CHOSEN: A Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Dystopian Novel

by A. Bernette

  The intensity of the pulsations grew stronger and centered around her abdomen before giving her a tingling sensation and disappearing. Then the remaining energy in the air was gone, evaporating as the light had. Zura reached down and felt her stomach. She stood there as time stood still, cradling her womb and the twins she carried inside of her. Fear and shock continued to resonate through her body as she grappled with trying to understand what she’d seen, heard, and felt.

  The beeping sound from her watch brought Zura back from her daze. She stopped the beeping and swayed towards her chair. It was Johan but he would have to wait. She plopped back into her seat with a thud and tried to quickly jot down what she’d just heard. It had all happened so fast, but she’d gotten the idea. After scribbling down the message she checked to see if the recording system had picked up the strange occurrence.

  At the same time, she wondered what it meant, whether to get Johan and tell him, and if he would believe her even if she did. Silently she watched the playback. The sound had gone out completely but she could still see the flash of energy.

  What she’d seen as a bright golden ball showed up like a bright orb on the screen, looking like something was wrong with the video quality, but that was all. It wasn’t anything identifiable or provable. It wouldn’t hold up to Johan’s scientific inquiry. She would have to keep it to herself.

  Two Months Later

  “Aaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhh!” An ear piercing scream escaped Zura’s parched chapped lips. Sweat glistened on her forehead and tiny beads slowly followed the path to her neck. Curled tendrils formed across along her hairline from the moisture. After hours of labor her tears had all but run out and now she was just trying to hold on through the next painful contraction.

  She stared up at the white blocked ceiling, looking for her focus spot. The tiny greyish colored blemish in the otherwise perfectly smooth white ceiling. Bright bulbs meant to aid the staff’s sight gave Zura the feeling of an uncomfortable interrogation room.

  As she searched for the elusive spot, she faded between being with everyone else in the room and zoning out. The only other thought running through her head repetitively was possibly killing Johan for his part in her present condition. He stood in the corner silently, rocking as if in shock, unsure of what to do and safely out of her reach.

  She could smack him right now for shutting down while she endured the last of humanity’s unjustifiable burdens. Zura felt like she might have been hallucinating as she looked over at him once again and he was still standing there. She hadn’t just knocked him down along with that stupid look on his face like she’d imagined. The trick on her mind pissed her off even more.

  As she screamed in the sanitized room attended by the staff doctor, a small private white aircraft slowly entered the strangely quiet hangar and stopped, hovering over the yellow plus sign painted on the grey cement floor. Mave, with her dark hair pulled into a high pony-tail, waited in the hangar for the craft, just inside of the small room to the side. She peered out of the tinted window as the door to the aircraft slowly lowered, dropping stairs to the floor.

  When the stairs hit the floor, Dr. Claudia Lima jumped out carrying a bulky black case with a red medical sign. Mave had barely let them off the craft before yelling at them to hurry. She and the two doctors following her were all running behind Mave who’d come out of the office when Dr. Lima appeared in the doorway of the plane. She’d been waiting for more than thirty minutes.

  She wasn’t her usual patient self. Patience wasn’t a luxury any of them could afford at that moment.

  It was happening and if they didn’t get there fast, there would be death on their hands. What they were about to do couldn’t be proven to work successfully, not in humans at least. The official results had always been mixed, causing skepticism and abandonment.

  What they were using wasn’t part of any official program. It had never been officially tested or sanctioned and in fact, outside of a small circle, didn’t exist. Still it was the only chance they had to give the improved treatment to the two children struggling to be born early.

  Mave sprinted ahead of the group, her boots hitting the smooth concrete floor of the hangar, light and quick. Dr. Lima and the others struggled to keep up, their bags jostling beside them. They were soon at the entrance to the building where everything seemed to stand still, waiting for a miracle. Mave looked back to make sure she had everyone.

  “Hurry! Only take what you need for the surgery!” she yelled behind her as she pressed her wrist against the scanner to open the door. The four were through, dropping their bags on the inside. They didn’t need any extra weight slowing them down as they made it to the medical center. The door closed behind them trapping the freezing cold air in the hangar.

  Mave rushed through a confusing labyrinth of intricate honeycomb style tunnels. Different pastel colors of each honeycomb section blurred together as they went from one honeycomb to the next through the connecting hallways. Dr. Lima and her team, lighter without their luggage, followed close as Mave barked at them to keep up. Sprinting ahead, Mave hoped it wasn’t too late. As they got closer, another sharp scream pierced the tunnel they were in.

  The stainless steel door with a single rectangular window slammed against the wall as Mave rushed into the birthing room. Soft meditative music meant to inspire a Zen-like state played uselessly through the speaker system. Zura lay on the water supported bed, her head thrown back into the plush down pillow. Her screams and cries sprayed like knives slicing through the intended peacefulness of the room, muting the music.

  Zura could taste the beads of sweat that formed above her lip and seeped into the corners of her mouth. She’d only read of births like this happening before modern medicine. It was because of her stubbornness that she was living through what must have been the last original torture of womanhood.

  “God damnit! What the hell took you so long? I am dying here. I am literally… dying… here!” Zura’s eyes narrowed and then went wide again as she went through another contraction. After it passed, she had just enough time to spew venom at Mave and the other three as they slinked into the room behind her.

  “Well, we are here now. So shut up and let us help,” Mave said as she checked Zura’s vitals on the screen and then felt Zura’s full lumpy abdomen. The babies were restless. She listened for the heartbeats of the twins inside of her. They were struggling just as hard as Zura to be freed from the one world they’d known but they couldn’t come out just yet.

  “Claudia, your team needs to prep the serum and get it ready to inject. I’ll pull up the view of the twins. Zura, just lay there as best as you can. Dr. Lima brought a local anesthetic with her. It’ll help with some of the pain, but you’ll still have to fight through it. I’m sorry,” Mave said, squeezing Zura’s hand.

  Zura gripping the silicone wrapped support bars on either side of her, stared at the hand Mave held and the sky blue silicone beneath her hand. She then shot a look over at Johan and caught a glimpse of his terrified blue eyes looking back at her.

  The team was working as fast as they could. What had felt like a spacious birthing room now felt cramped as the half dozen people moved around the equipment and bed. Mave gave Zura a small red pill and then sprayed Zura’s stomach with the anesthetic. Tiny pinpricks stung all over her skin as it soaked in. Fifteen seconds later it turned to a dull sensation covering an eight inch diameter area on her abdomen.

  “It takes three minutes for the combination to work. Then we can administer the serum,” Dr. Lima said trying to reassure an anxious Zura.

  She grabbed Zura’s hand briefly before continuing to prep the double shot of serum. She’d done the procedure several times before, but never with twins.

  Mave looked across the room at Johan. He was still in the same spot that Zura swore she’d kicked his behind in, twice. Leaning against the wall in the corner motionless but conscious, as if he’d been turned into petrified wood. His eyes were blank and his mouth partly open as he took in wha
t felt like chaos. Zura couldn’t see straight enough to notice him now.

  “Get over here Johan. Hold your wife’s hand and stop standing in the corner like you are a used up box of tissues. You aren’t the one about to push out two frickin’ babies, are you!?” Johan snapped out of his trance and rushed over to Zura’s bedside. He took one of her hands and held it. At that moment her grip tightened around his, squeezing hard as she let out another blood curdling scream.

  They were hoping for a miracle with this serum. It was officially designed for premature infants and it was meant to serve as an intrauterine immune system booster and metabolizer. The addition to the basic serum was controversial and some had disagreed that it was necessary or that it should even be used, given the potential risks.

  However, Zura and Johan, being stuck in Antarctica, asked for it even with the risks. The benefits would give their twins the best chance for health and survival. That and Zura’s faith that what Mave told her was going to be true had convinced them. The additional modification was added to the serum after it passed inspection.

  The only people who knew about it were Zura, Johan, Mave and Dr. Claudia Lima. It was a special chemical that processed through the blood, attached to the body’s natural antibodies, and was over time fully integrated into their genetic code. Over time it would restrict the host’s DNA like a mutation. Whenever it learned how to fight an attacker it would alter the genetics for future use. It was an internal weapon against illness, disease, and degeneration.

  The more recent testing on mice yielded very promising results after several modifications to levels of testosterone and the bonding process to the DNA. This was the last of the doses to be given. After the twins were born, the eight Chosen children would have received the serum. This time, unlike the generation before, it had to work.

  The long-term effects couldn’t be known yet and with only six other humans injected there wasn’t much empirical evidence. What they had seen from the six who’d received it had been mostly positive, so far. It had only been a couple of years, but that was all the data they had to go on. It would have to be enough.

  Zura looked at Mave, her face wrenched in pain and fear. She was second guessing their decision. She wrestled with whether they were doing the right thing, if it would even work, or if she was killing her babies with it. She began sobbing, with no tears and unable to speak, the pain of the contractions had stolen her voice. She’d put them in this situation and she had to ensure their survival in any way she could.

  “We don’t have much time. The serum only works when the babies are in the womb and have at least a few minutes for the serum to work through their system,” Dr. Lima said.

  “We are cutting this really close. These babies are already in position to come out.” Mave looked at her watch and waited as a few more seconds went by.

  The ideal situation would have been to wait until the babies were fully developed at thirty-nine weeks, but for Zura and the twins, the ideal wasn’t an option. The twins were coming six weeks early. They could only hope that there would at least be those few minutes after the serum was injected for it to process in their bodies before they left the dark cramped safety of Zura’s womb.

  “Okay. Go now!” Mave yelled. It was finally time to begin administering the serum.

  Dr. Lima and her team watched the infants on the monitor. They would inject the one closest to coming out with the serum first. Just as they were about to place the needle, they paused as Zura let out another scream. A few more of those and they would be out of time.

  The cries of new life sounded through the halls as tears streamed down Zura and Johan’s cheeks. The sound of Mave’s long sigh was eclipsed by the twins. Dr. Lima smiled as she wiped her brow. They’d done it.

  The screams given from Stella’s strong lungs overtook the light whimpering of her brother Stephen. She reached for him instinctively as his eyes searched for her. He struggled with the overwhelming stress, lights, and being dragged by Stella into the strange place.

  Both lying against Zura’s chest, Stella found his hand and wrapped hers around it.

  Chapter Four

  Undercurrents

  Rift Valley in Southern

  Year: 2165

  “Do you feel that?” Delia shouted out to her mother, Marie. She jumped up from where she sat against the white headboard of her extra-long twin bed. The headboard banged lightly against the wall, partly from her and partly from the tremor. She looked at her off-white walls. Was that hairline crack there before? The royal blue and white bedspread lay rumpled underneath her.

  For the past hour, she’d been putting information into a small tablet she used to enter data at least once a month for the past six months. Still carrying it, she strode into the living room unable to ignore the persistent shaking.

  “Of course I do. It’s almost over,” Marie said coming into the living room. Delia stood there looking out the window at the buildings surrounding theirs and thinking of all the people living around them. The old buildings made from stone and cement were now painted brilliant shades of purples, blues, greens, yellows, and clay reds dotted the city.

  Direct sunlight rarely graced their unit because of the buildings that surrounded them that partially blocked it from view. Her neighborhood was filled with tall residences, apartments, and condos, all overflowing with people. The purple high-rise across the street from her had a finger wide crack that ran along the side. Although the crack had begun when the building settled naturally, she’d noticed it continue to spread over the ten plus years they’d lived there.

  Her building was newer, with windows that stretched from her waist all the way to the aqua blue coffered ceilings, framed in eggshell white. From those windows near the top of the skyscraper, she had an enviable view of the city’s aging but colorful skyline.

  She was high enough to see the rooftops of most of the buildings around them. The hills in the distance were even visible from where she stood. She saw the same hills that hid the site of one of the larger pump holes, built years before, despite the overwhelming citizen protests that in the end hadn’t mattered.

  She loved the Rift Valley with the mountains and hills that greeted the rising sun and the colors that had made her home so attractive to millions of people. If she got up early she could go to the hills and look east to catch the sunrise. Dotted with trees, grass, and dirt they were filled with the beautiful green she loved. It was a luxury in the city to have the trees and grass anywhere in view.

  “They’re getting more frequent,” Delia said to her mother who sat down on the orange sofa and turned on the news.

  “I don’t remember it being like this other years, at least not as long as we’ve lived here,” Marie said.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Delia said as she sat down next to Marie.

  “Every time I look at the news coming in, they keep talking about these tremors and small quakes. They keep saying it’s just the season,” said Marie.

  She scanned the channels until she found a woman in the media blue uniform and an artificial tan talking about the tremors before turning it over to the local newsperson. Marie waited expectantly to hear what was being reported for the city this time.

  Marie was struggling to remain patient with all that was going on. Delia looked over at her as she pulled at her chin. She could feel her mother’s worry and could tell her mother was thinking hard about something.

  “I thought last year things were worse than normal, but this is even more than last year.” Delia was trying to separate her mother’s discomfort from her own.

  “No, it’s not normal. It’s gotten worse and it’s not getting better,” Marie said looking out the window and back to the screen.

  The local newswoman from the northern part of Southern Liberty appeared and started reporting on the tremors happening as being normal. A perfect white smile greeted the billion plus viewers before she began.

  With practiced confidence she said, “Citizen
s of Southern Liberty, please know that there’s nothing to worry about. According to some of our best scientists, this type of seemingly increased seismic activity happens every so often. Sometimes it takes a few generations, sometimes less, but don’t be concerned about the small tremors. We have it on authority from those in the highest branches of government that all is well.”

  Her big brown eyes and long dark lashes batted at the camera as she smiled again. She turned to her cohost who then moved on to other news about productivity being down because of a forced shut down of some of the active emissions pumps, including one in Southern Liberty. Delia shook her head as the reporter spoke about how negatively it was already impacting the economy and the long-term impact on employment if it continued.

  Marie snapped the news off, shaking her head back and forth in disbelief. She began pacing around the spacious kitchen and living room before stopping in the kitchen - she needed some tea. She pressed a button on the refrigerator before taking out her favorite ceramic mug with drawings of green creeping vines on it.

  She rolled the cup in her palms waiting for the water to heat up. The lemon ginseng tea would help calm her for now. As Marie poured the hot water into her cup she felt the vibrations rolling beneath her feet again, just as Delia felt them under hers.

  “I don’t think we are going to get better answers, at least not from where we’re supposed to look,” said Marie as her eyes followed the small circles forming at the top of her tea as the tremor went through her to the water.

  “What do you mean?” Delia asked, now curious about what her mother might not be telling her.

  “You know exactly what I mean Delia. We hear what they are saying but what we really need to hear is what they aren’t saying.”