The New Frontier Read online

  “What do you mean they’re different?” Lauren asked.

  “Well, you know why this genetic shop is there?” Alyssa asked the leading question.

  Julia looked up, “Why?”

  “Well, it’s a mod shop … that’s where people go to get genetic modifications,” Alyssa said, staring into Julia’s eyes.

  “What is a genetic mod? You said that before and I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lauren said.

  “Your parents haven’t told you about that? It must not be a big thing from where you come from.” Alyssa continued, “Well, have you ever wanted cat eyes or whiskers or something? You can go to the mod shop and inject yourself with the serum to get the mod you want.”

  Lauren looked horrified. Alyssa fed off the emotions, adding, “Yep. It’s true. Here on the outpost it’s a big thing. That’s what my sister wanted to do down here. She wanted a mod for cat eyes. She got the serum to do the mod and had it at home. Mom and Dad found it and flipped out.”

  “So she didn’t do it?” Lauren questioned.

  “No, she didn’t, but she still wants to. So as soon as she moves out of our apartment, she said she’s going to do it.” As Alyssa finished, the train came to a stop.

  “Looks like we’re here.” Julia got up and moved toward the doors. The two other girls followed.

  They could immediately tell they were somewhere different—very different. A young man wandered in front of the girls, walking toward the bathroom. At first, he didn’t look any different. But then they noticed his neck had five slits that flapped slightly open with every breath he took. When he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, the girls noticed his fingers were webbed.

  Julia gawked, not believing what she was seeing. Alyssa quickly stepped in front of Julia, obstructing her view. “Don’t stare. These people just want to be treated like everyone else. I know it’s hard not to, but just don’t make it obvious.”

  Julia and Lauren looked down at the ground trying to hide their astonishment.

  “Let’s go. It’s this way,” Alyssa walked through a hall straight in front of them.

  As she walked, Alyssa described the surroundings. “Grid 2 is like a labyrinth. You can get lost down here very easily. So stay close. And your GPS doesn’t work down here either. They disabled it somehow.”

  “Why is that? How did they do that?” Julia asked.

  “Not sure. And nobody really cares because it’s Grid 2. People come down here to get lost,” she said.

  The girls followed, trying to concentrate on not staring, but that only made it more obvious they didn’t belong there. As they plunged deeper into Grid 2, the mods got more and more unusual—a person with rabbit ears, another one with what looked like wolf hair covering his body. Then the ultimate mod they couldn’t help but stare at was a man who had hooves for feet beneath his jeans and small knobbed horns on his head, reminding the girls of a legendary Greek satyr. The sisters fell further behind Alyssa as they gaped at the strange sight.

  The man stopped and stomped his hoof. “What are you looking at?”

  Julia turned her head, pretending not to look.

  Lauren stepped back. “Nothing, sir. We’re not looking at anything.”

  “You don’t belong here,” he said, clomping away.

  Alyssa noticed they weren’t behind her and stopped to drag them along. “Lauren, Julia, come on. We need to get going.”

  Julia and Lauren snapped out of it and continued following Alyssa through the twisted halls. The halls got darker and smaller as they forged ahead, darker than any of the halls where they lived.

  Many of the lights were dim, blinking, almost out. Others were completely smashed. Incredible graffiti murals adorned the walls, with scenes of demonic lands and strange symbols that they could only imagine was a language the folks here made up.

  They finally arrived at the shop. Above the store entrance, “Morison’s Mods” was scrawled in paint.

  When the three girls walked in, all eyes shifted toward them. They knew they did not belong. As they walked up to the counter, the patrons’ glares followed them.

  It was as dark in the store as in the halls outside. The bald man behind the counter turned to address them, and the girls noticed his skin was smooth, glossy, almost scaly. His eyes were reptilian.

  Julia shrieked, reminded of the horrible hominoid creatures that haunted her dreams. She spun around to avoid looking at him directly, as she had with the hoofed man.

  “What,” the man hissed, “haven’t you ever sssseen a reptilian mod before?” He pointed his hairless boney arm to a back shelf. “If you’d like to take the plunge, the mod kit is right there.” A sly smile crossed his face. His forked tongue lapped the air after he spoke.

  On learning the man had a mod, Julia pulled herself together, “I thought …”

  The man hissed, “What, that I was one of them?”

  Julia and Lauren looked astonished, “One of who?” they questioned.

  “You know, one of them … ssss,” the man said, waving his hand in the air, looking around.

  Gathering her confidence, Lauren followed up by asking, “You’ve seen them before? You know about them?”

  “Of courssss … we all know about them down here … ssss,” the man added.

  Alyssa smirked, “Ya, right. That conspiracy theory has been around forever.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Julia asked.

  “Them …” the man replied. “The creatures that control our thoughts—the Zebs. They’re here, among us, controlling us.”

  Julia and Lauren couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Finally, somebody who knew their secret!

  Alyssa stood with arms folded. “Except that nobody has ever seen these things … it’s just ridiculous.”

  Ignoring Alyssa, Lauren interrogated the man further. “You’ve seen these creatures—what did you call them?”

  “Well, no … ssss … we just know about them,” the man admitted, but then continued, seeing the girls leaning his way. “Dr. Eduardo … sss … Zebellum first came across them 10 years ago.” He paused, licking his lips. “He was a ssssycologist. Many people came to the doctor with horrible nightmare … ssss. The doctor found a way to ssssee. He said he wasss going to set us free, then he disappeared. Nobody has sssseen him ssssince.”

  The sisters stared at him in fright, wondering if they would be next in line to disappear. After all, someone had removed all of Julia’s research—someone knew that the girls knew too much. Remembering what they had come there for, Julia wanted to get what she needed and get out. “I came for an electrophoresis chamber.”

  “What do you need that for, little girl? You going to make your own mods?” The man laughed as spittle spewed from his mouth.

  “No, I just need it … and do you have any jellyfish DNA? The kind with bioluminescence?” Julia continued.

  “Big words for a little kid … ssss … how old are you?” The man frowned.

  “Old enough,” Julia shot back with a glare.

  The man furrowed his eyebrow-less temple. “You better know what you’re doing, kid. I could get in big trouble sssselling you this sssstuff. You know mods are sssstrictly regulated here. Rogue mods are illegal … ssss.”

  Lauren put a wad of money credits on the counter. “Just give us what we need and don’t keep any records of this.”

  Julia slapped a list of equipment next to the money.

  Alyssa gaped at the mound of money credits on the counter. “Where’d you get that?” The credits were untraceable cards that people used when they didn’t want anyone to know what they were buying.

  The man’s frown shifted into a smile. “Sure, kids, whatever you want. Give me a second to get all these things.” He picked up the list, stared at it for a moment, and walked to the back of the store.

  A short while later he walked back carrying a bag, placing it on the counter. Julia opened the bag and made sure all the equipment was there.


  “OK, it’s all there,” she said, nodding to the other two girls.

  “All right, let’s get out of here.” Lauren led the others out of the store.

  “Thankssss girlsss. Come back and ssssee usss,” the man waved as they left.

  Out of the store, Alyssa grabbed Lauren by the arm, “Is that what this is all about? About you thinking strange things live on this station and control us?”

  Lauren faltered, looking around and avoiding eye contact with Alyssa.

  Alyssa couldn’t help herself. “Ha! Are you kidding me? You think you’ve ‘found’ the secret?” She waved her arms in an exaggerated circle.

  “Uh …” Lauren stopped herself before revealing anything, obviously embarrassed.

  The three blazed their way through the maze of halls. It was getting late and now along the way, they saw more and more people with bizarre mods walking about. A few times, the three had to catch themselves from staring too much.

  Back at the train station, Alyssa continued her tirade.

  “Lauren, we’re not finished with this! What are you all doing with this stuff?” she asked.

  The train pulled up, empty, and the girls got on, Lauren and Julia keeping quiet.

  “I can’t believe you two!” Alyssa flung herself into a seat.

  Julia had enough. She leaned over and grabbed Alyssa by the shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. “Look! If we told you, you wouldn’t believe us.”

  “Try me,” was all Alyssa said.

  Julia burst into the story. “You have no idea what we’ve gone through. Did you know there really are creatures living on this station? We don’t know what they do or why they’re here, but they’re living among us. You remember that day we saw you at the plaza and your obnoxious friend accused me of taking her stupid phone?”

  Alyssa smirked. “Yes.”

  “It was some sort of fuzzy little monkey-raccoon creature. They live here, too!”

  “I don’t believe you,” Alyssa said, putting her hand up.

  “Did you know they have a factory on this station where they harvest these?” Julia reached into her fanny pack, pulling out a small crystal sample.

  “Did you know we went to that factory? They saw us! They chased us down tunnels. We crawled through those tunnels like rats and almost got run over by a train!”

  Alyssa’s mouth dropped open.

  “They DO live here. They KNOW who we are and NOBODY would believe us.” Julia stopped, heaving out a big sigh.

  Alyssa just sat blinking, not knowing what to say. Then she asked, “So you think this genetic stuff will help you?”

  “I think so—it better. These, what did he call them? Zebs? The station needs to know about them.” Julia slumped back in her seat, reflecting on the story. Both sisters were noticeably relieved now that they had shared the story with someone else, even if Alyssa thought they were crazy.

  Less skeptical, Alyssa seemed to accept the story, or at least that the girls thought they had been through something. She consoled them, “Wow, you two have been through a lot. That explains why you were acting so weird lately …”

  “Yes, we didn’t know who we could trust or who would believe us,” Lauren said.

  “Well, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you before we came down here and I saw how serious you are about this!” Alyssa confirmed. Then she continued, “Can you show me these creatures?”

  “You wouldn’t be able to see them,” Lauren said, “but we could maybe show you at the plaza.”

  “Where is their lair?” Alyssa asked.

  “It’s by the plaza, way past the park and deep into the woods,” Lauren told her.

  “That’s a good place to put it. Nobody ever goes back in there,” Alyssa contemplated.

  “We can’t show you tonight, we don’t have enough time, but we can go tomorrow after school,” Lauren said.

  “OK, let’s do it. If what you two say is true, all of the outpost could depend on this …”

  Julia didn’t need to hear that. She was already under enough pressure. But she could take solace in knowing someone else shared their burden now. At the next stop, the three separated, with the sisters going one way and Alyssa going another.

  Chapter 12

  Making the Treatment

  Back at home, their mother greeted them as they entered the apartment. “Did you get all the stuff you needed?”

  “Yep, got it,” Julia said with a smile, masking her true feelings of angst. “Now I need to go get it set up,” she said, heading toward her room.

  “Don’t you want to eat and say hello?” her mom asked.

  “Oh, yeah, almost forgot.” Julia went to the kitchen counter and grabbed her plate. Juggling the bag and the plate, she retreated to her room.

  “That’s not exactly what I meant …” her mom sighed, but didn’t stop her.

  Lauren noticed her mom’s frown. “I’ll stay out here with you, Mom. Let Julia go work on her project. She’s really excited about it.”

  Evan and Maia were intently focused on a block construction project in the playroom. Evan noticed his oldest sister was back and came out to talk to her.

  “Where have you been?” he asked.

  “Just getting some things for Julia,” Lauren responded.

  “No, I mean for the past several months. Ever since we got here, you’ve been doing stuff and you never play with me or talk to me anymore,” he protested.

  “What do you mean?” Lauren asked.

  “He is right, you know,” her mom said, reclining on the couch.

  “Well, I’m busy!” Lauren defended.

  Lauren sat down on the couch beside her mother. “What did you do all day?”

  “Well, after I picked up your brother and sister, I came home, helped them with their homework, read a little, and now you’re home,” her mom said, surprised that her daughter actually took an interest in what she was doing.

  “That’s great,” Lauren responded, looking straight through her mother as she answered.

  “Did you hear a word I said? You’re doing it again.”

  “What?” Lauren said shaking her head. “Oh, yes, you got Evan and Maia and came home. You do that every day.” She shrugged, leaning back.

  “Come see what we built,” Evan said, grabbing Lauren’s hand.

  “Not now, maybe later,” Lauren said.

  “Hmmpf.” Evan grunted and stomped back to the playroom.

  “When is Dad getting back?” Lauren asked, unfazed by her brother’s reaction.

  “You know you’re ignoring your brother. He misses his sister,” her mom said.

  “I know. I’ll do something with him this weekend. But when is Dad coming back?”

  “Tomorrow. He’s probably going to get back earlier than usual, he said.”

  The family had grown used to their father being gone frequently, and the two older girls had grown accustomed to their newfound freedom, given that their dad wasn’t around and their mother was consumed with the day to day needs of a family of six.

  Behind them in the hallway, Maia snuck out of the playroom and slipped into Lauren and Julia’s room.

  “Did you do your homework yet, Lauren?” her mom asked her.

  “No, not yet. I don’t have much, though,” she mumbled.

  “OK, well, you better go get it done.”

  “Sure,” Lauren sighed as she got up to retreat to her room.

  Back in their room, Julia had the contents of her bag scattered about on her desk. She was hunched over parts and pieces, carefully putting the apparatus together when Maia strolled in.

  “Whacha doin’?” Maia asked, dancing up to her sister.

  “Something for school,” Julia said automatically.

  “Do you need any help?” Maia asked.

  “No, I’m almost done,” Julia responded. “Once I get it set up, I’ll get started.”

  Maia picked up one of the pieces of the apparatus and fondled it.

  “Put that back,�
�� Julia commanded.

  Maia tossed it over her shoulder onto Julia’s bed.

  “Arrgh,” Julia said, reaching for the part.

  Lauren walked in and plopped on her bed, pulling her tablet computer out of her backpack. She tapped on it and it brought up her homework assignments: Geometry, Literature, and Science. She tapped on Geometry. It showed the Pythagorean Theorem definition and some problems below it. She tapped on one of the problems and it brought it up with a blank space below the problem description. She pulled out a stylus and started working through the problem.

  Maia sat down on the bed beside Lauren. “What are you doing?”

  “Homework,” Lauren said.

  Maia looked over Lauren’s shoulder at her tablet. “Can we read together?”

  Not really wanting to do her homework, Lauren tapped on it and brought up a book. “Sure.”

  Maia smiled brightly and started reading aloud to her sister.

  Julia arched her back, stretching on the chair and exhaling a big yawn. “OK. Here we go!” she said, ready to dive into a long night of research.

  *

  Hours later, Julia was still sitting at the desk under her lone light. Maia had returned to her room and Lauren had gone to bed hours before. Julia pounded her fists on the desk, waking up her older sister.

  Lauren pried open one eye to see what the racket was.

  “I just can’t figure it out,” Julia leaned over on the desk and closed her bloodshot eyes.

  Lauren pulled herself up to sit in bed. She rubbed her face with both hands. “You’ve got to figure it out!” She rolled her legs off the side of the bed, stood up, and walked over to Julia. “What else can you remember about it?”

  “Nothing! I thought I had the steps right, I just can’t remember all of it. It’s too complicated,” Julia said, looking up at Lauren.

  Concerned, Lauren tried to encourage her. “You have to! I know you can do it …”

  “I can’t! I just can’t remember all the steps! I’ve been working all night on it.”

  Lauren glanced at the clock on the screen at Julia’s desk: 7:17AM.