Genesis

Chapter 13

There is a moment of silence and I debate whether or not they heard my knock. I am about to knock again when I hear a voice from the inside of the dome. It sounds like the sucker who I woke up the other day while I passed through on my bike. 

"Who are you? What do you want?" he says. 

"I'm Kaze Alio. I got locked outside the dome last night, and I'd just love it if you could let me back in," I say with a touch of sarcasm. There's an unimpressed grunt from the other side. 

"Whatever, kid. We'll have to check you for diseases," the man drawls. "But, we'll let you back in." 

I exhale in relief. The gates slide open seconds after and I tentatively walk in. A man in a white doctor's suit hastily inspects my body and makes me take my temperature, while the original snobby door guy watches. What a schmuck. 

Before I know it, I am approved and released into the dome. I wonder what I should do first. My mind defaults to seeing Natlee, but that doesn't seem right. I should see my brother instead. He's probably worried out of his mind. 

I step onto the transport strip so I can make my way to the restaurant where Drayk works. After a few minutes, I arrive in front of Drayk's vocation: Genesis Barbecue Restaurant. I hop off the strip and walk inside, intent on finding my brother. I survey the areas that he waits on and check the bathroom, but he's nowhere to be found. That's odd. I could have sworn that he was supposed to work today. As I turn to walk back out of the restaurant, someone bumps me from behind. 

"Sorry, dude," says the person. I look over at them, hoping to see that it's Drayk, but I see Treye instead. 

"You don't need to apologize, Treye," I say. "We are friends, you know." Treye does a double-take. 

"Hey man, I didn't realize it was you! We got the news last night that you were locked out. Drayk is pretty torn up about it," says Treye. 

"What about Natlee?" I ask. 

"I didn't really hear anything from her, but I'm guessing she wasn't too happy that she couldn't go on that date with you," he says, his eyes twinkling like he's trying not to laugh. I nod, not sure what to make of it. 

"Where's my brother?" I inquire. 

"As far as I know, he's at your house," says Treye. "He said he was taking the day off to cope with you getting locked out." I nod. That makes sense. 

"Thanks," I say. "I'm going to go see him and then I'll get another date set up with Natlee." Treye grins. 

"Sounds good, lover boy," he says, punching me in the arm. "See you around." 

"See you," I say. 

I walk out of the restaurant, feeling like I'm floating. I'm going to see my brother soon. I'll get to talk with him and laugh with him again. 

The minutes on the transport strip seem like hours and I'm jittery the whole way there. I didn't realize how much I missed my brother's company until now. It seems like it's been years since I talked with him, even though it's been only a night. He'll want to hear all about what happened to me outside the dome, and I'm confident that he can keep the secret about our mother. After all, it would almost be a crime to not tell him that our mother, who we thought was dead, is alive and well. 

Finally, my house comes into sight. I gleefully jump off the strip and sprint the rest of the way because I'm too impatient to wait any longer. I reach the front door and pause for a second before I throw it wide open, my brother's name on the tip of my tongue. 

But, the words die in my mouth before I can say them, because the first thing I see is my brother and my date kissing passionately.