EchoTag

Lucas spent his entire day in the lab, helping Patrick with his attempt to increase the effect of the tranquilizer.

However, there had been no breakthrough. Without a subject to test their invention, every chemical they created could only be stored, waiting to be used in the next attack, which they hoped would never happen.

At one point in time, Lucas even created a potent drug that almost paralyzed Patrick and him. If not for his quick reflexes when he had shoved the tube under the tap the moment fumes emerged, he was damn sure that he'd be lying unconscious by the table, though it wasn't possible considering that they were wearing chemical protective clothing. Yet, Lucas wasn't willing to take the risk.

Patrick glared at him for his mistake and lack of concentration. However, he wasn't as annoyed as Lucas had assumed. 

"Accidents happen. Be careful," Patrick consoled, patting his shoulder before resuming his experiment.

After that, Lucas didn't dare lower his guard even once and continued working until Vance and Ryker returned to fetch the two men for dinner.

The lab was divided into two parts, with the farthest part towards the back assigned for experimentation and storage. A transparent glass wall separated the two parts.

"Aren't you two bored from working all day? Take a break, will ya?" Ryker shouted, leaning on the other side of the wall. He was baffled to see how deeply involved the two men were. 

"Will do. Let me finish this set," Lucas replied, his words coming out more like a mumble due to his respiratory protection. 

Patrick didn't even bother to reply. He remained focused on his experiment, ignoring everything else.

Lucas finished his last batch of new tranquilizers and stored them in the explosion-proof refrigerators that occupied the entire back wall.

"Patrick, are you done?" Lucas asked as he cleared all the waste chemicals and washed the apparatus.

"Not yet. You guys go ahead. I'll join you later."

Lucas nodded and waddled towards the glass wall. Although he wasn't a stranger to CPC, the one he was wearing was heavier than what he was used to. So, it was difficult for him to move around. 

Ryker stifled a laugh when he saw Lucas' movements. "Boy, ain't it funny?"

Donning a poker face, he wobbled as well, mimicking Lucas' actions and Vance burst out laughing.

Lucas wanted to smack Ryker's head. But he held himself as he entered the bathroom to remove his protective clothing.

He didn't leave the bathroom until he washed himself thoroughly.

By the time he was done, Ryker and Vance were deep in conversation.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lucas enquired, tying his shoelaces.

"Your country's people are as stupid as they could ever get," Ryker taunted, not bothering to hide his vexed expression.

"What did they do now?" Lucas looked at him for clarification. But when he didn't receive any response, he turned to Vance who was equally livid.

"Can they get any more dumb? We're trying to help them and they believe we want to harm them." Ryker seethed, glaring hard at Lucas as if he were the one who had rejected their help.

"Hey, what did I do?" Lucas raised his hands when saw the fury in Ryker's eyes.

"Ignore him. He's just annoyed." Vance came in as the peacemaker. "But seriously, why are your country people so adamant? Can't they see the threat?"

'Umm... they aren't my country people. So, I can't exactly speak for them,' Lucas thought.

"What happened? What did they..." Lucas paused when he remembered the rescue mission in the morning. "Did they reject to relocate?"

"What else?" Ryker scoffed in dismay. "We were kind enough to help them and they insulted us. See if we'll save them when they're in danger."

Lucas's brows knitted, his face scrunching up in confusion. Why are the people behaving like idiots at this time of danger? Shouldn't they be trying to escape and protect themselves from the atrocities?

Lucas didn't think the people were that dumb. There had to be some misunderstanding.

"Did nobody accept your help?" he asked, feeling incredulous.

"A few did. Some came to Velomore while others have sought shelter in our neighboring cities. But a vast majority declined to move elsewhere. They still feel the attacks are a hoax.

"What the fuck! How is it possible? Don't they see the news or the social media?"

"What's social media?" Vance asked, staring at Lucas strangely. "Is it some sort of message transmission system your country has developed?"

Lucas was flummoxed to learn that there weren't any social media in this world. 'How do the people communicate with each other?' he wondered, glancing at Vance was looking at him curiously.

"I meant don't they people find out from others? After all, you guys know about the attacks. Why do they feel it's a hoax?" Lucas pointed out, making a weak attempt to explain his slip of the tongue.

"You gotta say. You're also one from that country," Ryker deadpanned and Lucas was rendered speechless.

"That reminds me. You don't have an EchoTag yet. You must have lost yours during the attack. We can get a new one right away," Vance suggested, and Lucas's confusion deepened.

What the hell was EchoTag?

He wanted to ask a lot of questions, but withheld himself. What if he said something mindlessly and raised suspicions?

"Well..." Lucas scratched his head, not knowing what to do. "Okay," he relented when he realized he couldn't escape the predicament.

"Patrick, we're leaving," Ryker shouted slinging an arm around Lucas's shoulder.

Patrick didn't reply as usual and the three men left the lab.

Vance led Lucas to one of the rooms which Lucas had never been to. It looked like a large storage room. 

"Dave, Lucas here needs an EchoTag," Vance informed, going straight to the topic and Lucas greeted the man who had registered his details and biometrics the day he had arrived at Velomore.

"I see." Dave picked up a tablet and entered some information. Once done, one of the drawers at the back beeped and clicked open, surprising Lucas.

'What magic is this?' he wondered, staring at the box Dave was fetching, wishing to see what it held.

"Please, press your fingers here." Dave pointed to a fingerprint scanner and Lucas did as he was told.

"Please speak your name," Dave then handed a recorder and Lucas said his name, wondering where this was going.

Once done, the box beeped again and Lucas's eyes widened when he saw a small watch-like device in it.

"Your EchoTag has been activated. Please don't lose it," Dave warned and handed Lucas the tag.

Though astonished, Lucas had no idea how the thing worked and subconsciously glanced at Vance.

"You may want to test your product. Sometimes, it can be defective," Ryker suggested from the side. "Though it has never happened before."

"Wait, let me test it out for you," Vance said and raised his hand and Lucas noticed only then Vance too was wearing an EchoTag.

'How did I not see it before?' he thought, scolding himself for being absent-minded.

"Echo Velomore, call Lucas Everett."

As soon as he finished speaking, a holographic screen appeared before Vance while Lucas stared in disbelief. The screen showed Lucas' picture.

"Do you want to proceed with the call or end the task?" a monotonous male voice asked.

"Proceed with the call."

Barely had Vance finished speaking when Lucas felt a slight vibration in his hand. As soon as he raised his hand to take a look, a holographic screen appeared before him and this time, he saw Vance's picture. 

"Accept the call, Lucas," Ryker prompted and Lucas cleared his throat which had lost the ability to speak due to his shock.

"Accept the call," he muttered the command, waiting the see what would happen next.

The next instant, he saw Vance's face on the holographic screen. What surprised him was how life-like the holograph was. It was as if Vance was actually before him.

"End the call," Vance instructed and the call ended immediately. "Works fine."

The holographs disappeared and Lucas blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating.

"That was so cool," he exclaimed, once he came out of shock. "I never expected technology to have reached this height here."

Lucas only realized what he had said once the words had left his mouth.

'Oh no. I slipped up again.'