Page 9

The day soon passed, and that evening, we left Mihal with my father. Inka and I spent the night under the stars, just lying in each other’s arms and planning what we would call our next few children.

???

What a joke of a dream that turned into.

I have often wondered if I have displeased the Creator in some way. A life so full of indulgence must have been painfully sinful, but I enjoyed it.

Oh yes, I did enjoy it, and perhaps the Creator had punished me for such sins. If this was meant to be a punishment, it is poor by anyone’s standards. I have disciplined people who have crossed me, and I have been very creative in doing so. Ask Maurick, although you’ll have to speak to him through a clairvoyant.

Ah, I had claimed revenge for all of us.

Bastard.

Forgiveness is not an acceptable word where Maurick is concerned. If I was able, I would torture Maurick a thousand times over. Make him suffer as much as possible and then torment him more. If Maurick begged for mercy, I would repeat my actions again.

Whoever said revenge isn’t sweet lied. Vengeance is tasty, but it does make you thirst to punish the sinner even more.

When I’m in Hell, I will find you, Maurick. Sadly, I don’t know if you can read in Hell, but I’ll hunt you down. That I swear.

Enough… I feel my anger rising.

Let me tell you of the events I rant and rave about.

???

On the morning of the Great Experiment, we rose and met the others before making our way to the Medical Centre. Our region’s Medical Centre was a large rectangular-shaped building, one storey high, with an underground laboratory. That was where the experiment would happen.

Like all the other buildings in Kaltos, it was built of stone, with a flat glass roof and big windows to let the maximum amount of sunlight in.

Our group arrived together to meet Maurick and the Core. Everybody had already received a medical check-up over the last month. There was no need to wait in reception.

Quietly, made our way down the steps into the underground lab. There, rows of beds awaited us, nice and tidy with crisp sheets. Next to each bed were two monitors, one for the brain functions and the other for monitoring vital signs. The entire scenario was a daunting sight.

The walls were painted an austere white, and a quick count showed that the beds were laid out into five rows of twenty. There were to be one hundred of us attempting this experiment. There were bright lights shining above each bed, and this, combined with the walls, almost made the room unbearable.

I’d never really liked Medical Centres, and this one was no different.

Unnerved, I found myself searching for Inka’s hand.

Inka grasped it with a reassuring squeeze. This was to be our future, I had to remind myself.

There were about two hundred health professionals milling about, and they were mostly nurses. There were hardly any doctors present. I counted about twelve. Not many, considering the number of volunteers. This gave my confidence a twinge.

Inka didn’t help when she asked, “Aren’t those beds the bottom of the stasis chambers?”

She was right. Concerned, I glanced around and spotted Maurick standing with a pad, checking something.

“Maurick!” I called, and he waved and came over.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Maurick said, grinning.

I wasn’t in the mood to be placated. Something was wrong, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Why were the stasis chambersout? They were mostly used when there was no cure for an illness. People were cryogenically frozen until a remedy was discovered.

Mainly, they were used when someone was so badly injured that they were in danger of dying. The patient would be placed in stasis so the doctors could slowly heal them over a period of time.

I’m certain you can understand my confusions and worry over this.

“Why are they out?” I indicated the chambers by nodding.