Supernal Dawn

  “Hello, Lee,” she said and adjusted her glasses. “I’m Dr. Nelson. You can call me Jill, if you like. If you’d please come with me, we have a lot of testing to get through.”

  “She’s one of the nice ones,” Anna said in his ear, startling him a little. It was like watching a movie only to find the commentary was on. “She’s pretty, too. Don’t you think she’s pretty?”

  “Mmm hmm,” Lee said.

  Jill mistook his answer to Anna as a response and led him down the hall to the elevator.

  “Did you sleep well?” she asked, clipboard held close to her chest as they walked.

  He thought it strange he still couldn’t sense anyone else on the floor. He understood why there might be no guards, but was the place really so big that they had an entire area for just one person?

  “I guess,” he replied. “Does it matter?”

  Lee could more than double the range of his bubble when he focused on it, yet still he came up empty in all directions but up and down. For some reason, he wasn’t able to penetrate the floor and ceiling, could only expand outward down the corridors. That changed once they were in the elevator.

  It was unnerving how the doors opened for them without having to push a button, just another reminder he was constantly being watched.

  “I want to make sure you’re comfortable,” Jill said. “You’re my responsibility while under my care.”

  The doors quietly closed. No buttons inside to push, yet the elevator started to move. Whoever was controlling it already knew who they were and where they needed to go.

  Once again, he sensed people go by as the floors passed. He was getting better at quickly determining features like sex, height and weight. Age was a little trickier. If given enough time, he could have even sensed what each person looked like, but the floors and people went by in a rush.

  “If you say so.”

  He eyed the clipboard, wondered if she was holding it that way out of habit or hiding something from him. She was nervous, struggling to remain outwardly confident, but he didn’t sense any deceit.

  “Doesn’t it bother you,” he asked, “Being watched all the time?”

  “No,” she replied honestly. “It actually gives me a sense of relief.” Her nose twitched slightly, as she realized the mistake. She’d accidentally undermined their relationship by suggesting he might be dangerous. “But I can see,” she quickly added, “why it would unsettle someone who wasn’t used to it.”

  “You work here,” Lee noted. “You might see things differently if you weren’t here by choice.”

  The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened. Jill stepped out into the corridor first. It was much like all the others, plain cement so thick he couldn’t sense past it and no one in sight but two armed guards by a single door down the hall.

  “Choice,” she said as they walked toward the guards, “is rarely the freedom it’s made out to be.”

  The guards had been waiting, or at least expected their arrival. One gave her a nod, as the glass door opened.

  “Gentlemen,” she said in way of greeting and entered the lab. “Over here, Lee. Hop up, please.”

  The door closed behind him, as he approached the cushioned table. A circle of lights hung from above it, bright enough to cause colorful spots if he looked directly at them. Aside from counters, a sink, various trays and a stool, the lab was white and empty as any other room he’d seen.

  “Take your shirt off, please,” she said, as he lifted himself up onto the table. He took the shirt off and placed it beside him. She clicked a pen, flipped the page on her clipboard and asked, “Are you currently sexually active?”

  Lee blinked. “Like, with other people?”

  He could see her fight back a smile. She made a mark on the page. They went through a series of questions about his family medical history and personal illnesses before she began to take a closer look at his eyes, ears and throat. He expected a stethoscope at some point, but instead she told him to lie on his back.

  Two metal bars came down from the ceiling and rested at either side of him. A green light passed between them, a block of projected lines and smoky motes. From head to toe, he was scanned, multiple times and in different colors. It took eleven minutes and twenty seconds, and all the while she was quiet. He’d stayed still because he’d seen similar scans on TV, where the doctors always told the patient inside not to move or they’d have to start over.

  “Here you go,” Jill said and handed him his shirt. “You did great. I just need to take samples now.”

  She went to the counter and brought back a tray with shiny tools, syringes and a scalpel. His eyes went a little wide when she grabbed the surgical blade first.

  “The heck are you going to do with that?” he asked, body tensing.

  The notion of breaking out of the complex had been working itself through his subconscious, just in case, and bits of a plan came flooding up of a sudden.

  “Relax,” she explained in a calm and disarming voice. “Your skin is too tough for a needle, and I need a skin sample anyway. Two birds, and all that.”

  She held out her left hand and waited. Lee gave her his arm and tried to look away. He’d always hated needles but could never stop himself from watching the rounded steel pierce his flesh.

  Jill scraped skin from the sensitive crook of his arm, where blood was usually drawn. She placed the cells on a slide and put that on the tray.

  “Okay,” she said, “I have to do this quick, or the skin will close over. Deep breath.”

  She pushed the scalpel into his arm, into the same spot she’d scraped away. The blade didn’t plunge into him like he’d expected. His skin gave with the pressure but barely parted a pinprick. Jill hurried to switch the scalpel for a thick needle in her other hand and pushed it into the nick before it closed. She took a closer look and let out a happy sigh.

  “Good,” she said, “I got the vein. You don’t want to know how many times it took me to get that right.”

  How many of us are down here? he wondered. Or did she work at the CDC tent too?

  She connected a plastic tube to the needle and twisted a little lever on its side. Blood began to fill the tube. Lee looked away, as usual, but just couldn’t keep his eyes from darting back each time she replaced the filled tube with another empty.

  “Uhh,” he said, “how many of those do you need?”

  “You’d be surprised,” she answered. “We need each one for specific tests, and the whole sample is used. Trust me, it’s better to do them all now than come back later for more.”

  The next six hours and twenty-three minutes were spent in different training and testing rooms, performing trials and experiments on both his body and mind. Lee found the personality profile much more preferable to running with an oxygen mask, though it was a little satisfying to see how much weight he could push off his chest. As someone who’d spent most of his life indoors playing video games, even if he didn’t look muscular, it was gratifying to know he was now stronger and faster in every category than all the athletes at school who’d looked down on him for being weak. Even Rick, one of his closest childhood friends, had stopped hanging out with him when Rick joined the football team in junior high.

  The only real friend he had left was Jen. Not even gone a day and he already missed her.

  When the testing was done, Lee wasn’t taken back to his cell but directed by Anna to a new pod of six rooms, like the ones he’d seen Jim and Samantha in. All the glass doors were opened and the rooms empty. He chose the first one on the right. As he stepped inside, the room began to take shape.

  A bed slipped out from the opposite wall, though still without a pillow or blanket. A solid nightstand rose up at the head of the bed, and a simple chair elongated from out of the left wall. An empty bookshelf appeared on the right, just two rows and barely enough room for a dozen paperbacks
. A desk slid out from the far right corner, no more than a tabletop really, and another chair rose up before it.

  “How’s that?” Anna asked in his ear.

  He supposed it would become confusing if she spoke to him through speakers in the room, assuming the other five were to be filled and each occupant had their own handler.

  “It’s an improvement,” Lee admitted, “like I’ve leveled up. Still no pillow, though.”

  “Baby steps,” she said. “I think this next surprise will make you happy.”

  The outer door opened, and Ember came into the pod. He assumed she’d just finished her round of testing as well.

  “Hey,” he said, actually glad for a familiar face. Even if that face was clearly still upset with him.

  If anyone should be mad, it’s me.

  “Oh,” Ember said, “are we forgetting that you hung up on me last night? Okay, then. Hey, right back at you.”

  She walked down and took the last room on the left.

  “Great to see you, too!” Lee called after in a sarcastic tone.

  A minute and a half of awkward silence, and Allison arrived. He didn’t know her as well as Ember, had always thought of her as his sister’s friend, but he found himself relieved and happy to see she was all right. It took him by surprise when she smiled and rushed over for a hug.

  She’d never hugged him before. It felt uncomfortable and nice at the same time, like he didn’t know what do with his arms. The sense of relief that washed over him told him it was more for her.

  But once she saw Ember? It was like he wasn’t even there. The two rushed for one another, all girly screams and hugs, laughter and tears.

  He fought back the urge to make a snarky comment. His sister looked happy, and he didn’t want to crap on her moment—even if they were a little shrill.

  Lee was just about to ask Anna to close his door when another girl came into the pod. She looked about his age, with short dark hair that swept off to one side. She smiled and raised her hand in greeting. Lee opened his mouth to say something, but two more guys came in behind her. One was clearly older, even older than Ember, while the other seemed a year or two younger than Lee.

  “What’s up?” the younger one asked. A couple inches shorter than Lee, with bright blonde cropped hair, he looked like he’d be more comfortable on a skateboard. “I’m Kevin.”

  Lee said his name in way of greeting. The new girl was Alexandra but preferred to be called Alex.

  “Brody,” the oldest said and walked into the first room. He was annoyingly good looking, tall and heavily muscled. Lee immediately didn’t like him. “This one taken?”

  Alex shrugged and took the one next to Lee, while Kevin went across from her. As rooms began to take shape and more greetings were exchanged, all Lee could think was that he’d prefer the view from his room was more feminine.

  He began to wonder if the glass door could turn opaque.

  - Ember -

  Ember started awake, sitting up in a rush. Lights flashed and an obnoxious buzzing filled the room, echoing back from the stark white walls. She jumped up and rushed to the door, scrabbling at it with her fingers, trying to get it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Suddenly the buzzing stopped and the lights grew steady. “Morning, Sunshine.”

  Ember stopped shoving at the door and stepped back. “What the hell?”

  “It is currently six am,” Zeta intoned in that annoying computer voice. “You have thirty minutes to prepare for physical testing.”

  “So, that wasn’t the fire alarm,” Ember growled, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

  “Nope.”

  “You’re a jerk,” Ember said.

  “Possibly,” Zeta said. “I tried waking you the easy way, but you were dead to the world, and I thought you might like to clean up before your physical.”

  Ember could almost hear the easy shrug behind the words. “Whatever,” she said and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll be ready for my physical as soon as I put in for a new handler.”

  Silence filled the room. No smart remark, no annoying buzzing, not a breath. Ember paused in the doorway. “Seriously?” she glanced around.

  “Sorry,” Zeta said. “I guess I could have been a bit gentler.”

  “You think?” Ember found a toothbrush and some toothpaste and scrubbed at her teeth. She shooed away a stray ghost as she ran a brush through her hair.

  When she came out of the bathroom, the bed was gone and a table-high pedestal had appeared in the middle of the room. On it was a tiny lump of plastic.

  “What’s this?” Ember picked up the odd-shaped plastic piece.

  “It’s your comm-link,” Zeta told her. “Should be a perfect fit for your ear. I measured you for it while you were sleeping.”

  “You what?”

  “Don’t worry. No one was in the room. I used a laser to measure your ear canal.”

  “Oh.” Ember tucked the comm-link into her ear. It slipped in deeper than she expected. She tried pulling it out, but couldn’t quite get a grip on it. “Fits great, but how do I get it back out?”

  “Better if you leave it in,” Zeta’s voice sounded like it was inside her head. “It allows us to stay in touch at all times.”

  “Ooookay,” Ember drawled, “but if I want to take it out, how do I?”

  “Tilt your head and press behind your ear.”

  Ember did. The comm slid out and she caught it in her hand. “Nice.” She slipped the earpiece back into place.

  “Your escort’s here. You ready?”

  “Does it matter if I’m not?” Ember asked, knowing the answer before Zeta responded.

  “Not really,” Zeta said. “But I’ll be with you the whole time, if that makes a difference.”

  Ember thought about it for a moment and shrugged. “Thanks,” she said and meant it. Zeta may not be the nicest person she’d ever encountered, but at least it felt like she had someone in here, aside from Lee, who might be on her side. “Before we go,” she said, “can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, why not?” Zeta’s voice was almost a whisper inside her head.

  “Are you a guy or a girl?”

  “Actually,” Zeta said. “I’m gender-neutral.” The door slid open, revealing a short woman in a medical coat. “And you need to get going.”

  The woman took her through multiple tests and scans. Her blood was drawn, her skin scraped, and multiple questions asked and answered. She was put through all kinds of physical testing. Now and then Zeta made some snarky comment in her ear about the doctors and technicians and Ember had to stifle a smile.

  It wore on most of the day and, by the end of it all, Ember’s stomach was grumbling with hunger. She’d had about all she could take and was ready to tell the doctors where they could stick their samples.

  “Stay calm. Almost done,” Zeta told her, as if reading her mind. “I can read your physiological stats, remember? Once you’re released from testing, we’ll get you something to eat.”

  “Hmmmph,” Ember closed her eyes and counted to ten, and then to ten again, and once more for good measure.

  An eternity later, she was guided to a new section of the facility. A door slid open onto a room with six other rooms branching off it.

  “The first room on the right is taken,” Zeta told her.

  Ember glanced inside the room as she passed and saw her brother.

  “Hey,” Lee said, clearly happy to see her.

  “Gee, that must have been my other brother who hung up on me last night.” She gave him her most insincere smile. “Oh, wait. I don’t have another brother.” She strode down the hall and stepped into the room farthest from his.

  “Yeah, good to see you, too.”

  Ember stared around at the empty room. “Zeta?” she said under her breath.

  “On it.”
The walls began to shift, morphing into furnishings, and a doorframe formed at the back of the room. “Your throne awaits.”

  “Oh, real nice,” Ember said drily, but without her usual edge.

  Zeta had stuck with Ember all day, snarking comments about the techs into her ear while she was poked and prodded and scanned and made to run and jump and push her physical limits. No matter how fast or high or long, the doctors and scientists just nodded and took notes. After a while, Ember had finally lagged off. If they weren’t impressed with her, why should she bother? Besides, she’d come to the conclusion that it might be a good idea to hold something in reserve. She wondered if Zeta had caught on, being able to scan her vital signs and all, but decided if the voice in her ear wasn’t saying anything about her lack of effort, it was all for the best.

  She’d rinsed her face and was patting it dry with a small hand towel when the outer door to the anteroom slid open with a whoosh. She dabbed at her skin as she stepped out into the main room and let out a squee of happiness when Allison zipped toward her. They crashed into one another, hugging and talking over each another. All the anger and fear that had been twisting in her gut uncoiled and dropped away at the sight of her friend, healthy and whole.

  “Ohmygawd, ohmygawd, ohmygawd! You’re okay! You’re okay, right?” Ember patted Allison and pushed her away to look at her, then gripped her into another embrace.

  “I’m good.” Allison huffed out as Ember squeezed her hard enough to push the air from her lungs. “Damn! You got strong.” She laughed as Ember stepped back, a worried look on her face. “Really. I’m good.” She gripped Ember’s hand.

  The main door slid open and they turned to see a dark-haired girl enter, followed by a couple of guys. Ember squeezed Allison’s hand and let go, nudging her BFF in the shoulder.

  “Interesting,” Zeta said in her ear. “You like them young?” Zeta’s alto laugh filled her head.

  “Shhh,” Ember hissed.

  Allison glanced at her before turning her attention back on the newcomers.

  “Hi,” the kid said. “I’m Kevin.” He smiled beneath his bleached spiky hair.