Gaining more confidence, she placed her hand on the small of his back, fisting it in his top. His protection meant more than she could say, and she took comfort that though she was acting cooler towards him that he was still willing to defend her. It gave her the strength not to be afraid. “It’s standard,” she assured.
“No, it’s not. Nothing about the last few days has been standard.”
“You acting this way must mean there is something to know.” Kali worried her lip. She felt like crap. Her head hurt and her muscles ached, but she had been through a lot. There would be nothing to find because she felt the same. “If you know something just tell us.”
He frowned at her over his shoulder. “I don’t know. I suspect.” Blue’s jaw worked. “I found her naked.”
“Ah.” Kenshin’s expression was sympathetic. “I see.”
Lara snorted.
Max’s gaze pinged between the Hybrids uneasily. “So?”
“We were returned with our clothes,” Blue replied. “That she didn’t is a break in the pattern. She’d have been ideal for breeding yet they sent her home. Home, not to where she was abducted. Another break in pattern.”
Max clasped Kali’s hand tightly. “She’s fine. You can see that. She’s the same.”
But she wasn’t.
Blue could feel she had changed.
“I won’t hurt her,” Kenshin promised softly, sensing his Omicron’s conviction falter. “I just want to run a few tests to see what the Creator might have done.”
“I need your word.” Blue held his gaze. “Your word that no matter what you find you’ll not harm her. All of you must agree.”
“Blue, you’re scaring me,” Kali whispered. “It’s a blood test. What could he possibly find?”
Blue didn’t acknowledge her. He kept his eyes on Kenshin. “Swear it.”
“I swear,” Kenshin replied sincerely.
He elbowed Lara in the side when she stuck out her chin mulishly. “I won’t touch her,” she grumbled.
“We will protect her, yes?” Igor gave a crooked smile.
Satisfied, Blue relaxed. He didn’t know what was wrong with Kali, but he sensed a deep change. After the anomalies in her abduction it was logical to assume something had been done to her.
“I’m whacked,” Christabella announced. She leaned heavily on Max, the tension going over her head. Perhaps that was a good thing, her lack of distrust broke the apprehension and redirected their thoughts.
Igor rubbed his belly. “I’m tired and hungry.”
“There’s plenty of food.” Blue nodded to the kitchen area. “There are two spare bedrooms with big beds. I have bedding in storage.”
“For someone who didn’t know of the invasion you’re awfully prepared,” Max observed.
Blue didn’t take offense. He knew it must look circumspect. “I always knew my behaviour was odd. I wrote a blog hoping someone would reach out to me.” He chuckled dryly. “No one did.”
“Not true,” Igor objected to bolster him. “It helped us find you.”
Max clicked his fingers. “The doomsday feed. That was you? Huh.” Max lost the edginess and peered around inquiringly. “So how big is this place?”
“Six thousand square feet divided across two levels,” Blue replied. “Four bedrooms, three storage rooms, the kitchen, and this main living area. There’s only one BatheMe, but the bedrooms have individual CleanMe units. All rooms come off the same corridor. The place is shaped like a semi circle, so you can’t get lost.”
Christabella wandered towards the kitchen. “How did you build all of this?”
“I didn’t build it.” Blue smiled, knowing she was used to a HiEco style of living, and must feel out of her element. “It was an abandoned Alliance hideout and left unused for nearly a decade before I found it. Took four years to renovate, and I’m not finished yet. Downstairs is empty space filled with tools and supplies.” Blue rubbed a wall fondly. “Thought I was being paranoid. My time couldn’t have been used in a more beneficial way.”
“You did all of this yourself?” Christabella was just amazed. She could never imagine doing anything this epic alone. “I’ve never done anything this good in my whole life.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you think. I rewired, but it was mostly cleaning and modernization. Like I said, it was an Alliance base before. The structure was sound.” He turned to Kali. “Come. I’ll take you to your room.”
Lara’s eyebrow lifted. “She gets a room to herself?”
Since it was his home, Blue didn’t feel the need to explain himself. “The two spare bedrooms will need to be shared. Lara and Christabella can take one, Ken, Igor and Max the other. Unless you want to sleep in the medical bay and armoury?” Kenshin and Lara beamed at each other. Blue shrugged. “I have cots in storage you can use since that appeals to you.”
Leaving them to sort themselves out, Blue took Kali into one of the smallest bedrooms in the bunker. “It’s not much,” he said, stating the obvious, “but you’ll have your privacy.”
The room had a pleasant vibe, one of the cosiest she had seen in the unadorned lair. There were puzzle boxes and constellation charts scattered everywhere. The furthest wall was a VidSee programmed to look like the night sky. An atlas of the world was stuck on one wall, and a life-sized diagram of the human body on another with black scribbles over it. A steel table was pushed against the VidSee, and on it was a half completed drawing of a purple planet.
Kali rubbed her arms, and the hairs on the back of her neck lifted as if electrically charged. She winced as her head pounded and she fought what must be one hell of a migraine. The pain eased when she relaxed and stopped fighting it. “I’m cold, Blue.” Her voice was hollow. “It’s cold in here.”
Blue adjusted the settings of the HeatMe on the control panel by the door. He also increased the lighting to dim the shadows in case they made her nervous. “I can bring a cot and some bedding for you to use,” he offered absentmindedly.
Turning because she hadn’t answered, Blue started when Kali stood right behind him, staring fixedly. Her pupils dilated into startlingly blank holes, and her face was pale, lips pinched together as if she wanted to scream but forced herself not to.
Blue’s heart tripped when that elusive pull he’d been seeking drew him closer. “Kali?”
Pupils contracting to a normal size, her face relaxed, and she shuddered hard. Kali glanced at him questioningly, taking a step back. “Hmm?”
“Are you well?”
She shrugged. “Cosmic. It’s a bit warm, isn’t it?”
“You said you were cold.”
“No, I’m fine.” She gave him a look as if to say he was acting odd.
Blue was disturbed. Traumatic as events had been, she was acting bizarre. “So you’re alright?”
She nodded confidently.
“May I?” He took her head in his hands and tilted it back to stare into her eyes. They appeared fine. He brushed his fingers against her pulse. It was steady. He touched her and felt nothing. Blue waited. What was he waiting for? Expecting to find? “Nauseous?” he asked. “Dizzy?”
“A little. I was off balance and my eyes hurt earlier, but it’s getting better.”
“You have a concussion,” he decided, letting his hands fall. “Once you’re settled go see Kenshin in the medical room. Anything you need?”
“Um, not right now. Just some sleep and food.”
“Don’t eat yet, not until after the tests.”
Kali leaned on the wall, her fingers twisting together. “I’ve got it. You don’t have to hover Blue.”
His brow furrowed deeply, because he couldn’t shake the feeling that though they were together again they had come undone somehow. She said she was fine, and there was nothing he could do if she didn’t ask for his help, or talk to him. “You need me and I’m here for you.”
The floor became interesting to her. “I’ve got Max, so I’m cosmic.”
What could he say to that? Blue clenched his back teeth togethe
r and left.
The moment the door slid closed behind him, Kali walked to the control panel and turned the VidSee from a starry sky to a mirror.
Standing in the middle of the room, she stared at herself.
Rubbing her eyes, she dragged a hand through her hair. She looked like something a FetchMe dug up and mauled.
At the thought of Howl, Kali managed a tense smile. Her companion would wake soon, and that’d make her feel more grounded.
A high-pitched keening in her ear ripped through several higher octaves making her wince, and she rubbed her cheek furiously because touching the actual ear hurt too much.
She grew cold again, and a whisper ghosted through the room.
Kali spun.
The whisper returned, and this time her heart thumped because it was that much louder.
Blood thundered in her head, and her heart tried to punch through her chest. The hairs on her neck prickled as her gaze roamed the room. Her head was killing her. The throbbing ache returned with vengeance, but she shoved it away and breathed through the worst of the pressure.
There was no time to be laid up in bed with a migraine.
Her parents needed her.
“I’m cosmic,” she muttered, palming her forehead. “I’m just hungry. Stress and panic are making me lightheaded. Exhaustion makes people hallucinate. I’m safe. Safe.”
17.
Kenshin’s sombre expression lifted in greeting when Kali knocked and popped her head into the room.
She entered cautiously, her eyes roving. “This is your room?”
“There are only two spare bedrooms. Igor and Max took one, and Christabella has the other. Lara chose to stay close to what comforts her, and took a cot into the weapons room. I would rather claim a space for my own.” He waved a slender hand nonchalantly. “I’m comfortable.”
The tiled floor gleamed. A steel examination table reflected the light from the overhead fluorescents. There were two large mirrors on opposite walls that made the room seem bigger than it was. A ComUni floated in hibernation, and beside it was a unit of metal shelves. Resting on top was a ceramic tray holding various shiny and pointy medical contraptions.
“The cot beds are surprisingly comfortable,” Kenshin finished as he switched on the ComUni.
Kali wasn’t convinced, and was beginning to be thankful for her small room. “It smells like a decontamination point.”
“I like it. Please, lie down. I know you’re uneasy, but I truly have no desire to harm you. The tests won’t take long and will be painless.” Fingers punching the VirtuaPad with competent speed, Kenshin noticed her hesitation. He followed her gaze over his shoulder to a red blinking in the uppermost corner. “Ah. This room is recorded, as is standard in medical facilities. That is alright with you?”
“Um, sure.” Kali dropped down onto the examination table. It was cold and hard under her butt. Doctors were intimidating. Her parents had kept her away from them and she’d never really been hurt in her life to require any healing other than a quick pass of the FixMe. Fortifying her self with a deep breath, she swung her legs up and scooted back to lie down. The heels of her hands rested on her lower stomach, and she plucked at her tunic, wiggled her feet.
Kali took her mind off it all by indulging her curiosity over the Hybrids. “Why do Hybrids call the aliens, the Novae, Creator?”
Kenshin made a pensive face as he swabbed her elbow with clear disinfectant. He picked up the syringe to take a blood sample, and the needle hovered over her skin as he answered. “It feels right to call them that. In my heart, it feels like there is someone watching over me, a higher being. I am compelled to recognise their might.” He pricked her. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No. Blue asked me to wait.”
“You must be hungry,” Kenshin mused. “When I was beamed back I was ravenous.” The vile filled with blood and he removed the needle, swiftly wiping the red bead that welled in its place. He rubbed a SkinAid onto her skin to seal the pinprick. “There. That’s all I needed. It’ll take just a few minutes to make sure your metabolic ranges are within the normal boundaries.”
Anticlimactic, Kali thought, now inquisitive as it was clear Kenshin had been telling the truth and was not going to hurt her. “Are you going to look at my DNA?”
“Yes. DNA profiling takes a little longer, but I know what anomalies to look for. Soon we can put this nasty business behind us.”
Kali didn’t have anywhere else to be. “Can I stay and watch?”
“I’d be glad of the company.”
Kali curled up on the table and propped her hands under her head. When she shivered, Kenshin passed her the blanket from his cot. She took it with a thank you and draped it over her lap. “Do you have anything to eat?”
“Dumplings and soup? The soup is probably cold, but the dumplings will be warm.”
Kali nibbled on a meat-filled pastry, and dozed to the sound of the kind Hybrid shuffling around his room.
Kenshin sat at the desk and entered her samples into the genetic analyzer. Some time later, he cleared this throat, feeling quite unwell at what he was seeing.
Kali jerked awake, unsure of how much time had passed. Yawning, she rubbed the side of her face; embarrassed she might have been drooling. “Everything standard?”
“Hmm.” Kenshin rubbed his eyes with his forearm because his hands were gloved. Beads of sweat studded his upper lip. “Ah. Let’s do this again.”
He reran the sequencer a number of times and went as far as to take another blood sample to redo the test. Kali was worried by the restless and uncomfortable expressions that flitted across his face.
When the results for the second tests came back, Kenshin eased himself onto the table next to her and drummed his fingers on his knees. “The DNA profiling told me nothing so I ran a complete genome sequencing, twice, and the results are … well I’m not sure how to explain.”
Kali swung her legs back and forth, the repetitive movement helping to soothe her panic. “Some–” Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Something’s wrong with me.”
Blue chose that moment to walk into the room.
“I don’t have an original sample of your DNA to compare, but there is a structure all human beings have, and yours doesn’t quite match.”
“So… you’re saying that I’m not Human?” Kali’s gaze shifted to Blue and watched as his body became rigid.
“If only that was the case,” Kenshin said.
He looked ill at having to explain and that comforted her somehow. She placed her hand over his. It hadn’t stopped tapping since he’d sat. “It’s alright,” she assured. “I won’t break. Tell me.”
“There are three main building blocks to all life. DNA is one of them and this is where the problem lies. There is a certain grace to how it is formed in Humans, in all living things. An eloquent balance has been reached through millions of years of evolution.” He paused. “You are Human, this has not changed, but the structure of your helixes are highly unstable. The hydrogen bonds are weak and I cannot tell if they are deteriorating or stabilising.” Kenshin encased her hand in his. “It’s as if they stripped you to nothing, began piecing you back together then … stopped. Your redesign is like scaffolding. It wasn’t designed to last, only support the structure until the build was finished. Your coding is so basic, so raw, it’s a wonder what’s holding you together.”
Horrified, she stared at him in utter disbelief. She sucked down a breath and swallowed a scream. “But– I–” A sob hitched in her throat.
Kali screeched.
Eyes rounding, dropping her hand, Kenshin scuttled off the table.
A hurricane of anger, of pain, Kali picked up a beaker and flung it across the room with a yell. The resulting crash chipped away at some of her hurt, so she kept going. A concussion was expected and what she got was a big fat question mark with a bunch of space crap that equalled what exactly? Her body unravelling at the seams? She pushed the examination table over and kicked it until
her foot numbed. She hurled anything her greedy fingers grabbed and cracked one of the large mirrors.
Kali’s chest heaved as she stared at the destruction. The rage abandoned her and she was left disillusioned. “Why me?”
Kenshin shook his head wildly. “I don’t know. You might not be the only one. Maybe because you were there it was convenient and they decided to….”
“Experiment,” she croaked.
She buried her face into her hands and screamed until there was no air left in her lungs.
“We’ll fix this,” Blue vowed hoarsely then turned on his heel and left.
Wiping her tears away, Kali gritted her teeth. This would not stop her, or drag her down. She would find a way to make herself better and she would find her parents.
“We both took that well,” she said finally, feeling guilty when she took in Kenshin’s distressed expression. “Stars, I’m sorry about the mess.” She toed a broken piece of glass and winced at the cracked ComUni screen. “I’ll clean it.”
“No.” Kenshin’s voice was suspiciously high. “I can see you want to go after him. Please do.”
Kali sighed. She murmured another apology for her behaviour as she rushed out the room, throwing an embarrassed look over her shoulder at Igor and Lara who entered cautiously as she left.
“Bad news,” Igor concluded, taking in the smashed glass and overturned table. “We heard a commotion and came to investigate. Are you alright?”
“Kali was understandably upset,” Kenshin replied. “I’m well. Just heavy hearted.”
“Do I have to … you know….” Lara mimed a neck slicing action. Most would have rolled their eyes or made a funny sound to signal they were joking, but Lara’s face was stone cold serious as she asked if Kali needed to be killed.
Kenshin’s mouth turned down at the corners as he righted the steel table and sat heavily.
“Did they make her like us?” Igor asked.
“She’s Human. There are no Hybrid traces in her helix.” Kenshin shrugged. “Whatever they have done to her is … stars, I don’t know. It’s like they started something, changed their minds and gave up, leaving her half empty.”
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