Chapter Six: Sybiotes

The night before faded from my mind like a bad dream. I focused on the task at hand. After I had finished getting ready I collected the rest of my mineral card and left my room. I was suppose to meet the others down at the cafeteria.
I ran out the door and looked around. I scratched my head, in the midst of everything that had happened I had completely forgotten how to get back to the cafeteria. I nervously roamed the halls hoping to find something familiar.
Surprisingly, I did, but it wasn’t what I expected. As I was wandering around hopelessly lost I saw the nurse that had taken care of me the morning before. Timidly I approached her.
“Hi, um I think I saw you last morning.” I said. “Weren’t you my nurse?”
She looked at me startled for a moment. “Yea, how are you feeling?” Her expression changing from surprise to concern.
“ I am feeling fine.” I said and then added. “ a little confused, but otherwise fine.”
“ That is incredible.” She remarked. “ I have never seen anyone recover from such a long period of unconsciousness and especially not this fast.”
“Well I guess I am just lucky…” I said with a hint of sarcasm. “By the way, I never got a chance to thank you yesterday for helping me. I was really out of it then and those people were driving me crazy.”
“Oh don’t thank me. I wasn’t the one who got them to stop.” She said bashfully.
“I know, but you were the first one to stand up for me.” I insisted.
She nodded with a little smile. “Well my name is Mahlah.” She said, “I am glad I got to meet you.”
“Me too, My name is David.” I said. “ Before you go could you by any chance point me in the direction of the cafeteria?”
She smiled and laughed. “Sure, go down this hall until you come to a transporter tube. Take it down three floors and then go to your right. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks a lot.” I said. “ I hope I see you again soon.”
“Me too, I would really like to talk to you about your life sometime. I mean if you are ok with that.” She said as she started to walk away.
“Ok, it would be the least I could do, after you stood up for me yesterday.” I replied. She smiled and waved goodbye.
I started off in the other direction mentally rehearsing the directions she had given me. Sure enough they lead me straight to the cafeteria. After only a few seconds of hunting I found Terry and the others in the same spot they had been at the day before, waiting on me.
Terry came to me before I reached them and pulled me aside. “How are you doing?” She asked with the same concerned face I had seen the night before.
“I will be ok.” I said and then paused for a second looking her in the eyes and added, “now.” She smiled and walked with me back to the others.
“What is with you two? Only been here a day and already he gets all the attention.” Caulin said teasingly pointing to me.
“No, it just seems that way to you because girls intentionally avoid you.” Gohn said with a smirk. Scyll chuckled and shook her head.
Caulin scowled, “I don’t see you getting any special attention.” he sneered.
“Hey just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean I don’t. I will have you know the ladies love me.” He said brushing his shoulder off in mock coolness.
Terry cocked and eyebrow and smiled. “Right.” she said with a laugh. “well Casanova how about we get going. We have things we need to do.”
“What exactly are we doing today?” I asked.
“We need to take you to a doctor for a physical exam. Then I have to go pick something up.” Terry replied. With that we started off.
We continued to walk for a while until finally we came to a nondescript door that to me was far too similar to all the others to be distinguished. “This it?” I asked. They nodded and we went inside. It definitely wasn’t like any doctors visit I had ever had before The physician wore a plain black outfit. Obviously like the rest of the dome there were no computers in his office. Though he used mineral cards to interact with the dome walls to manipulate various things around the room. The checkup was long and tedious. He asked no questions just took several blood samples and performed a rigorous external exam. After the exam he simply nodded and declared me “Normal”. I guess as normal as any 1000 year old guy that had just woken up from a cryogenic sleep could be. He slipped the blood sample into a different slot on the wall and said that the dome would be done processing it and the results would be in tomorrow. After that we left the office.
“Well I need to go pick something up now. I will be back in a little while” Terry said. “You guys take David and show him around a bit. Ok?” Caulin and Gohn nodded and then smiled slyly. Terry waved goodbye and headed off.
“So where to know?” I asked.
Gohn and Caulin looked at each other and smiled again. Scyll rolled her eyes as if she already knew what they had in mind. “ The sparing room.” Caulin and Gohn said in unison. I started to ask, but the two bolted off. I ran to catch up. I followed them through the twisted pathways and lifts of dome till at last we reached a large open area. In the center of the expansive room was a large platform raised about a foot off the ground that appeared to be slightly softer than the surrounding floor. It seemed to be a fighting wring. Caulin and Gohn climbed into the wring and squared off.
What followed shocked me. I had just started to accept this new world. I had thought I was getting a handle on things. I was wrong. This was no boxing match, nor was it wrestling or karate. Caulin reached down to his “belt” as he pulled it from around his waist it straightened and became stiff. He began to spin it like a staff in right hand. Clockwise then counterclockwise showing off his handling with it. The two danced around for several minutes slowly methodically like two animals circling each other. Gohn lifted his arm and leveled it at Caulin pointing the end of the hollow tube attached to his forearm directly at him. Caulin lunged first. He ducked and swung his staff like thing upward knocking Gohn’s arm away. Gohn leapt backwards bringing his other arm to bear aiming it at Caulin’s chest. The sacs on Gohn’s bicep inflated and then like lightning contracted. The air followed though the veins into the tube and pushed out a thin spine the shot toward Caulin. Caulin deflected the shot with his staff and laughed
“Come on show something we have an audience.” Caulin said taunting Gohn. Gohn smirked and nodded.
“Ok, if you insist.” Gohn responded. As he spoke He sprinted toward Caulin. Caulin raised his staff to defend himself, but Gohn instead of attacking directly did an almost football juke to the left, tucked and rolled behind him. Quickly before Caulin could react he raised both arms and shot two more darts. Caulin bent backward thrust his staff into the ground and used it to vault backwards. He managed to completely dodge one dart but the second skimmed his thigh as he flipped. A small trickle of blood showed though his black pants.
“ Not bad.” Caulin said condescendingly. Gohn rolled his eyes. I couldn’t believe the two as they fought. Clearly they had done this many times before. It was about that time that Scyll caught up to us she had chosen to walk instead of run after us.
“ Those two never can pass up a chance to show off.” She said light heartedly in her soft voice. I should have been scared seeing the almost freakish fighting going on in front of me, but the boy in me couldn’t help but think, cool.
Back in the wring the two were still going at it Gohn had managed to get a few more scratches on Caulin, but Caulin was too agile to let anything more happen to him. I guess after a few minutes Caulin decided it was his turn. Caulin charged toward Gohn. Gohn shot several darts, but Caulin deflected or dodged each one. When he reached Gohn he dropped to one kneed and swung the staff knocking Gohn in the back of the leg bringing him down hard onto his back. Gohn quickly rolled backward to get on his feet again, but Caulin was ready for that. He lunged with the staff end first into Gohn’s stomach as he rose. Suddenly, an electric pulse shot through the staff and sparked as it reached Gohn’s stomach. The jolt knocked Gohn back onto his back once again. This time Gohn decided to secede to Caulin’s victory. Caulin helped Gohn up and they both came down to rejoin us.
“That was amazing!” I said. “ You two are incredible up there.”
“ Well I was pretty amazing.” Caulin said gloating. “ I must say it just comes naturally to me.”
“ Right. That why you spend 6 hours a day working out for that natural talent.” Gohn said scowling.
“ Don’t be jealous.” Caulin said flexing his bicep. “ I beat you fair just like always.”
“Well if you would let me use my pathogens then those little scratches might have made an impact.” Gohn said.
“You guys are hopeless” Scyll said exasperated.
“Well how about you show us how it is done?” Caulin said with a sly grin. Scyll blushed and shook her head. “Well how about you David?” Caulin said turning to me. “How about we see what your made of?”
I shot my eyebrows up and I said. “ Umm I don’t think so with that staff I’m pretty sure you would beat the crap out of me. I mean what are those things anyways?”
“These?” Caulin said pointing to his staff and then to Gohn‘s arms. I nodded. “These are our symbiots.”
“and what is a symbiote?” I asked still more than a little confused.
Gohn answered me. “ Symbiots are genetically engineered organisms that we use solely for self defense, and the occasional sparring.” Then he turned to Caulin. “ I think we need to get him one.”
“ No kidding, I need something new your starting to bore me.” Caulin said laughing. Gohn just gave him a dirty look and headed off to a different room.
“ Wait a second. I’m not so sure I want to have some kind of parasite hanging off me, plus I have no idea how to fight with something like that.” I said getting a little nervous.
“It’s not a parasite it is a symbiote. It doesn’t hurt you at all The only thing it does is give you something to defend yourself with. And don’t worry about learning how to use it the symbiot is engineered with fighting instincts that it will pass on to you as soon as you put it on.” Caulin explained. I could see that this was clearly Caulin’s element and he seemed more at home in this room than he had anywhere before. I was still a little hesitant about it, but at the same time I couldn’t help but be a little charmed by the idea of fighting like that. Gohn emerged a few minutes later carrying a scaly living bracer like thing in his hand. Caulin nodded in approval. “good choice.” he said.
Gohn handed me the bracer and motioned for me to put it on. I slipped it onto my right arm. Instantly I felt a creepy feeling as the nerves from the symbiot extended into my arm. It didn’t hurt, but it did freak me out a little. A few moments later I realized that I could feel the bracer. I was like an extension of my arm. I knew immediately how to use it. I even felt like I had a few ideas of basic combat techniques with it.
The bracer appeared to work like this. From the topside of the bracer I could grow a long blade or claw like thing that could be used as a sword of sorts. I could manipulate the length and width and curvature of the claw as I wished and even grow it out like a shield. After I was finished with the claw I could then detach that claw from the bracer to make room for a new claw.
I played around with my new “toy” for a few minutes until Caulin beckoned me to join him in the wring. I imitated what I had seen Gohn do earlier and circled Caulin. Caulin stood much more relaxed obviously knowing I wouldn’t be a major threat considering how inexperienced I was. I grew a simple blade from my symbiot. About two feet long and thin, but blunt. I intended to use it as a sword.
Caulin charged me first. I remembered what had happened to Gohn and I brought my blade down low to parry him. This time however Caulin pole vaulted over me and land behind me. I spun around as fast as I could only to receive a shocking jolt to my chest from Caulin’s symbiot. I was stunned for a moment, but shook it off fast. This time I lunged at Caulin. This took him off guard apparently he had expected me to stay stunned a little longer. He flailed his staff up to and block my lung and quickly spun around to smack me in the face. This time I went down.
He decided that now would be a good time to taunt me. “ Not bad, Not bad I may get a decent warm up today after al-” I cut him off jumping up and swinging the blade hard at his face. He leaned back just as the swing past the tip of his nose. “ Whoa. Ok you want to play hard.” he said regaining his composure. I came down with a another swing from over my head. He raised his staff horizontally to block me. We stay locked like that for a few moments. I continued to press down as hard as I could and he seemed to struggle to keep me pressed away. “Your are a lot stronger than you look.” He grunted under the strain. I really was. I had to admit I felt ten times as strong as I had ever been back before, and I felt like I was getting stronger the more I fought. I was breathing hard and my heart was pounding like a marching band drum, but I was not nearly as tired as I knew I should have been. We continued to grapple a moment longer and then Caulin let loose a strong jolt from his symbiote that knocked me several feet away onto my back. That one really stung.
Caulin came up to me and raised his staff as if to “finish me” when all of a sudden, something wrapped around his legs and pulled them out from under him. Forcing him to fall face first into the floor.
“ I thought I might find you all in here.” Terry said speaking from the door next to Scyll and Gohn. I follow the long rope like thing, that had tripped Caulin, from his legs to the door. It was a tail! The tail extended an impossible distance across the room from a very small thing next to Terry. The thing was an animal which was roughly the size of a cat, but had a body that resembled a stocky gorilla. The animal had no visible hair. It’s skin had a pebbly texture like that of a lizard, with a gray tint to it. It had only one eye that was solid black and took up a large portion of it’s head.
Gohn stood laughing uncontrollably at Caulin who was just now standing back up. He was rubbing his nose in discomfort. “What is that.” I asked pointing to the small animal.
Terry picked up the thing its dexterous tail retracted now and wrapped itself around Terry’s arm for support as it took a sort of perch on her shoulder. “ This is my caudal. I engineered it myself when I was a kid. I had to go pick it up from my room, and take it to get some more shots for the excursion tomorrow.”
“Excursion?” I asked.
“ Yea we are going back out of the dome tomorrow. To collect more samples.” Terry answered me as I walked back to her.
“Samples of what?” I inquired.
“ The mutants.” She responded and immediately began to explain for me. “ The radiation spawned a new world outside the dome. The radiation caused rapid mutation in the wildlife out there. And under the inhospitable climate and low resources the mutations that survived can be sometimes more than a little dangerous. We are collecting samples of the various mutant species DNA so we can categorize and classify all the new creatures. In hope that that will help us be better prepared if we ever have to fight one again.”
My mind drifted back to the giant rat that had attacked me before. Could it have been real after all?
“Hey why don’t you come with us?” Caulin asked, snapping me back to reality. “ You seemed to catch on pretty quick with that symbiot.”
“ I don’t want to be any trouble especially if it would put any of you in danger.” I replied.
“ Oh don’t worry we’re going into an already charted area tomorrow. There shouldn’t be anything out there we can’t handle.” Caulin persisted.
“All right,” I said. “ If that’s ok with the rest of you?” they all nodded. I was very pleased that Terry seemed especially happy about that decision.
She smile at me “ Well I guess we will see you tomorrow morning then.” She said. “Well, I’m going to bed. Goodnight all.” everyone else said the same, and we returned to our respective rooms. Gohn had to show me where mine was again, but after that he headed back to his own room for the night.