Ever After #7: Waves of Scales

Chapter 11.2: The Foundation

“Your knowledge about your kind, that’s what we need,” Fatima answered. “We’ve been tracking the movement of your species since then and for the last two days, we recorded unusual movement everywhere in the country. Something big is going on right now as we speak and it’s beyond our control. Without your help, we can’t do this, but we won’t force you, this is all up to you.” She took her tablet and showed something to Asceia. “If you’ll help us, we’ll try our best to help you too. We once studied your curses. We only have small data, but enough to make some treatments. I can’t discuss everything, we need to keep going. You are our last hope and we are yours. What’s your decision?”

A long silence filled the place before Asceia spoke through all of their minds. “I’m in.”

For Asceia, it wasn’t a coincidence for her Goddess Aesercean to make contact and the Foundation showing up on the same day. They were both warning her about the new Order and that made her accept the deal with humans even if it was not in her nature to be trusting. Aside from that, she was also hopeless and dying. She got no other chances of surviving except for what they offered. If what they really said was true, that they can treat her curse, then she was willing to take that risk.

It didn’t take them long to pack up their things and followed the people of the Foundation to their parked cars not far from the gate. Men were waiting outside the three cars, they were armed but they were different from the military that chased them. One of the men approached and took her and Troy’s belongings and escorted them to one of the cars. Settling in, as the vehicle started moving, Asceia closed her eyes and leaned onto the chair while keeping her awareness of her environment active. But not long, her weak body decided to shut off her system and put her to sleep.

••°°••

“ASCEIA....” HEARING TROY’S voice and a light tap on her shoulder, she immediately opened her eyes and looked around. She took a deep breath and groaned in pain as she moved her body.

They were parking inside an unfamiliar place. Based on the structure of the pillars and the other vehicles parked, she realized they were in an underground parking lot. Fatima, who was sitting on the shotgun seat looked over her shoulder and gestured a nod. Asceia and Troy stepped outside and together, they followed Fatima to the only elevator in that area.

They got in silently. Fatima pushed a button and they started going down. A few seconds later, the elevator dinged and they were welcomed by an underground facility. It was bigger than she imagined, the place was enough to contain monitors, computers, a laboratory, and other facilities they could use. The air was cold, it was so silent that she could hear her heavy breaths and very slow heartbeat. Asceia looked around and watched Fatima go to their right, to the wall full of monitors. She sat on the chair and pressed something on the keyboard, instantly, all of the monitors lit up and displayed several data.

Fatima stood and went back to her, “I’m going to run some brain scans to see how this curse affects you. Follow me.”

She didn’t answer and just followed how everything goes. Troy, knowing he can’t be of use, chose to stay near them. He also went into the laboratory, watched how things unfold and was there if Asceia will need something. Fatima brought Asceia to the left side of the base, where a room or an area dedicated to medical or scientific works was located. It had a glass wall that separates it from everything inside the facility.

There was a rectangular chair bed in the center where Asceia climbed up and lay down. It was made of glass. Her skin that was directly in contact with it felt the cold seeping right through her flesh and bones. She faced the white ceiling and just let Fatima put on a flexible strip of a band around her head that had threads of wires attached to it connecting to a machine. Right that moment, she felt the bed vibrate for a bit and started warming up when it began scanning her whole body.

After a few seconds, Fatima spoke while staring at the screen of her tablet, “I got the results from your brain scan.”

Troy stood beside Asceia while his eyes focused on the monitor of a computer displaying the image of Asceia’s brain. He was mesmerized by looking at it. He was not that good in human anatomy but he was certain that Asceia or a sercean’s brain was unique in shape and form. It’s far from the human brain.

“Her brain...”

“It’s special, isn’t it? This is the reason why they can communicate through their minds, including other extraordinary things they are capable of.”

“A product of evolution,” Troy uttered.

“Two of us studied their brain before and their telepathic ability. They made significant discoveries. They were very close to understanding how they communicate, but they were betrayed by one of us.”

That last line caught his attention more. “Who were they?”

“Your parents,” Fatima answered and sighed. “They theorized that we sapiens, were also capable of telepathy, and it’s just waiting in our mind to be unlocked. They believe the key to our evolution is the serceans.”

Hearing those words, he thought of how things would have gone if his parents weren’t murdered. “They would have done a lot of great things in this field if they didn’t die.”

“So you have been experimenting on our kind too,” Asceia said through telepathy that both Troy and Fatima heard.

“N...No. It’s not like that. See...your kind worked with us. We didn’t force anyone. It was a mutualistic relationship. Both sides benefited from every study. For example, the curses. One time, a serceano went to us for help, saying he was cursed. The Order punished him after he slept with a human. We did our best to save him, but before we could even test the proposed cure, he died.”

“What’s the cure?” Troy asked.

Fatima faced the monitor that displayed Asceia’s brain scan. “At first, you all might think this is  normal, but...” She stood and went to the counter on her left and picked up a water bottle. She showed it to Asceia, and right there, they noticed how a part of the brain scan glowed at the same time Asceia started grunting in pain. “A group of serceans can pull this off, they can hack into the mind of one and plant something. In this case, Asceia’s reticular activating system, responsible for her focus, wakefulness, and flight or fight response, was affected and super hyperactive. They planted hydrophobia in her system. Serceans are known to be fearless, they rarely feel afraid because of their collective mind and abilities, that’s why feeling extreme fear is very overwhelming and can kill them in the process.”

“What’s the cure? How can we help her?”

“By killing her.”