Of Monsters and Humanity: The Genesis

Chapter 20 - Terra

Fifty-three days before....

He's right there.

He's sitting there behind me. I can feel his eyes boring into my back. It was like this familiar feeling that I never wanted in my life again.

It wasn't a nightmare, that night. It was real, and the main focus of the dream was manifested behind me, just sitting there as if he didn't know what he was or what he made everyone feel. Can he sense fear? I know he can sense emotion, but was fear one that he could understand?

What would his kind have to fear, anyway? I couldn't think of anything that he would feasibly have to worry about. Elephants or dinosaurs or tigers or sharks.... He could obliterate them. There was nothing to fear for him.

But would humanity be something to fear?

Logically, no, there would be no reason as to why humanity would be fearful other than empty threats or heavy machinery, but he could probably stand up to weapons. Possibly alone, even. But in numbers....

I shuttered at the thought. There were others like him--there had to be. He wouldn't be the only of his kind or I wouldn't be where I was--I wouldn't have learned what I did or saw what I saw because this would be a completely secret operation. It would be inhumane treatment to a human and the operators would be punished immediately. Balcom would be a sicker man than I knew him to be.

Or would it be so different? From the diagrams and research they had laid out in front of me, I doubted it. Inhumane treatment was inhumane treatment, no matter if it was to a human or nonhuman.

The man who was talking to Xander earlier pulled a few files out of the top drawer of a white metal cabinet next to the large wall televisions, some turned off while others displayed an aerial view of the Holding Pen. Xander was still sat there, his head bowed down as he traced the floor with his finger. He looked more like an experiment now, wearing all black scrubs and no shoes. I shuttered. What did they do to him in here?

"My name is Dr. Carston," he formally stated while looking at us all in the eye. He reminded me of a professor at school. "We have assembled some information for you in regards to Experiment X and Project X itself. Naturally, you are going to be starting with the basics before moving forward and assisting us with what we are working on now. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. And talk amongst yourselves, try to figure things out on your own, too. Don't be afraid to conversate with your peers, but don't take advantage of that. This isn't social hour." The look turned stern before he started handing out files. "Each file was carefully selected for you by Dr. Balcom himself." The pile of files started to be passed around and everyone took one. "We trust that each of you will bring something to the table here."

Self-doubt washed through me. Did I even have what it takes to be here? Is there anything that I had to be brought to the table? Sure, I was selected, but the acception of me into the program left me more confused than thankful or ecstatic. There wasn't much that would have gotten me into the program other than knowing Damian, but would just that have gotten me a spot? I looked at Damian standing next to me as he found his file and I cringed as my face got slightly warm. I felt guilty and like a charity case.

He then passed the pile to me. I found my name printed on a stamp on the tab. "Egan, Abigail Terra." Just the sight of my name on the file labeled "PROPERTY OF PROJECT X: CLASSIFIED" made my stomach roll. There was absolutely no way that I was ready for this.

As I watched the files get passed down, I surveyed everyone's faces. I was rushing and taken aback when I arrived, so I couldn't properly see any of the other interns. They were all obviously older than me, maybe in their mid-twenties. They looked a little bit older than Damian, even. One looked thirty or so. I was quite obviously the youngest of the group. I began to doubt my space in Project X even more than I did before. There was no way Balcom selected me like he did with everyone else. I was only a senior in high school taking classes at the college. And now Balcom knew that.