A World Apart

by Loui Downing

  “I have some details that may interest you” spoke the man as the air of laughter faded; the nurse still chuckling. Words continuously seeped from the man’s mouth. The nurse stood in a daze, face to face watching his movement until he was stood staring at her. She soon realised that he had asked her a question and panicked at the thought of what her response would be. She considered about asking him to repeat what he had just asked her but thought this would be terribly rude of her and instead she remarked with an unsure “yes” as the answer, hoping that this would be acceptable and that she could find out the contents of the conversation from his response. This was not the case and the man placed his arm on her shoulder and invited them to go into the dining area which was behind what looked like a reception desk. They both entered and on being such a gentleman he widened the door to let her enter before him, making the nurse feel flustered and cared for, something she thought had gone forever. The man placed a large collection of documents on the clear coffee table and lent back comfortably in the master chair that hugged his back kindly, ending the pain from his journey here. The documents budged out at her. They looked like contained scripts that confused the nurse as she struggled to correlate their contents, and what they had to do with her.

  “I’ll explain those later” said the man, his legs now crossed and fingers intertwined delicately, noticing her looking at the documents. Before she could speak, the man began taking off his cufflinks; stitched with the letters “A.I.R”; distracting her train of thought. As she searched for words, the man picked up the documents and started analysing them and muttering occasionally. The man offered a tacky piece of paper that had Victorian writing and illustrations that were baffling. The nurse cautiously took the paper off him, holding it on the top of her palms so that she wouldn’t crease of damage it in any way. She turned it around and scanned for vital elements that would identify what all this was about, but she struggled to make sense of it all. This particular paper was in ancient Greek with side notes in old English; along with the author’s colloquialisms, a clear attempt to dissect the contents. She placed the paper back onto the table, mainly because she didn’t want to ruin it, but also due to its complex nature she felt mentally exhausted.

  “Do you know why I have been sent here?” enquired the man with a deepening tone, observing her intently.

  “I…No I do not…Is it about the…” fumbled the nurse. She wasn’t expecting him to speak to her quite so quickly. The tone made her tongue jump back down her throat in fright.

  “It has been brought to my attention that the security of this facility is extremely under achieving” interrupted the man that consequently made the nurse close her mouth and concentrate fully.

  “Last night we sent an object to analyse the safety of the facility and he was able to reach through all barriers with absolute ease; not to mention the poor internal communication that was present.

  “Sir…I am unaware of this object, how come we were not warned?” questioned the nurse, supporting the actions taken out by the staff.

  “Due to recent events there has been a change in the policy of audits to promote sincere security and total business practise, which has been ordered by the Government” said the man as his voice rose the more he continued.

  “I apologise for the way we have been running things around here but I can assure you that there will be a change if you would allow us some time to adjust” said the nurse, understanding how important the security is; mainly to avoid being in trouble.

  “I have been told that you have six weeks in which to renovate, otherwise it will be you’re employee’s security that is uncertain as well as yours” spoke the man in an automated voice. A screen appeared in front of them both that offered a section of drinks and foods, detecting their moods and atmospheric conditions, which the nurse wiped away and the screen vanished. The man touched areas of the screen, where the virtual senses lit up and a coffee emerged on the coffee table from the contraption below. The nurse looked as the steam rose along with the odd colours of cream and a maroon surrounding giving a rich and powerful aura. The nurse was attending to a few holes in her outfit; her name badge must have fallen off whilst working

  “I’m terribly sorry, what is your name? I never did ask…” spoke the man eagerly apologetic; moving closer towards her. He reached for his coffee and saucer and spilt a few drops onto the tiled floor; flooding the texture in slow motion.

  “Miss Mayfair…Samantha” said the newly named woman, adding her first name as she felt rather formal and trusted the man before her. Samantha cast a look back and looked like she was going to erupt at any moment.

  “Are you ok…Were you about to ask me something?” overruled the man again, agitating Samantha severely. She really was getting cross with his interruptions as she was losing what she was about to say.

  “Yes. Actually, I was wondering what your name was because you never did say and I’ve just let you wander into the facility” said Samantha realising how ridiculous the past few minutes have been.

  “I am the object” said mercifully as he slouched in the chair, adjusting the padding and cushions to support his back. Samantha couldn’t believe what she had done, this could jeopardise her employment and reputation if it leaked out, creating panic amongst the few that still believed.

  “Dr Thomas Weihen is my name” included the doctor, smiling at his mannerisms and the feeling of power that rushed through his veins emphatically. Dr Weihen's pocket vibrated as he looked down to attend to what was disrupting his authoritative moment. It was from the agency and by the looks of his body language it was urgent.

  “I have to leave to attend to something, which is very fortunate for you as I will not be reporting this matter. I shall visit again and in this time I will expect to see significant changes to things around here” said Dr Weihen as he began to stand and pass over the documents that Samantha thought were hers until a few moments ago. She took the documents and slapped them down on to her knees as she watched the doctor exit the building.

  ❖

  A young girl woke from all the chattering in the beds around her. The fog slowly descended, making the outside world visible. Alexandra sat up in her pyjamas that she discovered were miles too big for her. She saw a dressing gown that was hung on the partitioned wall next to her. She lifted the covers and in shock she touched the cold infectious marble floor as she found a pair of socks and wrapped the dressing gown around her, instantly feeling warmer already. Noticing an open window, she walked along the cold floor, tip-toeing to avoid others waking. As she reached the window she was drawn to the happenings of outside which made her wonder where she was. The fog cleared as far as a few buildings in front of what Alexandra thought is a hospital she was in. She checked her body to look for a scar that would clarify her thoughts, although nothing could be found and she continued to look outside in dismay.

  The view from the hall wasn’t as tasteful as she hoped; facing an alley way that contained probably the weirdest-looking men she had ever seen.

  A zooming flash appeared in front of her eyes that made her stumble to the ground and hit the floor in an awkward position, resulting in her bones cracking. She couldn’t believe how scary it was as she tried to support herself climbing through the window.

  She looked outside, searching for the thing that had past her at the speed of light; far too quick for her to get a good look at it. The door behind her closed and she turned around, seeing a nurse standing there and rushing over to her.

  “Come on now…sit down dear…you’re tired” spoke Samantha, feeling bad for leaving the children alone for such a long time. Alexandra was feeling quite tired so she lay down and let the nurse tuck her in tight as she fell into a deep sleep. Samantha had been supervising the children for two years now and she had acquired her favourite people, one of them being Alexandra along with the others who were playing loudly at the far of the hall. The bell rang loudly hurting the children’s ears; a select view over reacting to
the sound. It was time for a break and the children lined up facing the broad hall doorway; Samantha marching them all outside.

  Chattering and pushing was all that Samantha could hear and a clutter of boys with headgear games on, playing an action game. One of the boys fell back and bumped into the girls behind him. To his surprise they let out a high pitch eruption of giggles.

  “Right now everyone calm down and follow me in a single file to the playing fields…and no running…Richard!” shouted Samantha in an aggressive manner that shocked Alexandra after her being so nice a few moments ago. The collection of children followed as instructed, wearing woolly hats, scarves and insulated jackets that circulated the children’s bodies warming them upwards to their frozen noses. A young Irish chubby boy named Ric gave an expression of deep exhaustion; his throbbing red face. The boy sat alone on near some wire netting on a plank of wood where he unzipped his coat and tossed is to one side. As the children dispersed around the extremely large and perfectly mowed grass and concrete areas, Samantha found the time to have a breath of fresh air and explore; surveying the games and activities that the children were playing, occasionally telling of people for squabbling. Alexandra looked around the fields and tried to remember some faces that she could go and play with, until a young boy called Edward approached her who spoke in a way that made Alexandra chuckle, which he noticed straight away.

  “What! Do you have no one to play with?” spoke Edward with a zest of a distant countryside sprinkled onto his words. Alexandra struggled to recognise what he was saying at first but after a few moments of uncertainty she realised and she began explaining to him that she couldn’t find her friends. Edward and Alexandra chatted for a while before jogging over to a group of people standing not far from the over insulation of Rick.

  Alexandra absorbed the faces of the group as they were approaching but still she had no idea who they were. An older girl leaning back on the wire clutching a mountain of books said hello first and shook her hand; she looked a lot older than Alexandra, making her nervous and stutter as she spoke to her.

  “Alex do you know her?” said Edward as he stared inquisitively at her.

  “N-no…I” answered Alexandra who stared back with a vacant expression.

  “It’s your sister, how come you cannot remember her” said Edward instantly before she could even attempt to answer. Alexandra looked at her and she appeared to be thinking heavily.

  “Alex, we have to go…say goodbye” spoke Jessica looking down at her. They were in a home that warmed Alexandra and made her feel safe. A blurred image came into view which she struggled to make out.

  “Don’t go…don’t go.” echoed the voice getting further away but a feint noise could still be heard, accompanied by gun fire and screams that made Alexandra’s spine tingle and her feeling of security burst like a balloon heading to the sun”.

  “Alex, are you ok?” said an adolescent voice, her face came into view, scaring Alexandra. She rose quickly only to knock heads with Edward who fell backwards in a feinting manner. Alexandra was sat up, clearly unaware she had just hurt Edward and looked staggeringly towards the rest of the group who were holding her and fetching a teacher.

  “Are you ok? What happened to you?” asked Alexandra’s sister; rubbing her back thoughtfully.

  “I don’t know. I can remember you, but there are bits missing, what happened to mum and dad?” spoke Alexandra, which made Jessica startled by the minor amnesia.

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you, we don’t know what happened to them” replied Jessica who raised Alexandra to a normal height and escorted her to the main entrance hall.

  “Let’s get back inside and you can get some rest, you need it especially if you don’t want to get into trouble here” spoke Jessica as they both approached the steps up to the main doors. Alexandra was struggling so Jessica offered her hand in support just as she noticed a teacher; Mr Barnabale was following them, so they hurried to their rooms as quickly as possible. The teacher noticed and suspected something suspicious about their behaviour.

  “I can give you something from the past but you must figure it out on your own and not talk aloud about it. Around here is very strict and if you are caught talking about what happened quite a few years ago then you will be punished by the foot master principle, who is not a pleasant person at all” spoke Jessica as she placed her sister on her bedding and left her to go and fetch something from a shoebox that she keeps things in with a special fingerprint and password to the box. She placed her unusually thin thumb onto the receptor and waited for the blue light to turn green as she heard some locks loosen in the shoebox. She spoke softly and clearly the password “Throbbing Gob” which she was referring to a sweet she had come across in her childhood. Alexandra, now feeling a little better had risen slightly and was looking at her sister kneeling down next to her bed and attending to something on the floor. She looked totally puzzled although amazed by the gadgets that she had inside the box. She came close to asking her what they were but refrained as she recalled what she said earlier.

  Hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the hall of bedrooms as they both scurried frantically closing everything away and acted normal. Jessica walked over to Alexandra and knelt on the floor which sent a freezing pain around the edges of her kneecap.

  “Stop right there young lady!” cried a deep monotone from the entrance to the bedrooms. Jessica told Alexandra to pretend to be sleeping and that she would explain things later. Alexandra let her head drift into the gigantic pillow that was behind her, making her feel as she did in her dream earlier, although voices she heard in her dream came flooding back. The visions and sounds made her heart rate. Jessica noticed she wasn’t feeling too good, as her hands were tightly wrapped around the duvet; making a fist. Jessica looked across to her right and watched as the teacher hurried over to them both. She extracted a piece of shiny paper from her dusty cotton worn pocket.

  “I want to give you this…but you must figure things out on your own or play by our rules otherwise you will get caught and we have heard dreadful things of people who have been caught” whispered Jessica into her ear as she kissed Alexandra on the forehead, concealing her conversation to the teacher who was approaching. Jessica placed the shiny paper into Alexandra’s hand secretly across the duvet and into her hand, Alexandra frowning as she didn’t know what it was and didn’t dare not do to as she was told. Alexandra felt as though she was being treated unfairly, but she knew she could trust Jessica after all she was her sister, but there still remains some much that she is uncertain on.

  “Jessica…step away from her!” said Mr Barnabale, as he removed her arm from the grasp of her younger sister, not restraining as she was softly pulled away so the teacher could move in and examine Alexandra properly.

  “Sir she’s asleep, she need’s rest you know…It’s a lot to take in when you first wake” mentioned Jessica although her words filled the background. He lent over her and examined her physical complexion, whilst placing his plain black briefcase on the bed, knocking into her leg. Alexandra cowered, but to Jessica’s relief she managed to refrain from yelping. Mr Barnabale looked at her eyes, mouth and ears, taking her temperature using a strip of blue plastic he retrieved from his briefcase as he chucked its packaging back inside. It was a normal level, although a little high but nothing he hasn’t seen before. He examined her eyes and ears with a small pen light but nothing was untoward.

  “Very well, make sure she gets plenty of fluids and rest over the next few days. I mean no wondering around the vicinity or any contact sports for a while” said Mr Barnabale as he wiped the instruments and locked them away in his briefcase and exited quickly. The group of friends were now gathered around the bedside of Alexandra who was informed it was safe for her to sit up, opening one eye at a time and checking herself that the coast was truly clear. She almost forgot what her sister had given to her before they all burst into the room, which she still had in her fingertips, twiddling and wonder
ing the contents and meaning that she longed to be discovered. The other group member impacted on her decision to withdraw the items to eye level. She reached down and tucked them into her fluffy purple socks that were so kind to the feet.

  “Maybe we should let you rest for a while” spoke Edward courteously, as he stood with a ghastly white knitted jumper on, red jeans and some books that by their nature contrasted from comedy to science and the world. Alexandra noticed his bland bashed glasses poking from his jeans where his had obviously forgotten to put them back correctly. Alexandra laughed delightfully as she realised how red Edwards cheeks were, matching his outrageous selection of trousers. His kind and innocent expression made its obvious that he had clearly misunderstood the context o her laughter, so he just smiled politely.

  Alexandra nodded and agreed that she should sleep for a while, but a part of her wanted to run free and discover all the things she is so desperate to find out. There, looming in her thoughts was the prospect of getting into trouble or getting all of her friends into trouble, which would seriously impact on her life there. As everyone left the hall and said their goodbye wishes, most of them still full of energy as it was only midday. Alexandra adjusted her position on the bed to a more settling one and began to start feeling tired as she had hoped. She looked out of the window as she found it relaxing and interesting and wondered what was out there. A bird that looked familiar landed on the top of a building in the distance and walked for a while and then started to fly towards the building Alexandra was watching it zoom through the air and through the lingering fog. She noticed it was getting colder as her eyes wondered from concentration of outside and into the clouds her thoughts meandered; falling into a dreamy sleep as her breathing quietened and she turned over to reach for something but it wasn’t there, although she couldn’t recall what it was in the first instant.