X-Marks: Rising Shadows

Evergreen

It was three months since I let my sister Macie into my dorm. None of what happened between us was how I thought it would be. Not even close.

It was better.

We tried to clean my room like we were supposed to, but more often we watched movies and ate whatever I could stash in my coat from the cafeteria. It was, I'll admit it, my favorite part of the day. Just knowing I had someone there for me when I got back. It was kind of like I had a home again, almost.

My days now revolved around work hours and sessions with Gen. I hardly saw the others anymore. I would see Valen sometimes, but she looked too upset to say anything more than a hello.

Mat, I saw most often but after he found out about Macie and I he had asked Gen to allow his mother to be his assistant. He had his own family now too.

And Nate, he was more of a ghost to me than any of them, but I didn't like to think on it too much. I had just gotten my family back. I needed to be happy about something.

It was on one of these nights, Macie and I were huddled in a blanket in my bed tucked high in the ceiling. It was late and almost time for her to go. I had was just finishing a piece of chocolate cake wrapped in a soggy napkin, when the emergency feed projected onto the wall and the Union's anthem sounded throughout the room's speaker.

"Good evening, residents," Gen said, with the widest smile I had ever seen stretched across her tan face, "When my father founded this great Union, he had a noble vision. A vision of a world in which the achievements of mankind were only limited by its own diligence. It has been a great honor to carry-on this vision and see it embodied in each and every one of you," Gen took a long pause, a sparkle shone in her ice blue eyes.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce - there has been a successful reproduction of the Evergreen cell."

The Evergreen cell. A gasp came from Macie's open mouth.

It was the reasons for our countless lab hours. A human cell capable of rapid healing on its own.

From the floors below and above, there were shouts all of the same word, who, who did it.

"The person or group responsible have all chosen to remain anonymous and will not be accepting their reward of lifetime contributions."

"But why," Macie said and spit out a piece of cake from her mouth, "Who would do something like that?"

She was right to question it. It seemed almost everyone in the upper city was racing to be known as the first to reproduce the Evergreen cell, or at least become a lifetimer. It seemed unlikely anyone would give up either, never mind both.

"As promised, this technology will be distributed first to those with the highest contribution balances, then last to any person who has donated to the Union."

I turned to Macie, "So does that mean?"

Macie nodded slowly, tears filling her tired brown eyes.