The world came back to Emily in a drunken slur of white and black. She thrashed in confusion, feeling herself suddenly become weightless before crashing heavily to the ground. She laid there for a moment, twisted in a crumpled heap, and felt tears suddenly well up in her eyes.
Hopeless and helpless, she cried.
Long, wet sobs echoed around her crushed form as she shook from the force of her tears.
“I must say, that really is pathetic.” Sneered a sudden voice, thin and feminine. “I expected our hope for the future would be a little tougher than this, especially having lasted this long completely normal. I guess it just goes to show, not always the toughest survive.”
Emily’s head shot up, twisting around to see the source of the voice. She was surrounded by a room of sterile white, empty except for the disheveled bed she’d fallen out of and a single steel bench resting across from it. Occupying said bench was a tall, narrow woman, dressed in a plain gray suit and her hair tied into a professional updo. She was excessively skinny, and her skin was the pale that only came from a life sheltered from hard work and strife.
“Who are you, how do you know what I am?!” Emily spat at the woman, her eyes narrow with suspicion.
“My name isn’t important. My role, however, is. In this place I’m your future. If I decide you’re worthy of my little experiment, then you’ll be used to help secure the future of the human race. If I decide you’re not worth my time, then I’ll tell that nice gentleman who brought you here and he’ll gladly dispose of you for me. Do you understand me?”
Emily nodded slowly before suddenly spitting back, her voice filled with vitriol.
“And what if I decide I would rather not play along with whatever sick, stupid game you’re playing? What if I’d rather just rip your throat out and get out of here?”
“Yes, that’s more of what I expected.” The woman laughed, clapping her hands together delightedly. “That’s the kind of violent vigor I’d expect of a survivor. That’s good, you’ll need it. Food will be delivered here shortly, then we’ll begin performing preliminary tests. I expect your full cooperation. Have a nice day, Emily.”
With that the woman stood up, striding casually to a narrow metal door nestled in a corner of the room. She knocked twice on it, and it opened unceremoniously. Without saying a word or even bothering to cast a glance back into the room, she stepped through; leaving Emily alone once again.
It wasn’t for long, though, as she was soon greeted with the metallic scrape of the door opening once again. Instead of being greeted by the hateful woman, she was met with a powerful figure; one with broad shoulders and a tight buzz cut.
“Miss, I’m going to need you to come with me immediately.” Came the resonant bass of the man who’d brought her here, she still didn’t know his name.
Emily didn’t move, still a tangled mess on the floor. Instead, she just glared at the man, who met her gaze with a stoic one of his own. They stood there awkwardly for what felt like a long time before he finally spoke.
“All it’ll take is one word, you know.” He told her flatly. “Then, this will all be over, and your precious uncle will never have a chance to rescue you.”
Emily’s mouth dropped open.
“H-how?” She stammered.
“We’re professionals here, Miss Emily. Did you think we wouldn’t do our homework?” The man said coolly. “We know full well of your dear uncle and have someone monitoring him at all times. We feel confident that he won’t cause us any real trouble. That being said, if you decide to continue inconveniencing us, we could easily make the point moot.” The man gave a weak smile at that, as though the idea mildly entertained him. “I’d really prefer it didn’t come to that, though. He’s a dedicated uncle, and hasn’t stopped searching for you since he found out you were taken. So maybe you should be a good girl and follow me, so that when this is all over you can see him again.”
With that he turned away, stepping sharply out the door. Emily lunged after him, shaking with rage as she went. The man, her handler she supposed, plunged through corridors of sterile white, not even giving so much as a backwards glance to see if she was following. She was of course, she wasn’t stupid. Stupid was how a person got killed, something she couldn’t allow to happen. Instead, she would bide her time until the time was right. Then, she would escape, and kill as many of these people as she could on her way out.
Emily had no idea where she was. She’d thought that the narrow corridors to the undercity were clean, but they were a cesspit compared to this place. The walls, the floor, the ceiling were all the same dizzying shade of white. There was a constant chemical smell clinging to the air, and every door she passed was of a heavy stainless steel with some kind of pad next to it, the kind of which she’d only seen protecting heavy vaults on TV.
The entire place had a foreign feel to it, though Emily wasn’t sure if she or it was more out of place. She was a dirty, uncouth street rat. This place was a place of care and professionalism, which only seemed to add to the sinister feeling that had embedded itself in her gut.
Her handler stopped at a door that looked, frustratingly, like every other one in the place. Its only distinctive feature being the three numbers, four-one-one, painted crisply in white across it. Emily’s handler held out his hand in front of the pad to the right of the door, and it slid softly open. Turning to face her, he dipped into a low bow, gesturing for her to enter the room.
The whole display seemed excessive to Emily, but she nodded her understanding and ventured toward the door; a grimace plastered on her face. Her expression melted away when she stepped across the threshold into the room beyond.
It was dim, illuminated only by a series of glowing instruments. Panels and glowing screens lined the edge of the room. Complex machines filled several of the corners, humming and whirring, as they fulfilled some complex tasks that Emily had no idea about.
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All of these things filled Emily with an odd sense of wonder. She’d dealt with technology before. Even the poorest of slum dwellers could see the worth in scrounging together the money for a cellphone. These weren’t cellphones. These were technological marvels, wonders like things that were only seen on old TV shows, the kind they used to imagine when things were bright and there was hope; before powers drove everyone mad.
Still, as captivating as the sight was, there was one thing in particular that captivated Emily the most. Each of those panels and powerful machines were only the background of the setting, resting behind the tapestry’s centerpiece. In the middle of the room, attached to a chaotic mass of tubes and cords, sat a bubbling, glowing glass tank.
It wasn’t very large, only about a yard in height, and about the same in width. Within it, curled unnaturally in a pale, glowing green fluid, was a creature unlike anything she’d ever seen before. It was scaly and dark, with long, thin appendages tipped with razorlike claws. It had a narrow tail, curled around its body, and a long toothy maw.
Emily stared at the creature. Everytime she blinked it seemed just a little different, like its form was shifting, changing incrementally as it writhed slowly in the tank. She took a step toward it, fascinated by what she saw. It wasn’t natural she knew, she would’ve heard if something like this existed in the wild. This thing was artificial, unnatural, just like the freaks outside.
Emily ripped her eyes away from the tank, shuddering as she was reminded of the violent outcasts she wanted nothing to do with. If this thing was like them, it would be better off dead.
“Do you not like it?” Came a sudden voice that made Emily jump. It was male, but it was high and nasally; nothing like the rich bass of her handler.
“It’s disturbing.” She replied, her grimace once again plastered onto her face. “Why?”
“I think he’s fascinating.” The voice returned, accompanied by a figure stepping up beside her. He was a long, thin man in a stereotypical lab coat. He had Andrew printed on a name tag on the front. The light of the tank illuminated his gaunt features with a pale, greenish glow. He reached out a hand to the tank, laying it gently on the glass in front of the creature’s face.
“He’s unique, you know.” Andrew continued, enraptured by the creature. “And he holds so many mysteries, locked away in that brain of his.”
“You talk like it’s not just an animal.” Emily snorted, turning away from the sight. She didn’t even try to hide her disgust.
“It’s not. Not just an animal. This animal is special.” He declared proudly, stretching his arms out before the creature. “It’s truly magnificent.”
“Why am I here?” Emily demanded, ignoring his elation.
“You’re here because I asked you to be here. In person. For what we’re doing here.” He said happily “I could’ve simply had your blood drawn and the tests run in this lab from here. You would never know who I am or why this was happening. You would simply be experimented on, observed, and then tossed out into the wind if everything was successful.”
“And why not do that? It would certainly be easier than dragging me here, to gawk at a freak.” Emily returned sharply. Her arms were crossed now, with her eyes keeping a steady gaze on a nearby monitor. It hummed with electricity as numbers and various graphics flashed dizzyingly across its surface.
“Freak!” Came a sudden shrill, inhuman screech that made Emily jump. She whirled in alarm searching for its source, but she couldn’t find anything that could possibly have made the sound. It was just her, the scientist, and the freak in the room. A freak that was now topped with colorful feathers on its head that had replaced the scales there.
“That thing can speak?” Emily inquired, aghast.
Another cry of, “Freeak!” was all she received in response. Andrew just continued to stare at the tank, still enraptured by the creature within, before breaking himself from his stupor. Nervously, he looked at Emily, as though unsure of what exactly to say.
“Do you know how many normal people like you are left?” He asked. There was a slight tremble to his voice as he spoke, and he wrung his hands together.
“In the world? Several thousand at least. Why?” Emily answered, somewhat confused.
Andrew shook his head.
“No. Not anymore. Ever since powerful people became dominant, people like you, natural people have been killed or driven underground. You know it, people prey on the weak. Who’s weaker than the defenseless, the ones who can’t crush steel beams or shoot lasers from the palms of their hands?”
Emily nodded slowly. She knew it was true. She’d spent her entire life living in the shadows and hiding what she couldn’t do. If it weren’t for Zach watching out for her, she’d already be dead. Only the most cunning of her kind survived, and that put them at a severe disadvantage.
“So, people with powers like you are the new normal, who cares? Isn’t that the way of things, the weak die and the strong survive.” Emily replied with mock anger. She couldn’t really be angry about it. That was the way of her life, she was used to it by now. Still, she felt obligated to at least put on a show of indignation.
“Do the strong always survive?” Andrew questioned, his face creased in a deep frown. “You called that creature a freak. Have you ever thought to wonder why you’ve met so many freaks?”
Emily paused. She had met a lot of freaks in her life. Every day it seemed like more and more of them stalked the streets, cast out from the rest of society. Why was that?
“Are you saying the powers make people freaks?” She asked, unsure if she was following him. “Deformities have always existed.”
“Deformities on a mass scale have never been normal.” Andrew returned, grimly. “Never.”
“B-but how?” Emily stammered.
“That creature there in that tank isn’t normal. It’s the last experiment of a very special scientist. It was uncovered during a government raid of his laboratory before this city had ever even been thought of. He infused it with cells from his own body, cells that could rearrange themselves into whatever he wished. He was one of the first to have powers, and his cells live, undegenerated, in this creature. When the cells age, he can simply will them to become younger. It’s no problem for him, just a mere thought.”
“But why does that matter, and how does that have anything to do with me?!” Emily was losing her patience now. She didn’t care about the freaks and she didn’t care about that creature. She just wanted to go home and live her life in peace, away from all of this.
“Emily, every generation of people with powers is more degenerated than the last one. Every step we take is a step backward, and we can’t go on like this. We’ve done the research. People like you are pure, undefiled by the genetic changes that give us our powers. We don’t know how, but does it really matter?” Andrew clasped firmly onto Emily’s hand. His voice was fast and getting faster as he spoke. “You asked me why I had you come here instead of just forcing this on you. You’re the future, Emily, and you need to do this willingly, not with a chip on your shoulder. If you’re willing, we can produce a new generation of humans, one that’s not plowing toward its own miserable extinction. Do you want to be strong, like your uncle? This is your chance. Emily, will you help us?”