She waited for him to calm down. The hatred in his eyes, it looked like it would not settle for the time. Her comments had opened a wound that he was trying hard to forget.
"How long are you going to rot here in this corner of the world?" She did not want to, but she had to.
He was the only human to have ventured to the Citadel after the cataclysm and return.
"For more than three decades, you have spent your time here in this prison. And what has that brought you?"
That place was not safe, even for humans who were immortal, physically. So, if she wanted to return to the epicenter, and try to reverse the world that they were in, he was the only ticket they had.
"Do you plan to remain a bystander for the rest of your days? Stuck in this place between life and death?"
This was not right, cruel even, as she understood him more than he realized. Her act right now was completely nonsensical. She was shouting at him, as if he was to blame, when it was her. It was herself who had directed and headed that experiment. The whole project had been under her guidance. She wished that she had not survived the light of genesis.
"Can you stop shouting? Or do you want me to shut you up as well," The specialist interrupted her. "I told you before, not to disturb the silence in this place."
His eyes went back to normal. The chill she felt from him had disappeared at some point, as he seemed to look at her with pity. Pity?
"I'll agree to your request, to the Council's request. But there needs to be a contract, adhering to the rules of the Council. This will be the only request I ever take again,,, from your people and after that I am never to be contacted.
But I have rules and demands as well, that you, your team and the Council have to agree to,,, if you want my help that is."
Eira observed in shock as the man before had changed his demeanor on the flip. It was like someone else was in control. But she quickly focused on his words, drying her eyes and noting down as he spoke. And he spoke at length, detailing and making her write down a complete set of terms and conditions, as if he had a spare copy he was reciting from.
The change in behavior was strange, but the first hurdle in her journey was passed.
And hour passed, as she finally stood up from the floor, which was spotless by the way and removed the glowing sphere, along with the barrier she had setup around them.
"Remember, you have a week to complete the tasks I have given out. If you can't achieve them under the rules I have specified, then gather another team. I will wait until you have a group capable of following instructions and orders to the dot.
If you really want to do this, then we will need a capable group for this journey. Not anyone will be cutout for this job. Talk to me only when you have finished the first phase. The prison will be open to you from now."
He did not wait for her response, walking away towards the rooms on the first floor. His chains strangely made no noise as he walked.
As she watched the Specialist disappear, she could feel another headache heading in her direction, as Lume and Taren, along with Mira and Dr. Korr approached her. She had some explaining to do.
Humans had become immortal after the cataclysm, but they weren't the only ones to change. The light of genesis had originated from the Citadel and had passed through everyone at the speed of light. Everyone had changed in an instant,,, but everything else was also affected. Now, everything was alive.
The shirt you wore? The shoes on your feet? Even the air around you. Researchers in the Green Desert region even labelled individual atoms to be alive. But the science on this topic was not exactly right.
It was wacky to be honest. The whole phenomenon was weird and if you thought you understood the rules of it all, something would come along to prove you wrong.
Everything had turned into living matter, with consciousness. But it wasn't as simple as that.
For example, the Zehar Swamp besides the prison complex. Every tree, blade of grass, the bushes. Everything was living even before the cataclysm. But now, the swamp as a whole had a consciousness. Even the ground and the water in it was alive. It was a collective consciousness. And everything it constituted off? Perhaps they were its organs, or cells.
The Citadel was the epicenter of the cataclysm, where the mysterious light of genesis had originated. And that place was affected the worst. Almost no human in that region had survived, all of them turning into living dead. Bodies that were immortal but brains that no longer had consciousness. Maybe give it long enough and a new mind will be birthed, but who knew? The living dead were still a conundrum forty years later.
But the living dead weren't the scariest, they weren't scary at all in fact, no it was the surroundings of that region. The Citadel had warped, become twisted. It wasn't clear exactly what was special about the place, but no one, who had decided to go to that place had returned.
There were other Forbidden regions like this spread out across the world, regions where the geography or the structures had changed in such a way that even immortals were not safe.
And this place,,, which was worst of them all, also happened to be their destination.
After the team learnt of her conversation with the specialist-leaving out her identity as the Doctor-everyone became silent.
It was a lot to take in, but the mention of the Citadel was like a heavy rock against their hearts. The fear of unknown was the oldest fears. And even immortality could not help humanity conquer it.
"I will let you all make a choice. We have today's time to make a decision. Tomorrow either you will continue with the journey, or return."
Even if she knew it wasn't much of a choice, she had to say as much.
The Council had chosen each of them for a reason. Even the sixth member, who was not a part of the organization was bound to their group.
"I don't care if we are to venture to the Citadel or the depths of the Silent Valley. What I want to know is, have you really figured out the cure? A way to reverse the curse?" Taren was the first to break the silence.
After their first night in the prison, he had learnt to not mention or talk abt the Specialist, but his attitude remained the same.
"The Council has been working non stop in the last forty years to find a way. This method is not complete yet and the reason we need to journey to the epicenter is precisely to finish it. We are to retrieve something extremely crucial to the research for reversing immortality. I can not reveal what it is." She did not hide the information any longer. They had reached the point where certain details could be disclosed.
"About the tasks that the specialist has given us, is there no wiggle room around it? Can't we simply hire him like a mercenary? Isn't that how it is usually supposed to be?" Unlike the others, Lume seemed to not be bothered as much about their destination. His focus was on other details.
The sixth member who had been silent answered his query instead. "The specialist will not hear us out, nor will he agree to any more discussions. We will have to prove to him that our team is worthy."
Eira and Mira nodded their heads in understanding.
"If there are no other doubts, I believe we should get started. There is no point in remaining here any longer. Faster we move out, faster we can get that chained mummy to leave with us."
Everyone else sullenly nodded, agreeing with Taren's words for once.
The specialist had given them tasks that were highly specific. It felt like he was dishing out punishments rather than testing them. None of them were convinced of his methods yet. Other than the sixth member. It was unclear what exactly went through her head.
"Why is catching a painted grasshopper in this swamp so damn hard??" The young researcher shouted in exasperation as he fell face first into the swamp. This was his seventh attempt.
But apparently, he was not allowed to use any equipment, or technology. No, he could not even use a simple net. Instead he was supposed to catch the damn bug with his bare hands. And it had to be recorded.
It was three already days since the group had moved out of the prison, completing the tasks that the specialist had listed out. All of the tasks were specific, with steps to follow and everything. Even the person who was supposed to complete them was mentioned.
And the more they spend their time marking off the tasks, more they felt that they were being punished. But for what?
"This is humiliating. Is that his purpose? To make us lose morale so that we will leave? He can't be that naive." Dr. Korr scoffed to the side.
He was cynical from the beginning to say the least, so their current predicament did not please him a bit. But at least he was assigned the least tasks among them. So his comments had also been few.
"If I did not know him better, I would believe he had installed cameras around to record us, enjoy the scenery as we made a fool out of ourselves. But the specialist has always been a serious person.
If we can't figure out the purpose behind his tasks before the seven days are over, I fear he will make us repeat them. So give it your all." Although Eira said as much, even she was beginning to tire out from the sheer rigidness of the tasks. It was too much.
The sixth member did not complain once, as she went with her tasks in the swamp. When she heard what the team leader had to say, a strange memory from her past had surfaced. But she quickly focused on collecting the watervines in front of her, planning to get some more before she could weave a basket out of them.
Perhaps the years he had spent here in limbo had indeed turned him into a serious man. Unlike in the past she remembered, when he had liked to play pranks with her.