“No! No! No! No! What is happening to me?” Caiden yelled.
The light kept getting brighter and more intense.
***
Caiden woke up in a cold sweat. His chest felt heavy and his heart was pounding.
“You okay, Caide?” Yvora asked in a hoarse voice as she slowly sat up and caressed his shoulder.
“Yeah, I…It’s okay, go back to sleep,” he assured her.
“Oh, man. You’re sweating. Are you sure you’re okay?” she persisted with more concern.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Believe me. Rest now, okay?” he calmly told her.
She lazily nodded, kissed him on the cheek and went back to sleep. What the fuck was that dream all about? It felt so real, he thought. Eyes see more? The power? What was that light? What in the world? Gotta be the after effects of the Greenwood I smoked. Shit! he thought.
They got back to Yvora’s place around two a.m. The intense intimacy they shared at Star Hills didn’t end there. They were drawn to each other when they got back, and went until they passed out. Caiden couldn’t even remember what time they fell asleep. Yet, there he was, wide awake; wired from yet another bizarre dream. He looked around her room searching for the time. There was an antique clock on the dresser. One thirty p.m. Damn. We really did get crazy, he thought to himself.
He sighed and smirked to himself. Thinking of the previous night filled an emotional void he never knew was there. He tenderly laid back down, facing Yvora. Even being asleep with her hair unkempt, she was the epitome of irresistible beauty. She looked peaceful; a new reminder for him that not all in his life was doom and gloom. There was hope for some semblance of happiness; even for someone like him.
Though he was finally relaxed again, he couldn’t go back to sleep. The words from the dream, as well as the memory of the strange light, began to run his mind. His subconsciousness was a persistent one. Depriving him of even a moment of solace or reprieve from its perpetual onslaught of millions upon millions of unwanted thoughts. Caiden got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. The cold water gave him a jolt of refreshing energy.
As he dried his face, he noticed a stinging sensation near his left wrist where his holo-watch was. Hmm, must have had it on too tight. Lemme take this off and run some cold water on my wrist, he thought. He unbuckled the watch, but oddly enough it didn’t want to come off. Man, that thing is really stuck on there, he thought. His attempt to peel the watch off proved to be surprisingly difficult. He gave it one more tug, this time with more force.
The imprint of the watch on his skin was deep, but that wasn’t the issue. The outline in his skin where the watch was, was glowing a turquoise color.
“What the…” he exclaimed, before he quieted down so he wouldn’t wake Yvora.
His knees were weak. He suddenly became nauseous. He closed the bathroom door and sat on the edge of the tub in utter disbelief. His hand felt fine. He wriggled his fingers; all was good. He moved his left arm in a circular motion. That felt normal too.
He panicked to himself some more before he exhaled to release the excess nervous energy. Okay. Maybe I’m still buzzed, or tired or whatever. Maybe if I shower, breathe in the steam, and calm down, that will help, he desperately thought to himself. He undressed, turned on the shower, and climbed in. The steam filled up the entire bathroom. Caiden stood with his head tilted toward the shower head, eyes closed. He controlled his breathing; slow inhale, slow exhale, positive thoughts, repeat. He did this for five minutes before he heard the door open. Yvora got into the shower with him. She embraced him from behind and kissed his back.
“Morning, gorgeous,” she said.
“Hey,” he replied. He adjusted his left hand so that it was out of Yvora’s view.
She gently turned him around so that they were face to face. Her hair was wet and slicked back. Her skin was glowing and moist from the steam. She was too much to resist. She took a half step back, arms still around Caiden, and looked him up and down.
“Damn,” she said with the type of passion in her voice that drove Caiden mad. They kissed as the steamy water showered them both. “Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” he asked.
“I dunno. For being you,” she said hesitantly. “I mean, I’ve had my fair share of relationships. And every guy hurt me in the end. And I could always tell that they were the type of person that would hurt me before they did it. And yet I still went on with those relationships. Stupid, right? I guess I was looking for something in them that would never be there.”
“What makes me so different?” Caiden asked.
“There’s an air about you. There’s a story your eyes tell me. I dunno how I know, but I just do. I can tell you’re a good person. And I wanna know more about you,” she said confidently.
“Thanks, I guess,” Caiden said sheepishly.
“There’s no guessing. Believe it!” she countered.
He smiled. He was thankful for Yvora in more ways than he could’ve imagined. Even though she didn’t know his life story, she saw goodness him. Her confidence in him gave him a reinforced sense of identity. It gave him the conviction to be proud of who he was, despite his background. It was empowering. Despite his emotional high, he was still lost in doubt. As he pulled her closer, he lifted his left wrist. Still glowing huh? he thought.
“Hey, I’m gonna make something to eat. Anything you want?” she asked.
“No, anything’s fine,” he said.
“Ooh, I like that. Not picky at all. Makes things easier for me. Just so you know, I’m an awesome chef,” she said happily.
“Man, you can do just about anything, huh?” he said.
“When I put my mind to it,” she said. She smiled, kissed him on the cheek and got out of the shower.
He finished shortly after, dried himself off, and got ready to head out. He put his holo-watch back on to cover his wrist. I’ll worry about that later, he thought. He headed to the kitchen to eat with Yvora. After an hour of relaxing with her, Caiden geared up to leave.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked.
“Yeah, gotta run. Got some stuff to take care of,” he replied.
“That’s cool. Speaking of which, I almost forgot I have rehearsals later today! Shit. Duty calls, I guess,” she said.
“I guess so,” he replied. “You wanna do this again sometime soon?”
A big smile crept across her face. “Excuse me, mister, but I coulda sworn you were asking me out on another date,” she said humorously.
“That would be correct.” He grinned.
“Aye, Aye, captain,” she said as she saluted.
“Cool,” Caiden said.
She walked him downstairs to see him off, and gave him a long, lingering kiss.
“Text me when you get home, okay?” she said.
“I will,” he replied. Caiden hopped on his hypercycle and took off.
Heading back to Darkside was like any other ride. Despite the sprawling cityscape and all its danger and corruption, riding around town was somehow therapeutic for him. He was cruising when he felt a jolt of stinging pain in his left wrist. He could have sworn he saw a flash of light. He pulled over to a rest stop on the freeway and took off his helmet. He pulled up his left sleeve. My holo-watch is gone!
He searched his pockets, the compartments in his bike, and searched the parking lot. Shit! It must’ve fallen off on the freeway! he thought frantically. But that couldn’t have been it. There was nothing wrong with it structurally when he inspected it this morning. He also made sure to secure it properly on his wrist so that it didn’t slip off and reveal the turquoise glow at Yvora’s place. He closed his eyes and attempted to replay the events of the day so far.
While his eyes were closed he felt a strong tingling sensation in the same spot on his left wrist. He opened his eyes and brought his wrist up to examine it. It was glowing much brighter than before. The pain subsided and the light dimmed. As the light went out, his holo-watch appeared.
“Wh
at in the hell?” he yelled.
Before he could say another word he heard the words from his dream come back to him “If you will it, your flesh shall be strengthened. You are more than what you think you are. The power lies deep inside you.”
“Flesh shall be strengthened? Power? I gotta get back!” he said.
Before he left, he examined the holo-watch. It read two fifty-four p.m. But it wasn’t the function of the watch, nor the time that concerned him. It’s original high grade flexible plastic casing felt different. It felt stronger, sturdier, yet, more pliable than before. What’s going on? he asked himself. He raced back to Darkside. Lots of work needed to be done, and he had even more ideas for experiments.
CHAPTER 26
---usr/systems/server-x/GIFT OF MIND AND BODY---
Caiden arrived back at Home-base, much to the excitement of the twins.
“Oh my god, Caide! You’re back!” Nami said excitedly as she and her sister rushed him upon his arrival.
“Hey. You guys okay?” he asked.
“Better now,” Hitomi replied with her hand on his chest.
“Great, ‘cause I’m gonna need your help with something weird. Something unbelievable and hard for me to explain has just happened!” he said excitedly.
“Oh my god, you finally realized you wanna hook up with us, right?” Nami asked.
Caiden chuckled. “No, nothing like that,” he replied. Caiden examined his wrist once more to make sure the holo-watch was still there. “Look at this!”
He pulled up his sleeve and took off the holo-watch. It was even more difficult to take. Once he successfully removed it, the twins could see the turquoise glow, beaming brighter than it had at the rest stop.
“What’s happening to you, Caide?” Hitomi asked concernedly.
“Xandra, pull up video log one-zero-two-two of the nano codec; assimilation module. Setup holo-video file to play on the main computer in the lab,” he said.
“Loading. Video ready for play,” Xandra responded.
“Let’s go!”
He was excited. A new development was taking place, and he was the test subject. This was a new opportunity to understand more about himself. Upon arrival at the lab space, the video log began to play.
“Oh, yeah! I remember this video from the time we first met that Wizard android lady!” Nami stated.
“Yeah, the science behind the nanocell’s assimilation. What is that?” Hitomi asked.
“Remember in the video, when Dr. Amiko and Dr. Sendo were speculating about assimilation on a macro scale being possible under the right circumstances?” he asked.
“Yeah, I couldn’t forget something like that,” they responded.
“Well, I think my body is trying to absorb the holo-watch,” he said.
“But why!? What would even cause something like that to happen?” Nami asked.
“That’s what’s bothering me. Even I don’t understand. I’ve been having some weird dreams lately and they all feel very real. Sometimes they show me things about my past that I find hard to remember when I wake up. When I’m in those dreams, everything feels so surreal, but real at the same time. It was no different this morning. I was in complete darkness, and I heard a voice that sorta sounded like mine. It spoke to me repetitively; talking about the mind and body. And then when I woke up, my holo-watch was buried in my wrist. Almost like someone had pressed it incredibly hard against my skin for a long time,” he said.
“And was it as difficult take the watch off as it was just then?” Hitomi asked.
“Yeah, pretty much. Probably even harder this time around. But something crazier happened on the way here. When I was riding I could’ve sworn I saw a quick flash of light. At the same time, I felt my wrist sting and tingle. The stinging sensation faded, but I still pulled over to see what it was.
“I looked at my wrist, and the holo-watch was gone! I searched everywhere. I thought I lost it during the ride. But then the same sensation came back and I look down to find my holo-watch on my wrist again! It was weird because when I touched the watch, it felt stronger, but lighter, and more flexible. I wanna examine its properties to see what it’s actually made of. But, more importantly, I believe there’s some sort of link between my subconsciousness and my wrist,” he said.
“Optimal gamma brainwaves are associated with meditation and REM sleep—And delta waves are associated with a healthy immune system, healing, and deep sleep,” he thought aloud as he paced back and forth.
"Um, okay, you're rambling on, but I think I get it" Nami said.
"Yeah, this is super next level stuff!" Hitomi said.
“Hmm. Those states of body and mind must be the key to this! If we take into account my healing factor, most of that healing takes place over a night or two, usually during a good night's rest,” Caiden added.
“Because you have those nanocells, they must somehow change how your brain communicates with the rest of your body on a regular basis!” Nami said excitedly.
Caiden took a moment to think things through. “I got it!”
“What is it?” Hitomi asked.
“Enter into a state that induces the gamma brainwaves. What if I enter into a meditative state right now? It already seems like my wrist is ready to assimilate the holo-watch, so maybe I should actually try to do it consciously!” Caiden said.
"Well wait a sec...Do you even know how to get to that state of mind by willing it? If so, then that's like, totally awesome by the way." Nami said.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Part of our training Vantz and I had to do consistently was meditation while we trained under Master Ao. Man, we used to hate it as teenagers, but that practice is really coming in handy now" Caiden replied optimistically.
“Well if anyone can pull this type of crazy shit off, it would be you Caide,” Hitomi said.
“Nami, gear up the bio-scanner while I do this. We’ll need Xandra to record the data,” he said.
“Good idea,” she replied.
They walked over to the training area. He took off his jacket and sneakers and sat down in the Burmese pose. His arms were relaxed by his sides, and his palms were open, and rested on his knees.
“Whenever you’re ready, Caide,” Nami said.
“Do it now,” he said.
He closed his eyes, focused on his breathing, and tried to empty his mind. A minute and thirty seconds passed. Nothing happened. He remained silent. He imagined the holo-watch sinking into his wrist. At three minutes, his mind’s eye presented him with the turquoise light, that shifted, swirled, and flowed. Something incredible began to happen. His wrist lit brighter and brighter until a big flash of turquoise light illuminated the room before it died out. Caiden opened his eyes.
“Caide, you did it!” they screamed.
“Holy shit!”
“How do you feel? Does it hurt?” Hitomi asked as she gently held and rubbed his left wrist.
“No, not at all. It stung, but it didn’t really hurt at all,” he said.
“Hey, look! I see something. It’s like a thin line of that weird light coursing through the skin around your wrist,” Nami said.
“Whoa! You’re right,” he said.
“So, does that mean that the watch is like, in there now?” Nami asked.
“It’s weird. It's like I can feel it there, but not physically. There’s something more. Like another sensation I can’t put into words. But it doesn’t feel uncomfortable or anything. It’s weird, I know. But, I know it’s there somehow,” he said.
“Well since you absorbed it, you should be able to bring it back, right?” Nami asked.
“It should work the same way, really. Let’s try it! Cue up the scanner to record this,” he said.
The twins skipped over to the hub to initiate the scanner. They enjoyed this just as much as he did. Again, Caiden assumed the Burmese pose. Once he had calmed down, he entered a meditative state. A little after thirty seconds had passed, the same glowing light flashed, albeit less intense, and quicker t
han before. As the light faded, the holo-watch appeared.
“Whoa!” Hitomi shouted. Nami was at a loss for words.
Caiden was already planning his next move. He took off the holo-watch and placed it on the lab table. He then prompted a sequence on his main computer to examine the physical composition of the holo-watch. He paced back and forth awaiting the results.
“Amiko’s tests revealed a significant change in the anatomy of the nanocells after they absorbed the titanium. That turquoise light showing through my skin must’ve been the molecular imprint of the watch taking on a dematerialized form within my wrist,” Caiden thought aloud.
“It’s likely that your nanocells, like the ones we saw on Dr. Amiko’s tests, physically broke the watch down while showing its ability to not only understand what it was absorbing, but to memorize its shape and function, and somehow improved it,” Nami asked.
“That’s a great guess. Xandra will tell us in a few seconds,” he said.
“Diagnostic tests reveal the object was composed of titanium, quartz, glass, and hardened pliable urethane foam. Object’s new composition is currently an unidentified material. It can only be attributed to an unnamed, advanced, versatile polymer,” the AI system said.
“That would make sense. My body absorbed it and improved it, like Nami hypothesized,” he stated.
“Since it’s, like, sort of some nanocell enhanced-polymer material, wouldn’t that explain why it was much easier for you to bring it back out with less effort?” Hitomi chimed in.
“The timing intervals were much shorter. Let me check to see if it works” he said. He operated the watch; it worked just as well as it did pre-assimilation.
“Oh my god Caide! You’re turning into an alien right before our very eyes!” Nami laughed.
Caiden rolled his eyes.
“I wanna try something else” he blurted out.
“What now?” Hitomi asked.
“My gunblade.”
“Okay, Caiden. Don’t you think you’re pushing it too far?” Hitomi asked warily.
Neon District: ALPHA (The Neon District Trilogy, Book 1) Page 25
