Michael took a while to come out.
Even when he did, he was inscrutable. I thought he looked dejected, but then, it was probably my imagination.
We went to the lobby and then to Level - 0.
'Why not Level - 1?', I asked Michael.
'We're going to travel.', replied Michael.
'Where?'
'Where do you think to, genius?'
'Uh... Earth?'
'You sure got that right', he said, snorting at his own joke.
The sarcasm was not lost on me. I pretended not to notice.
We met with Sarah Gene down at Level 0.
And man, was she pretty.
She had blue eyes, blonde hair. Spectacular looking woman.
What impressed me most was her style. She looked like an angel.
I realized a moment too late that she probably was one.
'Sarah. Shadow Angel Team AE34', she introduced herself.
I shook her extended hand.
'Michael', she nodded her head at him.
He returned the nod.
We went towards another room guarded by a guy.
He seemed uninterested in anything that was happening around him.
After a while and some paperwork later, we were standing in some sort of tunnel shaped device.
Above me was a huge circular device, some sort of controls at a corner of the room and a set of clothes that was to be worn.
'We need to find you a body.', Michael said suddenly.
'What happened to mine?', I asked.
Sarah looked at me like I was stupid.
'That's what we are trying to find.', Michael said through clenched teeth.
We found a suitable body for me from a database. Dude was supposed to Warp today. I felt sorry for him. But then, he probably had a good and healthy life. Hopefully. He was also around my age and from what it seemed like, was going to be in an accident.
Michael explained to me what was going to happen to me and what was happening.
The moment I reached Earth, my body would start counting down. After exactly 24 hours, I would be lost. My body will go berserk and I will have died. I could not exist without my genetic body.
Chief, Michael and Sarah will then Axe me. I will be put up for trial and if not found guilty, would be put up for rebirth.
It was a long process. Only the Elite were ever green lit for immediate Rebirth. Because they had important things to do.
I realized there's levels everywhere.
I was at the bottom.
Suddenly, the device above powered up. It took me apart piece by piece, molecule by molecule.
And I blanked out.
When I came about, I was in a hospital bed. There were beeping sounds nearby.
I could hear sounds of people rushing here and there.
I moved my hand up. Blood coated it.
Someone shined a light into my eyes.
'Who are you?', a female voice asked.
'Jo... John', I answered, my body responding automatically.
Soon, I was cleaned up.
The Doctors were amazed that I had healed so quickly. Except for the blood, they could not find any fault in me.
They called it a miracle of God. I was sure it was.
I was discharged, even though the Doctors wanted to keep me in observation.
They made me sign a couple of documents and I was on my way.
Outside, a car was waiting for me. It was a cab.
I saw that Sarah was driving the car.
'I suck at driving', Michael said, sheepish.
'So... where to now?', I asked.
'Where does your friend stay? The one who sent you the message?', Sarah asked.
'Close by to mine... you think he is related to this?'
'Well, it's a good enough place to start.', Sarah engaged the drive gear and we were off.
A clock was set in the middle of the car. It showed 24:00 and the moment she started driving the car, the clock started running.
23:59.
One minute less.
23:58
One more minute less
'Don't look at the clock Kid. It will not make you feel any better.'
'Then why is it there?'
'Standard feature of Issue. We cannot control or change it.'
23:57
This sucks.
'Go a bit faster then. I'm dying by the minute here.'
Sarah looked at me through the mirror. I looked away.
She signed and drove.
We pulled up to my friends home.
He was home. I could see the car in the parking outside.
I walked up to his home and was about to ring the bell when Michael stopped me.
'What are you doing?', he asked.
'Ringing the bell... people do that here.', I said, sarcasm in my voice.
'We have other methods.', Sarah said, smiling.
Taking hold of my hand, we walked through the door together. Michael followed behind.
Sarah started to look around the place.
'He's up.'
'Let's go... '
'Um... maybe in a few minutes'
'Why?'
'He's in a compromised position.'
'What?'
'He's jacking off Kid. Wait for a minute or so. He will finish now.'
I could feel my face turning red when she said it. I also felt a boner coming up.
'Dude. Keep it in your pants.', Michael warned me.
I smiled sheepishly. There went that one.
Sarah looked up again.
'Yeah. He's done. Let's go.'
We barraged into his room. His back was turned to us but he turned when he heard the sound.
'Who are you guys?', he asked, shocked.
'It's me, Vin'
'John?'
He was quaking now.
Sarah pointed a gun at him.
'Speak.'
'Who's this?', he asked.
In one swift motion, Sarah slapped him.
'I know nothing. I got this message from an unknown number. I saw it and I had to forward it.It was me or someone else. I thought you would forward it to someone...', he started speaking in a frenzy.
'Then?', I asked.
'Then... today I heard you were missing.'
'Then?'
'Then you started disappearing.'
'I started doing what?'
'You started disappearing. Everyone is starting to forget who you are. That you existed. It started off with your farthest friends. It's reached up to our school and news channels.'
'So... I don't exist anymore?'
'I'm sure you do... just that you're not in their minds.'
I looked at Sarah and Michael.
They looked back at me, hopelessness in their eyes.
And, at that moment, I understood that I was truly and royally screwed.
Even when he did, he was inscrutable. I thought he looked dejected, but then, it was probably my imagination.
We went to the lobby and then to Level - 0.
'Why not Level - 1?', I asked Michael.
'We're going to travel.', replied Michael.
'Where?'
'Where do you think to, genius?'
'Uh... Earth?'
'You sure got that right', he said, snorting at his own joke.
The sarcasm was not lost on me. I pretended not to notice.
We met with Sarah Gene down at Level 0.
And man, was she pretty.
She had blue eyes, blonde hair. Spectacular looking woman.
What impressed me most was her style. She looked like an angel.
I realized a moment too late that she probably was one.
'Sarah. Shadow Angel Team AE34', she introduced herself.
I shook her extended hand.
'Michael', she nodded her head at him.
He returned the nod.
We went towards another room guarded by a guy.
He seemed uninterested in anything that was happening around him.
After a while and some paperwork later, we were standing in some sort of tunnel shaped device.
Above me was a huge circular device, some sort of controls at a corner of the room and a set of clothes that was to be worn.
'We need to find you a body.', Michael said suddenly.
'What happened to mine?', I asked.
Sarah looked at me like I was stupid.
'That's what we are trying to find.', Michael said through clenched teeth.
We found a suitable body for me from a database. Dude was supposed to Warp today. I felt sorry for him. But then, he probably had a good and healthy life. Hopefully. He was also around my age and from what it seemed like, was going to be in an accident.
Michael explained to me what was going to happen to me and what was happening.
The moment I reached Earth, my body would start counting down. After exactly 24 hours, I would be lost. My body will go berserk and I will have died. I could not exist without my genetic body.
Chief, Michael and Sarah will then Axe me. I will be put up for trial and if not found guilty, would be put up for rebirth.
It was a long process. Only the Elite were ever green lit for immediate Rebirth. Because they had important things to do.
I realized there's levels everywhere.
I was at the bottom.
Suddenly, the device above powered up. It took me apart piece by piece, molecule by molecule.
And I blanked out.
When I came about, I was in a hospital bed. There were beeping sounds nearby.
I could hear sounds of people rushing here and there.
I moved my hand up. Blood coated it.
Someone shined a light into my eyes.
'Who are you?', a female voice asked.
'Jo... John', I answered, my body responding automatically.
Soon, I was cleaned up.
The Doctors were amazed that I had healed so quickly. Except for the blood, they could not find any fault in me.
They called it a miracle of God. I was sure it was.
I was discharged, even though the Doctors wanted to keep me in observation.
They made me sign a couple of documents and I was on my way.
Outside, a car was waiting for me. It was a cab.
I saw that Sarah was driving the car.
'I suck at driving', Michael said, sheepish.
'So... where to now?', I asked.
'Where does your friend stay? The one who sent you the message?', Sarah asked.
'Close by to mine... you think he is related to this?'
'Well, it's a good enough place to start.', Sarah engaged the drive gear and we were off.
A clock was set in the middle of the car. It showed 24:00 and the moment she started driving the car, the clock started running.
23:59.
One minute less.
23:58
One more minute less
'Don't look at the clock Kid. It will not make you feel any better.'
'Then why is it there?'
'Standard feature of Issue. We cannot control or change it.'
23:57
This sucks.
'Go a bit faster then. I'm dying by the minute here.'
Sarah looked at me through the mirror. I looked away.
She signed and drove.
We pulled up to my friends home.
He was home. I could see the car in the parking outside.
I walked up to his home and was about to ring the bell when Michael stopped me.
'What are you doing?', he asked.
'Ringing the bell... people do that here.', I said, sarcasm in my voice.
'We have other methods.', Sarah said, smiling.
Taking hold of my hand, we walked through the door together. Michael followed behind.
Sarah started to look around the place.
'He's up.'
'Let's go... '
'Um... maybe in a few minutes'
'Why?'
'He's in a compromised position.'
'What?'
'He's jacking off Kid. Wait for a minute or so. He will finish now.'
I could feel my face turning red when she said it. I also felt a boner coming up.
'Dude. Keep it in your pants.', Michael warned me.
I smiled sheepishly. There went that one.
Sarah looked up again.
'Yeah. He's done. Let's go.'
We barraged into his room. His back was turned to us but he turned when he heard the sound.
'Who are you guys?', he asked, shocked.
'It's me, Vin'
'John?'
He was quaking now.
Sarah pointed a gun at him.
'Speak.'
'Who's this?', he asked.
In one swift motion, Sarah slapped him.
'I know nothing. I got this message from an unknown number. I saw it and I had to forward it.It was me or someone else. I thought you would forward it to someone...', he started speaking in a frenzy.
'Then?', I asked.
'Then... today I heard you were missing.'
'Then?'
'Then you started disappearing.'
'I started doing what?'
'You started disappearing. Everyone is starting to forget who you are. That you existed. It started off with your farthest friends. It's reached up to our school and news channels.'
'So... I don't exist anymore?'
'I'm sure you do... just that you're not in their minds.'
I looked at Sarah and Michael.
They looked back at me, hopelessness in their eyes.
And, at that moment, I understood that I was truly and royally screwed.
No comments:
Post a Comment