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

many questions, but all I wanted was a nap. Ev and I went back to our separate rooms and rested. I must have really needed it, because I fell right to sleep, and though I wake up four hours later, it feels like I was only out for a few minutes.

I sit up from my bed and see that it is just past ten o’clock. Most everyone will be asleep by now. If there’s any night that I need to go up on the roof, tonight is it. I grab a couple of protein pouches and my blanket. Last night was pretty cold, and I’m sure tonight won’t be any different.

I leave my room and nearly make it to the library before realizing that I could have Ev join me. I turn back and head down the empty hallways. I’m still not used to seeing them barren. They feel haunting without the drones. I turn down her hallway, and it occurs to me that I don’t know which door is hers. I take a wild guess and choose the third of the six doors.

“Ev?” I knock. I wait a second before I move to the next door and try the same thing. This time I strike a little louder. I’m afraid that if it’s not her room, I’ll be disturbing the actual tenant.

I walk to the next door and am about to knock when I hear my name called from behind me. Ev is poking her head out from the first door. Why didn’t I try that one first? I walk toward her. “Hey.”

“What are you doing?” she asks.

I point to the other doors. “Did I…”

“They’re all empty,” she responds. “No one has ever been in any of them. They keep them locked.”

“Weird. It’s the same in my hallway.” I lean against her doorframe. “I just thought that was where the drones stayed.”

She leans against the other side of the doorframe. “The who?”

“The drones. Those clones that were always guarding the hallways,” I say.

“I didn’t realize that’s what they were called.” She smiles. “What are you doing here?”

I smile back. “I want to show you something.”

“Are we allowed to leave our rooms?” She takes a step back into her room, a bit skeptical.

“They never told us we couldn’t. Come on. You’ll enjoy it.” I reach my hand out to her. This gesture must make her feel more comfortable, because she takes it and lets me lead her back down the hallways. After a few turns, I realize that we are still holding hands, and my heartbeat increases. I can feel myself getting sweaty. I let go and offer her one of my protein pouches.

We get to the library and walk in. “I’ve been to the library before, Atom.”

“Just come with me.” I’m frustrated by her hesitation. With how reckless she was in talking to Dad, she is way too cautious with me now. Hopefully, once she sees what I have to show her, she will appreciate it. She follows me to the library’s back, where the ladder is, and I climb to the roof. I look back down and see her standing on the ground, looking around. “Climb up. No one is coming.”

I lay the blanket down and sit. After a few moments, she sits next to me. “We shouldn’t be up here. We could get into a lot of trouble if anyone found out.”

“No one is going to find out. I’ve been coming up here for a while,” I respond, a bit annoyed. “Just relax and take in the view.”

I can tell she is trying since she takes a deep breath and leans back on her arms. “What are we looking at?”

The sky is just as clear as it was last night. I point to the top of the pyramid on the other side of the wall. “You see that over there? That’s the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s over five thousand years old.”

“Wow.” She is genuinely impressed. “What is it?”

Her questions make me smile. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned. “There’s actually more than one. That one is just the tallest. The Egyptians built them as a way to honor their dead kings or pharaohs. So they are pretty much giant tombs.”

“That’s amazing. How do you know all of that?” She leans forward to get a closer look.

I lean with her. “I just got books from the library and read all I could. I want to sneak past the wall and see it up close. Want to come with me?”

She turns to me. “Atom, you know we are not allowed to leave the compound. Rene has told me many times, as I’m sure he’[A2]s told you. It’s very dangerous out there.”

“Has he ever told you what danger is on the other side of the walls?” I retort. Maybe a little bit too strong, since she scoots back.

“Does it matter what it is? Why else would they have all those drones patrolling the walls? They are obviously there to keep something out,” she scolds me.

“Or to keep us in,” I say.

She stands. “I’m getting tired. I think I’m going to go back to my room.”

“Sleep well,” is all I can think to say. This isn’t how I pictured things happening up here. I’m not sure what I had in mind. I just knew that I wanted it to be different than this.

“You too,” she says with a crack in her voice. I don’t look at her as she heads down the ladder. Instead, I lie back and cover myself with the blanket. I stare at the moon, thinking about how no one has been to the base in over a century. I wonder what it’s like up there or on the colony on Mars. As my mind drifts from the moon to the people on Mars[A3], my eyes begin to get heavy. I wonder if they know what’s happening here or if they’re even still around. With those final thoughts, I fall to sleep.

That night,