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

I roll my head to the side and see him sitting in a chair. He winks at me from the one eye without the patch. “80!”

“Hey Atom.” 80 smiles.

CHAPTER XII

80 and I walk through the hole in the medical ward wall and out to the open area of the compound. I haven’t spent much time out here before, but what I do remember looks unrecognizable. What was once the grass is now a mix of dirt and rubble. Drones have overrun the compound. Hundreds of them are patrolling while others work on cleaning and fixing the walls.

“This is crazy,” 80 says as he leads me next to a pile of rubble with bloodstains on parts of it.

“Yes, it is.” I look around to see that the wall that was in front of the drones’ quarters is gone. “I’m guessing this is why they brought you back.”

“Yeah. We were pretty much done building the bunkers, and they said that they needed reinforcements here. They left a few of them back to finish up the work.” He climbs atop one of the taller piles of rubble and sits.

I climb up and sit next to him. “Where did they send you?”

“A place called Nairobi,” 80 says nonchalantly as he points toward the wall.

I look beyond the large opening in the wall. Rising above the city’s rubble is the Great Pyramid. It has never appeared as imposing as it does right now—the shadow looming over the city, swallowing blocks into darkness.

“It was even worse in Nairobi,” 80 adds.

“What was?” I ask as I adjust myself on the pile of rubble. The shift has somehow made my vision clearer—I spot about a dozen Flyz hovering above the city.

“The people, the outsiders. They were all living in filth and days from death. Most of them were either covered in sores or nothing but bones. Some, which they called cabras, would be so malnourished and mentally gone that they’d try to eat you.” 80’s eyes have glossed over. There is a hurt deep within him that I haven’t seen before.

“Are you serious? That sounds horrible. Did the outsiders attack in Nairobi as well?” I’m curious because I haven’t heard much about what humans are like in different parts of the world.

80 stares at the pyramid beyond the wall, “They couldn’t. They were way too weak. Most of them wouldn’t even move when we walked by. Some would try to attack us individually, but it was more because they had lost their mind from malnourishment.”

“Like the cabras,” I add.

“Exactly.” I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, which makes me realize that things really were worse out there.

After a few moments of silence, I decide that I should probably go back inside and find the other Genesys. I stand, and he looks up at me. “I’m glad you’re back, 80.”

“Me too.” He smiles. “I’ll catch up with you later. You gonna be up on the roof?”

“I’m not even sure if the roof is still there.” I force a smile. “How about I meet you back over here?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he says as he jumps off the pile and jogs over to a group of drones working on the wall.

I watch him as I climb down and see him barking orders at the other drones. He must have been given a promotion while he was in Kenya. I’m glad to know that he has done well, and more importantly, I’m pleased that Rene made sure 80 was taken care of.

A crisp breeze has started up, blowing in from the city and causing me to shiver. The breeze carries with it a hint of smoke, so I look back toward the city and see that the Flyz are actually firing into the fallen metropolis.

I turn and walk back to the compound. I know I should be mad that we are attacking the outsiders, but I just don’t know what to think anymore. There are many innocent people out there who have done nothing more than try to survive. They care for one another and struggle together, but at this point, they are only buying themselves a couple of months.

I’m numb, and I realize that what I saw in 80’s eyes wasn’t hurt but numbness. It’s hard to care anymore when you know the outcome is dire. With the recent events, I have switched my focus to the survival of the Genesys.

The second I climb back through the hole into the medical ward, I am greeted by Rene. “Did you two have a good chat?”

“You were watching us?” I snap at him.

“I had told him he could be there when you woke up. I knew you’d be happy to see each other.” Rene smiles as he walks toward the doors leading out of the medical ward.

“Thank you.” I jog to catch up. “So, where are our new rooms?”

“We’ve placed you all in some of the old scientists’ rooms,” he says as he heads down a separate hallway that I haven’t been down before.

“Where is everyone else?” I look around at the new hallway. It’s in excellent shape and looks like it has been recently cleaned.

“The other Genesys are meeting with Dr. Kivuli right now for a group session. You can meet up with them later. I want to talk to you.” He stops at the door at the end of the hallway, where it intersects with another hallway. “This is your new room.”

He opens the door, and I walk in. The room is twice the size of the one I was in before. Monitors cover the left wall as they did in Rene’s room, and on the opposite wall is a bookshelf with a mixture of books, journals, trinkets, and pictures. I take a closer look at one of the photos, and a rush of excitement runs through my body. “This is Grant’s room!”

“Yes, it is.” Rene takes a seat in the desk chair by the bookshelf.