“I’m sorry,” is all I manage to say. I search for more words but none come.
“Behind you!” she yells as she runs towards me.
I turn to see a guy charging hard at me. Before I can react, he rams his shoulder into my stomach and drives me to the ground. My head bounces off the hard surface and a shot of pain drives right to the front of my head. His momentum carries him over me and I kick him the rest of the way off. The blow to my stomach was much harder than I would have thought because I struggle for air as I stand.
When I square off against him, I get a better look and see that he and I are built similarly. In fact, all of the boys seem to have similar builds. This guy’s skin tone resembles mine but his eyes are darker and narrower.
I look down to see that he has a knife in each hand, so I brandish both of mine. He throws the first one at me and, while I dodge it, he charges towards me. I’m impressed by his strategy because it isn’t unlike what I would have done, had he not done it first. I’m assuming that he does not yet know his physical limits, or mine. As he runs at me, I jump and twist over him, grabbing his head in midair and I flip him to the ground. I land on top of him and plunge both my knives into his chest.
“Any more?” I call out to Ev.
“That’s it,” she responds.
“Apokalupto,” I hear Grant call out.
The simulation disappears and I see the training room again. The knives in my hands have turned back to retractable pegs. I look around and see the Genetic Systems standing from where they fell and walking over towards us.
Grant walks up and puts his arms on Ev’s and my shoulders. “Not bad but I know you can both do better.”
The Genetic Systems all gather in front of us but they seem to keep their distance. Now that I can see them all before me, I realize that they are all attractive and built like Ev and I. A hint of jealousy climbs up in my throat.
“Ev.” Grant breaks the silence. “If you were these ten, what would you have done differently?
Ev looks them over. “I would have made sure we all stuck together.”
“Do you agree, Atom?” Grant looks at me.
“Yes. There is always strength in numbers.” I look at them but avoid making eye contact. I can feel them all looking at me and it makes me nervous.
“They are right. Staying together would have allowed you to keep an eye out in all directions. It would have also given you a numerical advantage.” Grant turns and walks away. “You are all dismissed. Atom, stay behind.”
Ev leads the Genetic Systems to the elevator. My last foe, however, lingers behind and approaches me.
“You need to teach me that move!” he says as he reaches out his hand. “I’m Cal.”
I take his hand. “Absolutely! I’ll catch up with you all in a bit. Pleasure to meet you.”
Cal runs to catch up to the group as I turn to join Grant.
“What happened out there?” Grant jumps in.
I debate as to whether I should tell him what happened or not. I figure that, if I could tell anyone, it would be him. He would give me the most straightforward answer. “I’ve seen her in my dreams.”
“Fe?” he pries.
Hearing her name makes me smile. “We were in the same simulation. I’ve had this dream more than once, the first time before I even knew she existed.”
Grant stares at me. I can tell that he is processing the information. “I really don’t know what to tell you, Atom. Perhaps you unconsciously registered her when you were in incubation. It was a dream. Nothing more.”
Part of me wishes he was right, but deep down I know that he’s wrong. I don’t feel like discussing the subject further, so I just say, “Thanks.”
I turn to walk to the elevator, but Grant’s hand stops me. “One more thing.”
My hands get clammy and beads of sweat form on my brow as I realize that he still hasn’t yelled at me for sneaking out of the compound.
“I will be leaving the compound tonight.” He looks dead at me, his eyes telling me that this is okay.
“What? Why?” I object and sit on a stack of mats.
“I know you aren’t a fan of our plan,” he explains. “but the world is still being destroyed. We have to go and reactivate all of the nuclear weapons that still exist.”
“Who else is going?” I can feel tears forming in my eyes. I work hard to keep them under control.
“A few drones, some scientists and Nathan.” He replies. I have heard of Grant’s husband Nathan before, but I have never met him and Grant never speaks of him. All I know is that he is a scientist in the development sector.
“Does Ev know?” I wipe the wetness from my eyes.
“I told her yesterday. She understood and I hope you will too.” There is a softness that has graced his eyes. At that moment I realize just how much he cares about me.
“I’m going with you!” I demand.
“You know you cant.” Grant moves closer to me.
“Who is going to train the other Genesys?” I remember one of the outsiders referring to us that way. “They need a lot of work.”
“You will. And Ev.” Grant puts his arm around my shoulder. “You two are well beyond capable and they respect you. I will leave some instructions on how to operate the simulation and I will give you some suggestions for some good battles.”
I can’t say anything. I just sit, quiet. It seems like all of the people I keep closest get taken away from me. I don’t consider Rene to be close any more, but there is still Ev. She’s still here.
Grant stands and heads for the elevator. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Take care of yourself, Atom.”
“You too,” is all that escapes from my lips. I’m not even sure he heard me. The elevator doors close him off to me and I’m left alone.
My body deflates and I lay back on the mat. Somehow I know that I won’t ever see him again.
7
I take a look around and briefly recall all the moments I had with Grant in the simulation room—my first training session, my first simulation, the first time I beat him. I know that it has only been a couple of months, but it all seems so distant. As guilty as it feels, I want to go back to when it was just me in the compound, before I even knew about Ev. Things were simpler and I had no responsibilities.
My thoughts turn to Ev. She too must wish she could go back from time to time, especially now that the other Genesys are around.
I convince my legs that they need to walk me to the elevator and they oblige. On the ride up I try to snap out of my funk and ready myself to finally meet everyone.
As I weave my way through the hallways I hear the sound of laughter rise from one of the classrooms. I head for the room and stand in the doorway. Ev is the first one to notice me.
“Atom, come in.” She waves me over. The rest of the Genesys go quiet. I can feel their eyes following me as I step next to Ev. “I think it’s time you met everyone.”
One by one they step towards me and extend their hands. Cal, whom I had already met, jumps in first.
“So I’m Cal. Nice to meet you again.” His enthusiasm can be contagious. I like him.
Titan steps up next. His blond hair seems closer to white than yellow and his handshake is firm. “Titan.”
“Hey,” I say dismissively.
Next, the dark skinned girl who fought with him steps forward. “I’m K.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” I shake her hand.
The first two guys who Ev and I took down step up but I barely catch their names because I see that Fe is next. I believe the redhead called himself Sil and the dark skinned guy said he was Ox.
I can feel my hands get sweaty as Fe walks up to me and I hope more than anything that neither she nor Ev can tell how nervous I am.
“Hi, I’m Fe.” Her voice is so light and soothing that I instantly find comfort. “Are you okay?”
This catches me off guard and I realize that I must have been staring. I look down to see her hand held out and
I quickly shake it. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Cal smiling and I know the awkward moment was seen by everyone. As hard as I try to fight it, my cheeks get flushed with embarrassment. I can feel Ev’s eyes burning holes into the back of my head.
Picking up on the tension, the next two jump towards me. They are the two who chased Ev into the white abyss. This is the first time that I have gotten a good look at them. They both have dark hair and mocha colored skin.
The girl grabs me and pulls me in for a hug. “My name is Hydro, oh great leader.”
I feel weird being called that and hugged, but a smile still sneaks onto my face. Before I know what’s happening, the guy puts his arms around both of us. “Where will you lead us, your majesty?”
They both pull away and begin to laugh. Their laughter lightens the mood of the room and, soon after, everyone has joined in. I decide right then that I like both of them. Hydro and—
“I’m Al by the way,” he says as he grabs my hand and shakes it violently.
A sound by the door grabs our attention and we see Brianna enter the room. The last two girls step forward to get their names in before they miss their chance.
“Mag,” says the redhead.
“I’m Sodi,” adds the black haired girl.
“It’s nice to finally meet all of you.” I wish I had more to add but I’m not sure what I would say.
Luckily Brianna speaks, stopping any threat of silence. “All of you take a seat.”
We each take a seat in the beanbags that are arranged in a circle in the middle of the room. I’m careful to make sure that I take a seat away from Fe and next to Ev, a plan that I soon realize backfires because Fe is sitting directly across from me, forcing me to look at her.
“Today you will be learning about animals and plants. Specifically, which ones are edible and how to prepare them. So pay close attention, this could save your life.” Brianna turns on the hologram in the center of the circle.
The hologram lesson begins by showing us plant after plant. It talks about which are poisonous, which are edible and which have medicinal powers. In the flickers between the images I catch glimpses of Fe. The glow of the hologram highlights the soft features of her face.
Suddenly I feel my hand being grabbed and I look down to see that Ev has locked her fingers with mine. My heart races as it always has and I can feel the instant comfort that her touch brings me. I’m surprised, however, by another feeling that runs through my body, one that I’m not quite sure how to explain. All I know is that I don’t want Fe to see that Ev and I are holding hands. I pull Ev’s hand back between the beanbags and hope that does the trick.
When pictures of animals start showing up on the hologram, the entire room reacts in disgust to the notion of eating any of them, including myself. Until a picture of a chicken appears. Seeing the image of this bird as it lives nearly makes my stomach turn, but then I remember the taste and my mouth begins to water. Though I only tried it the one time, the taste far surpassed that of any of the protein pouches.
“Those taste so good.” I’m surprised at my words. I had not intended to say that aloud.
“You tried one?” Al speaks up.
A few of the other Genesys make their disgust known.
“How?” I hear Mag ask from my left.
I get a rush of excitement as I begin to tell my story. “I was outside the walls with—”
“—That’s enough Atom.” His voice cuts me off. The lights turn on and I see Rene standing next to Brianna.
“Sorry,” I reply. I can feel everyone looking at me and to my right I see Titan smile. There is something about him that doesn’t sit well with me.
“I want everyone’s eyes on me.” Rene speaks as he moves in front of the windows. We all adjust ourselves to face him.
“I’m going to explain everything once and I want you to keep your questions until the end.” He looks right at me. I can sense an anger building inside me. It took him months to open up to me and here he is, telling the rest of them in less than a week.
“Some of you already know that the world, as it is today, is going to end,” Rene begins. A few mumble their surprise. “The people at this compound will be responsible for this end. The humans still living on Earth are driving themselves to extinction. So, when the time is right, we will be detonating all the remaining nuclear weapons around the world to eradicate the majority of the population. Those who remain won’t be able to withstand and survive the fallout.
“You were created to start humanity over again. When the detonation sequence is initiated and the Ragnarok begins, you will all be flown away from here. There are six bunkers currently being built in six different locations in Africa. Each bunker will hold two of you, one male and one female. We are splitting you up to make sure that, in case one bunker doesn’t hold, the majority will survive. Of course, our hope is that you all make it.
“You all will remain in your bunkers for exactly two years. The doors will not unlock until then. Each bunker has been equipped with hyperbaric chambers that will help you sleep for a couple of months at a time and will continue to feed you information. Once the doors open, you will all need to make your way back to this compound. The journey will be longer for some, but once you have all congregated here, Atom will know what to do and he will lead you.”
This last sentence hits me hard. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I get back here. How can he expect me to lead them if I’m not even sure what I’m leading them to? Suddenly the collective weight of humanity has been thrust upon my shoulders and I feel it crushing me.
“Any questions?” Rene asks.
“Why Atom?” Titan speaks.
I hear some mumbles around the room and I can’t tell if they agree with him or not. I glare at him. How dare he ask that question? Though I wouldn’t mind sharing this weight, Rene chose me for a reason. Does Titan think he can do better?
“Because it’s what we’ve been training him for,” Rene replies in a tone that implies ‘don’t question that decision again’.
My anger at Titan subsides a bit when I hear Fe speak. “Can’t more people fit in the bunkers?”
Rene smiles at her. “They can, but there is only enough food and supplies to last two people two years. Your bodies were made to be able to withstand the fallout after a year. The rest of humanity would need to stay in the bunkers for at least 30 years before they would even have a chance to survive the radiation.”
“How long before you start the sequence?” I blurt out before anyone else can say anything.
“154 days.” Rene looks right at Ev and I. “We’ve had to move up the process. So you better get them ready.”
He walks out of the room leaving us all in shock. That’s barely five months. I feel a hint of panic form in the back of my head. I know that it’s longer than I have been around, but it’s still right around the corner. My thoughts jump to Grant and 80. Will they be back before that happens? Will I…
Ev squeezes my hand and I look up to see the rest of the Genesys staring at Ev and I. Brianna murmurs something, but I don’t register what she said. It isn’t until everyone has left the room and I feel Ev’s hand pull away that I realize she has dismissed us.
I make my way back through the hallways to my room and notice a couple of the guys talking amongst themselves. My head hurts too much to talk to them, so I walk past without making eye contact. I head straight for the library, hoping that the solace of the roof can help organize my mind.
The last moments of the day slowly disappear beyond the walls and behind the pyramid as I sit. Flashes of seeing it up close pop into my head, reminding me of 80. I try to picture him working on one of the bunkers but my mind is too clouded for imagination.
“Holy hell!” A voice startles me and I jump to my feet, my heart racing as I turn. Just next to the hole in the roof with the ladder is Cal, taking in his surroundings.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he adds.
“It�
��s ok.” I’m annoyed at the intrusion.
“We followed you over here. Do you mind if we join you?” Cal waves down into the hole, stopping any chance I had to object.
Al pokes his head through and joins us on the roof. “Hi leader.”
I cringe at the words. “Please don’t call me that.”
“Yes, sir!” He smiles. “I’m teasing. I’m just glad it’s not me. I couldn’t handle the pressure.”
I manage a small smile and then sit back down. I shift to one side to allow enough room for them to sit.
“What’s that over there?” Cal asks, pointing to the top of the pyramid.
This produces a genuine smile. I would much rather talk about this than anything Rene brought up. “That’s the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was built over 5000 years ago.”
“Are you serious?” Cal leans forward.
“You’ve been out there?” Al adds.
“Yes to both.” I can’t help the little bit of pride I feel.
“What was it like?” Al looks at me. Cal does the same.
“Very dirty and insanely dangerous. Nobody likes us out there. In fact, they want to kill us. I was shot at!” I say a little too excited.
“For real?” Al pries.
“Why?” Cal asks.
“They want to stop what’s happening here. They want to survive.” A lump rises up in my throat as guilt rushes over me. I feel sorry for the outsiders. What gives the scientists the right to choose their fate? I can’t blame the outsiders for anything they do because all they want is to survive. Though I won’t be the one pushing the button, I feel responsible for their inevitable deaths. It makes me sick.
“Are you okay?” Cal puts his hand on my shoulder with a concerned look on his face. My body must have been reacting to the thoughts I just had.
“I’m fine, yeah.” I’m not really, but I make a conscious effort to keep that hidden.
“So what did the chicken taste like?” Al changes the subject.
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