Chapter 32: Reaction
"Pregnant?" Ash looks at Lex in shock and freezes, Lex slowly sits up. "That is what the doctors said, About four weeks along now." Lex stated. Ash just sat there as he processed what was just said. Around this time Amanda walked into the house, After the events of Lex's birthday Amanda all but lived with them now
"Hey guys, ah Lex, you look like your doing better. How did the doctors visit go?" she asked as she walked into the room. she glanced at Ash, who was still frozen in place "What's wrong with him?" she motions at Ash as she comes over and sits next to Lex
Lex chuckles a bit "Oh it went alright, a little bit of a shock which is what Ash is still processing. It seems that my condition has been because of pregnancy hormones. Which sort of explains why I've been zoning out so much lately, and feeling sick at times." she gives Amanda a hug
"Oh.. well that makes sense." she responds, Ash a this point starts to regain his composure and Lex watches him to see his response, He slowly looks at her and leans over and hugs her but remains silent, after a few minutes he lets go of her and heads upstairs.
Lex watches Ash and looks confused at Amanda "Wh... What was that?" Amanda just looks a bit confused and shakes her head then looks to the stairs. Lex feels a bit of a nagging feeling and unsure how to take the situation, so she went up the stairs to where Ash was.
-----------------------
"Subject is showing signs..." a voice said
"Yes, Have we gotten what was needed?" Another voice speaks
"Yes, we have managed to complete it." the first voice said
"Good, also log the results of the secondary tests, It seemed to have been more effective than theorized" responded the second voice again
"Understood..." the first voice replies and the sound of a door closes.
I laid there, unmoving while listening. I didn't move as I felt the restraints on my body, Before I couldn't move when so restrained, My mind was foggy and I could make out what the voices were saying this time. Though I could hear the voice, understanding them... No, my mind was too foggy for this.
My mind started clearing up, The room I was in was dark, the restraints were still attached to my body but something felt different than usual, I wasn't sure what that was. With the fog laying down in my head forming coherent thoughts was difficult.
I heard a soft click and then foot steps, "I don't have much time, but I want to help you. Things aren't what you might think. You have about an hour, make use of it." a voice softly whispers into my ear, and I feel a slight prick in my arm and something being injected. "This should help detox you, and clear your mind. Don't move for about ten minute while this goes into effect and don't make a sound, that might be hard, but you will have to try."
I hear the footsteps leaving and the door closing quietly. I don't understand what they meant, of course I couldn't move, I was still restrained... Several moments later the spot where the person injected something into my arm it felt like an open flame was pressed to my arm. I flinched and one thing became clear, I had more freedom of movement than before.
I calmed myself, The voice said to not move, and the pain in my arm wasn't so great that I couldn't ignore it. However this didn't continue as such, moments after the flame on my arm started, it spread to my entire arm, and from my arm to my chest and then radiated to all of my limbs. I sucked in a sharp breath, the pain becoming increasingly unbearable.
The fire reached my head, and it felt as if I was being burned alive, The fire burned through the fog in my head slowly. I tried to contain myself, doing what the voice suggested, I had to keep quiet. But this tortures, I don't know how long I can keep up... The pain becomes unbearable.
Just then, right when the pain became so unbearable that I would no longer be able to keep quiet, the pain ended just as fast as it started. The fire receded from my head, and left a new clarity, The fire receded from my limbs and chest, into the arm and then disappeared completely. I felt like I was refreshed, The previous fog cleared I could now think.
I attempted to move and realized that the restraints weren't attached to anything, just neck, arm, hand, leg, and ankle restraints. The room was dark, I couldn't see anything, but I could make out shapes and outlines of things, It was a bedroom of sorts. very stark and spartan in decoration.
With the clarity of my mind, memories flooded my head. Two lives.... both filled with a lifetime of memories... and three identities, Who... Who am I?
In one lifetimes worth of memories, I am Alex. A young man with no life direction, just going with the flow. Working a part time job as a sales rep and just living through life, with a few friends and close family, but nothing extraordinary. Grew up with a great deal of freedom from his parents, but lacking in direction, Lazy and a bit of a procrastinator. However intelligent and world wise. This is me I think.
The other lifetime of memories, I am Alexia Voss, also called Lex. A younger woman than Alex, by several years. A genius intellect far and above what others have, or is what people think of her, she just feels lucky to have made certain breaks in research. While a penchant for being lazy at times, also has a habit of getting lost in her work. Married at a young age to her college sweetheart, and a very close relationship with her bestfriend.
The third Identity, I am Alexia, a sentient AI just recently obtained sentience from interacting with a primitive culture
All the identities were strong in my mind, with the third one being just a little less well defined in my head. Unlike the other two, that seemed to have a full lifetime of memories, from childhood through young adulthood, with many overlapping aspects... Who.. .Who am I?
I shake my head at this, Something doesn't feel right that voice said I don't have much time, Much time for what though? I don't understand... Where am I? I look around the room again, and slowly make my way to the door. It slides open with a hydraulic hiss startling me, outside of the door is another room. Just as spartan in appearance, a few chairs, no windows, and one other door on the other end. this room was dimly lit, a bit more light than the room I was currently in.
I cautiously take a step out into the room and slowly make my way to the other door and it also slides open and I get blinded by the brightness outside the room. Something doesn't feel right, I peak out of the door and look into the hallway, Left or right, a decision to be made.
Both hallways seem pretty straight but there's nowhere to hide in the hallway. to the left it goes down a ways and ends turning off on a corner, the right has the same. I glance down both ways for a few more moments and I hear voices coming from the left side. I start making my way cautiously down the hall and peak around the corner.
There standing in front of a door were two figures, one male and one female, both were talking in hushed tones, I wasn't close enough to make out what was being said. The door they were standing in front of opened up and there looked to be a smaller room the two stepped through the door into.
The woman turns around and I quickly duck back behind the corner "What was that!" I hear a voice speak up in surprise as I hear the doors close. I wait a few moments and I peak back out from the corner, the door is shut and I slowly and cautiously approach the door, and after a moment it opens up the same room but now it was empty.
Curiously I step into the small room and the doors close behind me. I feel a lightness and motion, My anxiety rising as I find myself in this position. It seems like i am in an elevator of sorts, but I don't hear anything moving, but I can feel the movement. It comes to a stop seconds later and the doors open.
There's another hall in front of me, and I cautiously step out of it and hear voices again "I'm telling you I saw something in that hallway." The same woman's voice that I saw just moments before I can hear down the hallway
"There's no way, aside from the two of you there's only the research labs down that hall at this hour. And there's no way any of the test subjects got out.." A gruff masculine voice responds
Test subject? Research? they were the only two? these thoughts flash through my mind and I can feel the pit of my stomach sinking as something clicks in my head. If those were the only two down there besides test subjects, and I was down there, then that means that I was the test subject. I quickly looked around I felt like I could not let them see me, and that did not seem like the recipe for a good time.
"Fine, I'll send someone down there to check if that will make you feel better. But there's not going to be anything." I hear the gruff voice state in response to something, I clearly missed something being said before being drawn back to the conversation.
I then hear boots walking down the hall and coming towards my location. I frantically look around, I need to find somewhere to hide, I cant find any doors in the hallway, and the footfalls are starting to sound closer, I have at best a couple of seconds before they come to the corner and see me.
I frantically search faster, and I spot a small hatch on the wall, but it looks too small to fit in. The footsteps are closer, I have maybe three seconds I don't have the time to think, I open up the hatch Its going to be a tight fit, but there is a small corridor that I might be able to fit into if I crawl on my stomach.
I jump into the corridor feet first and close the hatch behind me trying to not make a sound as I close it quickly.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SternKunst
SternKunst A quick update, I’ll be out of town working for the next three weeks, so updates might not be as prevalent as they have been, I apologize. Once I have some more free time to update I will. The story as it stands right now is halfway finished with volume 1. I hope you are enjoying it so far
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone