Gene. Sys.

by Garcia, Aaron Denius

  I roll off his arm and slowly move a fist towards his face. I stop right as my knuckles touch his cheek.

  “That makes sense.” He pulls his arm away.

  Just then, the elevator doors open, spitting out the first of the Genesys. We both look towards the incoming group.

  He walks over to greet them as they see that he has recovered, but before he gets too far, he turns. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. Let me know if you want any more one on one training.” I watch him as he turns back to the groups. Cal keeps his distance but remains close to the group. I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like Titan.

  I walk over to the control panel and by the time I reach it, Ev has caught up to me.

  “What are we doing today?” she asks.

  “First simulation. You and I will pick teams and we will be using the longer hand held weapons.” I begin to enter codes into the panel.

  “What’s the simulation?” She looks over my shoulder at what I’m entering. Before I am able to answer, the room begins to change into a dark and dense forest.

  “The one we slept in before.” I smile at her and she smiles back.

  We both look at the group that has gathered in the center of the room. They are all looking around in wonder. The blizzard simulation we had before wasn’t very detailed, so this is certainly an inspiring sight.

  “I choose Ox,” Ev says. Her face is as intense as I have ever seen it. She’s out to win and she made a very smart choice with Ox.

  I want speed and quickness. “Cal.”

  “Hydro,” she says without hesitation.

  “Al.” I hate to split him and Hydro up, but I know that I can trust him to do what I ask.

  “Titan,” she sneers. I’m surprised by the pick but I instantly understand her strategy. She knows that he will do all he can to beat me.

  “Fe.” I’m happy to get her on my team, but the pick was purely because of her skill.

  “Mag,” Ev exhales. I can tell she’s not too happy about this pick. Mag has been one of the slowest to develop, but Ev picked her because they are friends.

  The group walks towards us so I finish the picks to even out the teams. “You take Sil and I will take Sodi and K.”

  “Fine.” She turns to the group. “Ox, Mag, Hydro, Sil and Titan, step over here.”

  “The rest will be on my team.” I turn back to the control panel and hit a couple of buttons. A sliding door opens up on the wall, revealing the cache of weapons. They all look real, but none of them are lethal. They just might leave a bruise or two. “Everyone pick a weapon. Ev, take your team to the opposite side. I will set the countdown to 10 minutes.”

  I know I don’t need to explain everything to them because they all did the blizzard simulation and I’m sure Grant already went over everything. The Genesys all grab a weapon that they feel most suits them and then Ev and I walk up to the cache. She picks what I can only assume is her favorite, a double ended sword, and I pick my weapon of choice, an 8-foot long chain.

  Ev takes her group to one end of the room. I hit the button to start the countdown and lead my team to the opposite end.

  I’m happy with my team and I look at the weapons they chose. Both Al and Sodi chose swords. K chose a scythe, which instantly gives her a more menacing demeanor. Cal chose a sanjiegun and as he holds the triple staff by the middle, with the two sides hanging from a chain, I know it was a wise choice. Lastly, Fe has chosen a weapon that completely dispels her innocence, a sledgehammer.

  “Alright. We are going to split into two groups of three and flank them from the front and back. K, you and Sodi are with me. We will make our way down the middle and try to cut them off. The rest of you make your way around the perimeter until you reach the opposite side and then make your way towards the middle. Stay tucked away until you see all six of their team engage.

  “Remain close to each other so that you can communicate. If you can’t see each other, you can’t work as a team.” I look out towards the battlefield. “Be patient. Let them make the mistakes.”

  The alarm to the countdown goes off and, without having to say anything, Cal, Al and Fe take off towards the left. K and Sodi look at me to make the first move.

  “Stay tall, keep your peripherals open, but always make sure there is a tree directly in front of you.” I walk at a fairly quick pace. Sodi walks a few feet to my right and K to my left. Once I feel we are about a third of the way in, I hold my hand up and signal for them to hide behind a tree.

  I hear a noise up ahead and I peer around my tree to get a quick glimpse. There are two figures straight ahead and I see the movement of two more off to my right. I can only assume that Ev is also trying a flanking tactic, but she is attacking with two up the middle and two to each side.

  The best way to counter this approach is to go after one of the side groups first. I signal to K and Sodi that we will charge to the group on the right on my three-count. I have to trust that Cal and his group have had enough time to get into their position.

  We wait as the three pairs snail their way to us. They are on alert. Just as I feel the groups are a dozen feet away I count down. Sodi, K and I charge at the group to our right, which consists of Sil and Hydro. Hydro has her trusty staff and Sil brandishes a pike.

  I know that the second the other two pairs see us they will converge, so it’s key that we take care of Hydro and Sil as quickly as possible. Hydro is definitely the more skilled of the two so I decide to square off to her. “You two take Sil!”

  They both turn towards Sil and I see him back up as he is outnumbered. Hydro spins her staff over her head with great ease and in a quick swoop; she swings it at my head. I react by holding my chain up and catching the staff. I wrap the chain around the staff to make sure she can’t swing it back, but she counters that by pushing the staff through the wrapped chain.

  The end of the staff connects hard with my chest and knocks me back. My left hand lets go of its end of the chain as I stumble back. With a quick glance I see that Sil is still standing, but he is only fighting K. Sodi has been disposed of.

  My focus returns to Hydro, who is spinning her staff over her head again in the same direction. I know that I need to take care of her quickly because Ev and the others are but a few feet away. I can only hope that Cal, Al and Fe are right behind them.

  Hydro swings her staff as she did before and this time I let it hit my side. The impact stings but I am able to catch and grab the staff with my left hand. As she struggles to pull it away, I swing my chain and it wraps around her neck. Her hands let go of the staff and instinctively reach for the chain. I quickly focus all my energy on my legs and jump into a half flip, half spin that allows me the momentum to pull her to the ground.

  Her head hits the ground hard and she gets knocked out of the simulation. I run over and unwrap the chain around her neck. When I turn to look for K, I see that Cal and his group have arrived and are engaging in battle with the rest of Ev’s team. Al has been knocked out, but so has Mag.

  I look around to see who needs my help the most and I spot Ox running at K. I sprint towards her. “K, behind you!”

  K doesn’t turn however, keeping her focus on Sil. She hits him in the head with the butt of her scythe and as he stumbles back, she turns the scythe around and slices it into Sil’s side. He falls down, knocked out of the game. The second she accomplishes this, Ox hits her in the back with his double axe and knocks her out.

  He turns his attention to me. This is a much more level playing field than the last time we met in here, when I snuck up behind him. Ox holds his ground, waiting for me to make the first move. As good as he is with an axe, I know that it is a lumbering weapon, so I have to rely on my speed.

  I look just off to his left and smile. “Now!”

  This pulls his focus away as he takes a quick glance over his shoulder at the tree I just yelled at. In a flash, I whip my chain low, wrapping it around his legs. I pull his feet out from under him and he falls to the
ground, dropping his axe. As quickly as I can, I run over and place my foot on the arm that’s reaching for the axe. I bend down, grab the axe and slam it into his chest. He lets out a frustrated sigh as he falls limp.

  I turn around to see Titan squaring off against Fe and Ev battling Cal. Everyone else has fallen. Ev and Cal seem pretty evenly matched; Titan definitely has an upper hand on Fe. His trident has a longer reach than her sledgehammer, but she is doing her best to fend him off.

  Titan backs her up against a tree and I run to help her out. She has the handle of her sledgehammer wedged between two of the trident points and she is doing her best to hold it off. Titan pushes harder, inching the points towards Fe’s chest.

  I’m close enough, so I whip my chain, wrapping the end around the trident. With a yank, I pull it out of Titan’s hands. He turns to me as I pick up the trident and looks around for his options. As Fe regains her composure, Titan turns and runs away. I plant my feet and throw the trident as hard as I can at him. He turns just in time to avoid getting hit.

  Fe starts after him, but I grab her arm to stop her. “Let him go. Let’s take care of Ev first and then the three of us can go after him.”

  “Ok.” She smiles.

  We run over to Cal, where he and Ev have been exchanging blows. Ev sees us approaching and she jabs her double-edged sword at Cal, backing him up. With the extra space, she assesses the situation and turns to run. I change my angle and run to cut her off. I spin, wrapping the chain around my body, and then, with a twisting jump, I pull the chain and fling it out of my hands in her direction. The chain flies through the air and hits her diagonally across the back, knocking her down.

  Fe and Cal run at her and with a couple of quick strikes, Cal knocks her out of the simulation. I walk to catch up to them, when suddenly a wave of shocks run through my body and cause my muscles to tighten. I lose control of my nervous system and my body falls limp. As I hit the ground, I see Titan standing over me with a smile. His trident held firmly in his hand.

  Before I can blink, I see the sledgehammer flying end over end at Titan and it strikes him square in the chest. He flies back and slams against a tree. Just as quickly, Fe runs past me and grabs the fallen sledgehammer. With a quick spin, she torques her weapon and slams the sledgehammer into Titan’s chest again. He falls limp.

  “Apokalupto,” I grunt. I lift my body off the ground as the simulation disappears. The rest of the fallen Genesys slowly pick themselves up. Most of them walk gingerly towards the center of the room, nursing their injuries.

  “Who won?” I hear Mag ask.

  “We did,” Cal responds.

  “It was a good match. Ev, you had a great strategy. If this was an open field, I wouldn’t have been able to carry out what I did and your plan would have been successful. That being said, if you know your environment use it to your advantage.” I address the last statement to the whole group. “Put your weapons away and rest up. We do it again tomorrow.”

  Everyone drags their way to the weapons cache and returns their gear. I pull Titan aside.

  “What do you want?” He pulls his arm away from me. I can tell that he isn’t happy about how he was defeated.

  “I just wanted to tell you good job. You did a smart thing by running away. The odds were stacked against you so you retreated until you could regain an edge. You, however, were defeated for the same reason I was. We let our guards down for a second. We can’t afford to do that in battle. There is a fine line between confidence and hubris.” I’m saying this mostly to myself rather than to him.

  “Thanks.” A smirk graces his face and he turns to join the other Genesys in the elevator.

  I walk to close the weapons cache when Ev steps up beside me. “You know, my team’s strategy was actually Titan’s idea.”

  This surprises me. Not the fact that Titan would have an idea like that, he does seem to be a capable leader. I’m surprised by the fact that Ev would relinquish her command to another. “Ev, you have to make sure that they know you are in control.”

  “They know. I was just open to suggestions and he had a great one.” She grabs my hand as we turn to walk to the elevator. “You need to learn to listen to those you lead. They just might have a good idea or two.”

  She’s right. Each one of the Genesys is a leader in their own right; they just look to me because that’s what they were told to do. “I know.”

  As we get in the elevator, I reach to push the button but my arm is held back by something. I look down and see that I had completely forgotten that we were holding hands. My brow furrows because I realize that I didn’t feel the sensation I usually do when she touches me. Maybe we have just reached a point where I finally feel completely comfortable with her, or maybe I’m just tired.

  We get to my room and she lets go of my arm to give me a hug. “You’re a good leader, Atom.”

  A small fire ignites in my chest. She said exactly what I needed to hear. I smile. “So are you.”

  She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and runs off. “Goodnight!”

  “Night,” I reply. The tingles in my cheek spread to the rest of my body. As tired as I know I am, I feel I could do three more simulations now. Instead, I head into my room and slump down in my shower.

  A few tingles cause my fingers to twitch. I don’t know if it’s because of Ev’s kiss or if it’s just remnants of the shock I received when Titan knocked me out. I’m upset with myself for giving him the chance to do that. I’m supposed to be sharper than that and I can’t afford to let my guard down, ever, especially since I’m supposed to lead all the Genesys to safety. I guess it’s best that I learned that in a simulation.

  Over the next few days I put the Genesys through various simulations. I abstain from partaking in most of them so that I can watch and assess their progress. I mix up the teams and alternate who leads. Sometimes I set up three different teams and have them go after each other. It is interesting to watch how the teams strategize against one another.

  This gives me a lot of insight into how to manage a squad if faced against two enemies at once. Through the process, it is evident that Titan is one of the best leaders, even better than Ev. I would still trust Ev above anyone else, but Titan certainly knows how to read a situation. Hydro and Ox are also instinctive leaders.

  Most nights I head up to the roof of the library for some fresh air. Cal, Al, Hydro and Fe have made it a habit to join me when I go up there. Most of the time our conversations center on the simulations, the last couple of nights, though, our thoughts have been drawn to bright flashes we’ve been seeing beyond the wall.

  10

  When I wake up, I instantly know something is different about today. My stomach churns and I’m barely able to keep down the protein pack I eat. I brush off the thoughts, thinking that it’s because of the simulation I plan to run today. I’ve been avoiding it since I saw it on Grant’s sheet, but I know I can’t put it off forever. Today the simulation will be dead bodies.

  Quick calculations tell me that there are just over 100 days left before the scientists set off the end of the world. The Genesys have all been around for weeks now and are pretty much caught up to Ev and I. This simulation will be hard for them to handle if it’s anything like the first time I saw dead bodies.

  As I head down the empty hallway, like I usually do to set up before the rest get down there, I see two figures standing by the elevator. I recognize Rene instantly. The second figure takes me a second to register, but then I realize that it’s the woman I saw in the medical ward talking to Brianna and Hawk.

  “Atom, good. I was hoping you would be by soon.” Rene puts his arm around me and squares me up to the woman. Up close, her hair seems to alternate between black and white. “This is Doctor Lila Kivuli.”

  She reaches her hand out. “It’s nice to formally meet you, Atom.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I shake her hand.

  “Dr. Kivuli is our resident psychiatrist. She has been working with a lot of scientists h
ere at the compound and she insisted that she started seeing all of you.” Rene smiles.

  “What for?” I speak to Rene as if Dr. Kivuli wasn’t there. Something about the way she looked at me back in the medical ward hasn’t sat right with me.

  “I just want to give you all an outlet to vent. You must be going through a lot of stress and I can help you talk out any issues you might be having.” Dr. Kivuli answers for Rene.

  “I’m fine. I don’t need to talk things out.” I’m getting annoyed. I don’t want to be wasting my time when I should be setting up the simulation.

  “You may think you are, but the rest of them might not be. Besides, Atom, this is not an option. I want each of you to see Dr. Kivuli once a week.” Rene’s words are final. He motions for Dr. Kivuli to walk before him and he follows her as they head down the hallway.

  I get into the elevator and try to brush off my annoyance. Rene is probably right though. They do need someone to talk things through with, especially after today’s simulation. It probably wouldn’t be a bad thing for me either because I don’t really have anyone I can confide in with regards to my issues with being the leader.

  Telling any of the other Genesys, including Ev, that I am constantly second guessing myself would show weakness. I need them to trust that I will always make the right decisions.

  When I reach the simulation room, I decide that I am not going to reveal what the simulation is. No amount of warning can set them up for the shock they will feel. I open the weapons cache and remove twelve rifles, making sure each one is loaded with six bullets. They need to learn to conserve their ammunition.

  The first of the Genesys pour out of the elevator and make their way towards me. Their jovial conversations turn silent when they spot the rifles on the table. It’s the first time we will be using guns. They have all been coming down to practice, and though Titan is still the best shot, the rest have become deadly accurate.