Awaken_Ethan Drake Chronicles Page 4

  He sat there, as Dr. Stevens explained the various tasks that he would need help with. He had no idea how to react to the information before him but at least now he had a better idea of what was happening in the city.

  Ethan had always wondered where the city’s food came from, being mostly ignorant during his time in school. It was easy when all you had to do was flick your wrist and sustenance would appear out of thin air. Apparently, the air wasn’t so thin.

  But there was still something that didn’t sit right with Ethan and the feeling grew stronger as he stared at his wrist. Even though he was being given a lot of information, he still felt uneasy, like there was more to this story but he chose to ignore that feeling and maintained his attention on the task before him. The last thing he wanted was to get distracted with silly inquiries that could jeopardize his job.

  “This is the part where you come in,” Godrik began to say. The doctor motioned to the computer monitor which displayed various pieces of information, pointing to a particularly large data file. “I’ll send this to you so you can read it over later.”

  Ethan gave him a small nod, suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of information he was receiving seemingly all at once. He wasn’t sure how to process it all but he figured a long night was ahead of him.

  “That reminds me, I never asked, how do you like your new dwelling?” Godrik asked as he shuffled toward his briefcase. “Oh um… it’s great. Yeah, really great,” he replied distractedly. Godrik frowned at the young boy who was now zoning out.

  “Is everything okay Ethan?” Ethan finally met the man’s eyes and answered. “Sorry, yes everything’s fine. It’s a lot to take in, you know?” he replied.

  He gave the doctor a nervous smile, praying it was enough to ward off the barrage of questions headed toward him. Dr. Stevens caught on to Ethan’s hesitation and ceased further inquiry, choosing instead to stand up and lead the boy out of the laboratory.

  “I know it’s a lot but soon you’ll realize just how important you are in all of this,” Dr. Stevens stated. The pair walked to the single door elevator and waited. Ethan took the opportunity to survey the area, noticing the lack of young people on their floor. The space itself was filled with numerous labs but there was no one his age around. In that moment, a very real question came to Ethan’s mind.

  “Dr. Stevens, why are there no other apprentices on this floor?” The older man seemed surprised by the question but answered it regardless. “Apprentices don’t usually work down here.”

  Ethan decided not to push the subject further. He was still new to this work and he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. When the elevator reached them, they boarded and Ethan watched as Godrik once again placed his hand on the screen to activate the machine. As they ascended toward the ground level, Ethan glanced down at the doctor’s wrist and noticed his tattoo was different. Maybe the marks were unique to the generation that received them?

  “I almost forgot! Going forward, you’ll be receiving monthly vitamin injections,” he announced abruptly. Ethan met him with wide eyes but the doctor interrupted his thoughts before they could form a protest.

  “Don’t worry, it’s totally standard. All personnel are required to receive them. We are the most important Sector in society. What good are we if we get sick or worse?” he said reassuringly.

  Ethan swallowed hard but eventually agreed. He turned his attention back to the door in front of him. “Okay,” he replied quietly.

  When they reached the 33rd floor, Godrik led Ethan back to his more accessible office, where he preceded to unlock one of the cabinets with an actual key. It was in that moment that Ethan realized the key had been hanging from the doctor’s neck the whole time, hidden by his sweater. Why hadn’t he noticed?

  “Take a seat,” he said, motioning to the chair opposite his desk. Ethan lingered by the door for a few seconds before sitting down. He watched as Dr. Stevens searched through various vials of medicine before choosing a blue one as well as a syringe. He emptied the vial into the needle and turned to face the boy.

  Ethan removed his jacket slowly and rolled up his sweater sleeve. The sharp needle pinched at his forearm, pushing the liquid in and then quickly retracting. Ethan winced at the sensation and withdrew his arm when it was over.

  “Great! You might feel a little dizzy in a few hours, but that’s completely normal.” Ethan nodded his head apprehensively. Everything that was happening felt off but not necessarily wrong so he kept quiet. He followed the doctor out to the regular elevators. “Be sure to read the file I sent you, we’ll be discussing it in great length tomorrow.”

  “See you then,” Ethan said as Godrik walked back toward his office.

  *****

  In his apartment, Ethan faced his computer, swiping his wrist against the screen to turn it on. It had been a long day filled with more information than he had learned in his last two years at school. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement.

  While he waited for the file that Godrik sent him to download he made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the many meals now available to him. He wasn’t sure what to order so he asked for an assortment of food to be sent to him. He eyed a salmon filet sitting on fresh greens topped with lemon, grabbing it along with cucumber mineral water.

  As he ate his meal, he thought about the many things that were bothering him. It made him angry to know that he, along with thousands of other citizens, had been essentially taking medication without realizing it. Technically, it could have been anything, even poison and they’d never know. The thought sent a chill down Ethan’s spine.

  Even he had no idea what Dr. Stevens injected into his arm, but he had to hope it was for his well-being. And that right there was the problem. Even though he felt it was wrong of them to lie about what they were putting in the food, they still had their health and well-being in mind. Ethan was finding it almost difficult to get mad at them, after all, he was healthy too, right?

  Before he could get too ahead of his thoughts, the computer beeped indicating the file was now downloaded. He pushed his food aside and walked over to the screen.

  He frowned as soon as he opened the document which was over a thousand pages long. How could Godrik expect him to read all of that in one night? Frustrated, Ethan walked backward and threw himself on the bed, groaning in the process. He ran his hands down his face and exhaled loudly.

  This was exactly what he was afraid would happen. He would get his first big assignment and fail miserably. It was definitely not the way he wanted to start his new life. He sat back up, locked eyes with the screen and decided to get it over with. The sooner he commenced, the sooner he could finish.

  He walked back up to the screen but stumbled a bit on his feet. He steadied himself with the chair in front of the desk but his body was too heavy causing him to fall to the side and land on to his knees. He tried to keep himself up with his hands but they also crumbled under the weight of his body.

  Ethan fell forward, swaying to the right, hitting his shoulder painfully as he landed on the ground. His vision blurred rapidly, the pain in his body growing. He screamed out and grabbed his head, desperately trying to settle the strain his body was enduring. Spots danced before his eyes igniting wave after wave of nausea.

  It could only be one thing but why would Godrik do this to him? Could it be that he mixed up the vials? Would he want to intentionally harm Ethan? If so, why? He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as the convulsions began. His body was on fire and there was nothing he could do about it.

  Suddenly his mind was inundated with images of people he didn’t know and places he’d never seen. He had no idea what was happening but the staggering speed at which the pictures passed through his brain was enough to cause the boy’s eyes to flutter and his breath to quicken. He kept seeing pieces of one person over and over, but he didn’t know who it was. Then Ethan’s body arched up and fell back down, rendering him unconscious.

  It was hours later that Etha
n blinked his eyes open and took a sharp breath. He was still on the ground, between his bed and the desk. As he tried to stand up, he noticed his sweater was damp and that’s when he realized he was soaking wet. He quickly shed the sweater along with his pants and made his way into the bathroom.

  The tile in there was the opposite of the rest of the apartment; a deep shade of charcoal on every surface except the toilet and the sink which were still white. The shower was a massive stone structure, enclosed in glass. He stepped inside and waved his hand at the sensor, instantly activating the showerhead. Ethan let the hot water roll down his body as he attempted to figure out what had happened to him.

  He didn’t know exactly how long he was passed out but judging from the residual pain in his back and neck, he knew it had been longer than an hour. He pushed his face into the steamy liquid and sighed, feeling his body loosen. He rolled his head from side to side, exhaling loudly as he did so, allowing the water to rain down on his tired limbs.

  His mind was swimming with possible explanations for what happened but only one rang true. Godrik did this to him and he needed to understand why. He stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel on his way to the closet. He reached into a drawer labeled ‘sleeping attire’ and took a shirt and pants from it, putting them on right away. Ethan walked out into his room once more and stared at the computer screen. The file was still open, displaying all one thousand pages.

  He stared at the screen for a few minutes, a smile playing on his face. The pages seemed shorter now. He began to read and marveled at how quickly he could finish each one and before he knew it, he was half way done. He noticed the time on his nightstand and shook his head disbelievingly. How had he read five hundred pages in under an hour? What was in that injection?

  He continued to read and before long, he finished the document. He flipped through the file one last time to make sure he hadn’t missed something but all the pages were there and he had read every single one. What’s more, he understood everything that he had read. Ethan had so many questions but they would no doubt wait for the morning. Right now, his body was craving his bed.

  He snuggled underneath the sheets and took a deep breath. He hoped that everything would soon reveal itself and that he would get the answers he needed tomorrow. But what if the answers he would be given were not the ones he wanted?

  *****

  The following morning, Ethan found himself pacing in front of the elevators in the North building. He chewed his thumbnail nervously as his mind wandered through the many questions that he had for his boss. He knew he had to be tactful. Obviously starting the morning with ‘Hey, by the way, did you poison me?’ was probably not the smartest thing to do.

  But he really did think that Godrik poisoned him or at the very least gave him the wrong medication. Ethan needed to get to the bottom of this and quickly before his mind exploded. He perked up when the elevator doors dinged open and froze at the sight of his boss.

  “Ethan! Just the person I was looking for!” Godrik exclaimed. He yanked the boy into the elevator and sandwiched him in between himself and another man. Ethan stared at him and then his boss as the elevator rose to the 33rd floor. The stranger was in his twenties with light blond hair and willow colored eyes. He was slightly taller than Godrik but Ethan didn’t feel the same warmth that came from the older man. Instead, the man wore a subtle, deceptive expression.

  “Oh, I’m sorry! Ethan this is Connor Stone.” He waved and smiled at Ethan who in turn nodded his head, still clearly confused. “Connor will be popping in over the next few weeks, helping with some gene therapies,” Godrik explained.

  The other man focused his gaze on Ethan which he of course found odd. “This is difficult work. You up for the challenge?” Connor asked Ethan. His brows furrowed, unsure of what to say so he simply shrugged, causing the young man to sputter a laugh. Ethan didn’t know what to make of him, but vowed to keep his guard up.

  As they strolled to Godrik’s office, Ethan realized his chance to confront the doctor was slipping away. He still needed answers.

  “Dr. Stevens, can I talk to you for a minute?” Ethan asked right outside the office doors. The doctor glanced at Connor, silently telling him to continue while he stayed behind. Godrik led Ethan to an empty laboratory and touched the glass, frosting it over for privacy. “Is something wrong?”

  Ethan appeared nervous, unsure of what exactly he wanted to ask. “The um… injection you gave me last night… uh…. made me sick,” Ethan stuttered. Godrik seemed genuinely surprised at the news. Ethan took that as a good sign. Clearly this had all been a misunderstanding.

  “How sick?”

  Ethan scratched the back of his neck as he stalled with his answer. He didn’t know how much detail he should go into. What if he was sick and this illness jeopardized his chances at work? “I… fell down,” he began to say. Godrik sighed in relief.

  “Oh, that’s nothing. I told you the medication would make you dizzy,” the doctor stated.

  Ethan shook his head. “No. I mean I fell and then my head felt like it was going to explode. I started seeing things and then I passed out!” Ethan shouted a bit louder than he meant to. The doctor’s eyes widened. “You passed out? For how long?” Ethan shrugged. “A few hours, I think.”

  Godrik processed the information. “And you say you saw things? What kind of things?” Ethan bit his lip as he thought back to the images that circled his mind less than twelve hours ago. “I saw a lot of people in places that I didn’t recognize. I don’t understand this Godrik.” The doctor stepped forward, inching closer to the boy.

  “Have you ever seen anything like that before?” he whispered with the slightest hint of hope in his voice. This was it. Ethan had to choose whether to trust Godrik and tell him about his dreams. He knew it could make things worse for him but he decided it was time to tell someone what he was experiencing.

  “I see things in my sleep… people that I don’t know and strange places,” he confessed softly. He turned away from the doctor, fearing the judgement that must certainly be coming. “I hear someone call my name and sometimes…,” Ethan hesitated, “Sometimes, I hear screaming and there’s blood.”

  He heard a gasp. The boy snapped his head back to meet his eyes to the doctor’s. “What is it?” Ethan asked. Godrik’s features changed from scrutiny to understanding.

  “They’re called dreams. At night when your body is asleep, your mind wanders and soon images present themselves. Sometimes the images are happy and sometimes they’re sad.” Ethan bit his lip, processing his words. “It’s perfectly normal Ethan.”

  Ethan’s mouth turned up slightly and his shoulders relaxed. For once, someone had told him that he was completely normal and he would be lying if he didn’t admit that it felt good to hear. “Do you have dreams?” Ethan asked. “Of course,” the doctor replied. He placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder and led him back outside toward his office.

  “Glad we got that taken care of. Now on to the real work!” he exclaimed. Before Ethan could argue, Connor came into view and the three of them began walking toward the single door elevator. It was then that Ethan realized he had not gotten the answers he needed. He still didn’t know why he reacted to the injection that Godrik gave him or what was even in the vial to begin with. It seemed his answers would need to wait for another day.

  *****

  Ethan was about to take a bite out of his apple and cheese sandwich when he was stopped by a loud shriek. He was in the building’s opulent café, grabbing some lunch when he was rudely interrupted by none other than Hadley West. She excitedly made her way to him and sat down, dropping her lunch with a loud thud. “It’s so good to see you!”

  Ethan swiveled around, trying to assess whether the jovial girl was talking to him. He held his sandwich mid-air as he returned his gaze to her. Hadley’s appearance had been altered since their days in school causing Ethan to stare a little longer than he should.

  Her hair was now smooth and styled slight
ly above her shoulders, cut at a fierce angle, framing her petite face. She wore black boots, dark grey leggings and a thick heather grey sleeveless dress with black piping along the seams. When she sat down, she immediately bit into her tofu and summer vegetable salad, never once breaking eye contact with Ethan.

  “How are you Ethan?” she asked with a mouthful of food. He finally put his sandwich down and engaged the strange girl. “I’m good. You?” She smiled, brushing away the hair that fell over her eye.

  “I’m awesome! You know at first I thought working in level 2 would be awful because level 1 got to do all of the fun stuff but as it turns out I’m actually having a lot of fun too!”

  She seemed genuinely happy as she carried on, causing Ethan to smirk. He realized that not everyone had the opportunities that he was being given and even those people chose to embrace their new jobs. It made Ethan think about his current situation. Was he really giving Godrik a chance? Was he making the most of his new job? Was he learning all he could and making the city a better place to live?

  Ethan stared at the girl in front of him and realized he was regarding his new life from the wrong perspective. He needed to find the joy in what he was doing and if he did, maybe one day he could radiate as much happiness as Hadley.

  “And then my boss told me that I was right and that my suggestions would make the trains run more efficiently. Isn’t that amazing?!” Ethan couldn’t hold back his grin as he agreed with his new friend.

  “That is amazing Hadley. I’m glad they can see how brilliant you are.” She beamed at the compliment and continued to eat her salad.

  “The strange thing is, the reason I found the error in the first place was that the trains were running in the middle of the night. Like every single night. Isn’t that bizarre?”

  Ethan thought about it and realized it would be strange for the trains to run after midnight since no one was supposed to be outside in the first place. Why else would they operate in the middle of the night?