I kicked my feet against the legs of the metal table I was sitting on, puffing on an irritated breath.
“Sit still,” the labcoat said for what could have been the hundredth time.
I lowered my gaze from the ceiling and glared at him. Luca glared back at me, used to dealing with my bullshit, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for me to settle down.
I sighed, but stood up. Legs spread slightly apart, I raised my arms- assuming the position, as we said. My wings spread as well; Luca swore and leapt forward to snatch up the test tubes I knocked off the table. I smirked at the back of his head as he set them back up.
“You know, this would be over a lot faster if you would just behave,” he snapped.
I closed my eyes and turned my face towards the ceiling.
Luca recognized it as the sign that he could finally do his job. He removed my comm fist; I flinched as he ripped it off without warning, the small smirk saying it was his payback for my rebellious attitude when I came in. Blood dripped from my arm and from the comm. At least we never stayed wounded for long, the holes closing themselves up. I wrinkled my nose and tried to ignore the smell.
The comm made a quiet chiming sound as Luca hooked it to the computer on the wall in front of us. I lowered my chin to watch him flick through the videos the comm had taken; part of its function was to record events for the benefit of the labcoats. Recordings were triggered by unnatural fluctuations in my vitals: the first glimpse of the body, the moment when I almost slipped, and the fight with the Soulless.
Luca made soft noises as he watched the captured memories, his gaze moving from the computer to the clipboard as he took notes. I narrowed my eyes as the screen flickered, the memories filed away into the case folder. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Alright,” Luca turned around, and his hands settled on his hips as he looked at me.
Definitely not good. I let my arms fall to my sides, and leaned back against the table. “So. Bring on the criticism.”
Luca shook his head. “You’re a major dumbass, Alpha,” he said, sounding a little bitter. Poor kid, being stuck with me all the time. “How many times do we have to tell you not to put yourself in dangerous situations like that?”
“Yeah, I know-”
“No, I don’t think you do,” Luca snapped, tossing the clipboard on the table. He stalked up to me, glaring down at me as he put himself right in my personal space. “What has Devin told you about his orders, Alpha?”
I shifted slightly, swallowing hard. The labcoat could be surprisingly intimidating when he tried. “Nothing. He’s a guard. So what?”
“He’s not just a guard, Alpha. He’s your Guardian. You can’t possibly tell me he’s been by your side for fifteen years and you still have no idea what that means.”
I shrugged, my wings shifting with the movement. “It never really mattered to me.”
“Tch,” Luca turned his back on me, raking a hand through his pale blonde hair. When he faced me again, his eyes were hard. “Tell me about the Mod War, Alpha.”
“Luca-a,” I whined, pouting.
He scowled in response, one of the few people who couldn’t be swayed by that pathetic face. “You heard me. Give me a history lesson.”
“Fi-ine.” I stood up straight, my chin high, naturally falling into the position that had been drilled into me early in life.
“The Mod War started just over a century ago, and ended fifty years ago. It began when the labcoats- er, scientists- discovered a gene that could dramatically alter humans when forcibly activated before the child was born.
“When this gene was activated, it gave the humans extreme, inhuman powers. It showed itself different ways in different subjects, almost always taking on the aspect of an animal; the labcoats- scientists- still have no idea why.
“The only problem was, the process made the subjects… unstable at best. The labcoats,” I gave up on correcting myself, since Luca didn’t really seem bothered by it, “observed that by the fifth year, there was a distinct deviation in the mods.
“Group A was named Vital. These mods showed the gene, and were extremely powerful. Quicker, more intelligent, and more attractive than the general population, they also stood out due to the obvious animalistic features. They were the more normal of the mods, but they are extremely volatile. When they lose their temper or their sanity, it comes with disastrous consequences. That’s what I am.
“Group B was the Soulless. They didn’t show the gene outwardly, lacking the animal traits of the Vitals, and the physical enhancements were minor with them. However, the gene changed something in their minds. The Soulless have no morals, and they became what the labcoats first called’ extreme sociopaths’. Then a Soulless began to kill, and it became clear that they truly had no souls. They believed they could gain one by devouring their victims whole.”
I paused, making a face. Gods, but I hated that part of the story. How in seven hells was killing somebody and eating their raw flesh going to earn somebody a soul? The Soulless were mindless barbarians.
“And?” Luca pressed, making me realize I had paused for too long.
“The labcoats didn’t anticipate these developments; they had made too many mods. The mods quickly broke out from under their control. Most of the Vitals lost their minds, and went on a rampage. The Soulless and the Vitals battled each other while the labcoats tried to control them- and, ultimately, destroy them.
“Of course, the jackass labcoats didn’t think about what the war to do with the planet. Five years into the war, most of the planet had been burned to the ground, most of the population decimated. The remains of humanity fell back, gathering to what is now Elozan, which quickly became the last city on earth.”
Luca made a soft sound; his eyes were soft, and tears hovered in his eyes. No doubt it was hard for him. It meant nothing to me. It wasn’t my people who had been destroyed by their own stupidity.
“By then, most of the technology used to create the mods had been lost. The way to create the serum used to activate the gene was long gone. The labcoats had only enough serum left to create six more mods, and they used it all in one last desperate move. Five of those mods were Vitals; I am the first and the oldest, the smartest and most advanced, the Alpha Vital. In order, the rest are Ren, Gale, Jack, and Kameron. The sixth was a Soulless that escaped outside the city.
“I was used as a child to wipe out the Soulless remaining in the confines of the city, and to protect the builders while they put up the security walls. It explains why I hate blood so much; drench a kid with it every day and it seems gross for the rest of his life. Talk about trauma. But at least I saved Elozan, made the humans safe, blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth”
Luca snorted, rolling his eyes. “Great. So you have that part down. Now tell me where Devin and the other Guardians come in.”
“They were orphans, taken in by the labcoats and trained to specialize in types of combat that complimented the Vitals the labcoats intended to pair them with. When I was around seventy, physically around fourteen since we age so slow, they introduced me to Devin. He was ten at the time, I think. So I suppose he’s around twenty now.” I shrugged. As far as I knew, the Guardians were strictly humans and aged just like the rest of them- five times faster than I did.
“Right. And why did they take all those kids?”
“Uh… they were bored?” I suggested.
Luca smacked me in the back of the head. “Think properly, jackass. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”
“Asshole,” I muttered, rubbing away the sting. But I did as he said, and thought about it. “They were taken so they could be trained in combat. To… protect us, I suppose. They’re in charge of guarding us, hence the name; they may act like assholes and smother us half to death, but they’re supposed to be there for our own good.”
Luca’s frown was back. “Good. So what does that mean?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask so many questions?”
“It means they’re supposed to devote their life to keeping you safe. It means that it’s Devin’s job to put himself in danger, not yours. Every time you throw yourself in the line of fire, and putting yourself at risk, you’re making him useless. Doing that is his job, Alpha! Stop endangering yourself for no reason.
“Everybody here is replaceable, Alpha. The other scientists, the servants, even the government officials- and especially your Devin. The only person who’s not replaceable, is you.”
I swallowed hard, looking down at the tiles. That thought had never crossed my eyes; I had always assumed the Guardians were just as important as us? But were they really? What were they other than glorified servants, shields we were meant to shove in front of us in a battle?
But that didn’t seem right. “You’re wrong,” I said softly, my hands clenching into fists. “They’re more than that. You may be replaceable, but I wouldn’t want anybody other than Devin.”
“Alpha…” Luca’s eyes were wide; he seemed shocked by the vehemence in my voice, the surefire certainty.
My face heated, and I strode across the room to reclaim my comm, slapping it onto my arm. “Can I leave now?” I snapped.
Luca nodded, unable to find the words. I didn’t wait for him to remember how to talk. I stalked out of the room with my chin held high and my blood boiling. Replaceable my ass. If anybody tried to replace Devin, I would tear them to pieces and feed them to Kameron.
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