Ethan nodded and both he and Hunter stepped outside. “Your boyfriend can wait here,” Connor spit out. Hunter glared at him, inching closer but then stopping at Ethan’s insistence. “He goes or I don’t. Got it?” Connor growled but agreed.
Once inside the North building, the trio took the elevator up to the 33rd floor, then stepped off and trekked toward the level 1 elevators. Connor swiped his wrist, activating the doors. He placed his hand on the scanner which then prompted a retinal scanner. Where on earth were they going? Ethan eyed Hunter who simply shrugged. Apparently, he had no idea where they were going either.
They reached the selected floor but Ethan stopped as soon as he read the writing on the wall.
Echo Facilities: Citizens A-M
Echo Facilities: Citizens N-Z
He stared at the sign as his stomach churned with anger and disgust. “This way,” Connor said as he motioned to the right. They walked in silence for a few minutes before reaching a door labeled: Echo Gestation Lab
Connor swiped his wrist and gave another retinal scan, allowing them access. Ethan and Hunter walked in cautiously, unsure of what they were about to witness. At first all they could see was equipment on either side of the room but as Ethan stepped farther inside he realized the room was much bigger.
It was the size of a large warehouse and every square inch was covered with thousands of bodies. Human bodies. They were suspended mid-air and sealed in a plastic mesh of some sort. One above another, above another until they reached the ceiling. Each one was attached to a machine that listed vitals like blood pressure and heartbeat.
He walked up to one and stared in awe, processing what was in front of him. The boy was young with blond hair. Ethan couldn’t tell what color eyes he had since they were closed but he had a guess. He tentatively reached his hand out and touched the plastic mesh, instantly recoiling when he felt how cold the body was.
“Are they… alive?” he asked, shaking his head to disguise the tears gathering in his eyes. Edred was now standing next to him, staring at the same boy. “Yes,” he answered simply.
Ethan turned and noticed hundreds of bodies in the same row, all with machines attached to them. He then observed as thousands more bodies dangled above him. He glanced at Hunter who was already crying. “Can they feel anything?” His voice broke when he spoke. His emotions overpowering him.
“No. They’re in an induced coma. They’ll remain that way until they are needed.” Ethan nodded his head mostly as a reflex. He wasn’t sure what else to do or say. What can you say when you realize your entire life is a lie? What do you do when someone tells you you’re not the person you thought you were? Or worse, what if you suddenly didn’t feel like a person at all?
Edred watched as a tear slipped out of Ethan’s eye and rolled slowly down his face. He had known this day would eventually come but it was far more difficult than he could have imagined. The day of awakening was hard for everyone.
“Ethan-”
“Was I like them?” the boy suddenly asked. Edred was momentarily confused. “Tell me. Was I strung up like this?” The man shook his head. “Listen Ethan, there’s a lot happening-”
Suddenly Ethan grabbed Edred by the throat and pushed him up against a nearby wall. Edred gasped but didn’t fight back. There was no point.
“Answer me!”
“Okay… okay, I’ll show you,” the older man croaked out.
Ethan loosened his grip but waited before taking his hand off Edred’s throat. They walked through the many rows of bodies before stopping in front of two large doors. Edred now swiped his wrist and opened the doors. This room was much smaller and consisted mostly of general lab equipment. That’s all he saw at first. It wasn’t until he stepped all the way in that he saw something so horrific it made him turn his head and vomit at the sight.
Edred rushed over to Ethan and tried to help him but the boy wanted nothing to do with him. “Get away from me!” he yelled.
“Are you alright?” Hunter asked but Ethan didn’t answer. Edred stood up straight and backed away. Ethan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he turned to see it again. He took each step carefully and painstakingly slow. His hands were shaking and tears were streaming freely down his face. He stopped and turned his eyes up.
The boy was exactly like Ethan but a lot younger. His eyes were closed but according to the machines, his heart was beating. Ethan reached out and gently touched the boy’s face. He glanced over to the machine and noticed the name written next to it.
E. Drake Echo 8
He noticed his wrist and suddenly the mark made sense.
Echo 7
The word that had plagued him for years was nothing more than a label. He had wondered about its origin and why he never remembered receiving it. Now it made sense. He wasn’t even conscious when it was put on him.
“What does the eight stand for?” he demanded. Edred didn’t want to respond but knew he no longer had a choice. “He’s the eighth version of you. He is here in case you fail.” Ethan blinked several times, letting the statement process in his mind. Had he failed before? Obviously. Could they have been the ones that Edred mentioned? The others that died?
“Why is he in here and not out with the rest of them?” Ethan asked. Edred hesitantly walked up to him.
“Godrik believes your DNA is unique. He needed to keep you separate to make sure it wasn’t tampered with.” Ethan turned to him.
“Tampered with? How?”
“During the final stages of reanimation, certain beliefs are implanted. It’s the reason no one ever leaves the city. The impulse to do so is taken away. As is the need to ask certain questions, dismiss authority or dream.”
Ethan was confused by that statement. “So, those beliefs were left intact for me? Why?”
“You needed to be curious and ask questions. You needed to resist authority and demand answers.”
That’s when it hit Ethan. “You’re all using me, aren’t you?” he asked with a shaky voice.
“Yes Ethan,” he answered plainly.
He was completely overwhelmed by this information. Ethan walked to the counter and placed his hands out in front of him for support. Hunter was right behind him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“What have you done to me?” he asked shakily.
“Ethan, I need you to understand. It was all necessary. The lying, the manipulating. It served a purpose.” Ethan was now glaring at the man.
“And what purpose was that?”
“To get you ready for everything that lies ahead.” The boys stared intensely at Edred.
“What lies ahead?” Hunter asked.
“Hopefully, the end of this.” They watched as Edred motioned toward the laboratories and the bodies hanging from ceiling. “I need answers Edred.”
“And you’ll get them. But first, there’s some people you need to meet,” he said turning around.
“Who?”
“The others like us. The Awakened.”
CHAPTER 9
E than’s head was pounding like someone taking a sledge hammer to it. His mind was in a near constant state of disarray; perplexed, annoyed, angry and so confused by what Godrik had done to him.
“Does your head hurt?” Hunter asked.
Ethan was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands, grimacing every few seconds. “Yeah, it’s just a lot to process.” Hunter had been exceptionally shocked by what he saw. He couldn’t believe that this kind of experimenting and exploitation was happening right beneath the city streets.
They were back in Edred’s office, waiting for the other Awakened to arrive. Apparently, there was quite a long list of people that wanted to meet Ethan. Word had spread that Godrik was using the serum on one boy instead of developing a generic strand for the Awakened.
Earlier, as they stood in the warehouse, staring at the bodies of the next generation of citizens, Edred explained that Daventry was not the only city with echo facilities. There were five
in total and they mirrored Daventry in every way. Edred had spoken to the leaders within those cities, asking them to meet Ethan. Since Godrik veered away from the original plan, they didn’t exactly have a lot of other options.
Daventry and the other six cities surrounded one large metropolis by the name of Kowend. Edred told them how Kowend controlled the other cities, not only the citizens but the goods that were made and exported.
Ethan realized that meant part of the food they produced and a portion of the textiles they made were being sent off to this larger city. Suddenly, Abby’s inquiry about the missing clothes made sense. Then he thought about Hadley’s questions regarding the mileage of the trains and how they were traveling at night. Apparently, that question was now answered as well.
Kowend was the only territory without echoes. When Ethan had pressed Edred for more information, the older man sighed and advised him to wait. He would get all of the available data in due time. First Ethan had to survive the meeting. He was only nervous because according to Edred, Ethan was now the solution to a very large and very real problem. He had no idea how he was the answer but the pressure to impress was still there.
Ethan jolted forward suddenly, almost falling off the chair, when a particularly painful spasm hit him. Ethan opened his eyes and glanced at Hunter who was staring at him with concern. He seemed so young and innocent now. Ethan immediately latched on to Hunter and hugged him fiercely, never wanting to let go.
“I promise, when I find out who did this to us, I’m going to kill them.” Hunter tensed but didn’t say anything back, simply tightening his hold on Ethan’s waist. He buried his head into Ethan’s neck and inhaled deeply.
*****
Hours passed and Ethan was feeling restless. He sat in his chair, legs bouncing up and down with residual nervous energy. He bit his thumb as he stared at the floor, seemingly trying to calm himself yet failing miserably.
He had no idea what he was nervous about. Sure, meeting new people always made Ethan apprehensive but this reluctance had more to do with what they expected from him. How was he the answer to their problem?
“You’re going to burn a hole into the carpet if you keep that up,” Hunter scolded. “Sorry, it’s just the waiting, I can’t take it anymore!” Hunter could tell Ethan’s frustrations were rising to the surface so he did his best to calm him. He walked over to the struggling boy and cupped his face, forcing the brunette to see him as he crouched down to meet his eyes. “Hey, don’t be nervous. You’ve got no one to impress.” Hunter’s smirk was enough to cause Ethan to relax his shoulders and smile back.
“Not even you?” he sassed back playfully. Their happy bubble popped when Edred entered the office and informed them that the visitors had arrived. Hunter and Ethan got up and exchanged expressions of reassurance before following Edred to the elevators.
Edred explained it would be best if the outsiders were not seen within the city walls so they were going to meet them in one of the lower level laboratories. Ethan frowned at the thought that his life was now being forced into a shroud of secrecy.
As if sensing his unease, Hunter took Ethan’s hand and intertwined their fingers, giving them an encouraging squeeze. Ethan took a deep breath and leaned into Hunter’s touch. He had no idea if he would survive whatever was yet to come but he knew he couldn’t do it without Hunter.
It was strange to think that he practically hated the boy when he first met him but that was in the past. They were exactly where they needed to be now; together.
As soon as the door opened, Edred stepped out and waited for Ethan and Hunter to follow him. Hunter had to practically drag Ethan out into the hallway but eventually the younger boy complied.
They reached a laboratory toward the back and Ethan noticed the wall was frosted over, affording the group some privacy. As he stepped inside, he was immediately met with ten pairs of eyes, seemingly studying him with great intensity. The adults were lined up across the back wall of the lab, waiting patiently for introductions. Ethan didn’t miss the way he was being eyed up and down. He knew they were trying to size him up and the thought made his skin crawl. To his right, he noticed Connor and one hard set of eyes that belonged to Preston Andrews. Next to him stood none other than Tyler Hanes. Why was he there?! Ethan rolled his eyes internally. The other eight people were foreign to him.
Edred motioned for Ethan to follow him up to the visitors. He let go of Hunter’s hand but gave him a small smile to let him know that he was okay. Hunter nodded and waited by the door.
The first person in the group was a man of average height with short dark hair and big brown eyes. His tanned skin was unlike any shade that Ethan had ever seen, yet the hue matched his golden tunic perfectly. “Ethan, this is Locke Westbrook, leader of Betham,” Edred said. The man extended his hand in greeting, gripping Ethan’s hand firmly. Ethan didn’t say anything but gave a nod in return.
They moved on to the second person, a short woman with wild blond curls, a petite nose and hazel eyes. She smiled at Ethan, gripping his hand before the introduction was even made. “This is Emmeline Radford, leader of Carlise.”
“It’s so nice to meet you Ethan,” she exclaimed. Ethan could sense she was being genuine, offering her a smile back. Next up was a tall man, clearly the oldest of the group, who eyed Ethan warily. Obviously, he was unconvinced by Ethan. He wore all grey, matching his ghostly hair and icy blue eyes. “This is-”
“Alistair Thorne, leader of Wick,” the old man stated coolly.
“Alistair-” Edred tried but was interrupted again. “So, this is Godrik’s solution? Some child? I’m less than impressed,” Alistair sneered. Ethan stepped back, confused by the hostility. He didn’t ask for any of this so why were they being so mean?
“I told you he was out of his mind,” Preston snickered from the corner. Both Ethan and Hunter shot him equally dark glares. Tyler was on the verge of laughing but stopped himself when he glanced over to an older woman with long straight grey hair. The glare of condemnation that she was giving him was enough to send shivers down Ethan’s spine.
“How do we know if the serums worked? They’re a lot stronger than us.” Ethan turned to see a dark-skinned man with a shaved head ask the question. He reminded Ethan of an older version of Hendrick, however this man’s skin was much darker. The man walked up to Ethan and eyed him briefly. “Berwin Alcott, leader of Jarrow.” Ethan nodded his head but still remained silent. “Does he speak?” another woman huffed. She had cropped brown hair with blond highlights and earrings in almost every part of her ears. Her face was annoyed but curious.
Before Edred could say anything, Ethan finally broke his silence. “Yes, I speak. I would gladly say more if you all would take those nasty grimaces off your faces.” Ethan could hear Hunter cover up his laughter, turning it into a cough. The woman smirked at him and introduced herself as Whitley Sage, leader of Hythe. “I think I like him,” she stated with her arms crossed.
“Well you can like him all you want, I’m not convinced,” a man with sharp green eyes and messy red hair commented to the group.
“Garrick, you’re not helping,” Whitely chastised. “Oh, because you are?” he retorted.
Soon the visitors began to argue in front of him, making points about whether Godrik was insane or brilliant. He couldn’t tell which one was winning and he didn’t want to. He peeked at Hunter, who nodded and the pair walked toward the door, silently agreeing to leave the adults arguing amongst themselves.
“Wait, where are you going?” the older woman with long straight grey hair asked. “Why do you care?” he shot back. His hostility caught her by surprise but she approached him anyway.
“I believe you’re the answer to our problem,” she stated. “Really? It seems like you can’t even agree on whether or not I’m worth meeting,” Ethan retorted.
“They need time. Once they see what you can do, they’ll come around,” she explained. Ethan’s brows knitted in confusion. “How do you know what I can do?” The w
oman smiled at him and extended her hand out. “I’m Danica Amethistine. I helped Godrik develop the serums. He’s been keeping me updated on your progress.” Ethan realized that of all the people standing before him, Godrik was missing. Hunter waited for Ethan to take Danica’s hand but he didn’t. He couldn’t. This woman had admitted to helping Godrik lie to him and as much as he wanted to pretend like it didn’t bother him, it did. “So, you helped him turn me into a science experiment?” Ethan asked harshly.
Danica was not prepared for the anger in his tone. The question also caught the attention of the rest of the group. All eyes were on Ethan.
“Ethan, please understand-”
“Yeah, I know. It was for the greater good, blah, blah, blah.” Even Edred was somewhat surprised by Ethan’s snarky comments. He knew the boy was angry but he had hoped they would have moved on from that. Clearly not. “That doesn’t change the fact that he injected me with who knows what and turned me into some monster!” Ethan bellowed.
“Ethan-”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to not know who you are? Or even what you are?” He was addressing the entire room now. “To not even feel human anymore?”
The anger was building up inside of him and Hunter knew sooner or later he would explode. “You all act like I have something to prove to you when in fact you have to prove yourselves to me! Why should I even help you?!”
Hunter squeezed Ethan’s arm and softly spoke into his ear. “Calm down. You know what happens when you get mad.” Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hunter was right, the last thing he needed was to go crazy in front of all these people. They were about to turn around and leave when a voice stopped them. “You’re right Ethan.”
Awaken_Ethan Drake Chronicles Page 12
