OBLIVIOUS

Chapter 18

"Shut up. We're not still asking you questions," Baron snapped at her. "Don't talk to us if you're not asked about something."

But instead of getting intimidated, the White Shadow called Bridgette just laughed loudly at us. "Don't make me laugh. Do you think I'll get scared of you?"

I think that was the worst thing to say to Baron, who was now seething with spite and anger. "I am not a gentleman," Baron said. "I can hurt a woman like you. Especially you." The way he said that chilled my bones. I don't even know if he's still trying to act tough or if he's really serious about hurting the White Shadow.

"Then go on!" she replied, still chuckling like a mad woman. "I would like to see you try!"

"Alright. Let's see if you'll still laugh after what I will do to you..." Baron sounded so deadly now that even I got scared. The woman also stopped laughing.

"What are you going to do? You can't hurt me! You'll be doomed once you touch me!" The White Shadow was already shaking as she said that. "M-My colleagues will punish you!"

"They can punish me if they will catch me," Baron replied, "but right now I can do whatever I want to do with you."

"You damn kids! Do you think you will get away with this? They're searching for us now and that means they'll find you soon!"

"I don't care about them. So if I were you, I wouldn't talk to us like that anymore. I have no mercy. I'll kill every one of you, and you could be the first volunteer if you want."

That shut up the White Shadow. She was looking at Baron with so much hatred, while I just listened to their heated exchange with awe for Baron's courage and indifference to this woman who acts high and mighty in front of us.

"That's better," Baron added. "But now that you're awake, we might as well ask you what we want to know from you."

"You'll get nothing from me," the woman said.

"Okay, Bridgette. I'm easy to talk with." Baron then took out a piece of the snake-like vine and then a piece of the scale from the whiskered fish. The White Shadow looked confused at what she was being shown, then shrieked as Baron showed her what turned out to be a deadly invention. It exploded in front of her with such force that it rang in my ear loudly I thought I got deaf.

"Okay! Okay! I'll try my best to tell you everything I know!" Bridgette exclaimed while trying to position herself comfortably in a sitting position even if she was tied with her hands behind her. It was tiresome to see her struggle and move aimlessly like a fish out of the water that's why I helped her sit properly. She hissed at me after I helped her which made me respond.

"Between me and Baron, I'm the calmer one, so I'm gonna warn you. Baron is a very impatient guy. Plus he also gets violent if things don't go his way so I advise you to just tell us what we want to know so that you can still live after this."

"I can't tell you everything you want to know," she replied that forced me to raise an eyebrow. Baron and I looked at each other, silently thinking.

"Why not?"

"I'm still new here. I just came here five months ago. And people in my rank doesn't have all the access to all of the important information."

"That's alright," I said before baron could object. "Just tell us what you know."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. For starters, where is Vista?" I asked immediately.

"Vista? You mean Vista 1?"

"Yes, her. Where is she?"

"She's in the building---"

"Don't make me hit you," Baron replied, and Bridgette winced as Baron made a gesture that she thought was a move to hurt her. "Vista's not in her room there."

"I didn't say that she's in her room, young man," she replied and Baron and I stared at each other. "The facility is big. she could be everywhere there. I just don't know where. Like I told you, I don't have all the information about you. I am a nutritionist. My job here is to make food fit for you."

"We can hear her voice," I added. "You are using her as a bait for us."

Bridgette laughed. "That's something Madame Robertha would do. I am not surprised at all that she's using these kinds of tactics."

"Madame Robertha?"

"Yes. She is the Officer in Charge here."

"It's her," I said to Baron. "The woman who was leading the chase after us."

"That's right. She oversees everything here," Bridgette explained. "That's why whatever you're trying to do, just stop it already. You can't win against her so you might as well just surrender yourselves to her and go back. If you don't know it yet, you are monitored."

"We know. We are aware of those Tracing Flies. But we will not go back to that damn place."

"It's your choice then," she said. "But don't expect us to get easy on you. The government had invested so much in you, so you'll expect Madame Robertha to do everything in her power to get both of you back."

"But we don't want to."

"But you should."

"Then tell us why do we need to go back," said Baron. "You can explain everything to us now. This is your chance to enlighten us."

Bridgette paused, then proceeded to explain. "Where do you want me to start?"

"You could start by telling us where we are exactly. Or who are you, or who we are. Or what we are, because we don't exactly know what's happening. All we know is that we are not normal people."

"Because you aren't," she replied with a smirk. "Okay, let's begin with where we are. We are on an island in the Pacific called The Blind Spot Island. It's a remote island owned by the World Government Incorporated, a world governing body that oversees important events and development on an international scale. This place is for scientific research, and has been running for a decade already."

"Scientific research," I repeated. "What kind of 'scientific research' do you focus on exactly?"

"It's a complicated topic. But let me explain it thoroughly. First of all, have you ever seen the moon at night? Because that's how everything started."

"I already saw it. It looks very...weird."

"Exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"About a hundred years ago, a huge comet hit the moon. It's the reason why it looks like a huge part of it is chipped off. Everyone knows this. It was huge news back in the day."

"And then what happened?"

"There are alien life forms on that comet, and when it hit the moon, it somehow mutated into a certain type of microorganism."

"Microorganism?"

"It means bacteria and the like. Microscopic life forms," Bridgette explained, which proved her knowledge on this.

"But what has it got to do with us?" I asked curiously.

"The impact of the collision between that comet and the moon was so strong that dust particles from the two scattered and since our planet is the closest thing to the moon, naturally most of those dust particles rained into us."

"And that included the mutated organisms? They fell to us together with the moon dust?"

"That's right. They rained on the planet just like normal dust particles do. These microorganisms 'invaded' us, in a way. We call them Halos. At first, everybody thought that it wasn't as harmful as we thought it would be as nothing huge happened in the first ten years of its presence here on our planet. But these organisms were highly adaptable life forms. They mutate on any slight change in their environment. And then a snowball phenomenon took place when animals and plants ingested these alien bacteria, causing them to mutate too."

Everything seemed clear to me now. "So those luminous plants... those animals that look like hybrids... they are the result of various mutations from those alien microorganisms?" It was scary but fascinating to hear, that something like that actually happened before.

"The bizarre wildlife that you see on this island is the product of a hundred years of mutation and evolution. Most animals and plants now produce toxins as a result of rapid mutation. Everyone knows that. Even the weather has changed since the Invasion. Instead of two to four seasons, most places have now eight seasons."

"And that's what you are researching on this island? About the Invasion that you are saying?"

"Yes, but not only that. The facility here is called The Blind Spot Hive, and it is a research facility that focuses on developing a cure for the disease that we call Delirion."

"Delirion?"

"It's an infection from the Halos bacteria. Some organisms like us humans, do not mutate when we ingest the Halos bacteria. Instead, we get a disease which attacks our brains, causing us headaches, hallucinations, and ultimately, death."

"No way," I said. "Are you saying that we are infected by that disease?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Bridgette said. "Because you are the exceptions."

"What does that mean?" I asked, my heart pounding from the incoming information.

"You are a group of kids that have initially been infected by the Halos bacteria. But instead of developing the disease, you actually mutated just like the plants and animals around here."

Baron and I stared again at each other for here was the answer. Finally. We are exceptions. We mutated. We are not like the rest of the human population. I can now be at peace with that truth even if it was so inconvenient and uncomfortable.

"Is that why we are here?" Baron asked. "Are you studying about the mutations we had?"

"Yes. The World Government Incorporated is interested in studying about the phenomenon that happened to you. They believe that it could lead to a breakthrough. Maybe your mutation is the answer to our number one problem, which is the Halosphere."

"And what is that?"

"It's the weather system that had been created by these alien bacteria. I'm sure you have noticed it already. The toxic smoke that is always present on this island."

"And what about that?"

"Plants, especially trees, have mutated in a way that they became as active and mobile as animals. They had also learned to release these poisonous smoke as a form of defense, which in turn created this deathly weather system. The Halosphere is like a storm. Or a tornado. But composed of this toxic gas. If a regular person inhales it, they die after just ten minutes, which makes it a lot more deadlier than Delirion. But GMOSS like you, surprisingly can resist it."

"So that's why you always wear those protective suits," Baron said. "And you're not totally right. We are not immune to the toxic gas. We still get headaches and stuff..."

"But you're still alive aren't you? That's the important thing. You can resist it. You are the only ones who can do it. And you hid in that forest right? The Halosphere on this island is formed there and yet you are not affected."

"You mean the fog there that covers the forest?"

Bridgette nodded. "It's not only the fog there that is toxic. The air itself there is 'polluted.' We had taken samples of the oxygen there and it contains the same toxin that the Halosphere has. Which means, the whole forest itself is toxic and yet you can stay there for days like it can't kill you."

Baron did not object to what Bridgette said, because it was true. Based on what she said, it seems like we really can resist the toxic smoke that becomes a storm. And what she's telling us about the forest being toxic is very plausible. I mean, you will only need to look at the fog there and you could conclude from it that everything in there is already carrying the same toxin the Halosphere contains. And if the trees had been constantly releasing this gas, it would just be logical for the forest to be 'contaminated.' This also probably the reason why the researchers left their first base, which according to Baron was in The Secret Meadow.

"You called us something," Baron said after a minute of contemplating. "You called us as GMOSS. What does that mean?"

"It's actually GMO-SS. It means Genetically Modified Organism- Sapiens sapiens. It is what you are." That was also an answer that made sense. forte must have misheard the term and thought it was Moss.

"When you say modified---"

"It means that you are really modified," Bridgette replied, interrupting what I was saying. "As this is a research, of course Madame Robertha had done everything to make the best results. The mutation that was happening in your bodies was an unprecedented discovery. It allowed you to 'accept' a foreign gene and adapt it into your body. It was a long and tedious job to do but now I think Madame Robertha had finally succeeded in making GMO-SS that can use their mutation as an added trait of humans to cope up with the rest of the planet."

"And these traits that you are talking about, are these the abilities that we got? Like producing electricity and becoming invisible?" Baron asked directly.

"Correct. Your abilities are animal genes inserted into your own genes that only became possible because of the rapid mutation of your bodies. The ability to produce electric shocks from your skin is from a mutated electric eel's genes, while the ability to get invisible is from a mutated chameleon's genes. You have been given these genes to help you survive the harsh conditions of this place. And it looks like Madame Robertha had already succeeded as both of you are still alive using your new abilities."

That makes sense. Now we know why we have these powers. It made me rethink my feelings about this Robertha and the whole facility itself, because according to what Bridgette had revealed they actually helped us since we were already infected in the first place.

"And what happens next after this Madame Robertha succeeds in her research?" Baron inquired. "What happens to us? What are you going to do to us once you confirm that you succeeded?"

Bridgette hesitated, then answered Baron's question that made me have goosebumps. "Madame Robertha's ultimate goal is to let you mix in the population, so that once you have children they will inherit your genes and then we will have a population of new breed of humans. Humans that can resist the Halosphere, and humans that can fight the monsters that now roam the world."