Endogenesis (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dante didn't waste any time after he was released from class. He rushed out of the room and into the adjacent block. A faint voice came from the classroom, and the door was shut, so he made himself comfortable on the floor. It was only Meryl's third lesson, and aside from Collin sniffing around, looking for a chance to catch Meryl on her lonesome, there had yet to be an incident.

None of the Reds had accompanied him, and Collin wasn't brave enough to come after her unless she was alone. She would be safe if Dante reached her class before he could. When the door opened, April Gordon and Hannah Spencer rushed out, though the Green and Blue kept a distance between them. Meryl poked her head out, the fear disappearing from her eyes as she turned to him.

Dante rose, 'Ready to go?'

Meryl nodded, 'Everyone's still watching me. I heard Jared talking to his brother before he came inside. He thinks I'm going to start eating people.'

'Then maybe the Greys will stay away from you,' Dante said as they walked to the door. 'You know, cannibals aren't that common in the Autonomous Zone. Human meat isn't very good for you, and with the number of animals roaming around, you can always hunt.'

'If we get out of here... Will we see other people very often?' Meryl asked.

'No. Dad said that some of the higher-ups at Haven estimate there are probably half a million people in the Autonomous Zone, though he doubts it. But even if they're right, that's spread across a huge area,' Dante said as they moved through the door and turned left towards the shooting range. 'Everyone in the Autonomous Zone is a squishy anyway, so you don't have to worry too much.'

'Squishy?' Meryl questioned.

'It's a term Gabe came up with when we were kids, for ordinary people. We had never met anyone else like us until the Republic kidnapped us. Not even our parents.'

Meryl frowned, 'So, what did people think of you?'

'Nobody knew but our parents. We had to hide our abilities, but some people still noticed, and they thought we were freaks,' Dante said. 'It was still a lot better than being stuck in here.'

They turned the corner to find Elijah hovering near the door, anxiously rocking back and forth on his feet. His green eyes lit up as he turned towards them, relief washing over his face. It was terrifying for Elijah to be left alone after class, but there was little Dante could do to reach him earlier. It wasn't as if his instructor would let him go early.

'What took you so long?' Elijah asked as he ran to their side.

'We were let out on time, and I came straight here,' Dante answered; he couldn't hold it against Elijah that he would get worked up after being alone. 'We'll wait a bit, and if Gabe doesn't show up, we'll head back to the dorm.'

Meryl turned to the empty building in front of the shooting range, 'There are plenty of places to hide in there if you have to. There are cupboards you can squeeze in and furniture you could fit under.'

'Is that where you used to sleep?' Elijah blurted out.

Meryl shook her head, 'No. I made up a bed in one of the other empty buildings. It has a crawl space in the roof that I would stay in, but I had other places to sleep, so it would be hard to find me.'

Dante grimaced, 'That must have been terrible during winter.' Even with heightened immune systems, they still felt the cold.

'I found a bunch of old blankets, but it was still better than staying in the dorm,' Meryl turned her gaze as she picked at her nails. 'It wasn't so bad as long as I stayed under the blankets.'

Elijah gazed at her, perplexed, 'But what did you do—'

They all turned as a scream filled the air. It had to be close, perhaps near the path to the garden and from the sound of it, it had to be a girl.