Chapter 17: Subject Eleven (1/2)

It was dark. But I had a familiar feeling and guessed where I was. I was floating in a pool and I was almost certain it was the pool in the mystery cave.

Slowly my eyes adjusted the darkness and I could make out its walls. I turned in the water and noticed there was a portal. It was ensconced in the cave wall, and it looked similar to the portal that Mother made except it had a physical border.

The last time I was here I had not unlocked the ability to see the qi streams.

When I viewed the cave with my qi sight I was rewarded with more clues to its function. At the bottom of the pool I could see another portal and that was the direction of my lump in the new qi world. Calling it a lump now wasn't fair, it was a large, toned, Svartalfar. But it was a term of endearment, so I would continue to think of it as my lump.

I was intrigued that a qi stream connected me to the other portal on the cave wall. I suspected it might lead back to my body in the real world. I was here for a reason, but other than draining my qi I couldn't think of one.

It was then that the qi stream coming from the portal began to pull me towards it. It was attached to me like an umbilical cord. There was nothing I could do. No matter how much I resisted it – it slowly and surely dragged me through the portal.

I did not travel through some sort of wormhole. It was instantaneous and disorientating. It felt like someone beat my head and I was suffering concussion. And, bloody hell, my body ached.

”Breathe,” a man said, and I ignored him. I was busy feeling sick.

”Subject eleven, breathe,” he said again.

I gulped a pile of air and tried to say, ”Subject eleven, what the fuck.” I'm sure it came out as gibberish. Eleven is what the technicians at the research facility called me.

”Good,” he said as he peered at his tablet. ”You survived the journey.”

”Thunks,” I said. My tongue was thicker than Kim Kardashian's butt.

I realised why I hurt all over, with the exception of my legs, which felt fine. I was back in my old body. ”Send me back,” I asked after taking a sip of the offered water.

The technician ignored me while he gawked at his tablet.

I lay there for what felt like hours and my pain slowly subsided, or I became accustomed to it, I wasn't sure. Other than the crazy looking machine which was attached through the bed and into my spinal cord, they had attached a drip to my arm. Which kept me nourished and possibly sedated.

I was bored as hell, so I decided to sleep. I drifted off easily until I was woken with a hand tapping my cheek.

”Eleven,” the technician said. ”Wake it's time for your interview.”

I thought it was crazy that a news team was here to interview me, but when I opened my eyes and they adjusted to the brightness, I realised it was just the technicians and a camera.

”Fine,” I said, ”Get it over with.”

I couldn't read the technician's name on his ID tag, but I heard someone call him Shi a few times. He seemed to be the one in charge, because the other technicians showed him respect. He read from his tablet, his English wasn't bad, I was able to understand him fairly easily.

”Did you manipulate qi in the simulation?” he asked.

”Yeah,” I said sounding bored.

There were a few coughs, which I interpreted as technicians not believing me.

”Can you describe qi strike?” he asked.

”Yeah, a qi stream runs up your arm and to your fist. It's pretty useless when you're using a weapon. So, I pushed the qi further out my first and onto my spear. I'm still working on it. It's still shit, I prefer qi body right now.” As I spoke a couple of the technicians whispered anxiously to their comrades. I guess not all of them understood English and others were assisting until they got the transcript.

”Can you describe qi body?”

I then described what I had been doing and how the inbuilt skill was shithouse.

He did not ask about tree-run, maybe they were unaware I became a Svartalfar. I was unsure how much they monitored me while I was in the simulation.

”Is there anything else you can share with us?” Shi asked.

”Yeah tree-run the Svartalfar ability. It's damn cool. Look, can I go back now. I much prefer it there.”

”You want to go back?” Shi asked, his interest piqued. ”Was it not dangerous?”