Gene. Sys. by Aaron Denius (best ereader for comics txt) 📕

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 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 on the beanbags 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 backfires because Fe sits 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 delicate 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 her touch brings me. However, I’m surprised by another feeling that runs through my body, one that I’m not quite sure how to explain. I know 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 surpasses that of any 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 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 worldwide 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 the majority will survive if one bunker doesn’t hold up. 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 with finality.

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,