Genesis Cure (Genesis Book 7)

by Eliza Green

  The stream of bodies whittled down to just one or two, allowing Laura safe passage to continue. She entered the nearly empty Central Core to find Anton, Arianna, Serena and Clement surrounding Stephen. His jaw was set hard and his eyes flashed with steely determination. Voices picked up in the space, more obvious due to the lack of silent ones. She guessed the congregation who still had their ability was being cautious about returning to telepathy. The virus had killed one tenth of the population of District Three.

  She approached their tight-knit group. They were discussing what had just happened.

  Serena had a hand on Stephen’s arm. ‘It’s going to be okay.’

  He stood taller. ‘If they want to leave, fine. My rules still stand. There’s no room for dissent in this district.’

  Well, that explained the animosity in the tunnel just now.

  ‘Some of them have been here since the beginning,’ said Arianna. ‘You want to let them go without a fight?’

  ‘They served under Pierre and Elise’s rule. Not many of them took to my leadership style when the elders died.’

  Pierre’s leadership style had been more autocratic, Elise’s more democratic. Laura had not met Elise, but Arianna had been close to her, passing on her stories about the much loved, and sometimes hated, elder. Arianna had told her Stephen had tried to emulate Elise’s more open style, but she didn’t think it was working.

  ‘Are they leaving now?’ asked Laura. ‘Where will they go?’

  Stephen tipped his chin at the exit. ‘I’m sure Emile and Marie would be delighted to have them. They prefer his style to mine anyway. Emile spoiled them too much.’ He made two fists. ‘They think they can get away with flouting the rules. But not anymore.’

  Stephen strode off and Serena followed him.

  Anton shrugged apologetically at Laura and Arianna whispered, ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Why are you apologising? Stephen is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.’

  Arianna’s eyes widened. She looked at Anton. ‘That’s what I said. No matter what leadership style Stephen shows, some are going to have a problem with it.’

  ‘So he should just let them all leave?’ said Anton.

  Arianna shrugged. ‘What other choice does he have? He’s just prevented an epidemic here. You and I almost died.’

  Anton drew nearer to her, pressing his forehead to hers.

  ‘We need him to be the best leader he can.’

  ‘I know. And he will.’

  Anton pulled away from her, studying her eyes. ‘Has your empathic ability returned?’

  Arianna shook her head. To Laura she said, ‘The doctor said it might not return. The shock treatment disabled a lot of things.’

  ‘It’s a new test, and Harvey doesn’t know everything,’ Laura assured her.

  But Anton didn’t look worried. ‘I suppose it gives us a chance to get in touch with our “human” side again.’

  He air-quoted the word. Like Arianna, he was a second-generation Indigene, never human.

  ‘It’s not so bad, being human,’ said Laura with a shrug. ‘I have both sides now. It takes some adjustment, but when you lose your other senses, they say it heightens your existing ones.’

  ‘I hope so.’ Arianna looked around nervously. ‘Not knowing what others are feeling worries me.’

  Her admission caused Laura to snort.

  Arianna glared at her. ‘What’s so funny?’

  ‘I’ve lived like that my whole life.’

  Arianna and Anton laughed. Even Clement. So far he’d been silent, watching her while she spoke to her friends.

  Anton tugged on Arianna’s arm. ‘Come on, we should check on Stephen, make sure he’s not burning effigies of his charges.’

  Laura watched them leave, nervous about being left alone with Clement.

  She wandered over to the area with the teaching alcoves. The main part of the Central Core had a weird echo to it, as though it mocked whatever she said. In the teaching area, however, the low ceiling deadened the sound more. It would give her the privacy she’d need.

  Clement followed her inside one of the alcoves. With her shoulder resting against the wall, Laura looked up at faded wall drawings the Evolvers had created over eight years ago. Those same Evolvers had since grown up. Few young had been born to replace them.

  She sensed Clement near her.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked softly.

  She nodded, turning slightly. ‘I’m just wondering about this district’s future. So few Evolvers. The first-gen Indigenes either love or loathe Stephen. Those of a similar mind think they can do a better job than him. The younger ones who want freedom’—she pointed at the drawings—‘are the same ones who drew these years ago.’

  Clement frowned. ‘The treaty has created tension here. I don’t think creating new life has been on anyone’s mind.’ He paused, tilting his head slightly. ‘You seem quieter than usual. Were you harmed by the virus?’

  She turned fully to face him. ‘No, I escaped it like you did. But things are changing here. I worry for the future of the Indigenes.’

  Clement touched her shoulder. It offered her some peace, but not enough. She breathed in and out, dreading what she had to say.

  Holding his hands she said, ‘Clement, I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, for making me feel welcome. For being my friend. And for teaching me how to use my skill properly.’

  She’d tried to return the neurosensor to Anton. With everything else going on, he hadn’t missed it. But he’d been so thrilled to know what she could do with it, he’d gifted it to her.

  Clement loosened his grip. ‘This sounds like goodbye.’

  She pulled his hands back. ‘It’s not goodbye, but I need to go home. I can’t stay here. I’m sorry.’

  Whatever light there was in Clement’s eyes faded. ‘I knew that. I sensed it from you the last time Bill was here. You still love him.’

  ‘I love you too, but not the way I do him. He’s my best friend. We’ve been through so much together. I’m not ready to let it go.’

  Clement reclaimed his hands, but didn’t leave. He touched her face tenderly. His blue eyes weakened her resolve; those eyes saw too much.

  With a smile, he said, ‘I always sensed you would be here for a short time.’

  Laura swallowed down a lump. ‘I needed to be here and you were a big part of my reason for staying longer. In another time, you and I could work.’

  Clement pressed his forehead to hers—an intimate move for the Indigenes. She allowed it. Clement had come to mean so much to her.

  ‘You will always have my friendship, Laura O’Halloran.’

  Her throat seized. Tears sprung to her eyes. She couldn’t imagine not having Clement in her life. She’d only known him for a short while, but already he’d become a big part of her life. Laura threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, the way humans did. Clement stiffened at first, but relaxed in her embrace. After a short while, Clement let her go and left without looking back.

  Laura leaned against the wall of the alcove, her heart breaking for the Indigene with the warmest of hearts.

  48

  Two days had passed since the cure had been administered. To Bill it felt longer than that. He’d ordered Ben to take a few days off. The teen had seen a lot over the last week. Maybe Bill should take his own advice and do the same. But one loose end still bothered him: Harvey.

  Bill had arranged to meet with him in the ITF. Harvey had yet to make it past the security area; their meeting would take place in the room just before it.

  Bill walked inside the room to see Harvey sitting in one of the chairs, legs crossed, one arm draped over the back of a second chair. The tension in the room transported him back to the time before Harvey had got his clinic. Except this time, the former geneticist looked too cocky.

  ‘You look pleased with yourself,’ said Bill, taking a second chair and turning it around to sit on it backwards.

  Harvey
half shrugged, half smiled. ‘I’d say our diligent work helped to save the Indigenes.’

  Bill smiled at the table. ‘Funny, I thought you didn’t care for them.’

  ‘Nah, I care.’ Harvey uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. ‘I helped to perfect their genetics. That’s got to count for something in this little arrangement of ours.’

  He supposed Harvey’s work on the first gen’s immune system had helped to improve their survival rate in the end.

  Bill looked up at him. ‘Thanks for your help.’

  The words almost stuck in his throat. He never thought he’d be thanking Harvey for anything.

  Harvey smirked. ‘Looks like you had a little trouble saying that.’ He clasped his hands together. ‘But I’m not here for your thanks. I’m here for what you promised me.’

  Bill had expected this conversation. ‘And what’s that?’

  ‘The clinic, it’s fine, but I need staff to run it. And more clinics. Three to start.’

  ‘For what, exactly?’

  Bill still had no idea what Harvey’s business model looked like.

  The former geneticist leaned back. ‘Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that.’

  ‘I guess this newfound camaraderie between us depends on how much I do for you.’

  ‘That was the deal. I don’t know why you’re acting so surprised.’

  He wasn’t acting. He had just never planned on giving Harvey anything. The clinic had served its purpose: to motivate Harvey to help with their crisis. Sitting now across from a man who’d tried to kill him once, the profiler inside him wanted to take it all back. Let Harvey do his worst.

  ‘Give me some time to sort it.’

  Harvey chuckled and shook his head. ‘You’re sounding like a broken record, William. I’m not a patient man.’

  Bill levelled with him. ‘Look, things are not settled yet. We need to keep an eye on the virus, make sure it hasn’t spread.’

  ‘You know it hasn’t. My blood tests concluded humans have not been infected.’

  ‘And you think a few days is enough to determine that?’

  ‘No, but we humans have a weaker immune system. If anything was circulating, we would have caught it by now. The Indigenes aren’t exactly discreet when it comes to hunting. Viruses are usually passed on from mammal to mammal. We eat the animals that the Indigenes let bite them.’ His gaze hardened. ‘This virus will not affect humans.’

  That was Bill’s feeling too. It had originated in the Nexus and had passed through the telepathy gene. If humans had been affected, the hospitals in New London would have reported cases by now.

  Tired of going around in circles with an enemy from his past, Bill stood. ‘I’ll get it done as soon as I can.’

  It was a loose promise. He hoped Harvey would move on to a different project before then.

  Harvey stood also, shoving his chair back. ‘I’ll make it happen if you don’t.’

  ‘Is that a threat?’

  ‘It’s a promise.’

  He walked out, leaving Bill to ponder his words. What did that mean? The interstellar wave was secure once more, but it had been down for a minute. Long enough for someone to hack it, or download whatever they wanted. Had Harvey ordered his men to hack it, or was this geneticist with a shady past finally on the straight and narrow?

  Bill exited the room. There was no sign of Harvey. His head pounded with the weight of others’ problems. Maybe he should just take the damn day off, forget about all of this for twenty-four hours. He called his car, then Julie to tell her he was leaving for the day.

  ‘I’ll look after things here,’ was all she said.

  Her outburst about letting the Indigenes die had put a strain on their working relationship. And that’s all it would ever be. He hated himself for allowing it to almost become more. Julie was no Laura and Bill was not ready to move on.

  As he waited by the kerb, the car pulled up. He got in and it drove him the fifteen minutes to his apartment.

  Bill climbed the stairs to his home and opened the door. A heavy feeling accompanied the quiet. He hoped it would lighten in time.

  Come on, Bill. You’ve lived alone before. You can do it again.

  He’d been alone for two years after Isla’s disappearance. This time brought experience with it. And he knew what didn’t work to get him through it. No Actigen this time. No alcohol or coffee.

  That thought forced an eye roll. Great, can’t wait for this new life.

  He ambled around his apartment, filled with reminders of his wife. Tomorrow, he’d pack everything up and send it to her.

  A knock on the door startled him. Bill grabbed the first thing he could: a butter knife he’d left on the dining room table. This building was secure. People couldn’t just walk up if they wanted. His first thought went to Stephen. Maybe something had happened?

  He clutched the blunt knife and opened the door. Standing there was the last person he expected to see.

  ‘Laura... what are you doing here?’

  ‘Is that any way to greet your wife?’

  She pushed her way inside. Actually, he did little to stop her. Her arrival had frozen him to the spot. If she’d been a burglar, she could have taken anything.

  Bill shook the shock free. Why was she here?

  ‘Has something happened?’ He thought the worst. ‘Are you sick?’

  Involving Harvey again was the last thing he wanted to do, but he’d do it for her.

  She shook her head, her fine, blonde hair dancing with the movement. And that’s when he saw she carried a backpack. She dropped it on the floor and walked around the apartment that was half hers. Laura’s fingers grazed the mantelpiece with photos of them both. She picked up one and smiled at it.

  But her smile vanished and she put it back down.

  Turned away from him, she said, ‘The last week was difficult in the district.’

  ‘It was. Are things okay now?’

  She turned to him, nodding. ‘As well as they can be. Stephen laid down the law and half the district left.’

  His eyes widened. ‘They did what?’

  ‘I know, it’s drastic, but he’d been expecting it. The virus only delayed what would eventually happen.’

  Bill supposed that was true. Tensions there were too high for something like this not to happen.

  ‘Did you need me for something?’

  He still didn’t know why she was here.

  Laura bit her lip. ‘I know it was difficult for you to let me go.’ She huffed and focused on the floor. ‘Hell, it was difficult for me to go.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to make things tough for you, love...’

  She held up a hand. ‘Let me say what I have to say.’

  His heart thumped so loudly it was all he could hear. He nodded for her to continue.

  Hands on her hips, and her eyes down, she said, ‘Being in the district helped me to come to terms with the changes in my body. Clement was a good friend to me.’

  Bill wanted to ask if he was more than that, but he’d promised to be quiet.

  She continued, looking up, looking around. ‘I was jumping out of my skin being here, not sure if I was Indigene or human. I realise now I was both, but what was I leaning towards most?’

  She chattered fast, as the words flowed from her. He just nodded, eager to talk, nervous to hear everything.

  Laura looked up at the ceiling. ‘And watching the drama unfold in the district made me realise that I don’t have to choose.’ She brought her gaze down to Bill. ‘I don’t want to choose.’

  His hope plummeted. She could have said her goodbyes yesterday. She didn’t have to come here and make things worse.

  Despite the lump in his throat, he managed to say, ‘If you want me to help you pack...’

  The thought made him feel physically ill. He looked away.

  ‘No.’ She stepped forward, forcing his gaze back to her. Her green eyes sparkled. ‘I want to come home.’

  ‘What?’

  He caught
her floral and sweet scent, the one that drove him crazy.

  ‘I want to be here. I don’t want to choose between my human and Indigene sides, but I want to choose where to live, who to love. And that’s you.’

  The hard lump in his throat remained. He croaked, ‘Are you sure?’

  She smiled and pressed her lips to his, lips he hadn’t tasted in a lifetime. Bill teased her mouth open with his tongue and tasted her. She responded with a moan that lifted him to dizzying new heights. But one thought sent him crashing back to earth.

  He pulled back from her.

  She frowned. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I have to tell you something.’

  ‘Okay...?’

  ‘It’s about me and Julie.’

  Her face said she already knew. She whispered, ‘Did you sleep with her?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, but we kissed. I ended it. It was a mistake. I’m sorry.’

  Bill had expected a reprimand, for her to storm out. But instead, she cupped his face in her hands. It was then he knew how close she and Clement had become.

  ‘Clement and I... nothing happened, but he was a good friend to me.’

  The thought of Laura being with anyone else made his blood boil. But he wouldn't be a hypocrite and ruin this moment.

  ‘I think we were both lonely,’ she said. ‘What happened during that time should not spoil what we have.’

  He kissed her again, keen to put their lives back on track.

  Bill scooped her up into his arms, relishing the feel of her, and carried her to the bedroom. ‘I’d like to get you naked, Mrs Taggart.’

  ☼

  They spent the morning in bed, making up for lost time. Laura rested her head on Bill’s chest. A thought entered Bill’s mind.

  ‘When you came here with Margaux, I was so happy. But then, after you had worked with Harvey, you became cold and distant. I thought that was it between us.’

  She lifted her head to look at him. ‘No, that wasn’t about you. Harvey...’ She sat up more. ‘He took a sample of my DNA.’