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The Keras Genome

Page 17

by Kurtis Eckstein


  Noah was again surprised when he could lift it without much effort. He began doing reps, but after a minute he commented, “It’s the same as before. It does feel heavier, but I feel like I could do this all day.”

  “Let’s at least go for the same amount of time, so I can compare to see if your reps are slowing down.” Noah nodded in response, and the scientist kept on clicking. Noah realized the scientist also had a stopwatch he was using to keep track of the time. Within five minutes, the soldier who had left showed up with a bar that was literally shaped like a hexagon with two long rods sticking out of the sides. The guy waited patiently as Noah finished up the time.

  “Okay, stop.” Anderson jotted down some notes and then looked back up in amazement. “You actually did more reps with the heavier weight, which means you’re not fatiguing at all. Amazing!” He then looked at the soldier. “We won’t be needing that after all. We need something much heavier. Go get the crane set up. I want to see if he can lift that six-thousand pound wrecking ball.”

  The soldier looked annoyed at having been sent on a useless errand, but he obeyed. He set the bar down and jogged out of the facility. He could hear the soldiers making bets as to whether or not Noah would be able to lift it. Noah looked at Anderson questioningly.

  “Why such a large jump in weight?”

  Still looking at his notes, he answered. “Well, if I was dealing with a normal person then I would assume that eight-hundred pounds isn’t even ten percent of your maximum, based on how many reps you can do. However, we know nothing about your endurance – it’s possible you can lift at your maximum capacity indefinitely. So, I need to try to get closer to your limit. Even if you can’t lift it, at least we will know we have exceeded the upper boundary.” Anderson looked up then. “It will take a while for him to get the crane over here, so why don’t we test your reflexes while we wait?”

  Anderson pulled out a ruler from inside his coat pocket, and held it up to Noah. “All I want you to do is hold your fingers out at the bottom of this ruler, and as soon as you notice it drop, I want you to grab it with just your index finger and thumb. I will test your reaction time. Ready?”

  Noah did what he was asked, holding his hand up to the bottom of the ruler. Anderson then let go of the ruler without warning, allowing gravity to take over. Noah immediately pinched it with his fingers, causing it to not move at all.

  “Amazing!” The scientist beamed. “I’ll need to use more advanced techniques to narrow down your actual reaction time. This test is only sufficient when dealing with humans.”

  Noah noticed that Anderson was insinuating again that he wasn’t human, but then something else caught his attention. Noah could suddenly feel Madison’s tension rise. He abruptly looked over to her and saw that her posture was defensive. Coleman was standing in front of her, looking as smug as ever. Madison was by the door leading to the facility. Noah wondered if it was already time for her to have her blood drawn again. He strained to hear what was being said, and found that he could with enough concentration .

  Madison was speaking firmly to Coleman. “I told you, I can go by myself!”

  “Oh come on girl, don’t be like that.” The arrogant bastard sounded like he was trying to smooth talk her.

  Madison seemed pissed. “You know, you have a lot of balls trying to hit on me with my boyfriend here.”

  Coleman leaned towards her, definitely full of himself. “Oh, I ain’t worried about him.”

  Madison almost spat in his face, “Ain’t isn’t a word! Leave me alone!”

  She turned away to walk off, but suddenly Coleman grabbed her roughly by the arm, saying, “Hey now, I’m just trying…”

  Instantly, the sound of Coleman’s body smashing into the metal wall ricocheted throughout the warehouse. A red tendril stretched all the way across the empty facility from Noah to Coleman. A crimson death-hand pushed the cocky soldier even further into the steel, as the sounds of his gurgling, and meager attempts to breathe, echoed through the air.

  There was a slight delay before the other soldiers held up their guns. It had taken everyone a few seconds, other than Madison, to realize the red fingers holding the bastard ten feet in the air were connected to Noah’s body. Rapidly, multiple soldiers began yelling simultaneously: “Stop!,” “Let him go!,” “I’ll shoot,” “Put him down!”

  Noah released his grip on Coleman, allowing him to fall to the concrete floor gasping for air, but he didn’t retract his blood. Instead, he left his crimson death-hand hovering in the air over the cocky soldier’s body. Noah was done with them threatening him. He was done with them thinking they were superior in any way. They were like ants under his foot, and they needed a healthy dose of reality. He began taunting them.

  “Go ahead! Shoot me! See what happens!”

  The room immediately fell silent, as the echoes slowly died down. When no one moved, he said it again. “Seriously! Shoot me! I want you to see for yourself what happens!”

  Anderson was the only one to respond, surprising Noah with the interest in his voice. “Go ahead soldier.” He was looking at the guy closest to Noah. “I want to see this for myself.”

  The guy was hesitant. He looked like he was sweating bullets. Noah was just about to taunt him again, when he fired his gun. Three shots echoed from the automatic machine gun as the soldier tapped the trigger.

  Noah had expected the bullets to pierce his skin, and get pushed back out as his wounds rapidly healed, but that isn’t what happened.

  The bullets bounced off him.

  Losing momentum, they landed on the floor in front of him. The sound of the small pieces of metal hitting the floor was dwarfed the by echoing gunfire. Noah resisted the urge to look down in reaction to his own astonishment. Instead, he looked each solider in the eye, one by one, as they all came to realize what had just happened. This was his chance to make his point .

  “Now you know, just how useless your little guns are. So, I suggest you don’t piss me off again like that asshole.” Noah then turned to Dr. Anderson, whose expression was truly one of shock. Apparently, the scientist also hadn’t expected the bullets to bounce off. Noah addressed him. “I’m taking a short break to cool off. Madison and I will return after she has had her blood drawn by Dr. Robinson.” He didn’t wait for permission, or even a response. Noah turned around and dashed across the warehouse, faster than should be possible for a human.

  He slowed down when he got to Madison, realizing she had a worried expression on her face. She immediately embraced him in a tight hug, and they walked out the door, away from all the tiny insignificant ants.

  Chapter 18: Limited Opportunity

  “I bet they think it’s transmitted sexually,” Madison was saying. “That guy was trying a little too hard to get in my pants. He probably thought he was real smooth, but it was ridiculously obvious to me.”

  Noah nodded in agreement. He had been worried when Anderson had previously mentioned that as a possibility, and then was extremely suspicious when that particular insect had been selected to test her abilities. From there, they walked to the lab in silence, glad to be in each other’s arms again. As they neared the room where Dr. Robinson should be, Madison spoke again.

  “Hey, is it weird that I can sort of…know where you are, even though I can’t see you?”

  “No, it’s not weird. I can do it too, although I didn’t really notice it until after I had left you in the helicopter earlier.”

  Madison was thoughtful. “Maybe you didn’t notice because we’ve been close together ever since I was infected.”

  “Maybe. That makes sense.”

  They had arrived at the lab entrance. Opening the door, they saw that Dr. Robinson was looking through a microscope. She had two stacks of slides she was examining. Another machine in the corner sounded like it was spinning rapidly. Looking up, Dr. Robinson immediately knew something was wrong from their expressions.

  “What happened?” She genuinely didn’t seem to know about the Colema
n situation.

  The question was more directed towards Madison, so she responded. “Just an idiot who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Oh no.” Dr. Robinson seemed sincere. Then more to herself she said, “Those incompetent pigs.”

  They were both surprised Robinson would be so straightforward about her feelings. Noah perceived this as confirmation that what they suspected was true.

  “So, they do think it’s transmitted sexually, and they told one of their men to try to get in a minor’s pants. Sound about right?”

  Dr. Robinson motioned for them to sit down.

  After they sat on a pair of stools next to her, she began explaining quietly. “I’d like to say that Dr. Anderson isn’t that incompetent, and that he’s just following orders, but they are all desperate. They’ve already tried using Noah’s blood to initiate the change. But nothing happens. The test subjects get very sick, just as someone might from being injected with animal blood – no offense – but after they recover they are still human. ”

  Noah was surprised. “But Wolfe said there was something unique about me that allowed for the transformation to happen.”

  “Yes, and we still haven’t identified what’s unique about you. We are trying to accomplish in days what will realistically take years to understand. But they are desperate. You have to understand that this is one of the most powerful militaries in the world and they are faced with an enemy that far exceeds their capabilities. It scares them, and it threatens their sense of superiority. They have taken extensive risks to try to replicate what’s happened to you, even using the carcass of a dead Keras to try to make the change.”

  Madison was quick with her next question, forgetting briefly that the military didn’t know how she had been infected. “Why doesn’t the blood work?”

  Robinson looked at her cautiously for a moment, knowing the implications of Madison’s question. However, she didn’t pursue it further. “The blood they took from Noah has the Keras genome in it, but I don’t think it’s the catalyst that causes the change. The Keras genome is just the result. I think it’s a chemical that we’ve never seen before, and I suspect the reason why it didn’t work is because the chemical probably degrades outside the body.”

  “What would cause it to degrade?” Noah wondered.

  “I’ve been thinking about that extensively actually. I don’t think it’s the temperature, because if the Keras use this chemical to control other species for intel, then I strongly doubt it would be temperature sensitive. A human’s body temperature might be very different from whatever other aliens exist in the universe. So, it might be something more like ultraviolet light. I wonder if maybe UV light decomposes the chemical.” She paused for a moment, as if considering something interesting about her own statement. “Furthermore, I don’t think the chemical is in Noah’s blood anymore.”

  Noah and Madison both looked at her in surprise as she explained.

  “This is just a suspicion, but the chemical was primarily designed to hijack an organism. The fact that it has had this transformative effect on the human genome seems to be more of a side effect. And generally, once a chemical has lost its purpose, the body eliminates it.”

  “What are you implying?” Noah asked.

  She looked at them both carefully before answering. “I don’t think your blood can infect anyone now that your transformation is fully complete. And…” She paused looking at Madison. “Once Madison’s DNA is fully converted to the Keras genome, I don’t think she will be able to infect anyone either. I believe there is a limited window of opportunity when this is possible.”

  Noah was concerned now, knowing that Major General Wolfe and Dr. Anderson might take even more extreme measures if they thought they had less than twelve hours to build their army. “Have you shared this with anyone?” Noah whispered.

  Dr. Robinson leaned back a little, and sighed. “This is just my personal theory, and no I haven’t shared it with anyone. ”

  “Why?” Madison asked. Then she quickly elaborated. “I mean, I’m glad you haven’t, because I don’t even want to think about what they would try to do to me if they believed this was true, but still…why have you kept it to yourself?”

  Dr. Robinson sighed again. “Because while I am a scientist, I am also a mother. And I do understand the urgency of the situation, but these testosterone driven fools – no offense Noah – are too short-sighted. If the Keras don’t destroy us, we will end up destroying ourselves with this power. Noah, you know what you can do. Imagine if just one even slightly mentally unstable soldier were to become like you? Who would stop him? Who would stop them ? We are just trading one apocalyptic threat for another.”

  Madison responded first. “I understand what you mean, and I appreciate your concern for us, but I can honestly see how they perceive the Keras as the bigger threat.”

  The scientist paused again for a moment before commenting. “I have other reasons for not telling them, but I don’t think now is a good time to share. We need to get this blood draw done, so no one suspects we’ve been talking this casually. Maybe tonight?”

  They both agreed they would continue this conversation later. Robinson then spent the next five minutes struggling to try to get the massive needle in Madison’s arm. After a while she finally gave up.

  “Ugh! I can’t get this. I may have to get Dr. Anderson to use his so called ‘man’s touch’ to get this started. I’ll be right back.” She then rushed out of the room and down the hall, closing the door behind her .

  Noah realized he could probably get the needle started himself but wasn’t sure he wanted to be of any more assistance in their endeavors. Plus, he didn’t know how Madison would feel about it. He looked at her, glad they were alone again for a few minutes.

  Abruptly, the door opened and slammed against a metal cabinet behind it. Major General Wolfe came charging through the entrance, yelling when he saw them.

  “What in the hell did you do to my soldier?! He’ll be in the hospital for weeks!”

  Noah was immediately annoyed, both from Wolfe’s aggressiveness and from being reminded of the incident. He stood up from his chair as he responded. “Tell your men not to touch Madison and we won’t have a problem.”

  Wolfe got right in Noah’s face. “The girl can take care of herself! And just because you aren’t human anymore doesn’t mean you can act like a damn wild animal!”

  Noah scoffed. “Damn right she can take of herself! She told him in no-uncertain-words to leave her alone! It wouldn’t have been a problem had he not grabbed her arm like he was about to rape her!”

  Noah realized he should be careful not to reveal that Dr. Robinson had confirmed their suspicions about Coleman trying to get Madison to have sex with him. He already wished he had chosen different words, but he couldn’t take back what he had said.

  Wolfe seemed even more pissed. “Rape her?! Are you delusional?! Is that a side effect of your mutation?! Delusions?! Madison’s a pretty girl! You shouldn’t be so surprised another guy might try to flirt with her! And you sure as hell can’t go around nearly killing every guy who shows an interest!”

  Noah realized this conversation was getting ridiculous, and he wasn’t going to argue with him. The Major General was just trying to manipulate them, by making them think they had overreacted. Noah knew better – he hadn’t overreacted. It was probably Wolfe’s idea to have Coleman try to hook up with Madison in the first place.

  Noah gave Wolfe a death glare and firmly made his position clear. “Like I said, keep your soldiers’ hands off of Madison, and there won’t be a problem.”

  The Major General’s face was turning purple from anger. He was about to reply, but then just held Noah’s stare. Noah wasn’t intimated by the man at all. He was beginning to feel like they were all just tiny ants under his boot. They were nothing to him, and the more they tried to control him, the more he resented them for thinking they even could.

  Finally, Wolfe spoke with a harsh tone. “I
’ll let my men know that the self-conscious boy can’t handle it if someone interacts with his precious girlfriend.” Wolfe then turned around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Noah knew the Major General couldn’t handle not being the one in control, so he wasn’t surprised by the insults that coincided with the admission of defeat. At this point, words did no more harm to Noah’s ego than bullets did to his body. He smiled at the man’s childish behavior, finding it amusing that grown men could still be so immature.

  Noah then looked down at Madison to make sure she was alright.

  She smiled back at him, seeming amused herself. “Well, that was fun.”

  “Yeah, I can see now how he got his position. He appears to be an expert in the art of manipulation. It’s probably very effective against normal people.”

  Madison grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. “I don’t mind not being normal, as long as I get to be with you.”

  Noah leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Hey!” Madison complained. “I’ve got lips for a reason!”

  He smirked at her and found her soft lips with his. She abruptly threw her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist from her sitting position. He engulfed her in his embrace and lifted her effortlessly off her seat. She was quick to part his lips with her tongue, searching for his. Noah heard someone coming down the hall, but ignored it, focusing instead on Madison’s warm body against him.

  The door opened up then. “Umm, excuse me.”

  They unwillingly discontinued their passionate kissing to see that Dr. Robinson had returned with Dr. Anderson. Surprisingly, they didn’t comment on the fact that Madison was wrapped around Noah like a bear climbing a tree.

  “What happened with Major General Wolfe? We passed him in the hallway and he was pissed . ”

  Noah set down Madison and summarized their recent encounter. “He was angry about what I did to the guy who grabbed Madison’s arm, and I told him there won’t be a problem as long as his men keep their hands off her.”

 

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