Dr. Adeyami slid her palm across the cold cement wall in search of a light switch. Standing close behind her was Katerina, prickling with anticipation. Adeyami’s fingers found the switch and flipped it upward.
The decommissioned lab laid before them, covered in a thin layer of dust. Most of the fluorescent lights were burnt out leaving dark pockets and corners through the large space.
“The bulbs will need replacing,” Adeyami said. Katerina nodded, taking note on the tablet she was holding.
The two women scanned the room slowly and carefully.
"It's in here," Katerina said to the other.
At the far end of the dark room, where most of the lights were burnt out, Adeyami noticed something moving. They approach to find what looked like a veil of water suspended in a mechanical archway.
“This is it?" inquired Adeyami. Katerina nodded in confirmation.
"So if I were to step through this, it would take me to a parallel dimension?" Adeyami extended a hand outward towards the liquid curtain.
"It would. Then it would kill you." Katerina’s word’s triggered the sudden retraction of Adeyami’s hand.
"How do you know this for certain?"
"We monitored everyone who passed through it. Their vitals indicated cardiac arrest after approximately 1 hour."
Adeyami circled the archway several times from alternating directions. She would pause every so often to analyze a detail of its design before continuing on.
"Some have told me you can hear a man speaking from within,” she looked straight into Katerina’s eyes now, intently interested in her reaction. Katerina had been FL’s right hand before his fall into complete madness. Despite this fact, Adeyami’s trust and respect for her closest confidant was near impossible to shake. Katerina proved her loyalty to Adeyami before the possibility of a successful coup over FL was fathomable. She, after all, was the one to send her former leader though the veil before them just to protect her.
Adelyami was, however, intrigued to know what a former believer of FL’s teachings might think of the urban legends whispered by the those privy to the knowledge of times passed.
Katerina raised her brow slightly before nonchalantly rolling her eyes. "Ghost stories, perhaps." Adeyami chuckled softly.
"Can we use it?" Adeyami pressed on.
"We theorized that the palilas can survive the passage although there isn't much documentation on this. Some of it was destroyed and there wasn't much to begin with since until recently, we had only had 3 palilas had joined Rydal James in since the discovery of the palila sub- mutation. Rumor has it that the FL kept all information about the highly confidential. He was obsessed you see..." Katerina dropped her gaze to the floor as she trailed off. Adeyami sent a pain of empathy her way and she looked up with a grateful smile.
"Can you come back?"
Katerina regained her composer, "No. Portals are all one way, however, this is speculative as there is also no method of communicating once someone has passed through. No one has ever returned."
"Are we certain they all died after passing through?"
"Since nearly all who have passed through have gone into cardiac arrest, we assume that they have. The portal is devastating to the cells. During our periods of testing, our biologists theorized that it creates a highly accelerated form of radiation sickness. One that destroys the cells in minutes, not weeks." Adeyami pauses, cautiously studying the device as though it was a vicious beast, foaming at the mouth. The uncomfortable truth set in that regardless of the potential dire consequences, they now had no choice to explore the portal into this unknown world if there was any chance it might save the residents.
"The palilas” Adeyami began, her speech slightly hurried with anticipation “you think their hyper-healing will allow them to survive it. They can heal the damage faster than the radiation can damage their cells."
"It's a theory. We have no way of knowing for sure. Of the small amount of documentation found, their vitals did remain stable when they pass through. Only two have done so. We completely lost vital transmissions after forty-eight hours. There is no way of knowing if they were somehow out of range, if it was a technical malfunction or if something happened to them. The test sample is too small to make any conclusive determination." Adeyami contemplated this revelation for some time. This was a decision that could lead to dire consequences. So few of them were left and yet, time was not currently an abundant commodity for any of them.
"Can we look into a method of communicating with those that have passed through?"
Katerina’s eyes widened as she tilted her chin slightly towards her shoulder, "We can explore it,” she paused and made sure to catch Adeyami’s eyeliner before continuing, “ Are we actually considering using this? Even testing this portal will lead to deaths..."
Adeyami rolled her shoulders back to stand at her full commanding six foot stature before delivering, "We will test it on those that are least likely to be harmed." Her chest beat so aggressively in her chest that she worried no matter how skilled she was at masking her emotional state, Katerina could no doubt see the thunderous rhythm of her heart trying to break free of her rib cage.
"No one knows with absolute certainty what the effects are on this, even for a palila. We also have no idea what is on the other side of this-"
Adeyami put up a hand to halt the discussion in its place."The bunker will not sustain us for more than a decade, maybe less due to the large population. It was not designed to be housed in for more than 10 years." Katerina’s mouth closed as her shoulders dropped. "The virus will die off eventually.." She said feebly.
"It may wipe out all life on earth by then. And then what? We are 4000 people on Earth that cannot reproduce, trapped on a desolate planet for eternity? And that is our best-case scenario." With every word, Adeyami’s commitment to the decision solidified. Although it was a less that ideal scenario, this was no time for doubt. She needed to make hard choices to keep them afloat. She looked over at her longtime friend and confidant. Katerina’s expression evolved before her from shock, fear to acceptance and rationale. Katerina was a critical thinker, a woman of science. If anyone could understand the need for this, it was her.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Katerina took a deep breath. "We can look into methods of communication."
Adeyami hadn’t noticed she was tense until she felt it release in her shoulder blades upon hearing Katerina’s words. "Good. Now let's hope that the rumours are true and one of the 78 is a healer."
…..
As Jacob’s sneakers glided across the tattered carpet between the bookshelves of the library, static sparks illuminating the edges of the soles in the low light. The automatic sensor lights were turned off after eight pm to avoid wasted electricity on possible false triggering. The library, however, remained open to the residents until 10 pm, although it was usually deserted as most people favoured the recreation rooms or mess hall after dinner. Jacob hadn’t bothered with the manual light switch on his way in. He was meeting with Mariana and had no intention of putting on a show for whoever was manning the security cameras that night.
He turned sideways and pushed off with his back foot, sliding his front foot forward as he stretched his arms out over the length of his legs. He pulled his arms and legs back into his body and shimmied downward, shrugging his shoulders from side to side to the rhythm of Odezenne’s hypnotic beat playing in his ears. Headphones and ear buds had become a hot commodity on the “Bunker’s Black Market”. Luckily, he had enough sense to grab his when he left home. As he slowly snaked his way back up, he felt a freedom he had only ever felt on the floor of the discotech. He closed his eyes, relishing the brief reprieve.
As the song ended, Jacob’s focus fell onto the spine of a book before him authored by a familiar name, Mateo Duran. He reach out and pulled it forward into his hands.
Immortal Mountain by Mateo Duran. Jacob ran his finger tips over the lettering carefully. He searched his memories but could not recall any time where Mateo had mentioned writing a book. He knew that he had lived in a commune of Longeavitates but had no idea there were memoirs of this time. Just as Jacob began leafing through the pages, Mariana came around the corner.
“What’s that you’ve got?” She asked
Jacob turned the book towards her, immediately distracted by her silhouette in the darkness.
“Uh - did you know Mateo wrote a book?”
She took the book from him and began turning through the first few pages. Jacob caught the scent of her hair. It was intoxicating and suddenly, he couldn’t recall anything from before she entered the library. Mariana giggled flirtatiously, sending him desirous sensations throughout the field. She placed the book down on the nearest shelf and turned to face him.
“ I have to meet a friend for a game of uker in thirty minutes so, shall we?”
Jacob didn’t miss a beat and took her into his arms, kissing her intently.
“It’s very smooth yet upbeat,” Mariana said as she bobbed her head to the music emitting from the earbud in her left ear. She sat with her back up against the bookshelf, wearing Jacob’s Talking Heads t-shirt. Jacob sat next to her in his socks and boxers, the other earbud in his right ear.
“Not like American Hip Hop,” he added with his head leaned back against the shelf and his eyes closed.
Mariana fished around in the dark for something.
“Shit!” she said in a hushed voice. Jacob opened his eyes and looked over at her. “I’m twenty minutes late!” she said laughing.
Jacob chuckled and rested his head back against the self, “I told you we would need more than thirty minutes.”
She looked at him with a jocular grin and rolled her eyes.
“ I have to head out now.”
“No worries. Same time tomorrow?” Jacob asked mockingly although he knew he would be here in a heartbeat if she agreed.
She leaned in close to his face” we’ll see,” and kissed him lightly before hurriedly getting dressed and running off around the corner.
Once he was alone again, Jacob reached for Matteo’s book.
He pulled on his t-shirt now crumpled on the ground next to him, smelling sweetly of Mariana. As he reached with one hand behind him before returning to his seated position, he felt around the dark floor around him for his phone. His once unlocked, turned the device towards the pages of the book.
Page six of the book was titled What I learned: A Summation of the Findings Explored in this Book.
Within the pages of this testament I will reflect and examine the findings and commentary that I have collected during my time with the Yotari people located in an undisclosed location for the safety of its residents*. Here are some of the topics that will be covered:
* The reasoning and rules behind isolation and hiding
* Aging with the mutation
* Other abilities associated with the mutation
* Roles within the community associated with uniques talents granted by the mutation
* Safety within the commune and living with the uniqueness
* Death records
* Limitations and details unique to those with the mutation
* Rituals of the communes
* Stories of communes from around the worlds
* Mutation legends**
*The Yotari and any persons with the mutation had faced a secret persecution for centuries. They have been maimed and tortured by governments and private interests alike away from the eyes of the general public. Few know of this as more people do not believe in the existence of our kind. Anonymity and secrecy is survival.
**These are not supported by and factual evidence of any kind, much like any legend. They should be considered not more credible than children’s fairy tales.
Jacob turned the phone to check the time - nine fifty-five. He quickly got dressed, which proved challenging in the low light. Finally, he managed to clothe himself somewhat appropriately and grabbed the book along with his other belongings, exiting the library just as a dull eyed attendant was approaching from the outside to lock up.
Jacob hurried down the hall to the men’s quarters hoping to find Amir to show him what he had found.
…..
The grey, cratered ceiling with fluorescent tube lighting reminded Emelie of an interrogation room in T.V. cop dramas. There were only a few stragglers left in the sleeping quarters that late on a Saturday afternoon. Most of them were listening to music on their phones or reading. Emelie, however, was elbow deep in her backpack that she had seldom touched since it had been released to her from disinfection nearly a month ago. She hated going into it. It smelt of home, which in turn, smelt of Adrian. She was immediately dragged back to her Kelowna home that she shared with him.
She reluctantly turned her head down to look into the contents of the bag. Her grip tightened around a soft, pliable object that she pulled into the light. Eye covers she used nearly every night laid flat in her open palm.
She could smell the scent of her bed, warm and comforting, the weight of a down duvet over her body as the early morning sun streamed in across her face through the gaps in the blinds. Adrian’s steady, deep breaths exhaled passed her exposed ear; a sensation she hated herself for hating.
“Adian,” she heard herself say.
“Mmm,” He grunted softly.
“Your, - your breathing on me.”
“Sorry,” his apology was groggy but sincere. It made Emelie feel cruel.
Emelie shook her head free of the memory and collected herself for a moment. She was determined not to let memories of times passed derail her every time one arose.
As she continued to riffle through the bag, a recognizable impatience welled in her chest boiling over and leading to her dumping the contents of the bag onto her bed. The aggressiveness of the action startled a red hair girl wearing large headphones who had been laying on a bed attached to the foot of her own. The sudden pounding of her own heart in her chest indicated to Emelie that she too was taken aback by how thunderous the motion had been.
She smoothed her hands over the contents, spreading them out evenly over the bed and examining them. Her eyes focused on an old pair of Adrian’s glasses with a broken frame from when he dropped them during a recent trip. The only reason she had them is because they hadn’t been unpacked from her carry on bag. She ran her finger over the exposed edge of the lens where the frame cracked when it hit the marble tiling five minutes after they entered their hotel room on their 15th wedding anniversary vacation.
Emelie’s vision blurred as she pulled her hand away from the object. She pressed them shut tightly until the tears were sufficiently repressed. A small pink bag with a dark red drawstring caught her eye next. She snatched it up and plunged it deep into her pocket followed by her phone. She got up, grabbed the backpack with the intent of throwing all of the contents back into the bag before heading off to the bathroom, but instead dropped the bag back down at her feet and began grabbing specific items from the bed. Of the selections were the broken glasses and the sleeping shaders. She collected them in her arms and tossed them into the bin near the door. Once the items were discarded, she stored the rest of what was left on the bed and tucked the back pack under her bed before leaving the quarters.