Emily P.O.V.
After seeing the video my confidence that I had lost had finally found me again. I found a renewed strength in wanting to find a cure and stop any evil force that threatened the lives of so many beings throughout the galaxy. My father had died trying to find the cure and ensured I survived. I truly am the last human and the last hope for all life as we knew it.
"I am the cure" I spoke clearly.
The others looked to me and vanished the same confident look that appeared all over my face. I wasn't just saying empty words they were words that I meant.
"Well then let's get started, " Roland said with a cheerful smile on his face.
Not wasting another moment everyone began prepping machines and the blood work was started. taking about ten small tubes to start off with Nicole and Natasha spread out and started their work. Hoping to manipulate and separate the disease components from my cells and blood in hopes of trying different methods of manipulation. Or are programming specimen X to do good instead of harm.
Time seems to hit the fast forward button on us. In our never-ending research and pursuit of finding a cure, seconds, minutes, hours, and eventually, days pass by us within a blink of an eye.
Whilst Natasha and Nicole have been hard at work trying to crack the bio code of specimen X's makeup, Neese and Z have been hard at work trying to dig up more research from old Earth archives. Though it seems some greater force has halted their efforts. Each archive that they find is blocked. Error codes requiring a higher security clearance pop up one after the other.
" This seems to be a very infuriating process" Neese sighs heavily.
"Indeed it has, we must push forward, we cannot rest. Any advantage we have over the enemy needs to be taken" Z responds typing away, her focus never breaking from the screen.
Roland is busy himself going through my scans from when I had first awakened till the scans we had just taken recently. Everyone has been resilient in achieving the goal.
Now as for myself, I have done well being the human Guinea pig, the poking and the prodding is something I am never going to get used to. Then follow that by body scans, vital scans, oxygen scans it's a nonstop circle. I am in a constant loop of the same routine for the past probably a few weeks.
"Hmmm this looks peculiar," Roland says, holding up two separate body scans.
"What is it?" I ask him.
"It seems Emily that your bone structure has increased in density compared to your first scan, and then there is the scan from when you returned to us from the dead…" he holds up the scan he spoke of.
" All injuries your body had sustained while they healed should've left some kind of mark and they didn't" Roland walks to me with a scalpel in hand.
"May I test a hypothesis?"
Nodding in agreement I hold my hand out to him. He takes the scalpel and gently presses it into the palm of my hand making a small cut. Blood pours from the injury and just as quickly the wound heals and the blood disbands. Our eyes grow wide and we make eye contact. How in the hell can that be possible? Am I dreaming all of this? Did I just see what I think I saw?
"Please tell me you saw that"
"Yes I did" Roland replies, releasing my hand.
"Tell me this real" I blink a few times looking at my hand.
"It most certainly is real," he says again.
There has to be some kind of explanation for this. None of this makes any sense to me. Humans don't heal and this isn't specimen X, so then what can this be?
I look at Z and Neese. While Neese has a calm look to him but not a surprised one I turn to Z and her whole demeanor tells all. There is guilt in her eyes and shame written all over her face. They know what's going on, however, I know that they probably don't want to tell me exactly what it is. Hoping down from the table I walk up to Z, still holding my hand.
" Z, do you know?" I ask her.
"Yes," she replies but she doesn't meet my eyes.
" Tell me then"
Z refuses to look at me and her eyes stay on the ground. Frustrated, I nudged her.
"Tell me!" I cry out.
Still nothing no nod no answer. Her face twists in even more shame and her brow furrow upward and a frown play across her lips.
" You're-" Neese goes to speak but is interrupted by Z.
"Don't you dare say a word!" Angrily she walks over to Neese her eyes have changed to a different color.
Neese puts his hands up in a surrender gesture, his mouth closes tightly. Z doesn't relent, continuing to stare him down.
"Z that's enough! You will tell me what you know, there cannot be any more secrets if we are all a team and in this together then there has to be full transparency, " I won't back down. I am no longer the scared little girl that they found.
Z P.O.V.
The tone Emily takes with me shocks me and Leona as well. The quiet timid human girl had certainly grown over the short time she has spent with us. Knowing I can't keep this secret from her any longer she was right if we are truly going to get anywhere as a team full transparency was the only way.
"Fine then come with me" I snap back at her walking away.
Even though I may agree with her doesn't mean I have to be sweet about it. I take her to the apartment and close the door behind us. Taking a seat on the couch in. The living room she does on the opposite end away from me. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but our connection has gotten stronger and in that any type of distance she displays from Leona and I aches.
"Okay, I'm here so are you going to tell me the truth now?" her arms crossed. She sits there annoyed.
"Yes, I am" keeping my tone firm.
Situating myself on the couch I cross my legs. Oh hell, this is not going to be easy.
"When I found you it was too late. Those bastards had already killed you. They got what they had needed from your body along with the agonizing torture you must be experienced through it all. You were gone, Emily, so lifeless, so pale. Your body had holes and numerous gashes from where they had cut you open."
She still sits there, her arms crossed, and determined to hear this all play out. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if maybe it was myself I was truly trying to protect.
" After I found your lifeless body, I...we. Leona and I…. " shit come on Z spit it out.
"We made them pay….all of them, we killed them all Emily, they hurt you, they killed you I lost you and they had taken you from me, they behaved like the sick creatures they are and so I killed them in the same sick way." I gritted my teeth even talking about this brings a rage of fire to my heart.
" I wasn't going to leave you, dead or alive. I carried you to the cruiser and brought you back to the group. And when Neese had seen you and saw the pain we had all shared. He offered me something…"
"What did he offer Z?" Emily scoots closer to me it seems she has started to calm down.
"Have you ever heard of the talisman of life?"
Emily sits on her knees and gets close to my face.
"Z, you didn't, please tell me you didn't, I'm not worth whatever price you had to pay." Sorrow fills her and she waits for my answer.
" I did what needed to be done, you are so full of life and needed desperately, I would do it all again if I had to."
"No, Z all of you would've found the cure without me. Me being here is not worth what you lost" Emily shakes her head.
" No Emily, we won't be able to further the research without you, you are the key to unlocking the cure, I lost more that day than I ever want to lose again. A world without you is hardly a world at all."
"I'm not arguing about this with you Z, it won't get us anywhere…..what did the talisman take in return?"
This girl is a demanding one, are you sure about this Z? Leona interjects in my mind. Of course, I am, I mean look at how she is acting right now Estelle was the same way. If not then there wouldn't be any way in all the galaxies I would take the tone she has with me right now. Leona settles and lays back on the inside of my mind.
"Emily, you are now immortal, that was the price I paid to bring you back to us and I would do it again in a heartbeat." I try to spill those words out as quickly as I can manage.
" So that means that you could perish? I mean if you were to get into a fight and took a serious hit."
"Quite possibly yes"
"Z I'm sorry that you had -"
"Don't you dare apologize, Emily, immortality is something I should be telling you sorry for. That is a burden to have and now it is yours, I am so sorry about that!"
I place a hand on her shoulder meeting her eyes. Being immortal comes with both good and bad advantages. It is a nasty burden to have. Watching everyone you love die and yet you keep on living. No one should live forever. Shaking me from my thoughts I feel arms wrap around me and strands of stray hair tickle my nose.
" Thank you for saving my life Z no one has ever shown they cared that deeply for me before, even in simple gestures."
I return the hug briefly and release her to avoid making this any more awkward than it has become.
"Emily, don't thank me, immortality isn't a gift," I say softly. She shakes her head at me in return.
"Z I don't care that I'm immortal, this is a huge advantage don't you see? Specimen X won't be able to kill me now. I have more time...we have more time to keep working on finding a cure. And for my life back that is a first and I thank you"
This girl is impressive Z, something about her has changed. Emily has become more confident in herself and her purpose. Leona cuts into the forefront of my mind. 'Yes indeed she has' I reply. So tell her you love her Z. 'What the hell no! You can't?! My lycan friend, you have started to lose it' I fire back. Leona just laughs deviously.
"Let's get back to work then" At this point I want the conversation to be over.
We return to the others and everyone stares at us waiting to see what we have to say. Emily takes her spot back at the examining table and I return back to my station next to Neese.
"Let's continue" I murmur.
"So what is going on Z" Nicole beckons.
"I'm immortal, so now no experimentation is off the table. We need to find this cure and we won't stop till we do" Emily doesn't give anyone the room to protest.
Listening to our confident new teammate we dive right back into it. And just as she requested we begin with other major experiments, extracting muscle tissue, cells, and small shavings of bone.
A few more days go by and we have yet to crack the code. This has very much indeed proven to be one hell of a challenge for us all. And Emily still hasn't lost her resolve. It does seem the power of immortality has truly given us an advantage.
As we begin stopping to take a break and eat something the alarms sound blaring with ear-piercing force. We cover our ears and fall to our knees. Roland manages to pull up the screen and a row of different camera angles pop up. A barrage of reptilians has infiltrated the facility and there are more than just a few of them. Turning off the alarm we regain our senses and get to our feet.
Well if it is a fight they want then one they will get, round two and payback, this will be fun. Leona tackles. Most certainly my friend as I agrees with her, I allow her to take hold and transform. Releasing Leona on these reptilian bastards is going to bring me so much pleasure.