Compile:Quest

Chapter 16: Dark Matter

Lambent Laboratories, Cell 3,

Africa Dome

Peppermint craned her neck. Who was it? Jasper disappeared, held a brief, hushed conversation with the newcomer and reappeared holding a cap. Its entire circumference was studded with clusters of white dots connected by thin, pale circuits. Peppermint's eyes widened as she stared at it.

Stepping forward, Jasper gave her a curt smile. He slipped the cap over her head with a practised gesture, gently brushing away her hair. The scrape on her palm throbbed as his fingers touched her. Peppermint squirmed. Her heart clenched in her chest. The weird was overwhelming her.

"What's this?" she whispered.

Intent on his task, Jasper didn't answer. Paranoia surged through her. Her mind flooded with irrational thoughts, fuelling a fluttering anxiety.

Was something wrong with her brain? Was that what the cap was for? Had the strange sound test revealed some problem with how her mind worked? Was she going to end up like Rose, thinking she could fly?

At the Academy, they'd been taught about Phoenix's first genetic trials. The denizens born of the program had been brilliant, but insanely so. Most had to be deleted. It had taken a few trials before Phoenix had established the correct genetic makeup to ensure all future denizens were produced with stable, intelligent minds and healthy bodies. But maybe she was different. Perhaps—

A figure appeared at the corner of her eye. She turned, but Jasper applied a gentle pressure on her temples, straightening her head before she could get more than a glimpse.

A man.

The newcomer stood to the side, silent and unmoving as he observed her. A blush crept up her cheeks at the intense analysis. Jasper finished securing the cap and stepped back, freeing her. Her head swung of its own accord.

The man moved with a casual grace that was both intriguing and intimidating. His head cocked to the side as he studied her. A fleeting expression crossed his face before he glanced down to consult the tablet computer in his hands.

"Peppermint." When he looked up again, his eyes mirrored the sternness on his face.

There was only calm assertion in his voice, but Peppermint was compelled to nod. The examination room's lights gathered in his dark blue eyes, making them sparkle with a cold brilliance. His long, white hair was secured into a tail at back of his head, the tip dangling down to the nape of his neck. But he wasn't old. His face was smooth and unlined.

"Jasper tells me you have questions." Each word was perfectly enunciated in a calm, euphonic voice.

The movement of his lips as they formed each syllable mesmerised her. It took her a few seconds to force her eyes back to his.

Her voice was barely audible. "Yes."

"An irregularity in your Medex visit triggered a notification." Onyx held his arms behind him, tucking the tablet against his back as he stepped toward her chair. He halted a short distance from her.

Peppermint's heart thudded in her throat. "Irregularity?" First it was an anomaly, now this?

"This is only a precautionary measure. The Medex booths are not equipped to perform any specialised medical examinations. They are rather... crude."

Her eyes flashed up, flicking open her weConnect as she tried calling up Onyx's profile.

The console opened, but its display greyed out after a few seconds.