Cheat (Icarus Helix #1)

By J. E. Medrick

How far would you go for money? For Marcus Tiller, gambling debt was an overwhelming shadow on his life. As a neonatal attendant at St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital in need of cash, he became CGT-Inc's ideal pawn. The contract: secretly inject newborns with an experimental compound - for $1,000 a head. But, three years after he began, he disappeared.

Now, 14 years later, the effects of the compound are starting to show. 17-year old Ian Reynolds, an aspiring varsity football player, suddenly finds he can control things with the power of his thoughts. Footballs miraculously end up in his hands, girls' skirts catch sudden drafts and life is good. But the gift comes with a price, both physical and mental.

As Ian tries to understand his power, the big rivalry against the Waredo Firehawks looms. But when a stranger who may know his secret begins leaving him cryptic notes, will Ian decide his power is best left... undiscovered?

This is the first novella of the Icarus Helix series. It is approximately 20,000 words. These novellas are intended to stand alone and may be read in any order.

Other Episodes in Season 1:
(#2) Liar
(#3) Coward

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. E. Medrick
• Release date: Mar 24, 2011

J. E. Medrick

J. E. Medrick currently resides in Ohio with a cat, a car, a dog and a fiancé. They are: Raven, Riley, Ajax and Andy, respectively. She has a BBA from Kent State University and spent three years in Japan, teaching English.

Book preview

Cheat

by J. E. Medrick

Copyright © 2011 by J. E. Medrick

Cover art by: Jeroen ten Berge

Cheat is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any and all semblance to actual events, people, or locations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, sold or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without the express written consent of J. E. Medrick.

Special thanks to: Andrew J. M. Smith, Annette Edelman and Mitchell Harmon.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

About eFlare Publishing:

eFlare Publishing is a small, impossible to find procurer of fiction. We like it that way. New writers wishing to be considered are best served by contacting an existing eFlare author, as they are instrumental in helping us choose new works to support.

About Cheat:

Every effort has been made to ensure Cheat is clean, crisp and error-free. If you find grammatical or typographical errors, kindly submit the information to [e-mail]. We will act on the information we find to be most useful, though certain suggestions may be over-looked in light of preserving the author's voice.

Cheat is the first episode of the first season of the Icarus Helix Series. The manuscript had three beta readers and three editors. It is approximately 20,000 words long.

For my brothers.

There's football in this one.

I hope you read it.

Table of Contents

Dedication

About eFlare

About Cheat

Prologue

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About the Author

Prologue - CryoGeneTechnics

CryoGeneTechnics Incorporated spent ten years and millions of dollars studying the four bases of DNA - adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Their goal - the discovery of weaknesses in DNA pairs, the causes of diseases and eventual cures. In the course of their research, they developed a compound called laurosine, a so-called active protein that was capable of finding and overwhelming the weakened half of a DNA pair.

Laurosine was so potent it could replace any of the four bases. CGT-Inc scientists were ecstatic in their research. Humans, before limited to A-C and G-T DNA pairs, now had a wildcard option. A-L, C-L, G-L, and T-L pairs became possible, increasing the number of combinations by 200%. The new possibilities for strings of DNA were now virtually limitless. None could not foretell the potential of these mutated strands.

CGT-Inc scientists bent their efforts into molding laurosine into a vaccination. They wanted to cure genetic weakness and provide the gateway to a new, virus-resistant superhuman. They believed they could eradicate genetic disease. Repeated failures did not dissuade them - some clung to a desperate hope.

In 1993, CGT-Inc Holdings quietly funded the creation of a small, unaffiliated company named Icarus Consulting. The fledgling firm procured a small office space in the quiet town of Harrisford. Their goal - access to the St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital. It was the only hospital with a maternity ward for miles, servicing four cities: Harrisford, Beckettsville, Unionshire and Werado. They began to run ads in the local newspapers -

Make 100k, become rich from very little work. No selling necessary!

Floods of people turned out for the job opportunity, but in the end they found their ideal candidate.

Marcus Tiller, resident of Harrisford and neonatal attendant at St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital, signed on as a medical consultant for Icarus in 1994. During his interview, Marcus let slip that he was deeply in debt from a history of questionably legal gambling. Despite this dark stain, the interviewer was interested in Marcus and closed the deal two days later. He was confidentially debriefed within the week. Due to the nature of his work, he would be paid under the table to avoid taxation and - unbeknownst to Marcus - paper trails. He provided the firm with a key to his home. The consultation office closed the next day; all traces of Icarus Consulting simultaneously evaporated. Marcus' payments were made in cash, left in his home and always while he was away.

Marcus' task: inject newborns in his ward with a laurosine-based compound and monitor their results. A wide variety of children were to be tested, including as many nationalities and mixed medical histories as possible. For each child brought into the experiment, he was to be paid $1,000 with possibilities for bonuses, based on results. For three years he injected children at a rate of almost one per week. Then, he suddenly vanished, leaving his home stripped of clues and his bank account of cash. CGT had been patient while waiting for results, as the effects of laurosine could not be predicted. The reports they received were sparse with information. At his disappearance, the company was left with very little concrete data to continue the observation phase - only a list of names and dates of injections.

Episode 1 - Ian, age 17

Cheat

- 1 -

His helmet smashed into the turf, jamming clods of dirt into the facemask. His teammate hauled him to his feet, grinning. He smacked his helmet to loosen the dirt and bared his teeth back.

That was a hard hit you took there, sucker! Can't you stay on your feet?

Why don't you do a better job of blocking! he shot back cheerfully.

He adjusted his white, grass-stained practice jersey over his pads. The team lined up again and when the ball was snapped, he darted between two defensive linemen. As he ran, he watched over his shoulder for the ball. It came slicing through the air in a neat spiral and he snatched it, hugging it close to his body. Feet pounding, he slammed into the end zone, spiking the ball