Page 58 of Rising

Another five minutes and all Pansies were down. Reina had already made her way back to the Infirmary to take care of the injured in Unit A when Alexiares and I arrived at the gate to huddle with the others.

Seth met my eye and I threw myself into him, slowly backing down, embarrassed at my outburst of affection, especially given the circumstances. There was no denying my happiness with him being alive and making it back in one piece.

Alexiares and Amaia grumbled half-assed hellos to each other. Riley approached, giving Alexiares a genuine hug, glad to see him back. Awkwardly Alexiares accepted the embrace, not knowing how to receive such a genuine reaction from a friend.

Seth pulled me from our hug, putting some distance between us to take me in. Excitement shone in the eyes I’d happily get lost in for the rest of my life, making me feel a sick warm and fuzzy feeling. His mouth moved, but I heard nothing, no longer able to feel my legs. I felt the ground underneath my back. Seth and Amaia were now over me. Alexiares mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear him either. If I had to guess, his lips seemed to ask what was happening.

My vision took over.

I was surrounded by state-of-the-art equipment, nothing like anything I’d seen in The After. The walls in the lab were lined with rows of test tubes and beakers of various sizes, filled with different colored chemicals and substances. Some were flat, some bubbling, some appearing carbonated. I turn my head. Near the center of the room is a large, high-tech workstation with multiple computer screens surrounding it, connected to a storage area that appears to be refrigerated. Biological specimens were labeled on the outside.

The lab was organized, well maintained, and the room was cold. A tall red-haired man with olive-colored skin walked in, yelling at a woman. Her hair is dark brown with beach-like waves. A scientist who just appeared at the workstation, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying either and their faces were blurred.

I look down. My hands are brown, darker than Amaia’s, but with a more yellow undertone. I’m typing, there’s a screen in front of me. I’m looking at DNA sequences, they’re labeled Test Subject 383, Test Subject 384, and Test Subject 385.

The man with red hair is in my face now, gesturing angrily at the screen. My hands are shaking. I don’t want to be here.

“Shh, it’s okay, Moe. You’re okay.”

I was back in my own mind, my own body. My head rested in Amaia’s lap, Seth’s hand squeezing the blood flow from my own. The last thing I wanted to see when coming out of some intense shit was the contortion of confusion still smeared across Alexiares tan face.

“Never seen someone have a vision before?” I snapped.

He was quick, ready to toss words back at me. “Have I ever seen someone fall into a vision like they’re seizing up after an intense trip on shrooms? I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure yet, nah.”

“Oddly specific.” I smirked at him, taking his hand for the second time that day to help myself up.

I dusted myself off, facing my friends’ expectant faces, Seth now glaring at Alexiares hands, daring him to touch me again.

Clearing my throat to break the tension, I mumbled a quiet joke, “Well, that was intense.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Amaia said.

“It’s gotten worse?” Seth pestered, grabbing hold of my wrist, pulling me closer to him.

Amaia looked at me accusingly. “What’s getting worse?”

“Nothing,” I said, pulling my wrist free. “My visions have just been a bit more … vivid, lately. More personal, felt like I was there.”

“Your eyes went white,” Alexiares added.

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks man, appreciate your observance of the situation.”

He smirked and Amaia threw an elbow into his gut, not finding any amusement in the situation.

“I think it’s best to sit down somewhere private. Amaia, go get Prescott,” I uttered with a sense of gravity.

An hour later, we were gathered in Compound Hall around a large table reserved for Council meetings. Our new reality came crashing down once Reina joined. My visions only confirmed what we already knew; a new kind of Pansie had been released into the world that had the power to change our DNA once more if bitten and not treated within a few hours.

These attacks were intentional, and Amaia had been right, they could now communicate. Seth sent a glare Alexiares’ way when he corroborated her claim with his own experience on the road to Reno and detailed the attack. I also didn’t miss the shy admiration he and Amaia exchanged as he told it, the flushing in both their cheeks.

In the end, everything changed, but nothing changed all the same. My visions provided no insight into thewhoor thewhy. Just proved we weren’t egotistical maniacs that wrongly accused the world of being out to get us just because we’ve been down on our luck.

The group dispersed after a few hours, Amaia asking me to focus on thewhoand requesting all my research and energy be put towards the task. I accepted my new role reluctantly, not ready to admit that I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the weight of my own powers. Not ready to accept the toll it was taking on my soul.

Seth, Amaia, Riley, and now Alexiares, put their lives on the line for all of us every time they left these walls. Reina too, when needed. I could do this for them.

I would do this for them, even if it consumed me.

---