Project Genesis

CHAPTER TEN.

"What do you mean they're coming? Whose they?" Orion asked, swinging her feet off of the bed and pushing herself off. Her feet were a bit unsteady at first, but she quickly regained her balance.

"Excel Corp, the drones. Hurry we don't have much time." Ren strode towards the door, holding it open and turning to face Orion. All of the new information was ringing inside her head.

Who was she supposed to trust?

"Follow me." Ren walked briskly in front of her, snapping Orion from her racing thoughts.

They entered a dimly lit corridor, the only source of light coming from a few scattered lightbulbs lining the ceiling. Underneath her feet, Orion could feel the harsh coldness of the concrete floor. It was only then that she realized that she had been stripped of her shoes and jacket. The articles which once displayed the logo of Excel Corp. had been replaced with a bulky, shapeless brown jacket made out of a rough material. Her feet, however, remained bare. She could also feel some sand beneath her feet, likely shed from the boots of people walking the halls.

A crimson light was cast on their faces from a single alarm on the wall, its red bulb illuminating the hallway; the piercing sound of the siren caused Orion's head to ache. Ren began to jog and Orion followed suit, following her down the various turns and twists of the hallways. Suddenly, Ren pushed her way through a door on the right of the hallway, entering a large room. Orion assessed the room they had entered with caution. Several people were present, each absorbed in their own individual task. A large man strode up to Ren, handing her a sort of glass tablet.

"Solar panels are in?" Ren inquired.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded his head in confirmation.

"Good. Is everyone under?" She began to scroll through various pages of text on the device in her hand, tapping occasionally on different areas of the screen. The man nodded, turning to face Orion.

"Who's this?" The man gestured to Orion, referring to her as if she wasn't there. She furrowed her eyebrows, slightly offended at the lack of acknowledgment.

"Sent by them, she knew the other boy," Ren responded, almost robotically.

He nodded, returning his full attention to the screen in front of Ren.

"Can somebody please turn off the damn alarm," Ren said, the annoyance clear in her tone.

"Sorry, ma'am." A woman in the corner of the room blushed sheepishly, fumbling with a sort of number pad on the wall. The alarm finally shut off, Orion could feel the relief in her head. She watched cautiously as the people in the room interacted with each other, each person seemed to be busy with their individual tasks. She was vaguely aware of her heartbeat, palpitating in her chest; the effects of shock setting in. When they had been awoken, she had thought that they were the only people left on earth. She felt a little uneasy, her stomach churning; she could feel the colour draining from her cheeks.

"Orion? Are you okay?" Ren passed the tablet back to the man, putting her hand on Orion's shoulder. Orion tried to nod, but her head was spinning.

"Okay, okay. We are going to take you to Corvus now, is that okay?" Ren raised her eyebrows, the concern evident on her face. Orion winced as another alarm began to sound in the room, causing her head to pound. Ren wrapped her arm around Orion's shoulder, slowly guiding her out of the room and into another hallway. Her feet felt like lead, and her stomach was churning without relent.

She pushed away from Ren, leaning on the wall before emptying her stomach's limited contents onto the hall floor. She wretched at the taste of bile, wiping at her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She leaned her forehead against the wall, feeling relief from the cold feeling against her skin. Slowly, she stood up and looked at Ren with apologetic eyes.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. It's not too much further from here." Ren said. Orion nodded, her stomach feeling a lot more settled.

They walked through the hallway, passing several doors before finally reaching the one they had been looking for. Ren stopped, turning to the keypad beside the door and punching in a code. The door let out a long beep before the distinct sound of the deadbolt unlocking resounded. Orion made a move to push through the door, but Ren stopped her; wrapping her hand around Orion's uninjured arm.

"Orion, I have to warn you," Ren started, almost cautiously assessing Orion's facial expressions. Orion glared at her, but waited to hear what she had to say.

"He still has his implant in. Our team tried to remove it, but he was in pretty rough shape when he arrived and..." she trailed off.

"And what?" Orion felt a bubble of anger and confusion in her chest.

"Well we aren't sure if we can remove it yet," she finished.

"What?! Why not? He can't remember anything if it's still in, he's not going to understand anything. Why could you remove mine but not his?" Orion was almost surprised at her sudden tirade.

"Did he use his implant at all when you were together? Please, I need you to try and remember." Orion reached through her brain, her stomach sinking when she remembered.

"Yes, once. After he was attacked. He thought we should try it out." The words left an almost bitter taste in her mouth, fearful of what Ren was about to say.

"Our doctors think that the discs have the ability to form neural connections with the brain, affecting the hypothalamus and limbic system." The confusion must have been evident on Orion's face.

"The more times you use the implant, it can begin to affect your memories. Change your emotions." Ren's face was grave.

"We have never seen technology like this before, and operating on him could be dangerous. We don't want to impact any of his memories from before."

In a surge of emotion, Orion surged past Ren pushing into the room where Corvus lay. He was strapped to a bed in the middle of the room, similar to how Orion had been. His head was tilted slightly to the side, his dark hair matted, sticking to his forehead in several spots. He was still unconscious, that was for certain. Almost gently, Orion approached his bedside, running her hand along his arm. His skin was warm to the touch; in stark contrast to her own cold fingertips. He seemed almost peaceful.

"He shouldn't be asleep for much longer," Ren interrupted softly. Orion nodded her head slightly, still transfixed by the boy.

"Tell me about them. The drones." Orion's gaze didn't waver as she asked her question, never turning her head in Ren's direction.

"They send them sometimes. At night. They want to make sure everything is... handled." Orion was about to ask what she meant but was distracted by a sudden movement in her line of sight. Corvus had moved slightly, a low groan escaped his lips.

"Corvus?" Orion questioned tentatively.

Slowly, Corvus began to open his eyes; one after another. He squinted slightly at the light, before focusing his gaze on Orion.

Orion let out a smile, she could feel a warm tear running down her cheek.

"Hey, Corvus. It's-"

She was cut off almost immediately by Corvus letting out a blood-curdling shriek.

1220 Words