The Modified (The Biotics Trilogy, #1) (9 page)
Read The Modified (The Biotics Trilogy, #1) Online
Authors: C.A. Kunz
“This hall is where you will find your living quarters. Your AI is the key to your room. Each door locks automatically once one enters or exits a room,” Ada 26 explains. “Grayson, Kenley. We have reached your quarters. Room number C-15.”
“Like the android said earlier, I’m in D-10, okay? So I’m just down the hall if you need me,” Joey says with a reassuring smile.
“I’ll be fine. No worries,” I reply.
“All right, see you soon,” Joey says into my ear as he gives me a quick hug.
I watch my group continue down the hall as I stand in front of my door. Looking back at the door, I notice there’s no handle. I look down at the band around my wrist and see that it’s pulsing with that blue light again. Holding it up to the door, I hear the sound of an electronic lock disengaging. The door rolls to the right, into the wall.
Huh, interesting
, I say to myself.
The room beyond is white like the rest of the facility. There are basics like a bed, a closet, a dresser, a window with blinds, a vanity mirror, and a bathroom. It actually looks like a futuristic version of a college dorm room I visited once.
As I enter, Galileo projects from the bangle. “Welcome to your living quarters. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance,” he says in a slightly robotic tone.
“Thanks,” I reply.
I sit down on the bed and it’s stiff as a board. I bounce up and down, but the bed doesn’t move an inch.
“Recalibrating,” Galileo says.
The bed becomes softer and feels just like the one I have back home.
“Cool,” I say as I plop down onto the bed.
“Grayson, Kenley?” Galileo asks.
“Yes?”
“I must perform a complete vitals scan. It will take approximately two minutes. Could I please have you remain still for the duration of the scan?”
“Sure.”
As I lay there I think about home. About how much I miss my mom and little brother. I haven’t had much downtime to really just think and reflect.
A tear begins to roll down my cheek as Galileo chimes in. “Scan complete Grayson, Kenley. Implant functioning at optimum level. Vitals are stable.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I joke hollowly.
“Agreed,” Galileo replies seriously. I shake my head and smile.
Pushing myself off the bed, I make my way to the only window in the room. Strangely, I notice tiny slivers of sunshine creeping through the blinds.
How is there sunshine?
I ask myself. When I open the blinds my eyes need a few seconds to take in and process what I’m seeing outside. My heart sinks as I scan the vision before me. A perfect garden lies just outside my window. It’s my mom’s garden, though off in the distance it begins to fade away like someone forgot to finish a painting. It’s the same view I have from my second floor bedroom window at home. I see the red poppies my older brother Dylan gave my mom, but don’t see the blue ones I gave her before I left.
“How?” is all I get out at first, but then I breathe and try again, “how is…that outside my window?”
Galileo projects from the bangle and replies, “I re-created it for you.”
“What? How do you know about this?” I ask confused.
“The image was stored in your database.”
“My database?”
“Searching for alternative word for
database
…
memory
, the image was stored in your memory,” he answers.
I don’t respond right away and instead just stare out the window. My eyes become misty as I fight against tears. “Thank you, Galileo,” I say softly.
“I detect a slight variation in your vitals. Are you feeling okay? Do you need to lie down?” Galileo asks matter-of-factly.
“No, I just miss home. That’s all.”
“Portland, Maine, is where you are from. You miss Portland, Maine?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “I also miss my brother. I lost him two years ago.”
“Grayson, Dylan. Killed in action…I am sorry for your loss,” he states.
“You can feel sorry?”
“I do not understand the concept, to feel sorry, but I know by me saying it, your vitals have returned to stable levels.”
I laugh to myself and shake my head. “I see, I guess.”
“My pleasure,” he responds.
I hear an electronic clicking sound followed by some quick static that erupts from the speaker above my door. It sounds like the intercoms at my high school.
“Grayson, Kenley. Will you please report to the office of Doctor Grayson, Wyatt? He is expecting you,” a monotone female’s voice echoes in my room.
Galileo projects out of the band and says, “I can show you the way.”
I follow Galileo’s directions to my dad’s office, and after navigating the many corridors of the facility, I finally arrive at his office. There’s a sign next to the door that reads:
Dr. Wyatt Grayson
Headmaster at Magnus Academy
“We have arrived, Grayson, Kenley,” Galileo announces.
The door to my dad’s office is a large metallic oval with a slit down the middle of it. Just as with all the other doors, this one also lacks a handle. Like I did with my room’s door, I hold up the bangle to it and hear the familiar electronic unlocking sound before the two oval halves slide apart, revealing the room beyond.
“Kenley, there you are. Come in, come in,” my father says as he rises from behind an oversized desk made up of blue light. “I hope you’re settling in all right. I know all of this has been happening so fast,” he states, giving me a hug.
Returning his hug I reply, “I’m acclimating, I guess. But Dad this place is amazing. And when were you going to tell me about you being headmaster? Kind of glossed over that one, didn’t you?”
“Sorry about that, there was a lot going on and I completely forgot to tell you about the whole headmaster thing. But isn’t this place absolutely remarkable? This facility was going to be used to train soldiers in advanced battle tactics, but once the war began, the project was scrapped and has since become home for the Magnus Academy. We’ve obviously upgraded it a bit,” he jokes.
“I’ll say. There’s stuff here that I never thought I’d ever see.”
My dad chuckles. “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re doing okay. How’s your implant? Any more nausea from the fluid?”
“Well-“
Galileo’s image springs from the band, making me pause. “Implant is functioning at optimal levels,” he states before disappearing.
“Good to hear,” my dad says with a smile. “Seems like your AI is working well. I’d hope so since I designed them,” he continues with a laugh.
“It’s been interesting to the say the least,” I say, glancing down at my wrist, and then back to my father. “Why are we here? What is this place? This is almost too much to process.”
“I know, Kenley. That’s why I called you here,” he replies as he leans up against the desk. “You’re a soldier now, Kenley. And as a soldier you must train and hone your skills. That’s what this academy is, your training ground. You’ll find that you have powers lying dormant inside of you that you can’t even imagine. They’re just itching to get out.”
“You mean the implant?”
“Look at your hands, daughter of mine.”
I look down at my hands and they’re glowing with a faint blue light. “What’s happening?”
“That’s only the beginning,” he says, clasping his hands around mine. The blue light in my hands fades away. My wary eyes rise to my dad’s. “I’m so sorry, Kenley,” he says softly and pulls me in for a hug.
So many questions flood my mind, but there’s only one that creeps from my lips. “Why did they really pick me, Dad?”
He sighs heavily and replies, “Because I told them to.”
I pull back from him slightly. “What? Why?”
“I had no choice, Kenley. You did so well in your preliminaries, and they were going to put you on the front lines. I couldn’t go through that again. At least this way you’re here, and your odds of survival have greatly increased,” he explains.
“And Joey, what about him?” I ask in a huff.
“I knew you’d need a support base in all of this, so I told them to pick him too.”
“I can’t believe this. We’re here on a lie?” I ask, my voice laced with anger.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you, but I’m not sorry for bringing you here. I hope you understand why I did this. Here you’re much safer,” he says as he places his hand on my shoulder.
I gently shrug off his hand and back away. “I need time to let this sink in. With everything else going on, this just complicates things even more.”
“I understand dear. Just know that I did this for your safety,” he states, pushing my chin up and making me look at him.
“I know. I just need time.”
“Grayson, Kenley? I sense a slight deviation in your vitals. I suggest removing yourself from the situation that is causing this,” Galileo interjects.
“I guess I better go then,” I say, making my way toward the door.
“It’s probably best you don’t tell anyone about this. You don’t want to draw any more attention to the fact you’re related to the headmaster,” my dad says with a worried smile.
“Yeah, no worries about that, Dr. Grayson.”
The sound of a familiar song awakens me from my sleep the following morning. It takes me a few moments to gain my composure and fully recognize the tune. I rub my eyes and see the sunshine coming through the window again. The song grows louder and I realize it’s coming from my bangle. It’s a beautiful song and brings me back to a happier time in my life when my brother was still alive. It was one of our favorites.
“Good to see you are awake, Grayson, Kenley. Sustenance is waiting for you in the mess hall,” Galileo states.
“Why did you play that song just now?”
“The song was stored in your memory. I set it as your alarm. Is this okay? I sense a change in your vitals. Does this upset you?” he asks.
“No, it’s fine.”
“You have forty-five minutes to shower, dress, and arrive at the mess hall. Should I prepare your shower?”
“Sure,” I reply with a yawn. I hear the shower turn on in the bathroom.
