Initiates (The Book of Adam 3)

by Scott Gelowitz

  When Gurpreet had finished speaking they came to the junction between the Men’s and Women’s sections. Gurpreet didn’t even slow down for a heartbeat before he turned left as though he had taken that walk a thousand times before.

  “Why don’t you put some of those windows in the tunnels at home?” asked Mark. “It would make them a lot less creepy.”

  Gurpreet shook his head. “We don’t live in those tunnels, Mark. I don’t intend for anyone to stay in them that long.”

  Everyone fell silent as they walked, minds filled with questions and wonder.

  Soon, Gurpreet turned to his right. Adam was next in line, and as soon as he turned the corner he saw that they had walked into a large open area filled with tables, chairs, and couches. The wall straight ahead was lined with the special windows. The wall to the left had only one door at the far end, but the right hand wall had six openings and from what Adam could tell, the first one was a staircase. The entire room was decorated in the same fashion as the main hall, with fur rugs and animal horns everywhere – like a hunting lodge.

  “This is the Men’s common area. It’s a place to hang out when you have free time or if you want to do homework someplace other than your room. Over to the right are all of the Men’s accommodations. There are twenty rooms up each of the five hallways, and the stairs go up to another two floors of rooms. Each room is yours and yours only until the end of your training. They aren’t very big but each one has a bed, a desk, a wardrobe for your clothes, and a bathroom with a shower.”

  Gurpreet had walked over and stopped at the entrance to the first hallway as he spoke.

  “As you can see, the doors are clearly marked. Do you remember your room numbers?”

  All four nodded.

  “Then this is the end for me. Go train your doors and head inside to wait. Don’t worry, I’ll see you once more before I leave,” he finished speaking and stepped out of the way.

  Adam led the way and found his door easily. He held his hand on it for a count of five and the door made a clicking sound before opening inward. Adam stepped inside the small room and the first thing he noticed was the large window straight ahead on the far wall. Like the other windows he had seen it looked out over the side of the mountain. He walked to it to take a look and found it hard to believe that on the other side of that scene was solid rock, even though he knew it had to be true. After examining it for a while, he remembered to look around the rest of the room. Against one wall was a narrow ledge with a thin piece of foam on it that was the bed. At the foot of the bed sat a small bag labeled ‘bedding’, and it too looked pretty sparse. The whole thing looked far from comfortable.

  Adam opened the wardrobe beside the desk and neatly unpacked his clothes by hanging his shirts and placing his pants, socks, and underwear in the drawers at the bottom. When he was done, he opened the door on the small bathroom and unpacked his toiletries. The bathroom at his home in Grayson was small, but this bathroom would have been small for an RV. He wondered how Kevin would make out in his, being much stockier than Adam.

  Once he was done unpacking, Adam pushed his luggage under the bed and turned his attention to the desk. Nothing special stuck out, as it was just a basic desk with a phone sitting in the corner.

  At that point, Adam decided to sit down on his bed and wait, although he was leery of sitting on it for fear of how uncomfortable it looked. The second he placed his entire weight on it, he realized that he was completely wrong. He had never sat on a surface so comfortable in his entire life. The pad was only an inch thick, but it cradled him in ways he had never thought possible. It was like floating in a pool without having to get wet or worry about sucking in a bunch of water.

  He stretched out, kicking the bag of bedding and deciding that he would finish making the bed later before he would fall asleep for the night.

  As he lay on his back he looked up at the ceiling and realized that not all of the light in the room had come from the window. The entire ceiling glowed softly, adding just the right amount of extra light to the room to make it comfortable. It made him think back to the first time he had ever seen the Lumiens and how they had nearly blinded him that time. Once he had figured out how to control them properly, they were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen, up to that point in his life, and they were still pretty high up there, even with all of the other things he had seen since. He stared at them again, as he had done a few times before, and he wondered what other new things he would discover during the training. He wasn’t sure if anything would ever beat the sheer simplicity and elegance of the Lumiens, though, but he was excited by the possibility that something might.

  The excitement of the day so far, coupled with the comfort of the bed, caused his eyes to blink a few times. As he wondered how the other three were doing, his eyes blinked once more before staying closed, and he drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The ringing phone startled Adam out of his sleep. He hadn’t dreamed during his nap, at least not that he could remember, but he felt quite rested and filled with energy. The phone continued to ring until he rolled off of the bed and picked up the receiver. The room was so narrow that he could have just stretched to pick it up, but he felt that if he didn’t get off that bed he might nod off again.

  He held the receiver to his ear and said, “Hello?”

  “All initiates report to the main hall in ten minutes,” said the soft female voice. It definitely wasn’t Tilda because it was too high and not as husky.

  “OK,” Adam said into the receiver.

  “All initiates report to the main hall in ten minutes,” the same voice said again, exactly the same as the first time. That’s when Adam realized it was a recording, probably broadcast to every room at the same time. It wouldn’t make sense to call each of the initiates individually because of the time it would waste. A broadcast generic message was the most efficient.

  Adam glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly 5 pm. That explained the hunger building in his belly. He would leave the room in another five or six minutes, which would give him plenty of time to make it back to the main hall.

  Since he had just been sleeping, he figured that before he left he should check and make sure his hair wasn’t standing straight up or in any way that would be embarrassing. In the bathroom, he smoothed out the few strands of hair that were out of place, washed his hands, and checked the time once more. Six minutes had passed, so it was time.

  Kevin stepped out of his room at the same time as Adam, and Jimmy was already waiting in the hall. Adam looked up the hallway and other boys were stepping out of their rooms at the same time.

  Jimmy knocked on Mark’s door. “I’m sure your mascara looks fine princess – hurry up, we’re waiting.”

  The boys hugged the walls in the narrow hallway as older boys squeezed past, and a lot of short greetings were exchanged. Adam noticed that there were all sorts of different boys there along with different accents, although it was difficult to place them with only one or two words spoken.

  Mark finally stepped out of his room after most of the other boys had squeezed past. Adam hadn’t counted exactly how many there had been, but he assumed every room up that hallway had been full.

  “Did anyone else fall asleep?” asked Adam as they started moving.

  “Didn’t think I was tired until I sat down on the bed,” said Kevin. “That’s the most comfortable bed I’ve ever felt.”

  Jimmy and Mark agreed.

  They followed other groups of boys as they walked and noticed how they all slowed down when they reached the turn toward the main hall. That was where girls were turning as well, and the boys were pretending to be polite by letting them go ahead, but immediately checked them out from behind as they continued walking.

  Once they reached the main hall, the four boys looked around. Everyone was finding tables to sit at, so they found one in the middle that still had four open seats together. As they sat down, Adam noticed Trevor standing and
craning his neck to see the girls still streaming in, obviously looking for Kassie. Moments later he waved, and Kassie appeared through the crowd, coming to sit next to him.

  Off to the side near the wall stood a group of people that Adam thought must be the instructors. Gurpreet stood among them and was speaking while they listened intently, then most of the listeners broke into laughter at what he had said. Adam looked through the group and counted twelve people other than Gurpreet; evenly split between women and men, but the ages were of a wide range with the eldest looking to be Horton.

  Once the last few stragglers had entered, Horton stepped over to the middle of the room and raised his hands to quiet everyone down, even though there wasn't a lot of talking going on quite yet.

  "Hello initiates!" he called out. As soon as the room was silent he continued. "Welcome to Area 51. This is your home for the next eight months, so we ask that you treat it as such. My name is Horton Van Helstrom and, since I am the best looking instructor," he paused and waited for the few nervous laughs he received before looking over to the other smiling instructors and said, "tough crowd." He continued, "...ok, SECOND best looking instructor then."

  A few more nervous laughs than the first time echoed in the room.

  "I have been chosen to speak to you today. It is going to be short and sweet, because we know you have all been excited and nervous to come here today. Most of you probably just woke up from having a nap in your new rooms, so the first thing we'll show you is the cafeteria, because you are probably hungry. After you get a chance to eat, we'll introduce the staff and give you a tour of this whole place. The cafeteria is down those stairs," he pointed to two stairwells, one on each side of the hallway leading to the dorms. "There are two lines for dishing up food and a wide selection so don't be shy. If this half of the room could go down the left stairs," he drew an imaginary line up the walkway dividing tables right and left then swept his hand over the left side, "and the other side to the right. Start with the front tables and back tables last please. Off you go."

  At that, the noise level rose fast due to the shuffling initiates making their way to the cafeteria. Few of them were speaking as they went, and Adam, Kevin, Mark and Jimmy followed the lead of the others.

  The line moved fast at first but by the time the group had made it to the edge of the stairs it had slowed to a crawl, presumably because the people ahead were filling their plates. The noise level increased as they waited, with conversations sprouting up at various spots in the lines. The miscellaneous accents made Adam wonder how far and wide the initiates had come from.

  At least they didn’t look too out-of-place among the other initiates. Besides the variations in race and accents, the ages of the initiates seemed to vary too. Adam knew that they all were sixteen or older, but many of them looked like they could be younger. Adam and his friends weren’t substantially shorter than the average initiate either, so until others found out their true ages, the four of them should be able to fit in - or so Adam was beginning to believe.

  Mark was the first of the four in line, followed by Kevin, then Adam and Jimmy. Jimmy couldn't resist commenting on this as they shuffled down the stairs.

  “Maybe you should let Adam go first before you two clean out all of the food,” he teased.

  Kevin said nothing but Mark shook his head. They understood that Jimmy was partly trying to tease them, but mainly he was trying to start a conversation.

  “I’ll bet there’s a ton of food down there,” said Kevin, ignoring Jimmy’s comment. “Can’t you smell it all?”

  Mark inhaled a lung full of air through his nose. “It smells out of this world.” He inhaled deep once more, looking as if he enjoyed it immensely until his face turned into a scowl. “Thanks a lot – now I’m starving!” he complained.

  Kevin smiled. “Mission accomplished.”

  That was the end of the conversation until they had reached the unbelievably long smorgasbord tables. They each grabbed a plate and continued down the line and could barely believe the selection as they moved along. Soups and salads were first, followed by all types of breads. Many different starches came next, like five types of rice and three types of potatoes, as well as French fries plus things Adam had never even seen before. Next in line were many hot items from pizza to burgers, ribs to roast beef. Finally, various vegetables galore were piled high on platters and plates.

  The boys each sampled small portions of multiple items, and by the end of the line their plates were overflowing with food. Mark headed for an empty circular table near one wall and began digging in before his friends arrived. It was a quiet meal since everyone was so hungry, eating with their heads down in their food. When they were partially done eating and the lines were almost finished, Kassie and Trevor spotted them and began making their way over.

  Actually, Kassie was walking over and dragging Trevor behind her. He obviously didn’t want to share a table with the boys.

  “How’s the food?” asked Kassie as she sat down. She scowled at Trevor and he sat next to her with a grunt.

  “Almost as good as your mom’s cooking,” said Adam.

  Jimmy immediately made a kissing noise and said, “Butt kisser.”

  “It’s true,” said Adam, on the defensive.

  “Just teasing,” said Jimmy. “I know she’s a great cook. That’s why he is like he is -” Jimmy jerked his thumb in Kevin’s direction.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Kevin, not looking happy about the comment.

  “I just mean you’re in good shape. Not like Adam who looks like a scarecrow they forgot to fill with straw,” replied Jimmy.

  Just then, a large lady wearing all white yelled at the crowd, “As long as you’re still hungry you can keep coming back for more.” Her accent was intensely Scottish.

  Mark’s eyes widened and he looked at Kevin. Both had finished their food just seconds before the announcement and what they had just heard was good news. They immediately stood and walked back for seconds.

  Adam had eaten enough food to last him for a while, so he decided not to go back again. He was comfortably full, but anymore and he would feel disgusting. The sleep he had enjoyed earlier was paying off at that moment, because otherwise he would have felt like taking a little nap.

  After some time with no one speaking around the table, Adam decided to break the silence. “How are the Women’s dorms?” he asked Kassie. “Does it look like a hunting lodge on your side too?”

  Kassie laughed. “No. It’s actually quite nice. Modern designs with a lot of colors. There are mirrors and comfortable seats everywhere in the common area. It’ll be a great place to study and hang out. Trevor tells me that your side looks just like the main hall,” she replied.

  Adam nodded. “Same style as the main hall, but like yours, it has couches and chairs all over the common area. The rooms are a bit small, though, but they’ll do.”

  Kassie looked confused. “My room isn’t small. It’s bigger than the one I have at home, and I love my bathroom. It’s almost as big as the rest of the room.”

  Kevin returned with a plate stacked full of pizza. He sat down fast and started shoveling away.

  “Well, that’s a big difference then. Trevor should take you into his room and show you how small it is,” said Adam.

  Upon hearing that, Kevin nearly choked on his pizza. Once he cleared his throat, he said, “No way. If you want to see one of the Men’s rooms, you can come and see mine.”

  Adam wasn’t sure if the redness in Kevin’s face was because he was angry or because he had nearly choked to death a few moments earlier.

  Trevor’s face was clearly red too, but probably for different reasons, Adam decided.

  Mark plopped down at the table with another full plate. Gravy nearly ran off the side of the French fries and cheese but he wiped it up with a finger and licked it off fast. When he looked up, everyone’s eyes were on him.

  “What?” he asked. “I’m still hungry.”

  “You
know, for some reason I’m guessing that they’ll have food here each and every day. You look like you’re bulking up to hibernate for the winter,” said Jimmy.

  “Hey, it’s their fault the food is so good,” said Mark through a half-chewed mouthful.

  Adam was feeling more comfortable with his new situation. He still had a bit of a knot in his gut, but it was slowly loosening as time went on. Having his friends around helped a lot, and he was sure that it was the same for the others too. The prospect of spending the next eight months at Area 51 had at moments seemed like it would be scary because of all the unknowns, but exciting for the same reasons.

  He sat back in his chair and surveyed the room. There were more than enough tables and chairs to accommodate everyone and the room probably could have held another third more to fill all of the seats. It was a long room and only seemed narrow because of how long it was. At the end where they had come down the stairs from the main hall there were washrooms on both sides followed by the sneeze-shield covered tables full of food. After the food tables were all of the dining tables, and against the opposite wall there were two more stairwells, one marked Men’s dorm and the other marked Women’s dorm. That’s when Adam noticed that there were no ‘windows’ in that room, just patches of Lumiens on the ceiling. Many of the initiates were looking around in the same way he was, and a lot of them were stuck staring at the Lumiens areas. Adam remembered that most of these initiates had probably just learned about the League recently and had no idea what they were seeing.

  For a split second, something in the opposite corner of the room caught his eye as he looked around, but movement of the other initiates covered it up before he could figure out what he saw. He could swear that someone was staring at him. It made him feel awkward, but he started to convince himself that it was just another initiate looking around and they must have crossed gazes. A moment later, the person in the way bent down to pick something up that they must have dropped on the floor.