Faded Encounters Read online

  Faded Encounters

  by

  Elsy Green

  C.01

  “RUN, RIELLA! RUN!” the handsome honey-haired boy with stunning eyes calls out to me. He’s frantically beckoning me to run to him, urging me to move. Yet, I’m frozen in place, my legs glued to the floor in hesitation. I know I need to leave. I know I need to go with him, but I can’t. For some reason I’m looking back over my shoulder at the mainframe computers in the middle of the lab.

  There are men dressed in all black, from their head to toe, marching into the room from every direction. The march to an even steady tune of death and destruction. They have no need to hurry, they have no need to step out of line, they know they’ve won, they know I won’t leave. At least not yet. Not until I finish. This is the only chance I’ll get and everyone in the room knows it.

  Without thinking about the men in black masks that flood through the doors, or the weapons they carry, or even what will happen to me when I get caught, I run away from dark-haired boy and race towards the main frame. Booting up the system I furiously dab at the keyboard willing my fingers to work faster so I finish what I came here to do.

  The room moves in slow motion as I work, honey-hair leaving his post at the door across the room and racing towards the men in black. He’s fighting them off, punching his way through their mindless agenda to give me more time. I desperately type out each and every letter and symbol as flawlessly as I can at this speed, checking and double checking my work before I press enter. The screen goes black and the computer shuts off. It has to think, it has to restart and reprocess the gigantic amount of information I just fed it.

  “Come on, come on, come on!” I bang the side of the machine like that will somehow help. A progress bar pops up and I let out a relieved scoff. It’s loading my data, it’s accepted it. Two minutes and it will all be over.

  “RIELLA! GO!” The boy screams. I tear my eyes from the computer and search for him. He’s being engulfed by the masks, his head barely staying above the mob as they come down on him. I grind my teeth together letting out an irritated groan as I race towards him, sliding into the crowd and knocking down masks as I my make my way to the middle.

  A man grabs me by the hair and pulls me out. I quickly recuperate, twisting and contorting my body so that I’m now on top of him, strangling him between my legs. He falls towards the ground and I jump off of him landing effortlessly back on my feet. His body backs a thumping sound against the cold, hard ground. I kick him over and steal his stun gun before running back into the crowd, charging up my weapon and firing away.

  I cripple men with each blow I take. They fall to the ground moaning, groaning and passing out. With the odds evened honey-hair does the rest; kicking, punching and fighting his way to me. He reaches me within seconds, men lying at our feet incapacitated. The doors open again and we watch as more men march through the opening. Honey-hair holds out his hand to me and I take it without hesitation this time. We take off towards the door jumping over bodies as we go.

  “Wait!” I pull back on his arm as we reach the exit, looking back over my shoulder one more time. I need to see if it worked. His grip tightens on me and he doesn’t let up as he races for the door. I struggle against his pull on me, using every bit of strength to get away. I have to see if it worked. I have to know!

  “Riella, NO!” Honey-hair wraps his strong arms around me and drags me towards the exit.

  “I have to know! I have to see if it worked!” I scream at him, fighting against his iron grip around my body.

  “I’m sorry, Riella. I’m sorry.” He drags me kicking and screaming from the room. Swinging my legs off the ground and into his arms he takes off running down the halls, never looking back.

  “Allie,” I hear a familiar voice coming from the ceiling. I look up at the flickering lights as we run.

  “Who is that?”

  “Allie,” the voice says again. I turn towards honey-hair dazed and confused.

  “Who is saying that?” I feel something poke my side and I startle just as honey-hair dissipates into thin air. “Allie, wake up!”

  “Wait! No!” I shoot up from my desk, slamming my hands on the slobber covered wooden surface. I’m breathing frantically as I look around the room in an agitated daze.

  I swallow down as I recognize the startled faces staring back at me. Slinking back into my chair, I wipe the drool from my chin and look over at Sophie with an irritated glare. She was supposed to stop me. And yet, I’ve done it again, fallen asleep in class and woken up so maniacally that I’ve spooked the entire class.

  “Maybe next time you could try and stay up with us Allie, I know the history of our people doesn’t interest you, but maybe it should. Knowing the past can change the future.” Mrs. Andrews gives me a stern glare that tells me she’s not happy with me. I nod and bow my head ashamed that I fell asleep in another class, that’s the third one this week and it’s only Tuesday.

  Luckily the school bell rings releasing me before Mrs. Andrews can lecture me again in front of the class. I don’t need any more lectures today especially not after that weird dream I just had. I’m not really sure I’m up for anything right now. My brain is throbbing and my body aching with pains I’ve never felt. It’s like somehow, I’m having residual dream pains, feeling whatever Riella must have after she took on those masked men.

  “You made it half an hour. Half an hour, Allie. That’s your worst time yet, maybe you should go get checked out.” Sophie hovers over me like an overbearing mother hen. Her flustered cheeks turning as red as her auburn hair.

  “I’m fine.” I wave her off as I gather my bag and sneak out of the room to my next class where I will most likely fall asleep again. It’s been happening for the last few weeks. I fall asleep, have really weird dreams and then wake up in the middle of a class I don’t even remember stepping foot into.

  “But what if you aren’t? I read that sometimes brain tumors can induce narcolepsy.” She trails after me like a determined puppy, her big round hazel eyes wide with concern.

  “That was an isolated study in children with brain tumors. In teenagers it’s most likely related to lack of sleep.”

  She looks at me with surprise. “You’ve been doing research.”

  “Yeah, well…I’m not exactly passing my classes.” I sigh, already done with this conversation. I feel like Sophie and I have this conversation at least once a day and it’s getting old.

  “And you want to know why?”

  “Of course I want to know why, contrary to your beliefs, this is freaking me out just as much as it is you. I’m just not so quick to jump to death sentences.”

  “I’m only trying to help.” Sophie averts her eyes to the ground sounding rejected. I stop walking and turn to face her with a softened expression.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just irritated okay. I’m not sleeping that much, that’s got to be the cause of all of this. And the dreams…they seem to be getting…weirder.”

  “Weirder? Are you actually remembering things now?”

  “I think so, but I don’t know it’s all so foggy and distant. I just get pieces here and there.” I let out an exhale and frown. “It’s whatever, I’m over it.”

  “What if it’s not over you?”

  “What’s that supposed to me, Soph? I’m in no mood for riddles.”

  “Maybe it’s time you get checked out. I mean this has been going on for a while, don’t you think you deserve an answer and a break?”

  “I’m fine, Sophie. Really. I’m fine. I just need more sleep that’s all.” I give her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. She pushes some hair behind her ear and smiles somberly.

  “Okay. I’m just worried about you, that’s
all. I want you to be okay. AND graduate high school. I can’t move into the dorms by myself, I’ll seem like a sad loser whose roommate deserted her the first night they met because she was some sort of sociopath who liked to spend all her time reading her textbooks to get a head start on the course work.”

  I laugh. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll try to get more sleep tonight. I’ll drug myself or something. That has to work right?”

  “Doctors do it all the time,” she shrugs as we walk into our next class together.

  ***

  I do everything the internet tells me to do to fall asleep. Nyquil, lavender scents, lavender baths, soothing noises, dark room, mediation, but nothing works. I’m wired. Sitting on my stupid mediation mat trying again and again to calm my stupid brain and get to sleep. I take in another deep breath and focus on my breathing, pushing out every other though that comes into my mind, begging sleep to overcome me. My eyelids feel heavy, my breath slows down and suddenly I’m taken to another place.

  “Riella, what are you doing?” I startle at honey-hair’s voice and turn towards him so I can hush him. He’s younger than before, much younger, fourteen maybe? I’m not sure. I’m sitting crossed legged in some sort of park in the middle of a busy metropolitan area. Except it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before.

  There in front of me is a large, intricate water fountain, three tiers floating effortlessly in the sky as fresh cool water falls from what seems like the heavens and collects in the pool below. Giving life to the vibrant green lawn and lush trees that surround the area.

  Most people don’t know that it pulls precipitation from the air, that it does indeed create moisture from the heavens above and in turn waters the beautiful landscape of this park. Most people don’t care, most of them are just happy to be alive.

  A beautiful white bricked path surrounds the round pool, the bricks looking more like a polished marble floor than sidewalk. Narrow paths break off from the main path going in many different directions as they carry people to their destinations. The sidewalks literally moving like some sort of optical illusion, carrying people up down, sideways, and even horizontally. The moving sidewalk taking them to each one of the many odd-looking buildings with tall twisting necks, or rounded tops.

  There are people of all ages hurrying to make it to their destinations. Some people are talking into their holographic wristbands, others are enjoying the sun that beats down on their faces remembering a time when it wasn’t around. That was before we fixed it, before we fixed everything.

  “Earth to Riella.” Honey-hair nudges me with his shoulder now sitting down next to me crossed legged with a goofy grin. I clear my throat and roll my eyes.

  “Yes?”

  “I asked you what you were doing here?”

  “If you must know I’m trying to meditate.” I readjust myself into the meditation pose and close my eyes as I exhale.

  “Meditate? Here?”

  “Yes. Here.”

  “This isn’t really a good place for meditation, there is way too much going on. Your mind needs to tune everything out, not pick everything up.”

  I pry one eye open and scowl at him. Why does he always have to be so smart? Fine, I wasn’t trying to meditate, I was trying to gather any intel I could on what’s going to happen to Ryss. The academy has taken me in, but she’s not one of us. She doesn’t have a place among us. She doesn’t have a place anywhere, not after what happened.

  “Thanks for the tip, I will be sure to use it next time.” I snarl at him hoping he’ll leave. He tries and fails to hide his smirk as he leans back on his palms. I sigh and turn towards him with an impatient stare.

  “What? Do you have more tips?”

  “No. I just thought I could meditate with you.”

  “You just said it was a bad spot to meditate.”

  “Well maybe I’ll settle for a conversation then.”

  “You don’t want to have a conversation with me,” I scoff.

  “Why not?”

  “Well as Rector Loma so nicely puts it, I’m a bit brass. More so since the loss of my authority figure.”

  “I like brass,” he smirks.

  “Ha, no one likes brass.”

  “That’s not true, it’s essential to our whole dynamic.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “Well sticking to the status quo was kind of what got us into this mess. If more people hadn’t been afraid to say what was on their mind and then actually have the courage to follow through with it, they may have had an entirely different outcome. One that didn’t end with a complete collapse of society. So…brass is good.”

  I scoff and shake my head. “Smooth, but you’re forgetting one thing.” He turns to me intrigued. “If more people would have been brass, we wouldn’t be here…thus brass is bad.”

  “Huh…did Rector Loma say anything about being a master of debate?”

  I roll my eyes at his attempted humor. “Funny.”

  “I try,” he shrugs, “but on a more serious note, she doesn’t have any right to critique you. You’ve been through a lot this last year and you’ve come through it all stronger than before. You’re amazing and I admire you for what you’ve had to endure, we all do. That’s what she should focus on, not your quick wit or brashness.”

  I turn to him somewhat surprised. I was expecting him to say anything like that. “Do you always know what to say?”

  “Well…not always, sometimes I think about it, but most of the time it’s just sitting right up here ready to be dispensed at will.” He points to his head a huge smirk on his lips. I let out a scoffing chuckle and shake my head.

  I’ve never really paid attention to any boy in my class. I’ve never had time or the interest, but there’s something about him, something pulls me in. I can’t tell if it’s his stunning turquoise eyes or his quick wit and school boy charm. Either way, my cold exterior, the one I’ve worn for the last year, is slowly melting away with each of his sly, little smirks and witty remarks.

  “I’m Jaxon, by the way.” He holds out his hand, his grin somehow continuing to grow.

  “I know, I’m Riella.” I take his hand.

  “I know.”

  I take in a huge gulp of air as my eyes spring open and my room comes into view. I’m still sitting crossed legged on my mediation mat. Only now my body is drenched in sweat and my heart is thundering inside my chest. I take in a deep breath and blow it out telling myself it was just another dream, just another vivid and very memorable dream. It’s not real, it’s definitely not real. That’s what I tell myself, yet somehow, I’m not convinced.

  I look down at my hand, the one he shook. It’s tingling and warm, a deep conscious sensation coursing through my palm. I swallow down as it pulsates with reception, my entire hand behaving like this is the first time it’s ever felt something. Like somehow, I’ve been asleep and that dream just woke me up.

  I clench my fist and squeeze my eyes shut banishing any such thought. Sophie’s right, I need help.

  C.02

  “It says here you are having trouble sleeping?” Doctor Cassidy barely glances at my chart before setting it on the table and reaching for his stethoscope. He motions for me to lie down on the examination table as he proceeds to examine me for any external abnormalities, I’m assuming.

  “It’s not that. I mean yeah, sometimes I can’t fall asleep, but it’s more like I can’t stay asleep. I keep having these weird dreams, like really weird dreams. They feel so real and vivid. I usually wake up from them with a racing heart and drenched in sweat. Sometimes my arms or skin will tingle like I’m still connected to the dream of something. And last night I got this like…I don’t know…high?”

  He quirks an eyebrow, but doesn’t deviate from his examine. His fingers moving over every organ and surface as he stares at the ceiling like he’s concentrating. “Well everything seems normal.” He finishes offering me a hand to helps me sit up. “It sounds like your typi
cal case of insomnia.”

  “Insomnia?”

  “Yes, an inability to fall asleep and stay asleep.” He pulls out his pen and starts writing something on his prescription pad.

  “I know what insomnia is, that doesn’t explain the dreams.”

  “Our brains sometimes react differently to a lack of sleep, you’re probably having mild psychosis associated with sleep deprivation.”

  I stare at him with disbelief, unsure I just heard him right. The way he said it made it sound like psychosis was a normal thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s not, like one hundred percent sure psychosis is not a normal thing. Yet he doesn’t even seem concerned about it.

  “You think I’m psychotic?”

  “No. I think you are having some vivid dreams that could be related to sleep deprivation, mild psychosis, not psychotic.” He rips off the prescription and hands it to me. “Take one before bedtime, it will knock you right out.” He offers me a forced smile and reaches for my chart like he’s getting ready to leave.

  “Seriously? You aren’t going to run anymore tests? You are just going to chalk it up to psychosis?”

  He turns towards me with a tired expression. “I don’t need to do any more tests. You’re a teenager with weird sleep patterns. Take the pills and you’ll feel better.” Another forced smile and he’s exiting the room without another word. I stare at the door with disbelief. Did he seriously just dismiss me like that? The man didn’t even look for an alternative, he heard no sleep and diagnosed me with the first thing that popped into his head. What a joke. Why in the world did I think he was going to help me? I blame Sophie for this, she gave me false hope that someone might actually have a brain in this small, uncultured town.

  I sigh and hop down from the table, grabbing my jacket on the way out. Sophie is waiting eagerly for me in the lobby, an optimistic grin on her face that disappears as soon as she sees me.

  “I take it Mcsteamy didn’t find a cure?”

  “Mcsteamy? Seriously?”

  “What? That man is hott, I have to give credit where credit is due.”