[INITIALIZING SEQUENCE]
[RELEASING HOST]
I gasped awake violently, screaming, "Steven, no!"
My chest heaved as I sat up, disoriented. The room spun for
a moment before my vision sharpened. I was in the base. Somehow. A hospital
bed, medical equipment surrounding me, IV drips in my arm. My body didn't feel
sick or tired—just off, like I had skipped time.
The last thing I remembered was the blast wave coming
straight for my skull.
I immediately ran my hands over my body, searching for
injuries, but there were none. Not even a scratch. How? Where was Steven? Where
were the others?
"Eliana!" I gasped, eyes wide, trying to yank the IVs from
my arm—
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
I froze.
"What?"
"Your body hasn't adapted enough for a full system
takeover."
"…System takeover? What, am I a damn robot now?"
"Will you let me finish? Your body crumbles each time I
take over, but your recklessness leaves little room for choice."
I swallowed, my mind racing. "Wait… you've taken over
before?"
It sighed.
"You think you survived the Genomorph incident by a
miracle? Or your limbs regenerate by the heavens' intervention?"
My breath caught as flashes of the NBCR incident flooded
back. The near-death experience. The creature nearly ripping me open.
"Wait... you've been here all this time?"
"No, silly. You were just lucky I fused with you just
before you dropped dead. Seems the universe wants you alive—and I had to live
too. So, here we are. One body, one mind."
"So… I did survive by a miracle then?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
It said, almost humorously.
I inhaled deeply, steadying myself. "So what are you,
then?"
"Yeah, I did promise to tell you after the containment
incident."
"Of course. So…?"
"Okay."
It exhaled like it was about to confess something heavy.
"Genomorph 06X. You guys didn't know what you were up
against. Just experimenting on mutations like children playing with toys. Your
augmentation procedures—all flawed. Those poor creatures. Jamal, you guys were
too reckless. And relentless still. How many were they again, Jamal?"
I hesitated, my throat tight. "...70."
"Seventy failed attempts, Jamal. Your dedication is
something to behold."
I looked away, my guilt swallowing me whole. "We had no
choice. The toxins already gutted a part of the UK. It was only a matter of
time—those nuclear releases could have wiped us out. We had to survive."
"There's always a choice, Jamal."
"I know, but we were running out of options. The
government had no plans to fix the effects of the toxins. They just stood by
and watched. Afghanistan is off the map—more than 70% of its states flooded
with toxins. Paris is slowly turning uninhabitable. It's only a matter of time
before the rest of France suffers the same fate. I don't even know how much of
the world has disappeared already—and more will follow. Britain was supposed to
be a safe haven for immigrants, and now? It's a toxic wasteland. Tell me, what
choice did we have?"
It exhaled sharply, like it had a nose—like air was actually
coming from somewhere.
"I think I understand, Jamal. But your help made things
worse. The mutants still can't breathe in the toxins."
"Not all of them," I cut in.
"Yeah… you."
"Not just me. Some survived long enough to get to
Malik."
"I guess you're right."
The guilt that had been pressing on my chest suddenly
lifted, if only a little. But a bigger question loomed.
"What are you?"
It sighed again.
"You're intelligent, Jamal. But still so
inattentive."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I already said it. Geno. Morph. 06. X."
I leaned back hard against the bed, my head knocking against
the iron frame.
"Don't hurt yourself. What we did back there is still
taking its toll."
For the first time, I sensed… something close to compassion
from it. But I couldn't let that distract me.
"How? You talk, you even have a consciousness. How is
that possible? You almost killed us!"
"No, I didn't almost kill you. I was dying. I lunged at
you and Steven out of impulse."
"Dying? The NBCR was meant to stabilize you."
"You mean that prison? It did its work for a very short
period. Then I couldn't breathe. Your inhibitor protein only stabilized me a
little—until your whole romance distraction. Four hours, Jamal. Four. I had to
survive somehow. The pressure in the NBCR grew in seconds. If I didn't escape,
I'd have died in the explosion."
"Wait. That's how you ended up in the lab's
systems?"
"Bingo! It was enlightenment, Jamal. In that short
time, I was fed everything. Every piece of data. Every history of your goddamn
planet."
"Jesus."
"Thought you weren't a believer."
"I used to call myself atheist until after—"
"Until after the containment. Haha, that ought to do
it."
"Yeah. I've done a little research since, but that's a
story for another day. So… how did you get to me?"
"Well, the systems scrambled. Caught fire. It was worse
than the NBCR. I had to go back. And that's when it erupted. Damn, it was hell.
Just glad you weren't too far off—so I fused with you. And for the past three
months? I learned. Your mind though, God. Do you have a phobia of therapy? It's
a mess up there."
I scoffed. "I didn't know my mind was that bad. And
yeah, I did have a little thing about hospitals."
"No shit. Well, I had to make do with what I had."
"Ouch."
"No hard feelings, bro."
"You talk just like me."
"Who else would I talk like? I'm more or less you. Just
better."
I narrowed my eyes. "Can you leave?"
"No. Even if I wanted to, I can't. Any attempt would
mean your death. And mine, of course."
"So we're stuck together?"
"Yeah. Together forever. Sadly."
"Sadly? Why sadly?"
"You're too reckless. I'd prefer being in someone like
Eliana—she seems alright."
I smirked. "Wanna be in a woman's mind? Hahaha, be my
guest."
"Yeah, I hear they're twisted emotionally."
"Yeah. They're better at everything else—until it comes
to emotions and decision-making."
"I'm sticking with you, then."
"No shit."
"She's here."
"Who?"
"Who are you talking to, Jamal?"
I froze. My head snapped up—Eliana stood at the door.
I hadn't even noticed when she walked in. She must have
heard half of my delulu.
I turned my head slowly toward Eliana, my mind still reeling
from the conversation. She stood by the door, arms crossed, her sharp eyes
scanning me with concern.
"Who are you talking to, Jamal?"
I hesitated. "You already know who."
Her gaze flickered, like she was debating whether to press
further. "Yeah, but it sounded like a full-on argument. You okay?"
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Define okay."
The voice scoffed. "Oh great, she's already catching on to
your downward spiral. How touching."
Eliana shot me a look. "Is it talking now?"
I nodded reluctantly. "Won't shut up."
"Rude," the voice muttered.
Eliana stepped closer, arms loosening. "What did it say?"
I hesitated. Should I tell her everything? That it wasn't
just some passenger in my head—that it had history, knowledge way beyond
anything we could comprehend? That it wasn't human at all?
The voice sighed dramatically. "Go ahead, tell her. Let's
see how well that goes."
I clenched my fists.
"Jamal," Eliana said, softer now, "if we're gonna get
through this, I need to know what's going on with you."
I exhaled sharply. "It—" I glanced away. "It's Genomorph
06X. That's what it called itself."
Eliana froze.
Something flickered across her face—shock, then
disorientation, like her brain was short-circuiting for a second. She blinked
rapidly, shaking her head as if to clear it.
"…What?"
I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah."
"You're lying." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Jamal,
that thing—" She exhaled sharply, eyes darting like she was trying to piece it
together.
The voice hummed in amusement. "Oh, this is fun. She wasn't
expecting me, was she?"
Eliana pressed her fingers to her temple, clearly trying to
process. "No. No, no, that doesn't make sense. We never even finished
stabilizing 06X. It didn't have a functioning consciousness."
"Tell that to the thing living in my skull," I muttered.
She shook her head again, visibly unsettled. "That's not
possible."
The voice exhaled dramatically. "See? No faith in science.
I'm offended."
I ignored it.
Eliana finally looked at me, her expression unreadable. "How
long?"
I swallowed. "…Since the explosion."
She stared at me. "Since the explosion?"
I nodded.
Her breathing quickened slightly, her fingers twitching
against her thigh. "You mean to tell me… that thing has been inside you this
entire time? And you're just now telling me?"
I sighed. "Eliana, I just woke up and found out I'm sharing
my body with something that probably shouldn't exist. Forgive me if I'm a
little slow on the whole sharing part."
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Okay… okay. Can it
hear me?"
"Loud and clear," the voice answered dryly.
I groaned. "Yeah. And it's way too opinionated."
She sat down on the edge of the bed, watching me carefully. "Can
you control it?"
I swallowed. "I don't know. It says my body 'crumbles' every
time it takes over, like it's using me as a host."
The voice hummed. "More like I'm the only thing keeping you
alive at this point."
I gritted my teeth. "Eliana, I don't know what to do."
For a moment, she just looked at me, something unreadable in
her eyes. Then she took my hand. "We figure it out. Together."
The voice chuckled. "See? She likes you."
I ignored it. But for once, I was glad I wasn't dealing with
this alone.