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

toward the pile of rubble 80 and I sat on before, and I don’t spot the moon anywhere. The wind blows at my face, carrying the smoky smell from the city. My eyes water, and I rub them to get rid of the dry sting.

80’s dark silhouette is barely visible, but I see that someone is sitting next to him. I wonder if Cal already came out.

“Atom!” I hear a voice shout from behind me. I turn to see Cal running toward me. He is obviously not with 80.

“Hey.” I turn to the rubble as Cal falls into step with me.

“So you’re really friends with a drone?” A hint of spite accompanies his words.

“He’s a good guy. You’ll like him,” I say as I reach the rubble. We climb up to join 80 and another drone at the top. The other drone looks more weathered and slightly older than 80. His head is shaved, and he has a scar running diagonally from his left temple to the back of his head.

“This is 13,” 80 says.

“Hey.” I reach my hand out, and he takes it. His expression remains stoic. I motion to Cal. “This is Cal.”

“What’s up?” Cal smiles. We take a seat on the rubble. I sit next to 80, and Cal sits to my right.

“So, 13, were you at one of the shelters?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he mumbles.

80 looks at me. “He was with me. He had been there since the beginning.”

“What happened to your eye?” Cal blurts out. I elbow him on the side. “What? I’m curious.”

13 glares at Cal. 80 smirks. “It’s okay. I was shot.”

“Protecting me,” I add with a smile. 13’s glare shifts to me. He’s hard to read, but he doesn’t come across as very open or inviting.

“What about your scar?” Cal presses, looking directly at 13. I turn to him and see that he’s stoking the flame on purpose. He’s trying to get a reaction out of them.

“What the hell, Cal?” I stare at him. He furrows his brow and looks off toward the city. I turn back to 80 and 13. “Sorry about that.”

Without warning, Cal stands up and heads down the rubble pile and back to the compound.

“Where are you going?” I yell after him, but he’s already too far and doesn’t respond.

“Nice friend,” 13 says under his breath.

“I don’t know what’s up with him. Sorry about that,” I respond as I see Cal disappear into the building. I really don’t know why he’s acting so strange. Anger builds in my chest, and I feel my hands ball up into fists. How could he be so rude?

“Don’t worry about it.” 80 puts his hand on my shoulder. “Things have gotten crazy here, haven’t they? I saw that Grant is gone.”

“Things are definitely different. The timetable has been moved up, and everyone is stressing out over it.” I realize that I have also been stressing about it. I still don’t feel prepared, and I’m not sure I ever will.

“Did they say when they moved the timetable up to?” 13 pries, finally making eye contact with me. 80 shakes his head at 13, and he looks away.

Their exchange looks a bit weird, but I think nothing of it. “No one has told me an exact date, but I’m sure Rene knows.”

“So he’s still planning on setting off the nukes,” 80 says, almost to himself.

“He is. I hope it works.” I’m surprised that those words just escaped from my mouth, and I want to take them back. I feel their eyes looking at me, so I try to change the subject. “So what have they got you guys doing?”

After a few moments of awkward silence, 80 finally speaks. “13 and I have been overseeing the cleanup and reconstruction here at the compound. We just volunteered to go into the city and help with the attacks.”

“Why would you volunteer? You’re safer here,” I ask.

“To protect you, of course,” 13 answers with obvious sarcasm. He has the same attitude toward me that Cal had toward them. It disappoints me. I was really hoping that we would all get along.

“That’s enough, 13!” 80 yells at his friend. “Go back to your bunker. We’ll talk later.”

Without a word, 13 heads down the pile in the direction of the drone bunkers. The quiet he leaves us with is thick and unnatural. The comfort that I used to feel when I hung out with 80 has been stolen away. He’s more serious than he was before. In his defense, I’m sure I have changed as well.

“So it sounds like you agree with what the scientists are doing now.” The hurt I hear in his words is harder to handle than the silence.

“I really don’t know. This last attack was savage, and from how you described what you experienced, I just don’t see any hope for improvement.” As I speak, I feel my mind and heart agree with my words.

“But what gives you—I mean the scientists—the right to decide their fate? It’s genocide,” 80 snaps at me.

I’m startled by his sudden outburst. He is right. We are pretty much triggering a mass extinction, hoping to start everything over with twelve people. It doesn’t make any sense, but at the same time, it seems like the only option humanity has been left with.

“I didn’t mean to yell.” 80 takes a deep breath. “It’s been a long and stressful day. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, it has. Maybe we should call it a night.” I stand and wipe my dusty hands off on my pants.

80 gets up and heads down the rubble pile. “There is something I want to talk to you about, but we can do it later.”

“Sounds good.” I join him at the bottom.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles. I smile back, but I feel uneasiness in my stomach. Things are definitely not the same as they used to be, but neither is the world we knew back then. He turns to walk away, and I head off in the opposite direction.

I’m