Victernus - Chapter 9
Namara sat beside the bed in Kyon's room; his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. There was a desk in front of him with papers and old books strewn across it. A small lamp hovered over it, giving the chaotic surface and the dark room a little bit of light. Kyon was lying on his bed with his arms behind his head. They had gone out for run earlier, mostly to let Namara test his new body, but also to let him recover from his change. After he let Namara cool off a bit, he asked, "So how have you been? It's been a long time since we've really talked." He sighed, speaking in his deep voice, "I've been fine mostly... but these past few days have been hectic. Lynn betrayed me and found the sanctuary. I've been in and out of three different bodies. I don't even know what to think about Mahalia and Theo..." "Huh... Perhaps all of that is making you a bit unstable." Namara looked up and to the side and furled his brow, as if watching his friend's words sound over the bed, "What do you mean, 'unstable'?" Kyon shook his head, "You just don't see it, do you?" He climbed up onto the bed and sat on the edge, "See what? I feel perfectly fine. I've always been this way." Kyon asked succinctly, "Really?" He nodded and smiled, "Yeah. I may look big and scary, but I'm still the same." His friend laughed, "Alright then. That aside, what are you planning on doing, now that the sanctuary is a no-go?" Namara lowered his eyes, feeling a twinge of despair, "Well... It's not just that the sanctuary is unusable. We can't stay here either. These new towers they're putting up will make it so that either we're found out through the microchips, or through their drones. The only way to escape it would be to destroy the network. But... this is just going to continue. If we really want it to stop, we need to destroy the root of the problem." Kyon narrowed his eyes, "Huh... I heard a little bit from Theo, but are you sure that's the best way? That would affect a lot of people." He shook his head, a slight growl rising in his throat, "What the people think doesn't matter right now. They are slaves. Only the rich make decisions now, and everyone just believes what's on the media stations like it's really the truth." "They still should know. I thought you were going to let them know anyway." Namara growled, "That'll never work! We need to take our fight to the government, right away!" Kyon chose his words carefully, "Um... That would make us terrorists, and the public will only see us that way. Are you sure you are alright?" He brought his fist down on the end of the bed and shouted, "I'm f...f..." but then stuttered and shook. He fell down to the floor, convulsing in a seizure. Kyon sat up instantly and launched himself off of the bed. Namara was on the floor, shaking uncontrollably. In a panic, he ran to the door and called for help. He came back to Namara and bent down, trying to stabilize him. Looking up, he saw Theo enter with a small box in hand, "What's going on here?!" He looked down at Namara, "Something's wrong with him... He's been saying things that aren't like him at all, and he got really angry. Like, if it wasn't for this seizure, I'd be dead right now." Theo nodded and opened the box, producing a needle and waiting for the seizure to be over, "I suspect that he made a few errors in his research... If not, someone made a few changes to it. This shouldn't be happening. But either way... he's different." Namara's body ceased the shaking and relaxed. Kyon sat back and sighed, "He once told me of a place he had found - a place so beautiful that he couldn't even describe it. He said that he wanted it with us, and that nothing would stop him from trying to get it. Now he seems angry... I don't know what's gotten into him." Theo took out a small sterilizing towel from the box and wiped the side of Namara's neck with it. Taking it away, he brought the needle there and injected him with a new serum. "Hopefully it's not permanent." Kyon watched intently, "What's that?" "This'll keep him asleep for the next few of days. I'm going to run some scans overnight, that way we can go over them tomorrow. Hopefully we find something." He raised his eyebrow, "Hopefully?" Theo nodded and heaved Namara up in his arms, "If there's a problem, we can fix it. If not..." Kyon watched him for an answer, but Theo
just shook his head and grimaced, leaving the room and heading back to the lab.
Namara opened his eyes, only to close them again instantly. A bright light shone down on him from the ceiling, blocking his vision. He tried to lift his arm to cover his eyes, but he found that it was fastened to the table beneath him. Something was attached to his head, keeping him from moving that too. He moaned bitterly, "What's going on?" The light shut off. He blinked and waited for his eyes to clear. When they did, he saw Mahalia standing beside the table with a small tablet in her hand. "What's going on? Mahalia?" She held up the tablet, which appeared to have a map on it. She commanded, "Memorize it." He blinked, surprised by the urgency within her, "D...done." She put up another image. "Faster." He stared and blinked again, "Alright." Mahalia continued to flick through images. Some were of building plans, some were schematics, and some were full pages of text. When she was done, she lowered the tablet and looked behind her, "He's done." Namara raised one of his eyebrows, "What's this for, exactly?" Theo's voice came from his right, "Oh my goodness... I was right." He held a discouraged tone, "We have to do it... There's just no other way to rid him of it." Mahalia sighed and put her head down. She turned back to the table and struggled with her words, "Namara... we have to put you... under... for a while." She kept herself from looking at him. "What do you mean? Is something wrong? And... how long have I been out for?" She shook her head, "I can't tell you anything right now. Recall the images when you wake up. You will have to find us after, and you'll understand everything." He began to protest, "But..." She held a finger to her lips and then flicked a switch below the table. She bent down close and whispered, "Don't worry. I still love you, and we're all counting on you." She paused. "Find us." Her words and image began to blur as he felt a cooling sensation behind his head and his upper back. He stuttered, "D...don't...go..." and then lost consciousness.