Redux

by S. A. Stephenson

  The Genesis Project - Redux

  S. A. Stephenson

  Copyright © 2019 by S. A. Stephenson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For the ones who help the broken.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Katarina Valletta’s feet pounded the ground beneath her as she ran. This had become a daily ritual since they had left Volt. Memories had turned into nightmares and her thoughts would swallow her whole and make her disappear to a place where she didn’t belong. There was something about running that helped her feel stronger again. Until she had started, she hadn’t realized how living in war had affected her. For years she had been one person against a government, leading one small army against a machine and it had been slowly killing her. Running helped her find part of herself once more and she was recognizing her old self, it cleared her mind from the depths of her thoughts and she was able to find some focus that she had lost.

  She came to a stop by the stump that she had to climb over and as she sat on the wooden fence she looked out at the scenery around her. Mountains towered around them, snow that hadn’t been melted by the recent rain lay over fields in the distance, and the dense forest hid them from view and had provided much-needed game when they needed to eat. The world was different here, quieter, more in tune with itself and it existed as though it were completely oblivious to everything else around it. Kit let her eyes settle on the small log cabin that lay at the foot of the mountain. She could see why Evie’s parents had chosen this as their home so long ago, it was likely the only peaceful place left in Volt for Genics. The line of Galen Presidents since the Blast had made sure that peace was for those who could be controlled and were part of the approved fabric of American society. Peace wasn’t to be found in someone’s own view of the world but in carefully constructed propaganda and tight controls over laws that had been introduced in the name of survival.

  The small wooden house that lay in the mountains was different, it was a quiet rebellion that spoke of the old world but it wasn’t filled with anti-government anger that had consumed Kit’s life, but rather a quiet defiance that she had come to appreciate. It had been her home for only a few weeks and already she found her heart had settled here and had been what they needed to be so they could recover.

  Kit jumped down from the gate and walked the rest of the way home. Home. It was such a funny word to her, she thought she knew what it meant, or what it was supposed to mean, but she had experienced so many variations of the concept, she was no longer sure. When she was a child, home had been Volt’s military zone where she had been brought up to be a soldier for America as it entered its new military era. Home was the labs where scientists experimented on her, home was her bunk in the Z Quarter where she lived with her mother until she had been taken away. Home had been in the vision of New York that her father had painted for her before they had tried to escape. Kit quickly dismissed that particular memory; the memory of seeing her father being captured as they made it over the wire, him being dragged back to the compound as she was forced to run still haunted her, nearly sixteen years later. She had found sanctuary in the Stacks, the suburb in what had been New Jersey and had become a place where nearly all escaped Genics ended up. That had been her last home until it had been destroyed by Galen and her army. Kit had grown used to forcing herself not to think of the destruction that the former President had created, but as the memories of what had been taken from her coiled round her thoughts once more the familiar burning sensation of anger rose in her.

  She reached the house and sat on the bench outside and pulled off her shoes. She sighed when she saw the soles were starting to fall apart and old stitching had become frayed and wondered how long it would be before they would find another market. The door opened and she saw Evelyn Fox come through the threshold carrying a glass of water. Kit took it gratefully and smiled. Evie leaned against the door and looked out at the mountains in quiet contemplation. She did that a lot these days, they found comfort in the silence, and understanding in the unspoken words that passed between them. As Kit looked at Evie, she often thought of what it must be like for her, she grew up in the system much like how Kit had done but despite the brutal testing, she had managed to hide her abilities, pass as human and became a scientist for Galen. The scars of Galen’s orders still lingered just under the surface, however, the grief Evie had for her friends and family whom she had lost to Galen’s regime was still there, talking in a haunted whisper when the world was quiet enough for her to indulge them. Pain wasn't a thing Kit had anticipated sharing with a lover, but it was a thing that brought them close together. No one else knew or could understand the emotions that came with fighting in a war. The hope, the heartache, the continual dream that something would one day be better than it was now.

  Kit got to her feet and as she headed inside she placed a hand on Evie’s shoulder. ’Today?’ She asked.

  Evie was quiet for a moment. ‘Is going to be a good day,’ she said softly. The daily ritual that they had adopted in the first days when they had arrived here. ’Today?’ Evie asked Kit in return.

  Kit took a moment to listen to what her body and mind were telling her, something that they hadn’t been trained in while in Volt but had been needed in recent weeks. ‘Is going to be okay,’ she said, although she could hear the waiver of confidence in her voice.

  Kit showered and when she came back downstairs she saw Evie out in the garden. She had lined up empty cans on the fence and was using electric sparks from the end of her fingers, to shoot them down. Kit had seen how Evie’s powers had developed since she started using them again. She could transform energy into balls of fire, she could move things with her mind and probably more that Kit had yet to see. Her inbuilt weapons proved useful more than once, mainly because Kit’s own powers were enabled by mimicking others and so she had been able to share Evie’s abilities and had having experienced the sense of strength it brought to her, she could guess how it had made Evie feel. Kit looked down at her own hands, the energy danced under her fingertips, like little pinpricks against her skin. As Kit had grown older, she had come used to the sensation her abilities gave her, it was as though part of her was coming alive and connecting with her in a way that nothing else could. Genics had a range of what they were able to do, and some adapted to them better than others. Kit had to learn to appreciate her powers, growing up she had hated being different; she had always wanted to be human, wanted to be like everyone else but as she got used to her powers outside of Volt’s compound, she found strength and even beauty in them. It had been Volt who had taught her to hate and detest what she was. The officials there hated Genics, even though they were the ones training them to be the next army America needed to fight in its war against the rebel army they had called Others. They were being d
esigned and built to be as strong as that alien force that was threatening them. They weren’t supposed to like who they were, yet somehow, they prevailed and came to admire the differences the alien DNA in their system had given them. They found a new sense of humanity in it, and it was something that humans could never likely understand. As Kit watched Evie she could see her starting to try and follow the same path of self-acceptance.

  Kit walked over to her. ‘Hey,’ she said. Evie stopped what she was doing and avoided Kit’s eyes for a moment, and stood a little limp, almost as though she had been caught stealing from the cookie jar. ‘Don’t stop what you were doing, I could see you were getting better.’

  ‘It feels wrong,’ Evie said.

  ‘Why?’

  Evie shrugged and Kit tried to work out what she was trying to say. ‘My powers, what I’m able to do, it killed Galen,’ she said. ‘When I saw her dying it was as though there was something changing inside me like my powers had grown their own strength and it wasn’t something I could control.’

  ‘So now you’re training?’ Kit asked. ‘That’s good, teaching your mind how to work with your abilities will make it easier for you to use them.’

  ‘I only remember what I was told in Volt,’ Kit could hear the despair in Evie’s voice. ‘I don’t think their methods are helping me.’

  Kit smiled, training Genics had become part of her specialty since leaving Volt. She knew how to break through their rigorous training and the harsh mindset they had instilled in them about who they were. She moved behind Evie and motioned to move her arms. ‘Volt taught us that our powers are a source of brutality, given to us by Galen’s scientists so that we can help build the world’s strongest army. Our powers are tools, weapons, we are here because of them.’ As Kit spoke the words, she could remember clearly her drill sergeant; a fierce, chiseled man, he would bark orders at them from sunrise to sunset. Even now, Kit flinched at the memory of him raising his hand, seeing his victims bruised and bloodied. Kit steadied herself and continued, ‘But we need to change that thought process so that we learn to work in harmony with what’s inside of us.’

  As she spoke, Kit moved Evie’s arms, the electric energy that was running underneath Evie’s skin tingled and Kit shuddered slightly as the warmth of Evie’s powers ignited in her. She had mimicked a lot of powers in the past, but there was something about how comforting Evie’s abilities were that made her connect with Evie in a way that words or physical intimacy couldn’t provide. She could feel Evie’s stomach flutter and sensed the uncertainty that was skipping across her mind. Evie had grown nervous of what she was able to do. That wariness would eventually work against her if she didn’t know how to control it. Energy surged inside of her and the light emitted from both of their hands. Kit could feel the energy burning on the top of her skin, its power was strong, commanding and she was energized by it. She narrowed her eyes at the can in front of them and in a swooping motion fired the ball of energy at it. The tin crumpled under the heat of the power and fell to the ground.

  ‘This is only small,’ said Kit. ‘When you're out there in the field you’ll be fighting something much bigger, and you’ll have to know how to use what's inside you. We were meant to believe that the energy given to us is bad, but how can it be when we can use it to keep ourselves alive, when we can use it to keep the ones we love alive? The power we have is important, it can change everything. We just have to decide how to use the power that's been given to us and what we want to do with it. If we can get as many Genics together then we can create an army bigger than anything Hawk or Galen imagined.

  ‘Do you think they’ll want to fight?’ Evie asked. ‘All they’ve ever known is the State and orders that Galen has given them, what if they can’t think freely for themselves.’

  Kit was hesitant for a moment, it was something she had been thinking about but too afraid to admit. There was no guarantee that other Genics would join them. For so long they had been told that those who followed her were the enemy… Kit shook the thought away, they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it. She had to believe that people still wanted to live in a democracy, even if they didn’t realize it yet. ‘Let's get back to training,’ she said. ‘We can worry about the others later, we need to be able to show them what they can do if they choose to break free from Volt.’

  Evie nodded and as Kit faced her they began sparring, Kit could see Evie getting quicker with each move, more agile and aware of what she was doing. Her strength and confidence would come as long as she didn’t allow herself to lose focus.

  When they finished training they walked back into the house, Kit poured them two glasses of cold water as Evie walked slowly into the kitchen. As Kit turned, she saw she was loosely holding an envelope in her hand. ‘I received this, this morning,’ Evie said and handed it to her.

  ‘People still send letters?’ Kit asked.

  ‘Well, when you’re living in a country that has questionable communication connections at the best of times, and live this remote, sometimes its the only way,’ Evie said. Kit turned the envelope over and when she pulled out the letter she saw Fort Isa’s official seal.

  ‘It’s from Evans?’ Kit asked excitedly and saw Evie smile as she went back to the text.

  ‘Corporal Richard Evans requires Katarina Valletta and Evelyn Fox to report for duty at Fort Isa by December 2nd, and join comrades Liliana Storm and Maddie Fletcher,’ as Kit read she could feel her hands shaking. ‘They’re alive?’ She asked quietly. ‘Lil and Rook are alive.’

  ‘And made it out of the Stacks,’ Evie noted.

  Kit could feel her heart begin to beat quickly, Lil and Rook - her affectionate name for Maddie - had been with her in the Stacks for years and she considered them her sisters. She had told herself they had been killed, that no contact had meant they hadn’t made it out of the bombings alive. Her heart had torn open in pain for them, now it was starting to beat a rhythm of hope again. ‘How do we get to Fort Isa from here?’ Kit asked. When they had arrived, they had been able to drive here by car, but the snow and ice had kept them confined to the house for days, their only visitor had been a local boy who had brought them food.

  ‘The safest way will be by helicopter, but December 2nd is only two days away, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to get communications back to Evans in time,’ Evie said.

  ‘We have to try,’ Kit told her. ‘I need to see Lil and Rook and I think we’ve done enough hiding here.’

  She saw the look of hesitation in Evie’s face and could hear the silent thoughts that danced across her mind. ‘It’ll be okay,’ she said taking her hand. ‘Evans wouldn’t tell us to get back to Fort Isa unless it was safe for you to be there.’

  ‘I killed the President,’ Evie whispered. ‘How can our safety be guaranteed after that?’

  Kit was quiet for a moment. She knew Evie’s fears, after she had escaped she lived so long in hiding out of fear of what would happen to her if she was in the open. ‘Through trust,’ Kit said. ‘We have to trust Evans and the others, they wouldn’t ask us to join them if it was going to put us in danger. And they could also have information about Jack and Canaan.’

  Kit saw Evie draw an intake of breath at the mention of Jack’s name, the brother who had betrayed her. He had been the one thing Kit couldn’t get her to talk about while they had been here and after the shouting and hostility she had received, she had learned not to push on the subject. Jack had helped in the airstrike against Volt, but his loyalty to them couldn’t be known for certain and it was tearing Evie apart.

  ‘I remember the farmer in the next paddock having an old airplane,’ Evie said. ‘If it’s still there it could be an option.’

  Kit smiled. ‘Then we should go check it out and get ready to leave,’ she said.

  The freezing cold water hit hard and as Kit stood under the showerhead, the sound of the water drowned away the outside world for just a moment and she relished in the peace. As she let the suds from the bar of so
ap flow over her skin she could feel how her body had changed in the last few weeks, it was skinnier, there was more muscle definition and her long hair was in desperate need of a cut. The door to the shower opened and Evie entered the shower behind her, Kit smiled as her arms wrapped around her and Evie kissed the nape of her neck gently. This was what had saved them while they had been here. Allowing themselves to be intimate, physically and emotionally had been a savior neither had expected but one Kit had come to relish. Her heart was softer when she was with Evie, it found a place where it could be still and it made her believe she was capable of more than she had ever realized. She found herself striving for something new, something better, where she could give Evie the world she deserved, the world all Genics deserved. Evie was different from her in so many ways, quiet, intelligent, beautiful but it was in the differences that Kit found her heart falling quicker than she could catch it.

  The water ran dry and they stepped out into the bathroom and Evie pulled a dry towel round Kit’s bare shoulders and stood for a moment looking in the mirror. ‘I always thought I knew what a murderer looked like,’ she said quietly and unexpectedly. Kit walked over to her, Evie’s angular face looked pale in the reflection, her bright blue eyes had been dimmed somewhat as though the pain had taken away some of the light. Her hair fell in loose curls to her waist and brushed over the EKG tattoo symbol on her arm. The symbol she had been given as a child to mark her as human to the scientists. When Kit had first seen it she had looked away in anger, Evie had been given a privilege that could have saved so much pain for so many. She had been given a different chance at life, but somehow had still ended up here, on this path with her. She was still a Genic, still someone who had supernatural abilities and could do things most humans could only dream of.