Emily P.O.V.
Z listens to my words as I try my best to relay back the details of my memories that had resurfaced. The last moments of my life the last time I had seen my dad and gotten to remember the old life I had before everything was ripped away from me. Once I finish the room gets quiet and I wait for some response from Z. She still stands there just looking at me and then to General Adkins. Is she still contemplating killing him?
Not able to stand the still silence I clear my throat. Her eyes focus back on me. I can feel the heat rise in my abdomen and poor into my chest. I don't know what it is about her and the way she looks at me, but she makes my heart jump every time.
"So, anyways before my vision or memory fades away my father said I was injected with two things. Specimen X and a top-secret life form that they had discovered years prior."
" What is it?" She responds with her eyes still trained in me.
" The DNA that I was injected with was an incell."
She looks at me confused, and I am right there with her. While I now know the type of DNA infused with my own. Just like Z, I don't have any clue what an incell is.
" I've never heard of an incell before." Z replies.
"We could go ask the elders it could be possible that they'd have the knowledge." General Adkins suggests but his words hold slight hesitation.
"How could they be of help?" I ask him.
"The Elders are thousands of years old, they've withstood many changes and challenges throughout the years. I am sure they have seen their fair share of different beings." He smiles gently at me.
"Well then let's go, " Z tone is short and quick.
I can tell Z is still made like hell for what the General had done to her and me. When she has a serious flat tone to her voice that is when her walls are up and she is fully on her guard. Feeling betrayed by General Adkins I'm afraid that her wall won't be coming down anytime soon. Not while Z still feels threatened by him.
After our short walk we arrive at last to the Elders, we reach the door. General Adkins steps forward and knocks three times on the door. Taking a few steps back the doors open.
The stone face revealed once more with the doors swinging open. Even though I have already seen them just to be in their presence overwhelms me. We bow before them and the General approaches the elders.
"Great Elders, Z, and the group would like to ask you a couple of questions, " General Adkins addresses them and holds his hands clasped together.
"And what would that be?" Gia murmurs.
" Emily has remembered that she had been injected with a rare DNA one so rare that I am not sure what it is." Z pauses for a moment.
"Is that so?" Oceania cuts in.
Z nods her head.
" In her memories, her father called it an Incell."
There are gasps from the four of them in perfect unison altogether. They begin to whisper to one another, so low I can't even make out what they are saying.
"Are you sure this is what it was called Emily?" SoZu addresses me, his voice is stern.
I feel the anxiety grow inside me, I am being addressed by a great Elder and I am not sure how I should respond. Z normally does all the talking. I don't want to say the wrong thing to upset them.
"Well?" He says.
Shaking me out of my thoughts with that single word I choke down the panic that keeps building within me.
"Yes sir, I am positive," I replied keeping my head bowed.
" That certainly explains a lot now doesn't it?" SoZu responds.
We look at one another confused even more than when we came to them. Here we are coming for answers and the elders seem to be dancing around the whole issue.
"Not really, " I squeak out.
They laugh heartily at my answer and I go back to kneeling with the others. Leaving Z to carry on the rest of the conversation.
"What does it explain exactly?" Z inquires.
"Incells are a special type of being said to have been carved from stone and brought to life. These beings we're perfect in many ways. Their strength was extraordinary and their facial and body feature flawless. Their skin shine as bright as the sunrise. Impervious to any ailments that they had might contract, incells, we're a walking utopia." Oceania replies her voice filled with ah.
"So, how would the humans have gotten their hands on such DNA?" Roland now puts himself in the conversation.
"Like I said, incells were a walking utopia. They had the features of a human and would easily blend in with humankind. It is said a lot retreated there hiding away from the troubles in the galaxy. Maybe by some chance one had been discovered and the human race captured them and studied them." Oceania continues.
I take in all the information that the Elders see providing with us. It amazes me how we could have different beings staying on Earth with us and not even knowing. All the time we searched for other life and it had already come to us right under our noses. And nothing that there were such unique beings that existed and I have their DNA floating in my body. It all seems as if it's a dream. Just a long drug out bad dream.
"So, if incells remained sick free and unaffected by any kind of virus or bacteria, would that mean"
"Yes cyborg you are on the right track, Emilies DNA is the key to unlocking the cure. With the incell DNA, you can extract the code and recreate it." Arian interrupts Roland.
"So, that would explain why she was still alive even with a ninety-five percent infection rate. " Z adds.
" The only reason she had even died when they took her was because she isn't a full-on incell. So her ability is merely limited to fighting away any kind of sickness. Now with the talisman of life living inside of her, she is impervious to physical harm as well." Arian falls silent after that.
The group looks to me not confused, not angry but in ah, you would've thought I was some rare thing they had never seen before by how their eyes gawk at me. I don't make any more eye contact and advert my eyes to the floor. I was always a shy person and feeling all the eyes staring me down makes me want to crawl into a hole.
"So without knowing it we made you our special weapon, " Natasha places her hand on my shoulder, the heat warming my skin.
I can't help but smile at what she says.
"I guess so" I murmur.
"Now that we know for sure we can finally develop the cure. And this time we won't have to waste anything on blood tests because the key is in your genetic code. All we have to do is crack it and teach this new cell to recognize viral threats and attack them." Nicole comes to my side as well smiling.
" We will prep tonight and start first thing in the morning." General Adkins's eyes go to see.
"If that is okay, " he looks to her apologetically realizing his mistake.
"That's fine, " she remarks before walking to me.
"Can we talk please?" She asks me before continuing.
I don't know why she bothers to ask me to talk when she walks away without waiting for me to give her an answer. It is as if she expects it to be an automatic yes and I will just follow her out like a lost puppy. Okay, so I do all the time but you know how it can be.
Reluctantly I follow Z out of the Elder chambers. We walk down this long hall in dead silence. Nothing but hearing our footsteps along the stone floor. The dust shifting slightly beneath our feet. She seems lost in thought and I want to speak up first. However, she's the one who asked me to talk so I figure I might as well wait for her to decide when to start.
" A lot has changed hasn't it?" She finally speaks, not even looking at me.
"It truly has, just a few months ago I woke up in a pod, not knowing anyone, and now I have traveled through space and seen so much and made some great friends." I think back to the first time I opened my eyes.
"You were like a scared pup when I first met you, shaking like a leaf in the wind, your eyes showed so much fear and now I see strength and courage." She stops and turns to me.
" I don't think I am strong or courageous Z, you give me too much credit."
She smirks at me
"Were you not the one who took on Neese? He was clearly more formidable and you still held your ground."
"And then you came and saved me, Z you have saved me more times in the past months than I have been of help." I cross my arms.
"You need to be more confident in yourself, I thought humans had confidence and a good amount of stubbornness built into them, was that a wrong impression I have had?"
"Well no, " I murmur.
"Bottom line is Emily you have changed, you are now not only a cure but a secret weapon to stopping this. You cannot be harmed physically or affected by any kind of ailment. You are the ultimate secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?" I look at her confused.
Judging by her eyes and her wide mouth I think some words may have slipped out and now she knows she will have to explain to me what she means.
"There is something I didn't tell you when Neese and I were going through those old archives." She pauses.
"What is it Z?"
"There were some things that I came across that may suggest that it won't be as simple as Solarious spreading specimen X. He is looking for an all-out war."
"What?" The only word I can think of to say.
"Emily, he will attack first with specimen X, and then once it has weeded out the weak beings he will move his army in to take down the backbone of the galaxy. No one is safe. The only way we have a chance is with you." She places a hand on my shoulder.
This is most definitely a lot to wrap my head around. From just thinking things were bad when it came to just stopping him from spreading specimen X now it is stopping him from causing an all-out war. Solarious does have a brilliant plan why waste the lives of your soldiers when you can let a bioweapon do a majority of the work for you.
"So, we need to prepare for a war then?" I finally replied.
"After we finish the cure then we will need to find people willing to fight, I believe we will have a much greater chance with the cure and people knowing we have someone like you on our side." She smiles.
It all sounds pretty frightening when you think of going to war. But if we don't then the Galaxy falls and everyone will be forced to bend to the will of Solarious or we die. Neither option is suiting but the first one is the best option from the two.
"Alright, we will start tomorrow, since this cure is done I will spend free time while we travel to build an army for training."
Z nods with approval and we take our leave from one another. I decide to walk around the grounds outside of the Elders keep and admire the fresh air and landscape. It's amazing how different Numir is from the other planets I have seen in my short time traveling. I never would have thought different beings existed nor other habitat planets.
Once the sky grows almost a charcoal black I return to our room and climb onto my bunk. Roland, Natasha, and Nicole are already asleep. Z is sitting up against the headboard slightly with her hands perched behind her head. She doesn't say anything to me.
"Good night" I whisper pulling my fleece blanket over me.
"Good night" she whispers back to me.
I let my head sink into my feather pillow. My eyes are heavy and my body soon relaxed enough to allow myself to drift off to sleep. A much-welcomed feeling after today's events.