The First

4.2

A/N: Hi all! Well, I hope you enjoyed that last chapter :) I certainly did! Now things are starting to get interesting! Yay! As always, leave me a comment or a vote if you enjoy this chapter!

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01 - 24 - 2089

I watch the sunset with Cade until the earth is completely cloaked in darkness. Then, and only then, do I turn away from the window and face Cade. I can hardly breathe, much less speak. My mind, which is normally so full of scattered thoughts, is empty. I cannot form a single thought.

Cade lets out a shaky breath, and I catch a glimpse of his shaking hands. He grasps the edges of his pants and grips the fabric, trying to till the tremors. His eyes edge up to mine, and we lock gazes. I want to say something. I want to thank him, and I feel there is so much to be said. But my mind doesn't cooperate.

Footsteps out in the hall cause me to snap out of my reverie. I turn to the door, my nerves immediately taut. Cade comes to stand beside me, his eyes on the door as well. We don't breathe until the footsteps pass by and fade into nothing.

Then Cade grabs my hand. "I have to get you back to your room," he says, his voice urgent. "Our fifteen minutes is almost up."

"It's only been fifteen minutes?" I say, surprised. I would have guessed at least an hour. It certainly felt like a longer time to me.

"Yes, now hurry!" Cade pulls me to the door, and after listening to make sure no one is out in the hall, opens it. We head out into the hall, wary of everything around us. I follow behind Cade, watchful for anyone else.

I focus on my breathing as we move, trying to keep my nerves under control. It's no easy task, for certain, but Cade is steady which helps me to be so as well. My nerves jump and worrisome thoughts enter my mind about what might happen if we are caught.

We turn to the left into another section of the hallway, but this time it isn't silent as all the others were. I hear voices up ahead, though they sound muted. I cast an uneasy glance towards Cade, but he doesn't look my way.

Then, up ahead, I see the source of the voices. An open door on the left side of the hallway. The voices are coming from inside there. As we near and they become less muted, I am able to make out what they are saying.

"...new and improved. It will be the answer to all our problems. Indeed, not even cancer will be an omen of death any longer."

My interest is peaked. I strain my ears to hear more as we creep towards the room.

"What all has been tested on it, Doctor?"

"Well, we began with the simple viruses..." Doctor Acosta? "But we have already worked up to some strains of diseases including Parkinson's and even Ebola. So far we have seen positive results, with the participant only having mild side effects."

Cade and I come to a stop just outside the door. I peek inside to see a large A-book mounted on the wall. Several orderlies and guards watch the A-book from seats around the room. On the screen, Doctor Acosta talks with a woman holding some sort of metal stick. I stare, fascinated, as their conversation continues.

"...and this participant, the Genetically Induced System, is fully responsive?"

"Yes, well, we call it Gis. But it is fully responsive. And completely controllable. We have trained out all aversions and strains of possible rebellion."

I can't breathe. I can't speak. I can't think.

I stumble back, hitting something hard. Someone whispers to me, maybe Cade? I can't focus. The room sways around me, I feel sick. My stomach heaves, and I can't hold it in anymore. I lean over and retch no the white tiles, clutching my stomach.