one mystery.’

  Anton frowned. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘I’m still human where food is concerned.’

  She ate three more slices. Even Arianna and Anton tried the cooked meat, but both spit it out on the floor—Arianna more politely than Anton had. Laura rocked with laughter at their faces contorted in pain. It was like they’d both been told to eat poison.

  ‘More for me, I guess.’

  While she ate, she tried to ignore the shadows dancing on the wall behind her friends’ heads. When they’d tried the cooked meat, she studied the manifestations in greater detail.

  Finally full, she stared down at the remaining meat. ‘It’s probably not a good idea to take this with me.’

  The Indigenes already hated her enough. Smelling like cooked wolf would not go down well.

  Anton picked up the remnants and placed them back in the oven. ‘It’s here whenever you want it.’

  She kissed Anton on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Don’t thank me; it was Arianna’s idea.’

  Laura smiled and hugged Arianna. ‘You too. Excuse me, I’m going to walk off my breakfast.’

  The second she left the room, Laura dropped the pretence that everything was okay. Her plan to stretch her legs would have to wait. Something more pressing had come up.

  She moved as fast as she could through the tunnels, ignoring the shadows that seemed to follow her now. Arriving at the Council Chambers to see the door ajar, she steadied her breathing and peeked inside. Stephen stood in the middle of the room, motionless and staring into space, the way most Indigenes did when not engaged in conversation. Clement did the same thing, often zoning out during their sessions.

  Laura cleared her throat, prompting a distracted Stephen to look up at her.

  He frowned. ‘Laura, what brings you here?’

  She stepped inside the room, not sure how to broach the subject. ‘I’m sorry for disturbing you.’

  He waved his hand. ‘Not at all. Come in.’

  She stood in the room with its central bookcase divider and no chairs.

  More standing. Great.

  ‘I wanted to check how things have been in the district, you know, since the attack.’

  Stephen frowned at her. ‘They’re fine. Why do you ask?’

  A deep shadow jerked away from his form for a second, then snapped back.

  ‘It’s just...’ Laura paused. ‘Clement has been helping me to develop my ability to see lies.’

  Stephen nodded. ‘That’s good.’

  ‘But today, I’m seeing shadows everywhere I go.’

  ‘Isn’t that how the lies look?’

  ‘Yes, they usually attach themselves to an individual, but that’s not what I’m seeing. There are shadows literally everywhere.’

  Stephen appeared to zone out again. She waited for him to process, maybe sense, what she had. She hoped it was nothing. Her fear said it wasn’t.

  Stephen snapped out of his daze and focused on her again. ‘I sense nothing out of place here. I haven’t for weeks. But I’m certain my senses are not working at their optimal level.’

  His answer shocked her. ‘So you think there’s something to this?’

  Stephen shook his head. ‘You’re still grappling with your skill. It’s taking its toll on you, mentally. Maybe do something different today, to break the routine. Don’t train with Clement. Take a run on the surface with Arianna instead.’

  That was exactly her plan this morning. She nodded at the good idea. ‘So you think I’m worrying about nothing?’

  Stephen zoned out for three seconds exactly. Then he smiled and nodded once. ‘I do.’

  His eyes widened suddenly, alarming Laura. Then she heard it too, the sound of someone running outside. Serena’s arrival and the distraught look on her face shook her.

  She ignored Laura as she said, ‘Stephen, it’s Margaux. She’s fallen ill.’

  12

  Laura barely kept up with Stephen as he raced out of the Council Chambers after Serena. Together, the mates set their own pace.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked.

  Serena replied, ‘She was using the Nexus and when she came out of it, she collapsed.’

  Stephen sped up; Serena matched his speed, but their forms blurred ahead of Laura. With quick bursts, she kept the pair in her sights, not knowing which of the tranquillity caves Margaux had collapsed in. When the pair took a route that was familiar to her, she knew they were headed for the cave Tanya Li had used.

  The pair blurred ahead of her a second time, then disappeared. Laura injected new pace into her step, breathing thickly into her mask. But despite her efforts, she fell farther behind. She stuck to her own pace and arrived at the correct cave. Indigenes gathered at the entrance. There was no sign of Stephen. Laura pushed past the onlookers to see him and Clement lifting an unconscious Margaux up by her legs and arms.

  ‘How long has she been like this?’ Stephen asked Clement.

  The Indigene looked flustered. He switched to his inner voice. Familiar with it, she tuned into the conversation.

  About fifteen minutes. I found her having a seizure in the unit. I got her out as fast as I could.

  Stephen ignored Laura as he and Clement carried Ma
rgaux past her. Clement glanced at her, the worry on his face evident.

  Serena followed, slow enough for Laura to keep up with her.

  ‘What’s the matter with her?’

  ‘It’s hard to say. Margaux is not in her right mind. It could be the Nexus is reacting to her manic thoughts.’

  They kept an easy pace with Stephen and Clement, their speed hampered by the extra weight. They carried the former elder to a dedicated infirmary area in the southwest of the district. Laura followed them into the room with six beds and six mattresses on the floor. The beds were jutted up against the insignia rock. Pockets of surface air shimmered around the beds. Laura had spent time in here twice; once was after Anton’s bomb had exploded, injuring Stephen. She had given him her mask, and she’d nearly suffocated. The cocoon of surface air had saved her life. The second time was after Laura’s rapid change into an Indigene. Given the number of times the infirmary had been used since then, it had switched from a temporary feature to a permanent one.

  Stephen and Clement lay Margaux down on one of the beds. Two male Indigenes of a similar age to Margaux occupied two mattresses on the floor. Neither looked sick, but Laura saw cuts on their arms that had still not healed. According to Serena, the first-generation Indigenes lacked the ability to self-heal as fast as the later generations.

  Laura grabbed a sterile gown and gloves from an area she’d stocked with supplies from one of the hospitals on the surface. She had also arranged to bring equipment down here to monitor vitals, something they could have done with when Stephen had almost died.

  ‘How can I help?’

  With Stephen and Clement also fussing around the elder, she didn’t think her help would be necessary.

  But Serena ordered, ‘Everybody back please.’

  The former lab technician had more experience than the medics. She’d taught them everything they knew.

  Margaux began seizing on the bed.

  Serena motioned Laura to step forward. ‘Help me.’

  She pulled the monitoring machine next to the bed. A mask hung from one section of the machine, connected to an oxygen supply stored inside it. These machines had been used during the genetic reversal treatment of Indigenes who, during transformation, had required a fast hit of oxygen. Down here, Laura didn’t think the Indigenes would ever have a need for that part of the machine.