Another day came. Waking up to the same quiet, peaceful sounds, he felt surprisingly invigorated. By now, Norie would have left. That was the first thing that came into his mind as he passed through the crowded hallway, thinking of things he tried his best to forget. Stadweld, the domes, his father, and such, they persisted. It was annoying, but he still felt invigorated. Invigorated by the New Year, a new chance to make a new life. He had his mom, he had Jessica, everything was aligning, he would graduate soon, and he would find his place in this world. Yet the unreal events which had changed his formally morbid outlook on life tugged at his mind. He thought of sacrifice. Had fate taken his father from him to give him a clear picture? Guilt rose and fell like the waves of the sea within him. He had a hard time rationalizing. He wanted to find the answers, somewhere inside of him he wanted to know.
What was it that drove Jack to madness? Why was Kylie an adopted child now? Norie couldn’t cope with the truth of things. He wondered if Hiro did, if Rey did. They were his connections to that world. How was he handling the truth? How has he dealt with things? Spending long nights with his sister, he spilled his guts out to her. His troubled mind was often alleviated by her, and he alleviated her fears as well. Even still, their social lives remained a separate thing. He was so thankful to get along with his siblings. Even little Edward was starting to mature, and yet because of Kaz’s foreign nature, it shocked the young adolescent into a more formal state. Life was going in a good direction, in till it seemed that misfortune knocked once again.
He was at school, staying a bit late in the library to try and get some studying done, yet his mind could not focus on the words which peered up at him with sleepy eyes. So dry, so thick, so dense. How could someone stay awake long enough to even write such a document? A robot, he guessed. While mulling over the tiny black letters that scrunched together on the thin white page, he felt someone lean over his shoulder, and he was unsure as to whom it was. “Ah, economics, an interesting subject.” As the words poured into his ears, he jolted back in his seat, nearly knocking the person over, as an uncertain fear rose within his chest. His heart raced; the sly, cunning, taunting intonation could not be mistaken, and as his eyes fell upon the hooded figure; his assumptions of the person were proven true, and under his breath he uttered the name of his unwelcomed visitor. “Trey!” The young man removed his hood, revealing his freshly trimmed brown hair, and yet still the dark eyes peered at him mirthfully. Kaz instinctively braced himself for something miraculous to happen when he began to contemplate how bizarre it would actually be for his former coworker to appear in this city. Ever other remnant in Stadweld had come here, so why not the rumor-lord himself? Aside from the suspicion that he was involved with the domes, curiosities exempt, the boy in his mind was logically innocent, though the demeanor and mannerisms of Trey pointed elsewhere. A dark, plotting, foreboding omen of terrible things to come.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Trey commented with a chuckle, and Kaz slowly eased up and sighed. “I wasn’t expecting you of all people to suddenly show up.” He admitted, sitting back down, and closing his book; he wouldn’t be getting anywhere with that now. “Well, I’ve been busy you know, and I decided to drop in on an old friend.” The informant stepped around the small table, and sat across from Kaz, folding his hands together. Friend? Since when have we been friends? Aside from work all you did was follow around muttering strange things. Kaz thought as he put his book into his already heavy backpack. “Yeah? Is there something you want? I don’t know anything.” He tried guessing at what Trey might want. “Oh, it’s nothing quite like that…at least not yet. In fact, it’s the other way around. I was hoping I could share something with you.” The young man’s eyes narrowed, and Kaz let out a sigh. “If it has anything to do with that god forsaken place, I think I’ll pass thanks.” He stood up, pushed in the chair, and shouldered his bag. “Now, now, Kaz, you might think you can just walk away from everything that happened without consequence…” Trey’s tone turned dark and serious as he followed him out of the school library, and out onto the cold frozen sidewalk. “They won’t just let you walk away.” He reiterated. “What do they want with me? I didn’t do anything.” He breathed; the conversation was starting to piss him off. “That doesn’t mean you don’t know anything.” What did he know? He knew that a lot of bad things had happened. His role in the dome incident was a personal one, and it had very little to do with the big picture. “What? Some chemical company accidentally released some harmful pollutant into the air, which killed and crippled thousands of people? That’s common knowledge.” He stopped; he didn’t feel like leading Trey to his house, even though the sneaky young man probably already knew where it was anyway. “These people hate loose ends. I just thought I’d warn you. If you’d like to know more…meet me at this place come 6 O'clock. I won’t wait more than five minutes.” It was unusually formal for Trey, who slipped him a tiny white card before waving and walking off back in the direction of the school. Kaz slowly turned it over, and noticed that it was written with a black marker. It was just some public coffee house, so he felt he could rest easy. Whatever it was that tugged at his mind, was becoming more and more prevalent.
It was ten to six when Kaz finally left his house, with rising anxiety in his chest. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, he just left. His shoes crunched on the thin layer of snow as tiny snowflakes fluttered from the sky obscuring his vision. His mind worked through a variety of possibilities that would stem out of this unfavored meeting with Trey. An ambush. A job offer. A stab in the back. Each possibility didn't seem positive in the least. Though if he could deal with what Trey had in mind, he could at least grant his family some safety. Though that worked wonders last time, didn't it? He clenched his fist as he pushed his way through the glass door and into the bright, coffee scented building. As usual, there was a variety of comfy chairs, a little bar where people could sit and enjoy their drinks; laptops, writers, and so on. It was just like any other coffee shop at six, and as his eyes looked around, he noticed Trey was near the back where the bathrooms were. The man was standing with a slight grin on his face, as he leaned against the wall. He was empty handed, Kaz noticed as he approached and then he stopped to look at him.
"Not going to get anything?" He asked, and Trey shook his head. "I don't feel like drinking coffee this late." He said, pushing opening the men's bathroom. "Come on, let me show you something." Kaz didn't like it. A strange vibe was flowing through his body, as he reluctantly followed his former co-worker into the bathroom. Two sinks, a couple of urinals, and of course a stall at the back, which unfortunately had an out of order sign on it. Despite that however, Trey simply walked over to the bathroom door, and opened it. Kaz looked surprised, and then suspicious. Were there any cameras in this room? He couldn't tell yet Trey beckoned to him quickly and he walked into the stall, and Trey quickly closed the door.
It was here that Kaz noticed another door was positioned behind the toilet, so that nobody would even know it was there, and not only that it appeared to be locked. The turquoise steel door fit perfectly in with the color scheme of the bathroom, and even if someone did walk through the out of order toilet, they wouldn't even be suspicious of a door behind the toilet, assuming it was for some kind of electric service or something. Trey stepped behind the toilet, and inserted the key into the lock and twisted it open. "Once inside I'll explain a little more." He promised as Kaz followed him through the secret door, which immediately came to a spiraling carpeted staircase, and the faint sound of jovial music was playing. "This is one of the many entrances to the underground. A base of operations if you will." He said quietly as they slowly began to ascend down underneath the cafe. "Who controls it?" Kaz asked curiously, and Trey laughed. "Cylinder, most likely." The answer didn't mean anything to Kaz. "Cylinder?" He questioned. They passed down into what appeared to be a real bar, straight out of a classic story or anime. There were all kinds of strangers, sitting there drinking, enjoying the music playing from a nearby radio, and when Trey and Kaz entered, a few heads turned, but they didn't seem too surprised, and went back to whatever it was they were doing. The two took their seat at a table off in the corner, where two drinks were already set out.
"Go on, it's just coke if you'd like." Trey offered as he leaned back in his chair. He wasn't smiling necessary, but he looked like he was at home, enjoying himself. Kaz couldn't help but feel relaxed too, the slightly dim lighting reminded him of a Chinese restaurant. "I'm going to tell you just about everything I know. In return I hope you will be willing to help me out." Trey began looking serious. Kaz nodded, deciding to take a sip of the coke.
"It all begins an uncertain amount of time ago. A group of graduates from a variety of schools pooled together their knowledge in different areas of science and anatomy, and were astounded with a revelation. A chemical compound which could inherently intoxicate a human being without impairing their physical mobility. I suppose in layman's terms, it's mind control. Though the actual science behind it is far beyond me, those who discovered it were activists unfortunately, and they did a good job of hiding their secret. It wasn't long in till they decided to try it out on society, given their twisted ideology. After a few failures on individual subjects, the product was perfected, and not only that, with the aid of computer sciences, a program was constructed, one that would offer rational, and logical decisions to the people who were affected by the chemical. Though we believe that something a little more extreme has been used recently. They advanced their product to a state which could only be called 'complete control'. Nearly everyone in Stadweld was exposed to this "computer chemical" and thus when the power supply blew out the computers, the program ceased, causing them to all stop functioning."
Kaz took in what he was being told, slowly draining his drink. The information seemed overly obscure, and there was no way to prove it. He kept that in mind. "So? Why don't more people know about this then?" He asked casually. "It's not so simple. As you probably know, people are skeptical. Earlier you brushed it off a chemical leak which caused everyone to call into a coma. Didn't it ever cross your mind that those who helped clear out Stadweld were also under the control of the program? There is no limit to how far it can reach. Obviously, senators and politicians need to move around the country occasionally." Concern crossed Kaz's face. "They control the government?" He asked, and Trey shrugged. "It's highly possible. I said they were activists, and after a while a name surfaced. Hive, how fitting. They just attach everyone to the queen bee and everyone does what they are supposed to."
"This better not be some kind of bullshit, you know my dad died because of these bastards." Kaz was starting to get angry. "Relax, I didn't waste my time taking you to this place to tell you some wild story. There is a rumor about the origins of Hive...they say that this city was the first one they tried to work on, and they came extremely close to ensnaring it." He leaned forward his eyes narrowed. "Do you know how they were stopped?" He asked. Kaz shook his head. Trey reached into his pocket, and removed what appeared to be two clear pill capsules. "The only known antithesis to the chemical."
Kaz looked at them curiously. "If there is an antidote, then why don't you use them to save everyone?" He questioned, a severe look crossed his face. "Nothing is so simple...the ones who have the largest amount of the antidote are Hive themselves, obviously they needed it to supply a sense of security among their own ranks. How can an organization thrive when there is the risk of them being put under control? However, one piece of luck is still in our favor...the way the antidote was created is still beyond them. For the time being, they are unable to create a successful product." Trey put the capsules back into his pocket.
"If they didn't create it, then who did?" Kaz asked. "Cylinder did." Trey replied. "Who's Cylinder?" He asked and Trey burst out laughing. "You know, I hardly know anything about them. If there is anyone more mysterious in the world, it is that organization. Apparently they wear white and silver robes, and roam around trying to stop Hive at every turn." Kaz smirked. "It sounds a lot like what your doing." Trey shook his head. "We're only connected through the underground. My people and Cylinder, are not...on good terms so to speak."
"So what? Isn't Hive the common enemy?"
"Not exactly...if you think about it. From Hive's point of view, the world is an evil place. If they can control people, then nobody will die by a stupid reason such as getting run over by a car, or getting shot by a gang and the like. They use the chemical to prevent people from acting irrationally. Also, they control key politicians, and they rig the votes to secure government positions. They are basically in control of the entire nation, and hope to spread to other powerful countries in till they have the world under their control." It seemed like a far fetched plan. It seemed as if he was suddenly thrown into a trilogy of science fiction novels, where just when you thought things were going the right way, a cliffhanger shows up, and turning the page just means getting into more trouble.
"So what do you want do then...if you don't want to stop Hive?" He asked, working through all the information Trey had presented him. "Our goal is simple...we want to scratch this world, and we want to make a new one." He said quietly. Kaz couldn't help but looked discontent. "You want to destroy the world? What kind of cliche storyline is that?" He almost felt like laughing, as Trey seemed entirely serious on the matter. "Not destroy it. We want to scratch the idea of it, and work up a new one. Hive has the means of controlling all the people on the planet. Cylinder has the means of creating a new world. Our organization is trying to use both parties against each other in till we have what we want." To Kaz, it seemed like every single party working was somehow evil.
"So what do you want me to do then? You obviously sought me out for something more than just filling me with information. Oh let me guess...? You can't possibly let me off the hook now that I know everything right?" He stated irritated. "More or less, I thought you'd want to do what you can against Hive...before they find you and your family. They will bind you and control your daily life."
"What are you offering?"
"A place within my organization...but I don't want you alone." He placed the capsules on the table top and slide the over to Kaz. "What do you mean?" Kaz had an idea already in his head, and he wasn't sure he liked it. "Pick a family member, any family member it doesn't matter, someone you trust. I'll give you three days to make your choice." Kaz looked longingly at the two capsules. "Oh, before you go..." Trey took out what looked like a gun and pointed it at Kaz. The boy backed away, nearly knocking over his chair. "What the hell?" He yelled, and a few heads turned their direction but they didn't seem to mind. "You have to consume one of the antidotes." He said and Kaz began to wonder just what they were, if they really were the antidote. His hand shook as he slowly reached over and picked up one, and popped it into his mouth and swallowed. "There...ah..." He felt his body shudder slightly, and almost fell over but he caught himself on the chair. He felt something course through his veins and then the feeling passed and everything was alright.
"Come back here in three days, six pm. Don't come alone." Trey warned, and Kaz nodded taking the other capsule and putting it into his pocket, and he marched up the spiral staircase, in till he climbed through the door and into the out of order stall. The turquoise door locked behind him and he sighed looking at the clear capsule in his hand. Then he pocketed it again, and sighed. "Why do I have to pick a family member?" He asked quietly stepping through the bathroom and out of the coffee shop. They had talked for nearly an hour.
It was odd though. He didn't even need to think over the decision. It was obvious.
Jessica. She would become tangled in the world's twisted web.
/End
The Author, despite the previous update, decided to stay on track with the story. However, it will most likely only update once a week for the time being. Stay tuned for Chapter 24, as Kaz reveals the deep truths he has learned to his most trusted sister...
No comments:
Post a Comment