Genesis Code, (Book 1, Genesis Series)

Chapter 28

Tucked into a darkened doorway, Stephen and Anton watched the exchange between the official and Bill Taggart.

'Would they really try to harvest that human's organs?' said Anton.

'We know they're killers, so anything's possible.' Stephen stared after the investigator who walked away.

'I'm glad you decided to help those people in the end.'

'I came very close to ignoring their screams.'

'I don't believe that. You're nothing like the other Indigenes.'

'But I have every reason to be.' His hate for humans had become a part of him.

Anton's brow creased. 'Are the humans really as bad as you say? Pierre's opinion seems to differ.'

'Pierre is practical. He prefers the option with the least carnage.'

'Seems like we should wait to see what we find out before judging them.'

Stephen smirked. 'You sound like Pierre.'

'Well, he isn't an elder for nothing.'

'The fact that they are also called "human" bothers me.'

'No matter what they are, we can't treat them as immediate enemies. It would make us no different to them.'

'But we are like them,' said Stephen.

Anton gestured after Bill. 'He's alone now. Why don't we just approach him? Demand answers about why they're investigating us?'

'No, I'm not ready for that yet.' The thought of getting close to another human terrified him. 'Besides, we can't be sure if we can trust him. I think we should wait until we get to Earth.'

'But what if we lose him? We don't know where he's going.'

'We will soon enough. When we reach their planet, we can turn the tables and track him.'

Stephen remembered back to the time a pair of Evolvers had been tracked by humans. They'd been hunting alone on the same night the humans had discovered the existence of the Indigenes.

Also out that night was Stephen who had been unaware of the human interest in the pair. He'd heard the cries of the trapped wolf in the distance but attributed it to the efforts of other hunting parties.

His hunting party of six came upon the scene: two Evolvers approaching upon a lone wolf's position close to New London's border. His instinct was to help but the light from a single torch froze him and the others to the spot.

He watched helpless as the young pair continued to taunt and tease the wolf. One Evolver danced and diverted the animal's attention. The other curled his spine into a crouched hunting stance and kept his bloodthirsty eyes on the prey.

The wolf snarled, low and guttural. It flashed its razor-sharp teeth; a prelude to a frenzied attack. The animal leaned back on its haunches, its muscles shaking with tension.

But closing in on their location was a lone human who stopped as soon as his light exposed the truth. The smell of iron filled Stephen's nose as one of the Evolvers attacked the wolf. A crimson waterfall of blood spilled from the wolf's neck.

When the human surrounded the first Evolver, Stephen grabbed the second one and ran.

His ragged breathing broke him out of the memory. He tilted his head back and pulled out the three sections of the filtration device, wiped them down and placed each in the recharger unit that hung from his belt. He grabbed a spare set and adjusted the larger part at the back of his throat with his finger.

Anton waited for him to finish before speaking again. 'So, how are we supposed to get off this ship without being noticed?'

'The same way we got on. Will the chips work at the exit point?'

'In theory they should. Disembarkation should be straight forward enough,' said Anton. 'As for getting around the planet... Well, I haven't figured out how we'll manage that just yet.'