The Excisionists: Book 1

by Rebecca Jensen

  I cleared my throat. “Here’s the samples you needed for analysis. It’s the clear liquid and the grains that become golden globules when they are mixed.”

  “Uh, thanks.” She turned back to the screen and pointed to a molecule. “That’s what I believe we will need to neutralize it.”

  “Aren’t you going to examine what I brought?”

  She turned back to me with an annoyed look on her face. “We’ve got the antidote, well at least I’m almost certain it will work.”

  Disappointment flooded through my soul. “Well, don’t you want to try it out first?”

  Her eyes shifted back to the screen. “That would be nice, but we don’t have time for that. As I was saying, there’s a slight possibility that we will have to methylate the molecule before we can inject in into someone.”

  I sighed. “I brought you exactly what you need to test the antidote on. What’s the harm in trying it out here first?”

  She continued to rotate the molecule on the screen. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “Oh, forget it.” I turned and walked to the door. I turned back briefly to put in one last shot to get some recognition and to give her a little dig for ignoring me. “Oh, by the way, I found a lab that the Eydis use and there’s probably more science going on there than there is in here.”

  Dr. Sothy turned and placed her hand on her hip. “Zuri, you need to get rid of the poudretteite not worry about what’s going on here.”

  I brushed hair back from my face and held back my sarcasm. “I’m glad Phineas was able to help you.”

  “Me too.” She turned back to the screen.

  Phineas turned his chair to look at me. “Before you go, we could use your help though. Do you think you could find one of these?”

  He swiveled around on his chair back to the screen and tapped a few buttons. The display switched from a bunch of molecules to the winged snake I’d just seen in the lab. Excitement welled up in my chest again. This time they’d see me for what I really was. “Yep. Just came back from where they are kept. Do you need anything else?”

  Dr. Sothy turned back around to face me. “You’re sure that this is exactly what you saw?”

  I nodded.

  “Where was it?”

  “Don’t worry about that, I’ll go get one and be right back.”

  Before they could respond, I ran out of the room and got back into my pod. Instead of imagining what I’d be recognized for, I imagined how I’d get rid of her once the game ended by stuffing her in some low-level research lab to be forgotten about or even to be experimented on. I giggled as I thought about giving her an important message to relay and then sending someone after her to discredit exactly what she’d just sent out. I could shred or steal her clothes right before she went to a meeting with Alchemist and replace them with some that didn’t fit or were made for a man. I wished she wore makeup so I could put some color change dust in it and watch her lipstick shift from a pleasant corral to a hideous blue without her knowledge. Maybe I’d just lock her outside for a few days and see how she liked that or…the possibilities were endless, and maybe Phineas would help me and help find something better that wouldn’t make them suspect me.

  It was amazing how quickly time passed when I was focused on something of interest to me. I climbed out of the pod and got back into the lab as quickly as possible. The odd-looking scientists were still so engrossed in their creations or experiments that they didn’t look up until I grabbed one of the winged serpents. The scientist who I’d stolen the project from squealed and the others jumped up to help. They were all shorter than me and reminded me of badly-behaved puppies trying to jump for a treat as they reached for the creature. I blasted them with the ice generator, dissolved everything inside the lab that I could, and then covered the transporter in ice. I checked the map for residual crystals at that location when I entered my pod but thankfully, I’d found them all before I’d iced it up.

  My arrival was eagerly anticipated by Dr. Sothy which was a much nicer experience. I hoped she would remember this exchange when we returned to work. I watched closely as she delicately removed the specimen from the container and dropped it into a box containing the grains I’d brought. “Guess you needed those after all, huh?”

  She ignored my comment and continued to work. The squirming creature gobbled the grains and then went to sleep. She carefully opened its mouth and placed a vial under the fangs. She petted the snake and golden liquid poured from its fangs into the vial. Once enough was collected, she mixed the venom with a bubbling chemical concoction in a large flask. The swirling golden venom turned black and viscous, and the liquid became dark.

  She handed the flask to Phineas. “Get this to ClokWorx and disperse it just like they did with the mantus.”

  “Done.” He drew a circle in the air and vanished into a tunnel. We waited for a short time before he returned.

  “Your already finished?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I watched what they did before, so I knew where everything was and what to do. I just dumped it in with their supply of mantis.”

  Her eyes widened. “What did it do when the serum hit the mantus?”

  “It was pretty cool, all of it turned the color of ash and the Oroans started dropping like flies. I’m sure we’re done with this stuff.”

  She hugged Phineas. “Great job! Let’s go see our handiwork.”

  They brushed past me to go outside. I followed without a word, but I was torn up inside. I’d been the one who did all of the work and located the item they needed the most, but neither one of them even said thanks. Not even after they had to use the grains I’d brought to make the serum that killed the Oroans. They contacted everyone and told of the good news, but unfortunately our quest wasn’t complete. Some of the Oroans had gone underground and there were still several pockets of poudretteite that hadn’t been destroyed yet.

  We separated once again and chose our role in the continuing battle. I didn’t want to gun down any more Oroans so I piloted my pod to the remaining crystalline formations to be sure they were dissolved. When I got back to the Crypt, everyone was celebrating their accomplishments and cheered as the Eydis’ ship rocketed out of our galaxy. Those who had been on patrol returned and the Crypt was filled with hundreds of parties that had finally been allowed on the planet and were congratulating us for completing the game. They’d been spared from unimaginable pain because of our tenacity and desire to finish first and my contributions to making the serum.

  After a short celebration, we were recognized in a formal ceremony for our unique contributions. They finally mentioned my foresight in obtaining the necessary samples which was even better than anything Dr. Sothy could have said. Now all of these players recognized me as the key player that I was. At the conclusion of the ceremony we were greeted by Cygnet and instructed how to leave the game. I said goodbye to the newest arrivals at the Crypt and approached the shining blue door at the end of the hallway that had been hidden behind the curtains on the stage. I lifted my key from Kaplya and placed it against the center of the door. It liquified and fused with the door that rippled into a dark wormhole. I stepped inside and felt a rush of wind. I was excessively tired and shut my eyelids for a few seconds. I opened my eyes to see a group of doctors hovering above me. Only their eyes were visible beneath their pale-yellow face masks and hair covers.

  I recognized Dr. Sonnet’s cold blue eyes and condescending tone. “I need you to wiggle your fingers and toes. Are you feeling different than normal?”

  I moved and stretched without any limitations and then sat up. “I’m fine.”

  “Try to stand up and walk.”

  “Alright.” I hopped up from the table and walked across the room and back.

  She scribbled some notes on her computer. “You may go back to your living quarters after you complete a few final tests. Go with Myra and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The doctors left the room in a small group without another word. Myra to
ok me to a small exam room with a table and two chairs to complete some neurological checks and answer questions about my experiences inside the game. Much of it was aimed at improving the game for future participants. I was disappointed that no one would give me any information about the other members of my party or what the remaining players would be doing since we passed off the final objective without them. I was mentally tired from my constant state of being awake for twenty-three days, but I didn’t want to sleep. It seemed odd to be wasting time in bed and I wondered if there was a way to stop needing sleep permanently. Since I didn’t have access to any source of entertainment, I decided to make something to eat.

  I put together a turkey sandwich and poured a glass of apple juice for myself. The first bite seemed foreign to my tongue as if it were thick cardboard. When I took a swig of juice, I could barely swallow it. Nothing had any flavor and it seemed strange to be eating again. It was frustrating to return to this bland existence, so I decided to lay down and calm my racing mind. I wouldn’t be able to recreate my experiences, but at least I could dream about it. I tossed and turned for hours before finally drifting off to a dreamless sleep. A short time later, I awoke suddenly and couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up and showered before heading back to the intake room. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one who’d arrived early. A blonde-haired young man paced back and forth across the long room tapping his forehead with his fingertips as he waited for the workers to arrive. He stopped moving and looked over at me with bright green eyes.

  I recognized him immediately. I felt self-conscious and wished I’d spent more time on my appearance before I’d come. “Nice to see you again Phineas.”

  “Zuri? Is it really you?”

  I nodded. “Hope you’re not too disappointed to meet me in real life.”

  He ran over and threw his arms around my neck. I squeezed him back and noticed the scent of his skin. It was odd that my sense of smell was now so keen when my sense of taste had been so altered just a few hours ago. I dropped my arms and tried to step back from him, but he kept his arms loosely around my neck.

  “It feels like we’ve been apart forever.”

  I nodded and touched his cheek. “It’s strange to see you without the fur.”

  He chuckled and pulled me close again. “I wanted to see you, but they wouldn’t let me. I’ve been coming here for days waiting for you to wake up.” He dropped his arms from my neck and grasped my hand. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

  I was shocked. “Wait, you’ve been out of the game for days?”

  “Yeah. Come on, let’s go before they try to question you again or something.”

  He pulled me down the hallway and a few minutes later we found ourselves inside his living quarters. It was sparsely furnished and only had a few personal items displayed.

  He pointed to the couch. “Have a seat, I’ll be right back.”

  I looked around the room as I waited. The fabric seemed rough against my skin and the lights became bright enough to hurt my eyes. I covered my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck.

  “Here, drink this.”

  I opened my eyes to a blurry halo around Phineas. “What is it?”

  “Don’t worry about that. This was the only thing that got me through the first few days.”

  I took the copper tumbler and sucked in a mouthful of creamy liquid. It was cool and sweet with the perfect texture on my tongue. I drained the cup and then leaned back on the couch with a satisfying feeling of fullness.

  He sat down on the couch next to me and patted my knee. “You’ll get through it. We all did just fine, well at least we did once we got away from the doctors. All they want to do is poke and prod you. Plus, Myra will bug you about how everything makes you feel for the first week.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I hate post-experiment protocols.”

  He nodded. “Just tell them what they want to hear and you’ll be done in no time.”

  My vision snapped back into focus as my overreactive tactile senses returned to normal. “I just wonder why I’m coming out of the game now instead of when everyone else did.”

  He shrugged. “You might have to do some digging on that. But anyway, everyone else is out and doing alright. Vanya hasn’t been too happy since she left the game though. I guess she thought things would be different in someone else’s body and she’d having a hard time not being able to manipulate her environment like she can in a game.”

  “That seems so weird. Code became flesh. I’ll have to talk to her parents and see how they’re taking it.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “Uh, well that might have to wait.”

  “Why?”

  “They were transferred somewhere else and all we were told was that she’s been selected for the first troops that are being fused with a sheath and moving to Sky Outpost. They’re waiting for the rest of us to finish our recovery before we can go there too.”

  Anger rose within. “They’re already moving to Sky Outpost? When were they going to tell me? I didn’t think they were even done building everything yet.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, don’t take it so rough. They’re not leaving for a few more days and they might ship us with them if we don’t have any detectable residual effects from the game.”

  I crossed my arms in defiance. “I’ll do what I can to get us all on that ship. I don’t know about you but being back in reality sucks.”

  He laughed. “We’re still trying to get used to it. Oh, one other thing you should know. Elio never woke up before his fusion and his dad thinks it’s just a robot talking to him that’s got some really good personality simulation software. The funeral was yesterday and they broadcasted it to all the locations for everyone to see.”

  I shook my head. “No way. No way did they go that far in seven days. I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.” I dropped my head in my hands and tried to process the myriad of changes.

  A warm arm wrapped around me as Phineas pulled me close. I laid on his chest with my eyes closed as he stroked my hair.

  “Things are going to get better for us. I know it.”

  I looked up at him. “How can you say that? You don’t know what they’re planning. Even I don’t know everything they’re trying to do.”

  He gave a half smile that quickly faded. “I do. Something changed when I was in the game. Something that made me understand the nature of humanity like never before. I know we’re going to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and there’s something I want to show you.”

  I sat up and waited for him to retrieve something from another room. When he returned, he was holding a small silver orb. He grabbed my hand and dropped in into my palm.

  “What’s this?”

  “This is the communications device we got from the Gentorix. Look familiar?”

  The smooth orb was cold against my skin. “Yeah, it looks like what we found on the mountain in the game.”

  “Well it’s real. All of it was real.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He grasped my hand. “The Gentorix are a real species. We’ve met them. That’s how they’ve built this whole thing so fast including the tanks that we lived in during the game. That’s how the Excisionists have made society so much different than what it was before in a few years’ time, and that’s why the game was built like it was.”

  I realized that he was pulling my leg. “Oh, I get it. Funny. I almost believed you.” I dropped the metal marble back into his hand. “You’re a pretty good actor.”

  His brows furrowed. “You don’t believe me, huh? Watch this.”

  He grasped the sphere between his finger and thumb, and then stared at it. Brilliant green light emerged from the orb and a horizon of stars dotted the room. I was aghast and didn’t know what to say.

  “This thing shows us more than you could ever imagine. It’s more than just a communications device.”

  I touched the or with my fingertip and it shifted colors
. “Have you met the Gentorix?”

  “Not yet. But once we’re transferred to Sky Outpost we should be introduced. Elio told me about them when I was on ClokWorx and that’s why I didn’t worry about finishing the objective right then. And he came to see me after I woke up to give me this.” The light retracted as he let it roll into his palm and then slid it into a pocket. He put his arm around my shoulders again. “You’ll get one too at some point, oh, and Elio wants us to meet with him once you’re ready for the truth.”

  I drew in a deep breath. “This all seems so crazy. When I entered the game, I thought I’d be doing what I needed to so I could lead a group of soldiers around the world. And then at some point in the future, to Sky Outpost.”

  He was somber. “We were all lied to, but at least we’re ready for something new.”