4
“……….ugh, what happened?” I slowly opened my eyes to see a barren beach leading to an extensive ocean. “Where is everyone?” Then the memories flooded back like a hurricane.
* * *
Life was simple for me; I was a simple worker at the city’s coal mines. The pay wasn’t the best, but it was enough to carry me through me every day needs. I had a pretty good house, and was able to buy food for myself, so I really couldn’t ask for much more. I was in college, junior year, and doing very well in my studies. Learning came easy to me, popularity not so much. I was the outcast, the one left behind or not invited. I was not a nerd, but not on the football team either. I had a pretty well-built stature, and I thought I was pretty good-looking, but apparently nobody else did. I did however have a small group of close friends, and we did almost everything together.
I lived in a remote cabin in the mountains north of the city, and had a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. My parents were pretty well set; they were the owners of a top secret facility that developed new weapons for the government, so they had quite the finances. With their help I was able to get this great piece of real-estate.
My parents often let me come over to visit them at their work, partially because they wanted me to follow them and lead their company. I honestly didn’t mind coming over, it was entertaining to watch them work, and wouldn’t find taking up the company.
On one of my regular visits they showed me a new weapon they had designed, a device they called the “Gen Ven”. It was a large machine that consumed the majority of the space of their lab. They said that it was a large genetics mutator, or a genetics vending machine, hence the name. They simply entered a species of animal, and selected what genes they wanted to insert into the animal. Possibilities included strength level, speed, resistance, jump height, and their most prized one, a regeneration gene. These genes would be instantly inserted into the specimen, possibly making it a super creature; there was just one thing, it was untested.
When I received the call from my dad asking if I could give him a favor, I had already suspected something dangerous; that was the way most of his favors were: “can you try this new suit of armor? Can you test this new particle assembling shield?” or other crazy things. When I stepped into their lab and saw the machine, I was instantly worried. They wanted to change my genetic makeup, change my capabilities. Now I won’t lie, a part of me was extremely excited, because this could change my popularity in school, but it could also destroy who I was and what made me, well, me. However I agreed to help, and stepped into their device.
“You may feel a little tingle when we insert the genes, that is perfectly normal.” my father had told me as he sealed my fate with a lock. Then it began, the nausea was almost instantaneous. I could feel every fiber of my body tingle as they started to select parameters and change me. A part of me began to panic, but my other half forced me to stay in the machine.
I had a pretty good idea of which gene they chose when the effect came in: strength caused my muscles to enlarge and my overall stature to increase past what it already was; jump height was a feeling in my feet that resonated as I shuffled around the chamber; speed caused the tingle to run up my legs and they began to become more toned and tight; Resistance was a difficult one, mainly because I felt no different, so I had to assume’ and finally regeneration, this one made a feeling in my chest, sort of like a throbbing, but more powerful.
“Alright, all done,” I stepped out to my father’s voice. “You’ve finished the ‘Gen Ven’ testing, and passed!” he said, the smile on his face was indescribable. He was ecstatic, and you could easily tell. I was still a little hesitant as to my new abilities, but I didn’t let it show because it would dash his hopes. “Well, go try them out!!” he exclaimed, pushing my towards the lab door.
That night I didn’t sleep well; I was too worried about the changes they wrought in me. I had spent the remainder of that day trying everything out: running, jumping, lifting, and the most terrifying, wounding myself. The tests seemed to have worked just fine, but there was still a small part of me that was nervous.
* * *
The next few months went by without any complications. I was able to get a raise in my job because of my inhuman strength; I joined the track team at my college, and began to make a few modifications to my cabin. Life treated me fair, and I didn’t ask for more; but then the catastrophe happened. Nobody saw it coming, least wise the government.
It was a completely average day; I had just returned home after work and was sitting in my living room reading a novel. There was no warning, so sign, no nothing. Out of the sky came a meteor, the size of which had never been heard of before. The shadow it cast enveloped the entire city, plunging it into darkness. I jumped up from the couch and ran to the window. It came down slowly, its color starting to turn orange as it entered the atmosphere.
I wasted no time running to the lab, which didn’t take as long as I anticipated, and hurtled myself inside my parents lab.
“Mom, Dad. You really need to take a look outside,” I panted, trying to make the words sound convincing.
“What is it son?” my dad asked, a puzzled look on his face “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,”
“I think I have dad, and it’s about to crush the entire town,” I managed to get out before a heavy cough came out of my through; maybe I ran a little too fast.
After finally convincing my parents to come outside we ran to the helicopter clearing. The meteor looked like it had doubled in size; it was so much closer than 3 minutes ago. I looked over at my parents whose faces had turned to a very pale white, which was not a good sign. They had no plan, no idea, no invention that could help us, and they knew it.
“What do we do?” I asked frantically, hoping that they had some fragment of an idea, anything that we could build on. The answer that followed sent a bone-chilling tingle up my spine.
“There is nothing,” my mother replied calmly, although you could see she was trying to hold her composure together, “We have nothing that could stop a meteor of that size.”
I knew then that things were going to end; everyone was going to die in a little under 24 hours. I racked my brain for anything I could come up with, but came up blank. Then an idea just materialized in my head. It was crazy, mad, probably stupid, and impossible, but worth a try.
“What if we used the ‘Gen Ven’?” I asked. There were the regeneration and resistance genes that might help. “We could inoculate the town.” We had a small town of only 150 families, it might just work; at the very least we would save the majority of the town.
“We don’t have enough pre-made genes to inoculate that many people, Steve,” my father replied, casting me a solemn glance, “We only have enough for one other person.”
I instantly started going through the most important people in our town; mayors, teachers, scientists, businessmen. However, as I was thinking, a stray thought flashed across my mind; a girl.
“Only enough for one person, right?” I asked. The plan formulating was a crazy, absurd, and completely insane possibility.
“That’s right,” my father replied, a curious look in his eyes, “what are you thinking. I see your mind working, what is it?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve figured out our next subject,” I replied and started sprinting full speed down to town, “Fire up the ‘Gen Ven’ I’ll be right back!” I shouted as my parents began to shrink in my vision.
Alex. Alex was a girl in my college class. She was one of the most popular people at school and seemed to be the perfect person to have the genes. The only problem was getting here to agree to my proposal, for I was not one of the first people she would talk to, but I felt confident I could persuade her. I mean, if you had the option to survive a catastrophe you would probably agree right?
Once I got to the college dorm I ran to the section she was in, preparing what I would when she tried to slam the door in my face. I arrived at her door and was just about to pound on the door when it flung open and a girl about my height ran straight into me.
“Uf, oh sorry!” she said as she looked up into my face, “Steve?! What are you doing here?”
This was Alex, always asking questions, but not always the right ones. “I’m here to help you, and I really need you to trust me.”
“What exactly are you talking about? I need to get downstairs to where my taxi is waiting for me,” she replied, a look of annoyance on her face. But as she tried to push around me I just moved in her way more.
“I’m really sorry Alex, but you must come with me, I’m trying to help you survive this!” I pleaded. I was going over so many other things I could say; then I had it, I dropped straight to my knees and held my hands up in a pleasing gesture, “I couldn’t be more sincere right now, I promise.”
She looked at me for a few seconds, then to the window in her room, then back to me and finally gave up, “All right, I suppose.” she eventually conceded. “What do I have to do?”
“Just follow me,” I replied getting to my feet. I was to ecstatic to say anything; the girl of my dreams just agreed to be with me for a long time. I was feeling nothing but pure joy right now.
* * *
When we got to the lab I had already filled her in on what was going to happen, and surprisingly she took it pretty well. She was still nervous of course, but then who wouldn’t be. When we entered the lab my parents had already fired up the Gen Ven.
“Alright Alex, please step in,” my father said as he pressed a few buttons, “I promise this won’t hurt.”
The process went perfectly. She came out a little wobbly, but she was still getting used to her new abilities. But eventually she got the hang of it and began to act like herself and less like a dummy.
“It will take some getting used to,” she admitted, “But I’ll get the hang of it.”
* * *
I groaned as I pushed myself off my back. I looked around me and found Alex not too far off, laying asleep. I got up and admired the scenery; not too bad considering the catastrophe. I took a deep breath and went to wake Alex, and start our new lives together.
* * *
Life was simple for me; I was a simple worker at the city’s coal mines. The pay wasn’t the best, but it was enough to carry me through me every day needs. I had a pretty good house, and was able to buy food for myself, so I really couldn’t ask for much more. I was in college, junior year, and doing very well in my studies. Learning came easy to me, popularity not so much. I was the outcast, the one left behind or not invited. I was not a nerd, but not on the football team either. I had a pretty well-built stature, and I thought I was pretty good-looking, but apparently nobody else did. I did however have a small group of close friends, and we did almost everything together.
I lived in a remote cabin in the mountains north of the city, and had a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. My parents were pretty well set; they were the owners of a top secret facility that developed new weapons for the government, so they had quite the finances. With their help I was able to get this great piece of real-estate.
My parents often let me come over to visit them at their work, partially because they wanted me to follow them and lead their company. I honestly didn’t mind coming over, it was entertaining to watch them work, and wouldn’t find taking up the company.
On one of my regular visits they showed me a new weapon they had designed, a device they called the “Gen Ven”. It was a large machine that consumed the majority of the space of their lab. They said that it was a large genetics mutator, or a genetics vending machine, hence the name. They simply entered a species of animal, and selected what genes they wanted to insert into the animal. Possibilities included strength level, speed, resistance, jump height, and their most prized one, a regeneration gene. These genes would be instantly inserted into the specimen, possibly making it a super creature; there was just one thing, it was untested.
When I received the call from my dad asking if I could give him a favor, I had already suspected something dangerous; that was the way most of his favors were: “can you try this new suit of armor? Can you test this new particle assembling shield?” or other crazy things. When I stepped into their lab and saw the machine, I was instantly worried. They wanted to change my genetic makeup, change my capabilities. Now I won’t lie, a part of me was extremely excited, because this could change my popularity in school, but it could also destroy who I was and what made me, well, me. However I agreed to help, and stepped into their device.
“You may feel a little tingle when we insert the genes, that is perfectly normal.” my father had told me as he sealed my fate with a lock. Then it began, the nausea was almost instantaneous. I could feel every fiber of my body tingle as they started to select parameters and change me. A part of me began to panic, but my other half forced me to stay in the machine.
I had a pretty good idea of which gene they chose when the effect came in: strength caused my muscles to enlarge and my overall stature to increase past what it already was; jump height was a feeling in my feet that resonated as I shuffled around the chamber; speed caused the tingle to run up my legs and they began to become more toned and tight; Resistance was a difficult one, mainly because I felt no different, so I had to assume’ and finally regeneration, this one made a feeling in my chest, sort of like a throbbing, but more powerful.
“Alright, all done,” I stepped out to my father’s voice. “You’ve finished the ‘Gen Ven’ testing, and passed!” he said, the smile on his face was indescribable. He was ecstatic, and you could easily tell. I was still a little hesitant as to my new abilities, but I didn’t let it show because it would dash his hopes. “Well, go try them out!!” he exclaimed, pushing my towards the lab door.
That night I didn’t sleep well; I was too worried about the changes they wrought in me. I had spent the remainder of that day trying everything out: running, jumping, lifting, and the most terrifying, wounding myself. The tests seemed to have worked just fine, but there was still a small part of me that was nervous.
* * *
The next few months went by without any complications. I was able to get a raise in my job because of my inhuman strength; I joined the track team at my college, and began to make a few modifications to my cabin. Life treated me fair, and I didn’t ask for more; but then the catastrophe happened. Nobody saw it coming, least wise the government.
It was a completely average day; I had just returned home after work and was sitting in my living room reading a novel. There was no warning, so sign, no nothing. Out of the sky came a meteor, the size of which had never been heard of before. The shadow it cast enveloped the entire city, plunging it into darkness. I jumped up from the couch and ran to the window. It came down slowly, its color starting to turn orange as it entered the atmosphere.
I wasted no time running to the lab, which didn’t take as long as I anticipated, and hurtled myself inside my parents lab.
“Mom, Dad. You really need to take a look outside,” I panted, trying to make the words sound convincing.
“What is it son?” my dad asked, a puzzled look on his face “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,”
“I think I have dad, and it’s about to crush the entire town,” I managed to get out before a heavy cough came out of my through; maybe I ran a little too fast.
After finally convincing my parents to come outside we ran to the helicopter clearing. The meteor looked like it had doubled in size; it was so much closer than 3 minutes ago. I looked over at my parents whose faces had turned to a very pale white, which was not a good sign. They had no plan, no idea, no invention that could help us, and they knew it.
“What do we do?” I asked frantically, hoping that they had some fragment of an idea, anything that we could build on. The answer that followed sent a bone-chilling tingle up my spine.
“There is nothing,” my mother replied calmly, although you could see she was trying to hold her composure together, “We have nothing that could stop a meteor of that size.”
I knew then that things were going to end; everyone was going to die in a little under 24 hours. I racked my brain for anything I could come up with, but came up blank. Then an idea just materialized in my head. It was crazy, mad, probably stupid, and impossible, but worth a try.
“What if we used the ‘Gen Ven’?” I asked. There were the regeneration and resistance genes that might help. “We could inoculate the town.” We had a small town of only 150 families, it might just work; at the very least we would save the majority of the town.
“We don’t have enough pre-made genes to inoculate that many people, Steve,” my father replied, casting me a solemn glance, “We only have enough for one other person.”
I instantly started going through the most important people in our town; mayors, teachers, scientists, businessmen. However, as I was thinking, a stray thought flashed across my mind; a girl.
“Only enough for one person, right?” I asked. The plan formulating was a crazy, absurd, and completely insane possibility.
“That’s right,” my father replied, a curious look in his eyes, “what are you thinking. I see your mind working, what is it?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve figured out our next subject,” I replied and started sprinting full speed down to town, “Fire up the ‘Gen Ven’ I’ll be right back!” I shouted as my parents began to shrink in my vision.
Alex. Alex was a girl in my college class. She was one of the most popular people at school and seemed to be the perfect person to have the genes. The only problem was getting here to agree to my proposal, for I was not one of the first people she would talk to, but I felt confident I could persuade her. I mean, if you had the option to survive a catastrophe you would probably agree right?
Once I got to the college dorm I ran to the section she was in, preparing what I would when she tried to slam the door in my face. I arrived at her door and was just about to pound on the door when it flung open and a girl about my height ran straight into me.
“Uf, oh sorry!” she said as she looked up into my face, “Steve?! What are you doing here?”
This was Alex, always asking questions, but not always the right ones. “I’m here to help you, and I really need you to trust me.”
“What exactly are you talking about? I need to get downstairs to where my taxi is waiting for me,” she replied, a look of annoyance on her face. But as she tried to push around me I just moved in her way more.
“I’m really sorry Alex, but you must come with me, I’m trying to help you survive this!” I pleaded. I was going over so many other things I could say; then I had it, I dropped straight to my knees and held my hands up in a pleasing gesture, “I couldn’t be more sincere right now, I promise.”
She looked at me for a few seconds, then to the window in her room, then back to me and finally gave up, “All right, I suppose.” she eventually conceded. “What do I have to do?”
“Just follow me,” I replied getting to my feet. I was to ecstatic to say anything; the girl of my dreams just agreed to be with me for a long time. I was feeling nothing but pure joy right now.
* * *
When we got to the lab I had already filled her in on what was going to happen, and surprisingly she took it pretty well. She was still nervous of course, but then who wouldn’t be. When we entered the lab my parents had already fired up the Gen Ven.
“Alright Alex, please step in,” my father said as he pressed a few buttons, “I promise this won’t hurt.”
The process went perfectly. She came out a little wobbly, but she was still getting used to her new abilities. But eventually she got the hang of it and began to act like herself and less like a dummy.
“It will take some getting used to,” she admitted, “But I’ll get the hang of it.”
* * *
I groaned as I pushed myself off my back. I looked around me and found Alex not too far off, laying asleep. I got up and admired the scenery; not too bad considering the catastrophe. I took a deep breath and went to wake Alex, and start our new lives together.
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