Seth/01

Upsider (noun): A human who was corrected during the purification process of the Scientific Research Center for Purebred Genetic Engineering. Resides in the city.

 

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He found her in the tunnels. She was wearing nothing but strips of thick bandages that wrapped around her breasts, crossed at her flat stomach, and covered everything private below. Truth be told, he was more shocked by her changed appearance than the fact that he actually found her in the underbelly of the city. 

She turned around when she heard his footsteps. The flashlight he held swept over her, hovering on her face. She squinted against the brightness. 

His heart raced as he looked at her. She was extremely pale and slim, with a pointed chin and a thin lips. Her legs and arms were long and lean. Everything about her seemed sharp. The only soft features she had were her warm brown eyes and curly black hair.

He swallowed hard, not sure if he should be afraid of her or not. Even though they had known each other since childhood, he could tell that she wasn't the same girl.

"Upsider?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and scratchy. 

He hesitated, licking his dry lips.

"I'm Seth."

The girl blinked. She took a few steps forward.

"Analese," she said. 

Seth nodded. "Yes, I know. Don't you remember me?"

A confused look crossed her face. She studied him, looking for features that would trigger recognition. His eyes and hair were black. He had a pronounced jaw, skin that was warmed by the sun, and a tall, muscled body. When he smiled, a dimple on his left cheek appeared. 

Analese frowned. He did look familiar, but she just couldn't pin him down.

"No," she said finally.

His face dropped. He sighed and lowered the flashlight to the ground.

"Of course you don't," he mumbled. 

Silence enveloped them. Analese cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry."

Then she turned around and ran down the tunnel.

 

 

"You shouldn't have gone."

Seth sat on his couch at home, drinking his stress and sadness away. He held a beer bottle in one hand and a remote control in the other. He flipped through the channels. Most of them were commercials about SRCPGE Inc. and their products. After a dozen more clicks, he stopped at a cartoon show. Children's programs were usually the only things without ads. He watched.

"Are you even listening to me?" 

He took a swig of beer. "No."

A hand reached out to snatch the remote from his hand. The screen turned black. 

"Man, I told you not to go down there! Now you're acting all depressed and s**t."

Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm not depressed. Leave me alone, Ethan."

Ethan shook his head. "Yeah, you are. I know you. You only drink when you're upset. And I know why. She wasn't what you thought, huh? Analese wasn't the same."

At the mention of her, Seth froze. He stared at the bottle in his hand.

The living room was quiet for a moment, until Ethan broke the silence. "No more drinking," he said. He reached out and grabbed the bottle. Seth didn't resist. He stared at the blank TV.

A sigh escaped Ethan's lips. He set the bottle down on the coffee table and sat beside him. 

"Look, I know it's hard having a sister as a Downsider. But there's nothing you can do. She was condemned by SRCPGE, and you weren't. That's how it works."

Seth didn't reply.

"I hate seeing you like this, man. Stop torturing yourself and forget about her. The Analese you knew is dead."

"I can't forget about her." Seth's voice cracked weakly. "I'm gonna go back and help her."

Ethan shook his head and stood. "Pull yourself together, Seth. Even if you go down there again, it isn't gonna change the fact that she's a Downsider. Get over it." He walked swiftly out the room and pulled his jacket off the coat hanger. The front door slammed shut.

The wall clock hanging above the television clicked, counting down the seconds that Seth sat on the couch in silence.

 

Reviews

[Gadfly]

More More More!! And give him his beer back, goddammit! The poor man...

Sounds like you've got a lot of concepts, and a well developed world to explore. Can't wait to see the rest of it!

[zero binty]

Very interesting beginning. Wondering where this will go from here.