Dawn Of The Dual Apex (World Of The Viscerebus Book 2) - Oz Mari G.

Dawn Of The Dual Apex (World Of The Viscerebus Book 2) by Oz Mari G.

Book excerpt

Three Men and an Erdia

Ximena and Emme sat across from each other, their wine glasses untouched. Rays of the midday sun glinted against the amber liquid, the room humid despite the air conditioning.

The awkwardness of their fractured friendship was as substantial as the day it was destroyed by the act they collaborated on decades ago. A mistake both their consciences had borne and suffered from ever since.

The tension broke when Emme laid a thick folder on the table. Martin Bell's file. Ximena leafed idly through the worn pages without looking. The sensation on her fingertips, familiar. They had kept Martin Bell’s file manual; it was personal to her. And to Emme.

Ximena’s thoughts were not on the pages, her fingers still touching the edges of the age-softened paper. The visions of the day Martin spoke her name for the first time in fifty years still shook her.

“He called out my name, Emme,” she said.

“What? How? When?” Emme’s mouth dropped in astonishment, awkwardness forgotten.

“During my last visit.” Ximena’s heart tightened at the memory and the need to talk about it. She took a sip from her wineglass to ease the pressure a little.

“Are you sure, Mena?” There was a hitch in Emme's voice.

She nodded. Perhaps Emme was as hopeful as her to find redemption from what they did to Martin. It did not matter their intention was good; the outcome did not justify the means.

Ximena handed her phone to Emme. On it was a photo of what looked like a painting of a stormy night. Emme did not understand; the gaze that met Ximena was questioning.

“Scroll to the next one. That’s the distant shot of the same painting,” she said.

Emme scrutinised the next photo; the emotions and thoughts that chased across her face were identical to Ximena’s when she realised what Martin had painted.

The black, grey, reddish, dark blue blotches and the silver rain streaks created an image of her superimposed on the face of a dark grey wolf. Martin’s plea and anguish melded in his work. His mind may have been gone, but his soul remembered.

Emme swallowed the lump in her throat as she raised her eyes and met Ximena’s.

This was the first time in fifty years Martin had shown any semblance of recognition or remembrance of anyone. He revealed that in the only painting that featured her from almost a thousand artworks he made over those years. Hope bloomed in her chest when she saw it. And the magnitude of it almost stopped her heart then. The heavy sensation had not left her since.

“Mena, what do you want us to do?” Emme asked, eyeing her.

“Try to liberate him out of his own mind, to bring him back,” she replied. It was the only option they would consider. “Maybe this time, we will make progress.”

“Yes, of course.” Emme’s quick agreement contrasted with the look of doubt in her eyes.

They both did not know how to achieve it, or if it was even possible. Over five decades, they guarded and watched him closely, always looking for a glimmer of entry into his mind. There was still a lot of uncertainty about Martin’s condition, but they were optimistic. It was a rare emotion, and while they did not want to expect too much, it was hard not to.

Silence followed as they sipped their wine in this picturesque bar that should have been a place of casual conversation between friends.

“Emme… thank you for coming.” She realised she was indeed grateful Emme had not walked away all those years. And was still with her on this journey.

Emme offered a shadow of a smile in her eyes. “I have waited for that call for decades, Mena. There is no way I will not come.” This could be the brick from which they could rebuild their friendship.

All the past hurts between them began to bleed out of her heart. Soon, they would talk about it and sort it out. But for now, their debt to Martin could be paid, the principal, the corresponding interest, and penalties. And pay they would, Emme and her.

And hopefully, they could forgive each other, and themselves after.

***

The urgency of Project Chrysalis had doubled. In the past years, despite the hopelessness of Martin’s mental health, Ximena never entertained the thought of giving up. She focused on the experiments and the research for both projects with a manic dedication. With a crack in the impenetrable wall that encased Martin’s mind, they were closer to success than ever before. They could not waste time.

Emme and she were committed to healing Martin’s mind. Their failure on that score, year after year, was disheartening. Seeing all his Aswang paintings was a painful visual reminder of his torment and their incapacity. The Project Chrysalis became her panacea, her focus, her alternative route to make things right.

Martin’s body grew feebler by the day, brought on by age and lack of physical activities apart from painting. The sign of recognition he exhibited buoyed her spirit.

She needed to work on this project more closely, more extensively. Martin and her quest to convert him into a Vis had run its course. Her goal now changed into prolonging his life by adding V Genes. Maybe the added years would allow them to rectify what they did to him.

Would Íñigo agree to it?

***

This is frustrating, thought Íñigo, as he leafed through the latest laboratory test results. They could not bridge the gap between the human and Aswang genes, even with the use of the Erdia DNA with the highest V gene count.

He looked up to find Ximena entering the lab, her brows knitted. She looked perturbed, her distraction so complete that she did not notice him observing her for a long time. It startled her when he cleared his throat to alert her to his presence. Her smile of apology was weak.

“Family issues?” He was privy to Ysobella and Yuana’s situation. Ximena shook her head.

The De Vida women have been unlucky in their relationships over the decades. They tended to fall in love with humans, and they paid for it with considerable heartache. None more so than Ximena. Her heart remained locked from him, unable to move on because of what happened to Martin.

Íñigo waited for her to tell him what was bothering her. Ximena seemed unsure. But he could almost guess what was on her mind.

“How are the testing coming along?” Ximena asked to divert his focus.

For a moment, he was tempted to press her. He pushed the report over to her in response.

“Are there any breakthroughs?” Ximena asked without looking at it.

He shook his head. “None. The FE2-human experiment showed promise in the beginning, but we cannot seem to push it further to a successful result. The specimen genes were not stable enough. We are still missing a link.” He riffled through the report and pointed to a diagram to emphasise his point.

“FE2? The offspring of a female Erdia and a male Viscerebus with 9.5 V Genes.” She frowned. “Is this the highest we could get?”

“Yes.”

Ximena sighed. “Would we ever find the closest source? It is looking impossible.” She rubbed her temples, an action that screamed despondency. With a deep breath, she straightened. Inner grit bolstered her determination.

“Well, our other option is to find a process that would augment what we are missing…” he said.

“You’re right. We have been doing this for over fifteen years now, and we have progressed quite a lot. The final breakthrough may just be around the corner. Synthesising the cure for VM may have been elusive for now, but the Altera Project is far from over,” she said.

That pulled a smile from him. He could not help it. “Yes. And our goal is as noble today as when we first secured the approval from the Tribunal. Let us focus on finding that missing link. I believe we are close to finding that cure.”

Ximena’s nod of acknowledgement was incongruent with the flash of panic in her eyes. He knew, by gutfeel, it had to do with the Project Chrysalis – her goal to convert humans into Aswang. One human. Martin Bell.

While it pained him to join her in the project, he could not find it in himself to deny her plea for help. Their undercover collaboration had been a secret to everyone, including her powerful family. And he suspected her inner panic earlier had something to do with Martin Bell.