The Wall (Extended) by S Mckee (free novels TXT) 📖

‘Just tell me how long have I got?’, There’s no cure for this infection only a release which is death, that’s why they kill the Awoken. Either kill or be killed that used to be the way of the world, I guess that’s the way of the world now, now that Zolo is under threat of the virus re-emerging. Maybe I should be grateful I won’t be alive to see everybody else I love suffer, change and die, maybe it’s better this way. Dansi now has a look of surprise of his face as he speaks,

‘Hilaria, you were infected 9 days ago and you’ve been in a temporary coma while the virus worked its way through your body, but you didn’t change, in fact the virus gave you all the strength and vitality that the Awoken have but you have remained yourself. The drives never took over, yes they are heightened to an extent in your case but you are immune to being Awoken’

The words he spoke echoed through me but I couldn’t for one second be happy all I wished for was that Clara had this immunity and not me at least that way she would still be alive, still be Clara. Instead my best friend turned and bite me and I lived and am not superhuman. What a great day I’m having or should I say a great 9 days. I can feel Dansi staring at me waiting for a response but nothing comes. I think he expects me to be relieved and happy that I can never get the virus but all I feel is numb.

‘What happens now?’

Dansi gives me a look, ‘Well you are in fact one of five people in this infection that has showed immunity to the virus so the next step is to figure out why these five people have exhibited this immunity when the rest of the infected Awoke, and I guess try to duplicate it so we can inoculate the entire population’.

‘Oh, Ok so I need to stay here then?’, I asked as a common curtsey even though I know what the answer was going to be.

‘Yes, Hilaria just for a little while but we are creating a facility and living quarters for you and the others to live while we conduct these tests’, he says again very matter-of-factly. Does this man have any human feelings or is he just a robot for the Zolites, I thought I seen some humanity earlier when he told me about Clara but I guess that was just in my imagination. He went to leave when I caught him with another question which had been bothering me from the start,

‘Dansi, you were at the Barritoca Kiosk when we were and you didn’t get infected? Whys that? How come your standing in-front of me delivering this news?’

He just smirked at me again with that Killer smile and then sauntered out the door not even answering my question. I didn’t dwell on what an ass he was because the grief hit me soon after, Dansi was the least of my thoughts because Clara was my family and now she was gone, I lost my adoptive family five years ago in a district fire so when I met Clara she became my surrogate family, I even spent the holidays with her family because we were like sisters and they had come to love me like a daughter. I’ve lost my sister and now I’m a lab rat for the society I hate, like how did the world go to shit in 9 days, well I suppose it went to shit decades ago but my world is now and always will be different. I lay down in my bed and started to sob, life took horrible turns and mine was a constant winding road, the only break I seem to have caught is this immunity but then again that doesn’t seem to be all it’s cracked up to be.

.........................

I awoke to the sound of the door to my tiny white cell opening. Two Zolites came in, none of which were Dansi, I guess he was done with my case and was moving on to making the citizens lives in Zolo hell. I didn’t care but yet why did I instantly think about him when they entered the room. I put it to the back of my mind because I figured there was only one reason why they were escorting me out of my room, I was moving to my new living quarters. Somewhere completely alien to me and away from all my memories of Clara, I wonder if Quane was wondering where I was or at least trying to find me. I hope he was ok, I hope he wasn’t near when the infection broke out but I guess I’ll never know as I am now imprisoned in this medical facility for the near future. We approached an air-lock door with a very complex looking computer system attached to it, living quarters I thought to myself more like a bloody prison. They were making us believe we were making a choice to help save the society when in actual fact I think if I refused I would still be at this door anyway.

My guard dogs typed in a 6 digit number, I knew this because I watched them but I only managed to get three numbers maybe if I get taken out for walks I’ll be able to fill in the rest. I entered a large living room chamber which was completely white, white walls, white sofas, which bookshelves, white holographer, white cabinets, just generally clinical. There were five doors off the room each with a different coloured door which I realised the colour matched our medical wristband. I was blue, blue was usually my favourite colour but in this moment it was my most hated colour. It was the colour of entrapment and a reminder now I had nowhere to run. I was escorted to my door and told to scan my wristband on the scanner and wait in my room. This demand was totally fine with me because I had spent enough time in the presence of these men.

I entered my room to find something very surprising. This room looked exactly like my room at home, all my belongings where in the room, it was just home. Why were they doing this to me, giving me this false feeling of security that I’m in my own room when in actual fact I’m in a research facility. Whatever way I looked at it I knew one thing it reminded me of Clara and that made me calm slightly. Several minutes passed as I drank in everything around me and then I spotted it, the picture me and Clara took when we went out for her Birthday two years ago. I grabbed it immediately and help it close and that’s when the uncontrollable sobs came, then it hit me like a hurricane and I felt like I was never going to stop.

......................

 Maybe it was an hour or possibly two when the guards came back to my new living quarters; they unlocked my door and entered my sanctuary. The taller of the two spoke,

‘Subject 22 we would like you to please accompany us to the lounge area so you can introduced to your fellow subjects’

I figured I was indispensable now that I had developed immunity to Yimsunye so answered back sourly,

‘I have a name you know and it is not Subject 22’

I was correct in my assumption because they ignored my attempts at antagonism and continued out the door expecting me to follow. If this had been any other time and someone answered these Zolite’s back in the manner which I did they would simply just disappear never to be seen again. I knew my immunity would be powerful and I liked the way I could challenge the authority with no consequence, I could use this to my advantage if I ever got out of here.

I eventually followed them out the door to great my new cell mates because after all this was a prison. I got into the lounge area and bar the two guards there was nobody else around. I thought I was going to meet  the other four immunes, where were they? And why were these guard toying with me. All of a sudden however the red door hissed open to reveal a young girl with blonde hair and a tear stained face. She was my age or around my age as far as I could tell and she held so much pain in her eyes. She came over to where I was sitting on the sofa and sat beside me, she spoke in a shaky voice,

‘Hey, I’m Emelie or as they call me here Subject 37, what’s your name?’

I answered as politely as I could, ‘I’m Hilaria, and it’s nice to meet you even under the circumstances’

She replied with hesitation in her voice, ‘I know it’s strange isn’t it? Its feels like yesterday that we were going about our daily lives, now we are just numbers in a testing facility, how life takes funny turns eh?’

‘Yeah being immune really has its advantages doesn’t it, we get to wear these sexy white nighties all the time and get to eat different coloured pastes, I would Say we are living the dream Emelie’.

She laughed and I was instantly happy that I had made this sad fragile girls life slightly better in that moment, if only for a moment. The hissing sound happened again and the green door roared open to reveal Dansi standing in the doorway in his white looking scrubs. I gasped, why is in a subjects room and why is he dressed like a subject. Dansi walked over to us in a relaxed manner and propped himself against the arm of the sofa. Emelie was smiling at him, clearly his looks had roped her in already, I however was glaring at Dansi, possibly burning holes into his head.

‘Well Hilaria, Don’t you look happy to see me’, he said with a smirk.

Emelie looked puzzled and said,’ You two know each other?’.

I replied through gritted teeth,’Yes this is one of the men responsible for kill my best friend, the Awakened that bite me’.

Emelie’s drained of all the colour that had come back to her face after my joking earlier and she simply said ‘Oh...’.

‘Well now that, that awkward reunion is out of the way, Hi im Dansi nice to meet you Emelie’, He said and he briefly shook Emelie’s hand who was still clearly in shock and looking puzzled as to why he knew her name. She was about to respond when he continued,’ Don’t worry I was briefed on all your backgrounds before I came in here, it was one of my conditions’, with a smile on his face.

I cut in, ‘You failed to mention you were also immune when you debriefed me yesterday’

‘ I was trying to respect the boundaries whilst I was still in the uniform, plus it wasn’t exactly the right time to tell you when I had just delivered the news about Clara’

As he said this the yellow door hissed and slide open, I however was too busy glaring at Dansi to pay any attention when I heard my name, ‘Hilaria?.....’

I turned around slowly to be faced with Quane who had a look of horror on his face. I ran to Quane forgetting all about Dansi behind me and embraced him. He instantly embraced me back and the tears came thick and fast.

‘Hilaria, What are you doing here?’

I tried to answer him through sobs,’ I......I.......Clara turned while we were in the safe room in Chemistry 101 and from what I was told I was bitten by her, I don’t remember any of it except from what I’ve been told but Quane’, I cried,’ Clara is gone......gone’.

He embraced me tighter and stroked my hair, ‘Hil, everything is going to be fine now ill