Amber Skies: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (Book 2 of the 2136 Trilogy)

CHAPTER 1 - PART 1

I listened to the crackling sound emitting from beneath my endoderm, as of a thousand little insects crawling beneath the surface, while my insides healed.

The microorganisms inside my blood bled forth throughout my burnt organs, repairing and regenerating the dead cells. The shock therapy had failed. Five hours in, the machine malfunctioned. They carted me back to the stone square room and left me in the dark, my body still sizzling with steam from the heat of the electrodes. The Doctor had turned the dial to the max setting, trying to get results, but his attempts were futile as the mystery inside my blood refused to yield answers.

The blackness of my solitary confinement welcomed me with its cool caress. The coldness of the stone floor and walls were a blessing to the fiery breath lapping through every layer of skin and intestine leeched to my body. I leaned into the far corner and cupped my abdomen with my right arm, while I braced myself with my left elbow against the wall. The spasms in my stomach worsened and continued to spike. Every few seconds a sharp pain gridlocked my gut in paralyzing seizure, while my organs regrew. The fingers of my hands were contorted crow's feet, bent inward at the knuckles. The rest of my body lie in the primal triangle (fetal position) birthed as the cradle of safety.

Two hours passed before my stomach ceased its vibrations, and my back muscles relaxed enough for me to stretch my neck. I gazed up into the nothingness of the stone ceiling and into the dark orbs of the florescent lights sitting in dormancy for the fatal switch to turn on to ignite their white flames. The door to my cell rattled as the switch on the other end of the hatch was activated. Someone was typing in the security code.

Not again I moaned to myself as the hatch slid open and the bright light from the hallway bled over my visitor's shoulders, shielding their face in shadow.

"Haven't you had enough fun with me for one day?" I spat. "Was one machine not enough for you!"

The face behind the shadows came into focus.

"I'm not here for any of that," she said. "I have a proposition for you, if you choose to accept."

Doctor A had her left hand in her pant pocket, and the other fiddling with one of her curls in her hair just above her ear.

I could feel the rage churning up inside.

"Before you say anything," she said, "I need to explain--"

"Explain what!" I cut her off. "That you're insane? Or that you tried to kill me!"

Her fingers stopped their playing, and dropped to her side.

"I--I don't know what to say," she stammered.

"Of course you don't," I said bitterly. "All you scientists are the same. You use people to get what you want, and then when you've had enough, you dispose of them like waste. Well, I have news for you, Doc. I'm not your resource. You may be able to convince the others that what you're doing here is "for the good of mankind", but you're not fooling me. I know what you're doing here. I saw the chambers. I saw the animals tied up with feeding tubes jabbed in their guts. And the boy..."

I started to raise to my feet, but collapsed. My legs hadn't regained their strength fully yet. Lucky her I thought.

"Willow," she said, "You have every right to be angry, but let me explain. If after you've heard what I have to say you still wish to hate me, then fine. That's your decision."

She took a step closer.

"Hate you?" I mocked. "Oh, I don't hate you. I'm way past that."

She shifted to the side, allowing more of the hallway's light to wash into the room. The white sheen filtered through the dark and bathed my bare legs with their warmth. I retracted my legs into the dark.