Enemy Chapter Interim
Enemy Me
Author: J Carrell Jones
Table of Content
Chapter Interim
Prax stood in front of Omega’s chamber. “Is this the best course of action?”
Mike answered. “With the current parameters in play? It is. Events have been put in place that there is a conclusion, which may require his strength. He has been reconditioned.”
“Will he be independent?”
Mike paused for a moment. “He will be.”
Pete Walker woke up with a start. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Not this place. Not this time. He reached up and felt the oxygen mask tightly over his mouth, and nose. His hands seemed strangely oversized through the green liquid. Then he remembered he still wasn’t supposed to be here. He couldn’t. Damn! Another failure. He had died, now he was awake. Pete took a deep breath and tested his eyes. The filtered light had a green tint to it, so the stinging shock of using his eyes for the first time wasn’t so overly painful, just maybe annoying. He took another deep breath and tested his hands. Each finger flexed, but they looked grossly huge. Maybe something happened during the cloning process. Hopefully, he thought, he wouldn’t be some hulking monstrosity. He looked up at a blinking display board over his head. It flashed “Purge in progress. Please standby.” He looked around and spotted the readout displays to his right. Little monitors flashed and displayed numbers and text. One display was counting down. Another was scrolling odd bits of information, like “Family is important!”, “Protect family at all cost!”, “You have the ability to save lives!”, “It’s time to leave. Prepare.” That he thought odd. He looked over at the monitor that was displaying a countdown of sorts. Then he remembered. “Purge in progress.” He looked up and saw two metal rings. He grabbed them. Seconds later he felt the floor underneath his feet vanish. The green tinted fluid slipped away from his eyesight. He remembered the process now. He waited until the fluid completely drained. The system would cycle through several procedures. Purge was first, wash was second. Release was third. He counted to three and the floor came back. Seconds later the container he was in filled with some clear fluid – water he thought. It was warm and turbulent, like a washing machine. Minutes ticked by as the chamber filled, circulated, and drained several times. The little countdown display kept track and reminded him he was not the original. Intellectually he understood he was not the original. Waking up in a thick green goo fluid reinforced that, too. When the countdown display reached zero he was hit with a blast of hot air. It whirled around him rapidly. He was dry in seconds. He lowered himself far enough to feel the grid floor and tested his legs. Strong, firm, stable. He let go of the overhead rings and with his weight fully supported by his feet he unsnapped his harness. He looked out through the chamber glass and saw an android staring at him. Had he been asleep that long? He heard a loud audible click and the glass door whooshed up out of sight.
Pete stepped out and felt a chill.
He looked down at the android, which seemed strange. From what he could tell it had to have been at least 6 feet tall.
Prax looked up and said, “Welcome to your new life . . . Omega.”