The Keras Genome

by Kurtis Eckstein

  Madison agreed. “Yes, that would be nice.” She then looked at her mom. “I promise I’ll eat if I’m hungry. So…can we just go to my room?”

  Karen sighed. “Okay, sweetie, just let me know if you need anything.” Then she looked at Riley. “And dear, please feel free to get food yourself if you’re hungry. You don’t need to ask anyone.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Riley said politely.

  Madison grabbed Riley by the hand and began tugging her towards the stairway. “Alright, let’s go!” Noah followed after them, heading up the stairs as well.

  Madison’s room did feel nostalgic to Noah, but it didn’t trigger a specific memory. Instead, he felt an overwhelming sense of happiness and comfort. Her room felt more like home than his own room had. Madison noticed Noah’s change in expression as he closed the door behind him.

  “Feeling nostalgic?” She asked. “Remember anything?”

  “Nostalgic, yes, but I don’t remember anything in particular. Just a feeling…like this is home.”

  Madison’s expression was one of slight surprise. Riley didn’t waste the opportunity. “Well , now. I knew you two were comfortable with each other, but not that comfortable.” She snickered at her own comment.

  Madison reached out and grabbed the side of Riley’s ribs to tickle her, causing her to squirm away.

  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Riley exclaimed.

  Noah sighed. “So, what should we do for sleeping arrangements? ”

  Riley looked at him in surprise. “Oh? You didn’t know we don’t sleep?”

  Madison and Noah both looked at her. Madison was the first to speak. “We don’t?”

  “Nope. At least I haven’t. I remember my body forcefully falling asleep like a day after I had been attacked by the Keras, but since then I’ve been wide awake.”

  Noah realized he hadn’t slept since yesterday morning himself. He had been awake all night with Madison, and he still felt alert. Thinking out loud, he said, “Wow, what are we going to do with so much time?”

  “Like I said, I’ve got a mini-library in here.” Madison walked over to her spacious closet to reveal two bookshelves stuffed full. “And I have a lot of fun games we can play too.” Then she was suddenly pensive. “Hopefully this ‘sleeping thing’ isn’t something weird were we sleep for a year at a time when we do sleep.”

  Noah and Riley both looked at her concerned. “Why would you think that ?” Noah asked.

  Madison shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve seen a lot of variations of vampires, including ones that sleep for years at a time.”

  “Well that would suck.” Riley stated.

  “It’s a good thing we are not vampires.” Noah retorted.

  “Shh! Keep your voice down. Don’t say that word so loud.” Madison whispered. She then looked over at Riley, pretending to whisper, holding up her hand so Noah couldn’t see her mouth. “He’s in denial.”

  Riley giggled again. “Yep, seems like it. ”

  “Oh, you two.” Noah scoffed.

  Madison then abruptly pushed Noah out of the closet doorway. “We need some room to pick out some dresses to try on, if you don’t mind.”

  Noah looked shocked. “You aren’t going to try them on right here, are you?”

  “Not in front of you silly! We will pick out a few and take them to the bathroom. But you don’t get to see what we decide on until prom night.” She winked at him then.

  “What should I do while I wait?”

  She smirked at him. “Use your imagination!” Then she suddenly caught herself. “Umm…maybe not literally. Just…I don’t know, look around the room and see if anything else triggers any memories. You can also check out the games I have. It’s not like we’ll be that long.”

  Noah sighed as they began pulling dresses off hangers. Madison really did have a large selection. Some of them were more formal dresses, like what would be used for a dinner party, but she had several armfuls of prom dresses too. Noah wondered why she had so many. He was thankful when Riley asked the question for him.

  “Where did you get all these?”

  “Oh, I have two older sisters, so a lot of these are hand-me-downs, but all of them have only been used once or twice. They’re practically new.”

  Riley agreed. “They all look like they were just brought home from the store. I must say, I’m a little jealous. ”

  Madison grinned at the complement. “Well, feel free to use whichever one you want! I can always adjust it a little if you find one that doesn’t quite fit.”

  The girls spent a few minutes picking out the ones they liked the most, and then headed off to the bathroom. Now alone in the room, Noah did look around a little, but nothing in particular stood out. He finally settled on reading the rules to one of the board games Madison had. The game was really more of a card game in which each player had to build up their army of cards to try to win. Each card was worth different points used for scoring. He wondered if this was the game Madison had spoken of when she said there was one in particular they enjoyed playing. He had to admit it looked fun.

  Noah eventually gave up on expecting Madison and Riley to return anytime soon. He realized he should have known better than to believe Madison when she said they wouldn’t be long. He could hear them occasionally giggle in the bathroom down the hall. Noah knew he could hear what they were talking about if he concentrated, but he decided to just let them have their girl time without eavesdropping. By the time they did finally return, he had already played a few practice games by himself, confident that he had a winning strategy.

  Chapter 29: Sleepover

  When Madison and Riley returned from trying on dresses, she taught Riley how to play the game Noah had been practicing. Riley liked it immediately, saying one of her friends was into games like this one. Noah was surprised, because Riley struck him as the kind of girl who would think any kind of game was too nerdy. But apparently, while she hadn’t really played much herself, she did enjoy it when she had.

  They all sat on the floor around the gameboard in the middle of the room. Once they started playing for real, Madison won the first one by a landslide. Noah came in third, with Riley just barely having more points than him.

  “Wow, Noah. If I ever had any doubts about you losing your memory, this sure confirmed it. I normally struggle to beat you.” Madison smiled triumphantly.

  “At least it gives me a chance.” Riley announced with a smirk. “I’d classify this as victory since I beat Noah.”

  A knock at the door interrupted Noah’s response.

  “Come in!” Madison announced.

  It was her mom who opened the door. “Noah’s parents left a little while ago.” She then looked at Noah. “I’ve prepared the couch downstairs for you Noah, when you’re ready to go to bed.”

  He started nodding in response, deciding it might not be a good idea to tell her he wouldn’t be sleeping, when Madison chimed in. “Umm, mom. There’s a good chance we won’t be sleeping tonight.”

  She looked confused, appearing to consider whether or not she should put her foot down as the parent and not let them stay up all night. Instead, she decided to take a softer approach. “Sweetie, I know a lot is going on, but you really shouldn’t stay up all night.”

  “That’s not it.” Riley interjected. “I haven’t slept in over a week…and I’m still not tired.”

  Karen’s eyes widened in shock. They could tell she wasn’t sure if she believed them. Noah decided to try to ease her discomfort.

  “If you want, I can still go downstairs in a little while, and spend the night watching TV or something. But I haven’t slept in a while either.”

  She seemed pensive as she considered Noah’s words. “I’m just so worried about you all. First you don’t need to eat, and now you don’t sleep either? This just isn’t normal. Are you sure you’re all okay?”

  Madison got up and gave her mom a hug. “I know this is really weird mom, but we are okay. Just very different now, like on the gen
etic-level kind of different.”

  Riley gave Noah a look, possibly thinking Madison had said too much. However, Noah decided to use this opportunity to emphasis just how different they were. “Umm, Mrs. Ross?”

  “Noah, dear, you can call me Karen. I can’t even remember the last time you called me Mrs. Ross.”

  “Right. Sorry. Karen, I think that’s an important point to bring up – that we are different on the genetic level. Meaning, this change is permanent.”

  Madison and Riley gave him a weird look, unsure of where he was going with this. He continued. “What I’m trying to say is it’s possible that people who know about us might try to tell you they can fix it. But that’s not possible. Those aliens did this to us, and it’s permanent.”

  “Who knows about you?” Karen whispered. It was obvious she was concerned for their safety.

  Madison answered her. “The military. They want to use us as weapons.”

  Riley joined in, with a sarcastic tone. “Really, they want to experiment on us, so they can try to make their own super soldiers.”

  Noah nodded in agreement, afraid that was too much information. “Yes, well the point is, no one can fix this, so if someone tries to get you to give us up, just know that they aren’t concerned about our wellbeing at all. No matter what they say.”

  Karen sighed heavily. “This is just too much. First the attack on the city, then the meteor strike that killed over nine million people, and now this. It’s just too much. What’s the world coming to? ”

  Madison hugged her mom tightly again. “I know mom. It’s a lot, but we are okay. I promise you we are okay.”

  Karen nodded in response, tears at the corners of her eyes. “I’ll let your father know not to trust anyone who says they can help you. And I’ll send an encrypted message to Sarah about it too.”

  “Encrypted message?” Noah asked. He knew Madison’s mom was savvy with finances, but sending an encrypted message seemed pretty high tech for her.

  Karen pulled out her phone. “Yeah, it’s pretty easy. I just select that I want a conversation to be secret, and it encrypts the message so it can only be seen on Sarah’s phone, or whoever I’m sending the message to. I read about it in an article years ago, due to someone having their banking information stolen from a message. Can’t be too careful nowadays.”

  Noah and Riley both had a similar surprised reaction as they glanced at each other.

  Karen then steered the conversation back to the original subject. “Anyway, Noah that’s fine if you want to stay up here. Just keep it G rated.”

  Noah looked down embarrassed, stunned her mom was so straightforward. He could understand her concern if it was just him and Madison staying up all night, but Riley was here too. What did she think was going to happen?

  Madison started shoving her mom out of the room, sounding embarrassed herself. “Okay! Goodnight mom!”

  Karen tried to resist, but was no match for Madison’s strength. “Oh, one last thing!” Madison stopped pushing, as her mom continued. “Obviously you can’t go to school looking like this, so I called earlier today and said you wouldn’t be back for a while due to everything going on. Apparently, a lot of the parents have pulled their kids out of school because of the attack on the city. They were even considering cancelling the dance.”

  Madison was suddenly concerned. “They didn’t, did they?”

  “No, they decided it might help with everyone’s anxiety to try to keep things as normal as possible. But at least you have a good excuse for not being at school without getting expelled.” Her mom then paused in response to Madison and Riley both sighing in relief. “Wait, you aren’t planning on going to prom, are you?”

  “Mom, it will be okay. We won’t let anyone see us.”

  “Sweetie…” She then decided to not fight it. “Well, I guess it could be fun to do your hair Saturday. Just please be careful. Oh, and Noah, your mother left some clothes here for you to change into.”

  Noah nodded in acknowledgement as Madison started to close the door on her. “We’ll be careful mom, I promise. Goodnight.” Madison was still embarrassed by her mom’s comment and was ready for her to leave. She slowly closed the door the rest of the way as she waved goodbye. Then she turned around. “Wow, that was awkward.”

  Riley found it amusing. “She did only say that Noah had to keep it G rated. ”

  Madison gave her a look, as Riley laughed at her own joke. Madison then smiled and sat back down to resume playing the game.

  As it got later, the score slowly became more even with each passing round, until finally both Noah and Riley had won at least once. Madison had won almost every game up until that point.

  Once Riley had finally been the victor she sighed. “Well, I think I need a break. This game is fun, but I want to stop to enjoy my win.”

  Noah nodded in agreement. He realized they had been playing for hours and it was already early in the morning. Normally, they would need to start to get ready for school soon. He decided to go downstairs to check the news, while Madison showed Riley some of the books she had.

  There was new information and images on the TV, but no official statements from the military or political leaders about the Keras. A lot of scientists were being interviewed to get their expert opinion, and a few even had it right. However, all official political statements said the investigation was ongoing and they couldn’t release details. Noah realized that they probably didn’t want to cause a country-wide panic, beyond what was already occurring. Most people had believed everything was a hoax, and even though many probably now realized it wasn’t a hoax, at least it didn’t feel like a serious threat to those who were physically distant from where all this was happening. Noah knew that if a nuclear bomb had exploded on the other side of the country, life would probably continue normally here. Sure, everyone would be talking about it, and possibly be scared, but society wouldn’t fall apart.

  The media seemed to be placing a lot of focus on the mystery soldier who had defeated the monsters with a touch. Noah was relieved that there was still no information about him. But the politicians who spoke of the incident suggested that it was classified information, and that the military was working hard to defend the country. In passing, there were a few comments presented suggesting the military was responsible somehow for the incident, but the media appeared to be on the defensive against those conspiracy theories.

  After a while, the news began repeating itself, so Noah decided he was done watching for now. Madison’s parents were awake, getting ready for work. Henry, Madison’s dad, came downstairs first.

  “Oh, you’re awake.” He hesitated. “Or I guess you never went to sleep?”

  Noah nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been playing a game all night. I just decided to check the news to see what’s public knowledge.”

  Henry adjusted his tie as he spoke. “I see. Well, I don’t like all that’s going on, but I know you’ll take care of my daughter. If I had to choose anyone to protect her, it would be you of course.” He then seemed to nod to himself. “To me, it’s weird telling you that since you should already know. But I figured you probably don’t remember. You’re like a son to Karen and me, and we were really happy when you finally asked Madison out. You’ve been good friends for years. We were both surprised it took you so long.”

  Noah smiled. “I’m actually kind of surprised myself. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I think maybe I was afraid of ruining our friendship.”

  Henry seemed to agree. “I can understand that, but when your best friend is your spouse, it makes for the happiest marriage.” He then seemed to catch himself. “Err…not that I’m suggesting you get married anytime soon. I’m just saying.”

  Noah smiled again. “Well, that seems to be were Madison’s mind is already. She’s been wearing her birthday present from me on her ring finger.”

  “Ah yes, well that’s girls for you. A lot of them have been planning their wedding since they were ten. I discovered that to be fai
rly normal behavior from having three daughters.” He sighed then. “Well, I need to get going. I won’t be back until Sunday unfortunately – as is the life of a pilot – so I’ll see you then.”

  Noah said farewell, and then decided to see what Madison and Riley were doing. He met Karen at the top of the stairs, who said she would be back later that evening. She had just said bye to the girls and was leaving herself. In the bedroom, Riley was sitting on Madison’s bed cross-legged, thumbing through a book. Madison was in the process of digging something out of her closet.

  “Found it!” She announced. It was an old videogame system with cartridges for games. She had four controllers, so they could all play. Madison quickly grabbed everything and headed out the bedroom door to set it up on the big screen TV downstairs. Noah and Riley followed after her, willing to do anything that reminded them of what it felt like to be normal.

  Chapter 30: Prom

  Noah, Madison, and Riley spent all day Thursday and Friday playing games, watching movies, and reading books. Noah checked the news a couple of times every day to make sure nothing significant was happening. They were all relieved to have a mini-vacation after the last few stressful days. Escaping reality wasn’t possible through sleep, since all three of them constantly felt wide awake, so they did their best to enjoy whatever escapes modern society had to offer.

  Madison and Riley were really looking forward to prom, even though Madison and Noah wouldn’t be attending directly. Both girls had agreed to give their wings back to Noah, so they could look normal in their prom dresses. Riley actually intended to make an appearance at the dance, since she wouldn’t have the wings holding her back from being seen. Noah knew she also didn’t want to be the third wheel in their private dance party.