The Oldest Soul - Animus by Tiffany FitzHenry

It was true that all they needed was just a few drops. She smiled down at me as she removed the needle and softly compressed a cotton square onto the injection site. At first I rejected it, perfect strangers feeling entitled to having an opinion either way. People either liked me or they didn’t, deeply, and almost instantly. What was harder to understand was why, and to try to exist in a normal way knowing it wouldn’t take me two minutes to get her to jump out the window or cut her own wrists or stab me in the chest if I asked her to. She’d only known me for about ninety seconds, but it was easy to tell. but if I’d had to pick something, a cluster of circles discovered deep within our DNA wouldn’t have been my first choice. The singular obsession that would polarize humanity to the point of no return You know, the thing that would finally divide the world in half. I’d never thought much about what it would be. Then you’ll be free to go,” she seemed proud to tell me, her smile genuine. Hoping she’d think back on my words later. A fear buried deep, microscopic in its appearance, invisible in her knowledge of its presence, like undiagnosed cancer, but immense for what it could do inside her. It was her fear of what she was doing, of what it meant. Not of needles, or of blood, or even of me this time.

And when the dark red fluid crept from my vein into the vial, I saw the glimmer of fear in her eyes. “A few drops of blood Evelyn, that’s all we need.”īut despite her efforts, Payge (according to her nametag) couldn’t hide her nerves as she sunk the cold steel needle into the crook of my elbow. I could tell the young lab tech was doing her best to try and reassure us both. “It’s actually really interesting!” she gushed to fill in the gap left by my silence. But I sat still as a stone, studying her as she swabbed my skin with alcohol. “I’m lucky to be a part of it, you know,” she nodded, looking for my agreement.

The Oldest Soul - Animus by Tiffany FitzHenry