Fallen

by J. Dursky

  Chapter 20

   

  "I thought you were dead! How did you get in here?"  He asks me with an excited whisper.

  "Through the vents..."  I start.

  "You can't be in here!"  He says with startled eyes.

  "No shit, that's why I am glad I ran into you first."

  "At least in this building Dr. McNeal and I are in charge.  So you will be fine as long as the General doesn't recognize you and Dr. McNeal doesn’t find out who you are. I will log you as one of my patients."

  "Lila and I want you to figure out what is going on with me.  After what happened in the yard when you left, I am starting to believe what you have been talking about. I have done things I cannot explain."

  "Follow me. I will get you a room.  I want you to tell me exactly what happened and how you felt. I can also try to pull the footage off the cameras on the soldiers and evaluate it for additional data.” 

  I follow him down the stairs.  At the bottom of the stairs is a steel door.  The Doctor activates it by typing in a numeric password on a key pad.  The door slides sideways and opens to a T-intersection.  We go down the hall to the left.  This is very odd, the hallways are not straight. They are arched to the side. I bet if I followed this hall alone, I would walk in a full circle. It reminds me of a puzzle I had as a kid where I had to roll a ball to the center by tilting it back and forth through a circular maze. The walls are painted white, the ceiling is textured with fluorescent lights spaced out every ten feet or so, and the floor reminds me of a hospital’s, with the 12 inch black and white squares cut into the floor.  The hall is well lit and very clean. None of the doors have labels. There is just a shape in the center each door about face high to me.  I have never seen those sort of shapes.  It looks like a combination of Japanese writing and Ancient Hieroglyphics.  I wonder if they are letters or words.  The shapes seem so strange to me, it would be very easy to get lost in here.  Maybe that is the point.

  He opens a door on the right side of the hallway. It’s the last door before the next intersection.  The next one is a four way intersection.  I assume all buildings are linked by these halls.  We step in the room which looks like a cross between a hospital room, a bedroom, and a waiting room.  It is square, unlike the halls. There is a bed, toilet, sink, dresser, lamp, and a few magazines.  There are no TVs but there is a camera in one of the corners. 

  “So you are progressing towards what I thought you were capable of. Now that you are starting to see it for yourself, can you explain what you felt when you were faced with a fight or flight situation?”

  “I’m not sure, I felt something in me, I only thought of survival. Of eliminating the threat to Lila. I moved fast. It felt like they were standing still. I hit them unbelievably hard, and I killed them all. And it was easy.”

  “From what I have learned about you so far, you are not the type of person to kill someone with no remorse. You seemed to take Jensen under your wing fairly quickly.”

  “I have always been a caring person, I try to put others before myself, most of the time. It never crossed my mind not to kill them, they would have killed me and Lila both, I couldn’t let that happen. Even now I have no regrets, I did what I had to do and would do it again in a heartbeat. Especially for Lila.”

  “So you acted without hesitation?”

  “Yeah, I had total confidence in my abilities to keep Lila safe, I saw all of the moves before they happened. I felt like I had all the time in the world. Similar to planning chess moves. I knew how to beat them before they took a single step.”

  "Interesting… Well it may be a while before I can run any tests or give you any answers."

  "I suppose I will be locked in here?"

  "You don't need to be hidden from the other doctors, but I don't want anyone seeing what you can do.  I have a group of trusted associates, but I also have a few colleagues I don't trust."

  "What kind of tests will you do?"

  "For starters, a blood test and a CT scan.  If there are any anomalies we will specify the tests from there.  You may have to wait a few hours but I will try to get started today." 

  He walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.  There isn't much to do in here so I lay on the bed.  I’m not tired but find myself lying with my eyes closed.  I think of what has happened, I think of Ayla, Jensen, and my parents, but mostly I think about Lila. 

  "Hello."  A voice says. 

  I sit up in the bed and look to the other side of the room.  There is a girl standing against the wall.  She looks to be about 15, long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and slender. 

  "Who are you?"  I ask startled.

  "I'm Michaela, I don't have much time but I came to warn you."  She walks closer to me.

  "Warn me about what?"

  "Dr. McNeal."  She says.  "She is not what she seems.  As far as I know she doesn’t know you’re here.  Don't trust her."

  "Whoa, I don't know what you are talking about."  I say.

  "Just listen, some of the people in here are not who, or what, you think they are. Most are being truthful. Some are not.  I need you to protect my brother because I can’t anymore. Use your radio and talk to Lila as soon as you can but what you choose after that is up to you!" 

  This grabs my attention!  How does she know anything about me?  How does she know about Lila? And who is her brother? 

  "If you stay here, you will learn about your powers and Lila will remain safe, but you will need to protect yourself at all times.  If you show Dr. McNeal what you can do, she will never let you leave.  She will accelerate and amplify your power and attempt to use you as a weapon!  I have seen it!"  Her tone drops a little. "I know you are here for answers, I know you want to help, I can also see how much you love her. Do not get distracted, you can help the world.  Yes, you can still choose to leave. It will take you a little longer to find the answers you seek, but it will come at a great cost to you."

  "I don't understand, something happens to Lila if I go to her? Why should I trust you?"  I ask her, running my hands from my forehead back to my neck.

  "I see your love for each other, I know you want to protect her, and staying is the best way to do that.  You have a little time. Think it over.  When you are presented with a choice, you cannot ignore it. You can stay, learn more about yourself, and how you can save the world. Yet risk potential personal loss. Or go, save Lila, and possibly lose the chance to save the world.  No matter which path you choose, lives will be saved and lives will be lost.  Either way, you CAN stop all of this." 

  The door opens, and so do my eyes.  I am lying on the bed.  Was I just dreaming?