Generation X

Chapter Two - A Cat in the Night

               So close…just a little farther…

               Bingo. 0144 popped the vent door off with a slight pop and slid it to the ground. She crawled into the musty airway, covering her mouth to keep from coughing. The tight vents canvassed much of the Corporation, and 0144 could access many of the forbidden rooms and private chambers the scientists liked to keep a secret through them.

               0144 crept along, not breaking the silence of the night, keeping to the left wall to avoid the shafts of light that came from the vent holes. Inside, she laughed to herself. They think they have everything under control, but really they are creating their own thieves. The Corporation had created her, the perfect thief. Now she stole from them. The irony of it all.

               “…and now that those gens are causing problems…”

               The tiny, faint bit of dialogue made 0144 stop in her tracks. She weighed the choices. She could go to the lab and take back her item, or she could eavesdrop on the scientists. Or both, if she had time, but soon someone would notice her empty bed, and she had been counting on the fact that it would only take about twenty minutes for her to break into the lab. She had stolen the keycard from Doctor Anderson earlier. Another snippet of conversation made her press her ear to the wall, her black brow furrowed.

               “…didn’t complete her mission. A third gen had to take care of it, and now Doctor Pearson is saying the first and second gens aren’t worth their weight. Everyone wants the third gens.”

               “They’re not worth the upkeep. It takes a lot of money to create those things.” 0144 rolled her eyes. Again, treating her and her fellow gens like they were things, not people. Well, they weren’t exactly people.

               “Doctor Anderson wants us to examine the gens, see if they’re worth it or not. If not, there’s always dismantling. We can’t have any more mistakes. If the government finds us out, and what we’ve been doing, we’ll be arrested for sure.”

               “Don't you think we should be quiet? What if they hear us talking? We just keep our heads down and let the scientists do their experiments on the freaks. We should go, being here at night gives me the creeps.” The steel door shut behind them, beeping as the security went on.

               0144 continued, pondering this new development. She knew she’d better be on her game, if not, it was dismantling. 0144 considered herself fearless, but the thought of that was enough to make chills run down her spine. She’d heard stories of gens who had ‘malfunctioned’, not completing their missions or feeling compassion and pity towards their victims. Either they were modified, or they were killed. Usually the latter. The Corporation was no place for compassion.

               Suddenly, a loud noise made 0144 fall over, clutching her ears. A wailing alarm sounded through the corridors. 0144 cursed. They knew she was gone from her bed and they were probably searching every possible place, hoping she hadn’t tried to escape. If only I could escape this hole. She had wasted her precious thieving time eavesdropping on something that hopefully didn’t apply to her.

               She scurried back the way she came, through the vents that seemed slipperier then they ever had before. Her thin nightgown clung to her with sweat as she pried off the door and ran on all fours back to her dorm. It was pitch black in there, but 0144 could see pretty well in the dark. The thin metal bunk beds creaked every time someone rolled over in their sleep, and the radiator in the corner clanked as usual. She climbed into her bunk bed and prayed they wouldn’t figure out who had escaped. If she had been on her game and not thinking about the conversation she would have been more confident. 0144 had never been caught.  Now was not a good time to start.