by Andi J Feron
At the same time, I wouldn’t even know what to do with a thousand a week. That would be a game changer, and I could even give Allie a birthday party this year. Even with all those considerations, I would have to walk.
I got up from my chair and extended my hand to Mr. Fausto, “Thank you for your time, sir, but I can’t go six months without income.”
“You wouldn’t be. We would give you a small amount around nine hundred a month during the mentorship. That way, you could focus on it alone.”
“Why would you do that?”
Mr. Fausto folded his hands, “We need recruits, and I think you fit the right criteria. You interested now?”
“Yes, definitely. But what’s the time constraint?”
“You have to be matched first, and then we can discuss hours.”
“What do I have to do next?”
Mr. Fausto typed into his computer, “You have to go to our health center, and they’ll run some diagnostic tests to make sure you qualify. I’ll have a car sent for you soon.”
“How long will this take?”
“It’s Friday, so I’m going to assume you have through the weekend?”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I have to get home.”
“Talon, we have limited positions available. If you’re not serious, we’ll look at other candidates.”
“I am. I need to make a phone call is all.”
I called the Trammels, and Mrs. Trammel insisted it would be fine for Allie to stay the weekend. I lied and told her I was going on a camping trip with a Cub Scout troop I joined recently. She seemed thrilled I was doing something fun for myself. Mr. Fausto led me back out to the lobby and told me to wait out front where a car would pick me up.
“I think you will be a great asset to our team, Talon,” Mr. Fausto gave me a wink, and I felt a chill go down my spine.
At fourteen, I hadn’t quite learned yet that often when you feel that slow, icy touch rolling down your spine, you should listen to it. Instead, when the car arrived, I climbed in.
We drove for about an hour, and I didn’t like being so far from Allie. We pulled up to a windowless building made entirely of concrete. I grappled with the sudden impulse to ask if I was being taken to prison. The car dropped me at the front door. The hallway looked like it could use a paint job, I guessed the budget went into Mr. Fausto’s luxury skyscraper. The entrance led to a small room where a woman was typing into a computer.
I walked up to the counter, “Mr. Fausto sent me.”
She glanced up, “Have a seat, and someone will be out to get you.” She adjusted her purple wire-framed glasses and continued typing.
I sat in the black plastic chair, and was beginning to wonder if this was a test on patience when a woman called my name. She wore navy blue scrubs with a stethoscope dangling around her neck. She took me back to a room that looked like a typical doctor’s office and told me to sit on the exam table.
She recorded my vitals and drew some blood from my arm to fill three small vials. When my assessment was complete, we entered a large room where chairs lined the back wall. Unusual looking headsets dangled from the ceiling above the chairs. They appeared to be helmet like with blue lights that ran in six section across the top.
My video game use allowed me to recognize a microphone that dipped around the side to the front of the headset. I was told to sit in one of the chairs and put the headset on. I complied, and the headset latched tightly against my head. A man wearing a lab coat entered the room.
He peered at a computer screen before speaking into a device, “I need Admiral Jacobson right away!”
Another man walked in, wearing a military uniform. If I threw out an estimation at the branch, I would have said army, but it didn’t quite look like what I thought it should for any branch.
Admiral Jacobson gazed intently at the computer screen. “These numbers are off the charts. Who recruited him?”
“Mr. Fausto.”
“He is a known?”
“Sort of.”
“Does his blood work confirm the neurofindings?”
The scientist pointed at something on the computer screen. “Yes, the results are real.”
“He should be at least a tier five, but I’m thinking closer to seven. Do we know why he is sort of a known?”
The confusing turn of my assessment left me wondering what part of my brain they were finding impressive. I was hoping they would soon clarify if my test results were adequate for the mentorship. I fidgeted nervously waiting for an explanation. The man in the lab coat pulled something up on the computer that I was unable to make out.
“No!” The Admiral gasped at whatever was displayed on the screen. He walked toward me and spoke, “Talon Cooper?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“We’ve run some diagnostics, and it turns out you are a perfect candidate for something we call capsulization. We have a little informational session if you’d like to continue to the next level?”
“Will this help me get the internship?”
The Admiral glanced at the scientist, and the scientist shrugged.
The Admiral looked back at me. “It’ll help you progress to the next level of the program.”
I pushed away the thoughts of caution that were nagging my mind. “Okay. Let’s go ahead then.”
Admiral Jacobson looked pleased with my answer. To my relief, I was released from the headset, and a nurse led me to a large room that looked similar to a movie theater. About twenty other teenagers were waiting for whatever show we were about to watch. I picked a chair in the middle of the second row.
I was impressed immediately with the realistic special effects that the show provided. On stage, a creature removed its hood to reveal a decaying face. The creature had a small nose and mouth, a large head, and no ears. The creature was bald with pale skin. His slightly oversized eyes were dark brown in color. His form evaporated into dust that dropped to the floor. The dust rematerialized into a massive creature with yellow-green eyes.
This new creature was covered in greenish-brown scales that would shift as he walked, making him look like he had tar oozing throughout his body. The face was humanoid but with a protruding mouth and nose. Large spikes protruded from its back; its arms muscular with large claws at the tips of its fingers. The fingers were wide with only four on each hand. He looked like a demon transported from someone’s nightmares.
The creature leapt at five humans who had materialized on stage. The creature stopped its advance and began clawing at its head. One of the humans grabbed it, and its tarry scales began to dissolve into a shiny puddle on stage.
From the left corner of the stage, a boy, probably around my age, appeared. His hair was a striking platinum blond, and his eyes were so bright I could tell they were blue from where I was sitting. From the other corner came a girl with fiery hair and a freckled mask. I gawked at her as I had never seen anyone so stunning in my life. I guessed her to be close to my age too.
As the boy spoke the audience became mesmerized. “I invite you to fight in the Resistance, to bring back the tide against Human annihilation!” He proclaimed this and the audience roared and applauded. I was confused and lacked the thrill the rest of the room appeared to be experiencing.
The boy began to explain the objective of the show. “You have been brought here today because you possess the capabilities of becoming super soldiers. Humanity is facing annihilation at the hands of an evil alien race, known as Khalbytians. We are not only saving mankind but our friends, an alien race called the Loctorians, who were victims of mass genocide. Khalbytians have created a virus that is decimating the Loctorian population.”
A hooded creature appeared from center stage. When he lowered his hood, I could see that he looked like the creature who turned to dust at the beginning of the show. There were loud gasps around the room.
“Next you will be able to talk to a recruiter for exact details of what a contract would mean for you on an individualized basis,” the
redhead explained.
“Join the fight!” the boy declared, and he was met with exuberant chants from the audience.
I sat observing, curious but cautious. I caught the attention of the girl. She was staring at me looking confused, perhaps because I was not enthralled with the propaganda. The three performers left the stage, and the lights illuminated.
“Please exit following the arrows,” a voice said over an intercom system located in the ceiling.
I was the last to exit. I was directed into a room about ten doors down on the right side. The room looked like an office, complete with a desk, computer, and filing cabinet. A man with spiked brown hair sat behind the desk.
The man directed me to sit in the chair across from him. “You ready to join the fight?” The man was beaming, as though he expected me to proclaim my support enthusiastically.
“I thought this was a mentorship that would eventually land me a paid internship. The theater was nice, but I’m not sure what exactly you are wanting from me. Even if all of you aren’t insane, I can’t defeat giant monster demons.”
The man stared for a couple seconds. “You saw the informational session right?”
“Yes, I finished it a few minutes ago.”
“You don’t feel an overwhelming desire to join the fleet?”
“No.”
“Did you watch the show and listen to the speech?”
I nodded. “Yes, all of it.”
He looked concerned at my answer, and I wondered if this guy could hear me okay. He clicked his computer mouse and gazed at the screen. We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until the Admiral from earlier joined us.
“Talon, did you fall asleep during the demonstration?” Admiral Jacobson asked.
“No, I saw the entire creature fest.”
Why was it so hard for these people to grasp I was cautious about jumping into lunacy? Admiral Jacobson led me to another room. “I’d like you to talk to the recruits who put on the show.”
The room was only half the size of my school’s gymnasium. There were chairs in the middle, and I was told to sit in one. I saw the two humans and the pale creature from the show appear.
The redhead walked over, looking me straight in the eye. She put out her hand and said, “Seraphine Mallow.”
I shook her hand and introduced myself, “Talon Cooper.”
“Jerap Moxtionead,” the hooded creature spoke with a scratchy accent.
The boy with icy hair shook my hand. “You are ready to fight in the war.” A chill ran down my spine, as it had when Mr. Fausto winked at me. I tried to pull my hand back, but he held tighter. My eyes scanned for exits.
He continued, “You will become a glorious soldier in the Loctorian war. You will save humanity and willingly serve the Loctorian council.”
I jerked my hand away. The boy’s eyes went wide, and Seraphine narrowed her eyes. Whatever reaction they were expecting from me, I was not giving them.
I stood up. “I think I’m ready to be out of here.”
I started for the door and almost made it out when a massive creature appeared in front of me. I glanced back at the three others in the room. Jerap and the boy stood there, unmoved. Seraphine, however, appeared to be in a trance with her green eyes fixated on the monster. I remembered the images seeming like a projection. I pushed through the creature and headed out the door.
“Talon, are you ready to join now?” Admiral Jacobson asked as I ran across the room.
“I’m ready to leave.” I ran through the exit.
I made it down the hall and was stopped by two soldiers. They grabbed me before I could leave the building. I attempted to fight them, but they were stronger and pulled me down the hall. No matter how much I fought them, they held tightly to my arms. Even with adrenaline surging through me, it was futile. They took me down another hallway that led to a large corridor where jail cells lined the walls. They threw me in one and slammed the metal bars shut.
Panic surged through me as a sinking feeling seeped throughout my body. I was scared Allie was now completely alone. She would most likely think that I had abandoned her. My grandparents recently gained an increase in health problems, and I knew they couldn’t take her. There was a good chance she would be passed around the foster care system. I sat down on the cement floor unsure of what to do.
I heard a voice say, “Hey.” I looked up to see Seraphine standing there. I rested my face on my knees. She tried again to start up a conversation. “They don’t know what to think of you. Lucius is a tier-seven manipulator. There’s never been anyone not hypnotized by his words. And then my projection. You walked right through it. I know you saw it because you hesitated. When I project, people always believe it is real.”
I looked up at her. “It was obviously the same as on-stage, the one that disappeared in front of us.”
“Yeah, but no one connects that. My ability makes people think it’s real like a hallucination does.”
“You’re telling me you guys can project images and hypnotize people?” I was increasingly skeptical of her sanity.
“Yeah, my ability also allows me to project myself other places. I can see what is happening in a different room than the one I am in. The abilities are a result of something called capsulization. They put you in this capsule, and it activates a dormant gene. You come out with an extraordinary ability.”
“What like it causes you to use a hundred percent of your brain?”
“No, we already use a hundred percent. Haven’t you seen MRI studies? The partial brain thing is a myth, humans use all of their brain already. What this does is cause you to use a specific part of your brain in a different way than you have before. They turn on a gene that changes your brain’s ability in a certain way.”
“That sounds very scientific for a bunch of hogwash.”
“That’s because it’s true.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t know what crazy club you all are in, but I need to get back to my sister.”
“They aren’t going to let you go. People who don’t stay get their memories wiped by Jerap. Not all of them, but the parts about this place. Our abilities don’t seem to work on you so there is a good chance the memory wipe would fail too. You’re a security risk now.”
“I won’t tell anyone anything. I need to get home. I have a little sister, and I’m the only family she has.”
“I would keep that quiet. If they know about your sister they might take her as well.”
These people were psychopaths if they would kidnap a little girl to push their lunacy. I wondered if Mr. Bryant had been aware of what he was actually sending me to.
“Were you kidnapped as well?” I asked.
“No, I chose to be here.”
“What about this Jerap guy? Makeup is pretty good.”
“It’s not makeup. He’s a Loctorian. An alien.”
“I thought you said in your show that the Loctorians were being killed by a virus? Jerap looks a little strange but not all that sick.”
“The virus takes decades to kill the Loctorians. When it does finally hit them it is painful and slowly turns them to dust. The Loctorians also used to have abilities like the ones they give us, but the virus shuts most of them off. Jerap is still young so the virus hasn’t kicked in for him yet.”
I laughed. “You really believe this stuff?”
“Yes, because it’s true,” she said with sincerity in her voice.
“So they sent you in here to warm me up to all their ideas?”
She shook her head. “No, I came on my own. I was curious about you after you watched our show. You were supposed to be in a trance, applauding us, but you weren’t.”
“If everything you say is true, then it means you are really forcing people to fight in your war. How do you know you have the right side then? You are basically enslaving people and making them fight.”
“I guess because people really aren’t forced to fight. Our show catches them and piques their interest. He
lps the concept not seem scary or crazy. They have a chance to back out once they are on base, before they undergo the capsulization process. If they choose not to then they are brought back to Earth, and their memory of the incident is wiped. The missing time is filled in with a memory of applying for an out-of-town internship program.”
“So you make pictures that people think are real?”
“I’m a tier seven projector, but basically yes. You should go to the base so that you can see what I am saying is true. At this point, what choice do you have? Remain here on Earth in limbo or carry out the process.”
I still fully believed Seraphine was sent in to persuade me, but even if I was right, her last statement was correct. I was at the mercy of these people.
“You look young. How old are all of you?” I asked.
“I’m thirteen, almost fourteen, and Lucius is fifteen. I don’t know how many Earth years Jerap is, but I know he’s considered fairly young among his people. Loctorians live hundreds of years.”
“Why are they choosing people so young? I’m only fourteen.”
“They’ve found that capsulization takes best right after puberty. Before puberty, it overloads the brain and causes death. After twenty, it is less than effective. The magic age is approximately between twelve and twenty.”
Approaching footsteps turned my attention to the cell entryway. Seraphine ran and hid in one of the open cells.
Admiral Jacobson stood in front of my cell. “We would like to know if you have gained interest yet in our program?”
I walked over to face him. “And if I haven’t will you keep me here indefinitely?”
“Not here, but you present a problem for us. You are resistant to the mental abilities of others, and we have only seen that a handful of times. It can be dangerous.”
“Why? Because I can think for myself?”
“It means if you do not join us, we can’t wipe your memory. That makes you a liability.”
“Can’t I sign a waiver or something? Take a serious oath?”
The Admiral ignored my remarks and ordered soldiers to bring in a laptop. He turned it around, and there was a picture of my house. He clicked again, and there was a picture of Allie playing with John in his backyard. They not only knew about her, but they knew where we lived. They knew where she was right now, and they knew who her best friend was.