11 Never Insult Someone's Cooking Skills

PJ drove up to the back end of Asher's house. It was New England Colonial Style, with white bricks and a box-like shape. It had two stories in all places except for the two-car garage. Besides the screened windows were grey shutters.

She walked up the back porch and let herself in the door. The tap of her boots rang across the floor as she made her way to the kitchen. The scent of chicken wafted over her as she turned the corner to see Cain and Asher cooking. Miriam was trying to help, but she kinda got pushed off to the side.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you were making lunch," PJ commented. In a pot next to the chicken was boiling pasta.

"I never joke," Asher claimed, narrowing his eyes.

PJ passed the stove and sat down on a stool at the marble island in the middle of the kitchen. She watched as Cain cooked. "Aren't you nervous?" She asked.

"Hmmm?" Cain went, turning around.

"About the uhhh whole genetic modification thing?" PJ asked.

"My philosophy in life is to never fear. And to do that, I typically don't think through things enough to fear. So, no, I do not feel nervous," Cain said. It was in that moment PJ realized what Cain had wasn't exactly bravery, it was more so suppressing his emotions.

"If you really don't want to do this, you can just drop out," Miriam said. "No one would call you a chicken."

Cain turned his attention back to the chicken sizzling in the pan, his face encompassed in the emotion of doubt.

They all ate in relative silence, all of them secretly (or not so secretly) worrying about what was going to happen. Asher was more concerned than his cold demeanor would have them believe. He was already going over his old plan for hiding bodies in the case of… something.

Before they left, Asher measured Cain's temperature, weight, blood pressure, and some other things. Over the next few days, he'd have to repeat the process. Luckily, it took just over five minutes.

They all climbed into their respective cruisers and rode past the Tree Camp to the newly minted Genesis 2. The oval-shaped spacecraft glimmered in the sun, and as Cain went down the ladder cool yet humid air began to infect his lungs.

The interior was still dark, but Asher had managed to snag a solar panel which powered dim lights in the entrance. In the middle of the main room was a lantern that operated the same as a flashlight and was stronger than the lights in the entrance. The other rooms, they hadn't dared explore yet.

"Are you ready?" Asher asked.

"Once step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Cain quoted.

"I'm going to need a definite yes," Asher said, holding up a voice recorder and clicking record. "Repeat after me. I, Cain Colonel, hereby permit the usage of an unknown device upon my person."

Cain repeated it, and what was done was done.

Asher smiled. "Good." He said, and then turned to face his twin. "Do you have the samples?"

She nodded and revealed five samples of fur and feathers.

"Do you know which one belongs to which animal?" Asher asked.

"Yes," Adah says.

"Well, we better label them before we forget," Asher said and did just that.

"Which one would you like to try?" Asher asked.

"Bear," Cain immediately answered.

"Are you sure?" Asher inquired, surprised at the speed of the reaction.

"Yes, I am," Cain said.

Asher nodded and pried the "face" off the watch. Then, with gloves on, he put in the sample and put the face back on, which gave a satisfying click. He repeated that process with the second one and then slid them across the floor to Cain.

"Cain, would you like for them to leave the room?" Asher asked.

"Yes," Cain admitted. "If I throw up, I don't need anyone to see that."

They all left, but not after they wished him good luck. The door closed to the lobby, and Cain slid the two watch-like devices on his wrists, where they clashed with the brown of his skin. They stood out like a eight-year-old lost in a Hot Topic.

"How will I hide these?" He asked Asher.

"Just tell them that they're a gift from me. You shouldn't have to wear these for long. We're just going to try it for a week, and see how it goes," Asher told him.

"So what are we going to even do with these?" Cain asked.

"You see the slides on the sides of the watch faces?" Asher asked.

Cain nodded and Asher continued. "On the left and right side, put it 10% the way to the center. I think the reason why they're slid so far back is that that is their 'resting' mode when they aren't doing anything, so putting the sliders more to the center will add more power or something."

"Alright," Cain said, his voice wavering. Slowly, he did so.

He felt a prick in his wrist near his blood vessels. He let out a hiss of pain and shook his hands furiously in the air. "Ouch!"

"Are you okay?" Asher exclaimed.

"Yeah… just felt like a needle or something," Cain explained.

Well, maybe it was. Asher thought.

"You can play on your phone now, and if you haven't broken out in hives in fifteen minutes you'll be 'cleared' for the day. Well, you'll be cleared after I take your temperatures and other vitals," Asher said to him.

"Okay," Cain said.

Fifteen minutes later, he hadn't broken out in hives so they padded into the lobby.

"How'd it go?" Adah asked.

"Good," Cain said. "Everything's normal."

"Hopefully it'll stay that way for a while. Who knows what'll happen," Asher said. Adah glared at her brother. Does he have to be such a pessimist? She thought.

"So, all I have to say is to not do anything too stressful - no running or playing sports. BB-guns should be fine, but you're riding on Adah's four wheeler in the back seat for the next week," Asher told Cain.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't do anything stressful. Nothing will ever be as stressful as this," Cain laughed.