The Last Red

Chapter 5: Taking Risks

I've been staring at the hologram above my desk for almost an hour now without advance. A million thoughts run through my head - none of them related to our gene modification issue.

I tuck my hand into my pocket and feel the pill I was handed yesterday. Is it really supposed to do what I need - does it darken one's skin tone? 

He was probably bluffing.

Then again, he did show me his eyes.

I'm running out of time here - I cast a glance on my arms that are getting lighter by the second.

I take the pill out and stare at its dark self, rolling in my palm.

He's got blue eyes - the thought keeps echoing through my mind.

Doesn't that mean he's in the same situation as I am? And if he is, can we really be the only ones? 

Most importantly, can I trust him?

I take another look at that pill - what better way to find out?

I take a short sharp breath and send the pill down my throat with saliva.

"Any ideas?" Kevin brings me back to the here and now.

I shake my head, pretending to be upset. "I need more time."

"I got something," Kyle surprises us all and our heads unanimously shoot his way.

"What?" he says irritated, pointing his finger at a DNA structure in gene Agnes54 of chromosome 16. "The melanin pigment concentration in Agnes54 just won't allow for a shade brighter than 'Dark Ocean'. The HO was right. We wouldn't have reached 'Midnight Sun'," he shrugs resting his case. "Guess real humans just weren't meant to be dark as night with pigment-less eyes."

"That much is true," Korina agrees. "In real life, no genetic mutation could ever allow it to happen. I don't get why the H.O. keeps throwing these extreme challenges at us."

"To advance, Korina," I say, suddenly feeling like a traitor for leaving them. "If the H.O. achieved the result, we can get it as well. Which, in itself, means it is theoretically possible for such a human to exist." It'd probably never happen, of course, but still.

"What's gotten into you, Kay?" Kyle chuckles, patting my shoulders from the back. "I swear you're getting more motivational than Koben Tanaka."

"Who's that?" I frown.

"Err, just the number one athlete in the Block," Kyle shakes his head in disbelief of my lack of information.

"Enough of this," I get up. "We need to split the work," I walk into the middle of the room and light up the main hologram. 

"Omnia, register my following delegation."

A hologram splits into four parts, each marked for one of my three colleagues and myself.

"Korina will start by modifying gene Agnes54 and continue in alphabetical order of genes in chromosome 16 until she bumps into something meaningful. Kyle will do the same, only starting from gene Zolum6 upward. By the time you meet, you will have found the solution." I touch the third hologram - marked with my name - and close it, attracting as little attention as possible. "Kevin will be monitoring both your works, keeping track of the unusual that you find, trying to make valuable conclusions to speed up your work."

"Another long-a*s day it is," Korina mumbles unsatisfactory.

Kevin furrows his forehead, gazing at me. "What about you?"

I knew it couldn't go unnoticed. I glance at the wall writing showing 18:52 - if I'm to meet that guy, I've got to leave now.

"I'll be checking the adjustments we made in chromosome 15," I lie. I know we made no mistakes - I've already checked twice. 

I cannot delegate myself a task of importance because I'll leave before we can finish this assignment.

*

As my shift ends, I cast yet another look at my beautifully tanned lower-arm. I'm sweating uncontrollably now - his pill actually worked.

If only I had gotten my hands onto those pills sooner... would've saved me a lot of trouble. But this means he didn't lie.

I leave our office and let a sigh out that seems to have been kept in for too long.

My impeccably tan hands are shaking now, as I lean onto the closed door.

I can't ignore it anymore - I have to meet him. 

I've got to know.

I force my feet to slide as I march toward the Cosmetics Department. For the first time ever, I'm not going there to collect my ingredients, but rather to meet with someone. And that someone just happens to be in the same predicament as I am.

For why else would he possess tanning pills and wear contacts?

As I approach the Cosmetics Dpt, my eyes instantly set his head apart from the crowd.

He stands next to the door, his bulky left shoulder leaned onto the wall.

I make a wide circle to approach him from the back. His skin color looks amazingly real. I internally slap myself - It is real! He's one of them.

I stop and stare at the back of his head - the beetle's not the only tattoo he's got. There's also a part of a huge tattoo sticking out on his neck, but I can't see what it is as most of it's hidden below his shirt. One thing's for sure, though - he isn't afraid of needles. 

"What up, Beetle?" 

The word just rolls off my tongue and I instantly regret it as he turns to smirk.

"What do you know?" He tilts his head confidently, "she came."