Intended Extinction (4 page)

“Well?!” shouted a nearby fighter, enraged that his mouth hadn’t graced the tube of life.

I lifted my sleeve, finding the familiar splotch that looked somewhat like Greenland, planted on my forearm. It was quiet around me, except for the occasional grunt and pant of the recent combatants. Everyone was watching—watching
me
.

To my far left, a huge group of people erupted into cheers and hollers. I was the only one still looking at my arm. My eyes burned, anticipating
any
sign of recovery.

Come on. Come on!

“Look!” someone shouted, pointing a finger toward me.

I looked up at them, then down at my arm, feeling a hyper rush shoot through me. I saw it. The fresh, gooey blood started to release itself underneath my skin. The hues drastically changed. Like autumns offspring, my retched skin began to mend. An uncontrolled tear—a
real
tear—rolled down my cheek. I watched five years of crusty, unforgiving detritus heal itself into something manageable. Something . . . whole.

I gasped tearfully, looking up at the others. Despite my selfish actions, they knew what this moment meant—even if it wasn’t them in the limelight. This was much bigger than two people becoming free from Edge, it was a statement. A banner to the world that the curse of Edge could and
would
be eradicated.

Tonight that other girl and I became the new Adam and Eve.

With the sight of two people feeling the effects of this newfound development, the crowd accepted GenoTec’s newest “band-aid.”

“Hope,” said Slate. “Isn’t that what this is about? Tonight, GenoTec gives you hope. Hope to fight another day. Hope to find yourselves. Hope that one day . . . we will all be free!” He scanned the crowd, taking in the approving looks, the cheering population. His eye’s watered for a moment, then his demeanor changed.

“Now,” he said, “this . . . this is only a temporary cure.”

The crowd dropped their gleeful attitude and started to turn sour.

What? But I
saw
it happen?

“Please,” Slate heeled, “please.” He brandished another metal-coated vial. “It is called Vax. Vax is the beginning. Take this every week, and you can feel healthy, strong, and avoid the fear of unwarranted attacks. Blood will return. Bodies will be cleansed. As Vax works within us, GenoTec will have enough time to produce the final cure. Vax is the gateway. It is our destiny.”

I was confused at first, but I wasn’t about to question the demonstration. I looked down at my arm and still, the evil that had once had claim over my flesh was indeed gone. I glanced back at Slate, seeing his protruding muscles, his vein-stricken neck, and his monstrous presence.

“Put your trust in us—in GenoTec. Not because of this display, but because you genuinely
feel
that this is truth.” He raised his arms like a giant bird of prey. “After all, who has sustained the nation’s economy during the crisis? Who made
sure
that life would continue to grow and prosper, even in a time of death and destruction? My dear citizens, I must be off to other regions around the country—Vax must be spread. But know this: GenoTec has not failed you and
will
not fail you in times to come. There
will
be a cure. There
will
be redemption. And there
will be no Edge!
”

My ears were flooded with the crashing sounds of screaming, electrified people. Although I didn’t raise my voice in praise as Slate lingered on stage, I guess I agreed. The cynical side of me tried to complain, but not today. Not this time. Maybe I’d hit the Volunteer kiosk tomorrow. I was feeling impulsive.

I kept staring at my arm. I caressed the soft skin, tracing the recovering veins. My eyes were still wet from astonishment, and as I blinked the blurriness away, another person approached the podium.

“To receive further instructions on Vax, please come to the north side of the stage. Please follow the Volunteers. We, as always, appreciate your patience.”

I was hardly listening.

The sea of people started moving. I remembered the punch and felt my lips gingerly. The bleeding had stopped, and I wiped the excess with my sleeve. I could tell it was going to swell. At least it wasn’t coming out of my eyes.

Eventually, curiosity got the best of me and I stepped in line.

I took another peek at the stage and noticed Slate had vanished. Only a few remaining GenoTec Volunteers were conversing behind the podium, while nearly twenty more helped the crowd get to where they needed to be, ushering, directing, and leading.

The line of people came to a halt.

I started to scan the surrounding area, checking to see if I knew anyone. Finding someone to celebrate with would be a little better than bottling it in. As my eyes crossed to the other end of the stage, I spotted a GenoTec garbed man. He turned away and told something to his partner.

Was he . . . staring at me?

I stepped completely out of the line and craned my neck to get a better view. The man continued to speak with his Volunteer friend, as if discussing the event. He turned again and looked directly at me. Then he put an arm around his partner and they disappeared.

“Excuse me?” said a voice from behind.

I ignored it, taking a few confused steps away from the line. The voice repeated.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped.

“Hi, I’m Tara.”

My mind
was still clinging to the image of the mysterious Volunteer. Nevertheless, I noticed the girl standing before me was none other than “Eve”, the first vial owner.

“Mark Wenton,” I said, with a little skepticism. I turned my head back, checking one more time. He was gone.

“You okay?” she asked.

I snapped back. “I—yeah.”

I’m not sure if it was my lustful, society-deprived mind, but this girl was beautiful. From what I could tell, she was in her mid-twenties. She had ink black hair that shimmered in the overhead light. It was done up in a ponytail, with flat bangs and longer tendrils hanging over her temples. Her Caribbean blue eyes were engaging, with a smoky attractiveness that had me mesmerized. Underneath, cute crease lines formed every time she smiled. She was fair skinned, thin, with two black and brown Edge spots on her arms. She looked like the type of girl who actually knew fashion; something I had no knowledge of at all. She wore tight black jeans and a white t-shirt with the insignia of a band imprinted on it. The way her body curved made my testosterone levels reach an all-time high.

“You caught the other vial, right?” she asked.

I nodded. “I didn’t exactly catch it, but yeah.”

I was terrible with conversation. Five years of seclusion did that to me. I could’ve socialized, but Edge was enough pain.

“How did it feel?” she said, excited. “Vax, I mean.”

“I don’t know how to describe it.” I looked at her healing sore. “You?”

She inhaled with joy. “It’s the best day of my life.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Don’t you agree?”

Maybe with Vax, I could become something better. This really
was
the best day of our lives.

“Yeah. GenoTec pulled through after all.” I smiled and together we watched the crowd.

“Do you mind if I see your sore?” she asked. She was eager and pleasant about everything.

I lifted my jacket’s sleeve and showed her the recovering skin. Seeing it again made my heart leap.

“I still can’t believe it,” she said.

Someone with dark curly hair and a full mustache burst out of the chattering line and stopped next to Tara.

“There you are!” he huffed. “You ready?”

“Kevin,” said Tara, “this is Mark. He caught the second vial.”

We shook hands.

“Pretty intense, huh?” he said.

I agreed and asked, “What’s going on up there?” The line kept to a steady crawl.

“Tons of dispensers of Vax. I’ve already taken mine. God, it feels good.”

I faked a smile. “Well, I better get up there then. Nice mustache, by the way.”

Kevin jerked his head to Tara and said, “
Thank you
.”

They must have had some kind of inside joke.

She patted his shoulder like he was a naïve child. “That’s nice, Kev.” Her eyes met mine and she smiled. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Mark. Maybe we’ll see each other around.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

They traipsed back toward the city, leaving me alone underneath a single floodlight. Strange, I was feeling warm and shy. This aura she had left me in was something I hadn’t felt for a few years. Whatever. It’ll be gone soon.

For the next hour, the line continued to move into a clearing, dotted with dispenser-like machines, just as Kevin had described. I counted twenty of them, all staggered behind the stage, with their own individual lines. At the side of each machine was a Volunteer ready to help.

Would we have to keep coming to Battery Park to get our weekly amount?

As I waiting patiently in line, not really sure if I
had
to be there, I felt someone brush up against me.

“Excuse me, are you Mark Wenton?”

Startled, I turned toward the back of the stage and found a shorter man, with bark-like glasses. He was balding and wore a GenoTec uniform, holding a clipboard jammed with papers crumpled at the edges.

“Yes. I am.”

“Excellent,” he said. “If you could please follow me, we need to talk to you about Vax, since you caught one of the vials.”

“Um—sure.”

Trusting his yellow uniform, I followed the waddling man all the way to the other end of the stage. I scanned the crowded area, remembering the Volunteer who had stared at me.
Twice
I had caught him looking at me. Maybe I was just paranoid.

The pudgy fellow led me to a small canvas awning covering a table.

“All right, if you’ll just have a seat please. We need to take your blood pressure real quick.” He left me for a moment as I sat.

This was all happening so fast. I couldn’t help raise my sleeve again.

The penguin-like Volunteer returned with a blood pressure monitor in hand.

The electronic device was a glossy, white bangle, designed to capture statistics using frequencies. It was much better than those cheap, inflatable ones that made your arm ache.

“What’s this for?” I asked, watching him jot down a few notes.

“We need to see how it’s affected you. As you know, Edge has a way of dealing with blood pressure.”

“Oh, right.” I said, waiting for more information.

The device on my arm emitted a blue, transparent light. The glow encircled my bicep for a few seconds and then ended with a short beep.

Once he finished, he looked up at me from the other side of the table.

“Everything checks out. The main reason we brought you here is to inform you of Vax. In a day or so, machines similar to those over there will be set in a lot of locations around the city. You just input your name and your ID number and you’ll be set to go. More info will be given at the machine itself, but it’s good to know beforehand.”

“Thanks,” I said. “When do you think the final cure will be available? I mean, if we take this every week, isn’t it pretty much the same thing?”

“I’m just a Volunteer, they don’t tell me much.”

With that, he got up and disappeared.

“Yeah,” I said to myself, “you and me both.”

After leaving Battery Park, I walked back up Beaver Street and returned to The Cuts. For the two years I’d lived there, I was actually happy to be back.

People were talking relentlessly about Vax, Slate, and everything in between. Multitudes were outside, wandering the streets, driving around recklessly, shouting, chanting, and praising GenoTec. Some shot off fireworks, sending inspiration to the entire city. I watched from my window as the rejoicing scoured our little section of Manhattan—the survivors.

The news was going wild, broadcasting on every station, trying to spread the word about Vax. Apparently, Manhattan was the third city to receive it, which was confusing, what with the GenoTec building just across the River. They began their tour of America with the survivors in Florida, headed to the massive colony in California, then to us. Tons of GenoTec Volunteers were being interviewed about what they knew, and how they managed to pull off the events. For the first time in Edge history, I think there were signs of normal life shining through the apocalyptic world.

Clips of Sterile Communities were being shown. People gathered in their tiny infrastructures, clumped together, cheering, and letting us know of their love and support. I wasn’t even mad, seeing the Steriles like that. The thought was proof enough that Vax was working.

I flipped the station to find other coverage of the revival. I commanded my Fuse to stop as I saw the familiar metal mask and deep, dark eyes. Slate was sitting behind a long oak table, leaning forward, and answering questions to an unseen crowd. Beside him were more GenoTec officials. One in particular, with shoulder-length, greasy brown hair, looked as if he had smelt a foul odor.

“Yes,” Slate was saying, “eventually Vax will wear off and stop regulating your body. That is why more doses must be taken to maintain a healthy system. It’s not perfect, but we are working tirelessly to build upon it until we find a cure.”

His voice gave me goose bumps.

A female inquirer asked, “Mr. Slate, what can GenoTec tell us about Axxiol? Was Vax created there?”

I leaned across my coffee table.

“Axxiol was an offshore ecological testing facility, built back in, oh, 2026. We now use it primarily for Edge research. So yes, Vax was conceived within Axxiol’s walls.”

“And how do you account for the massive amounts of batrachotoxin, ricin, and many other toxic agents being shipped to and from Axxiol? Is it some sort of agent used to develop Vax?”

Slate was still for a moment. “Why would that be involved in any way with Vax?”

“But you see, we have—”

The wiry Vice President moved close to his microphone and said with a drowsy brogue, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any more time for questions today.”

I watched as the Q and A session ended. Slate and his posse got up to leave, camera’s flashing and people shouting to get their questions abated.

Axxiol? Batrachotoxin?
I always knew there was more to GenoTec then I would ever know, but seeing this definitely piqued my interest.

My door burst open. The Ghost poked his head through, grinning ear to ear.

“Hey, it’s Mark, right?”

“Yeah. What’s up?” I wasn’t angry he had barged in. I was actually kind of glad.

“We’re all having a party down in the lobby—drinks, food. Anyways, thought you outta come and check it out.”

I smiled broadly. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”