The Awakening: Book 1 of the Evaran Chronicles (2 page)

Dr. Snowden scrunched up his face. He understood what Evaran was saying, but he was not buying it. “You would have to be an outside observer to know this, like standing next to our bodies then.”

Before Evaran could respond, the sound of Emily descending the stairs made her the point of focus. She had on a light shirt, jeans, and comfortable shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She put her left arm around Dr. Snowden and smiled at Evaran. “Wow, nice suit! Who’s this?”

Dr. Snowden perched his left hand on his chin and raised his eyebrows. He gestured with his right hand toward Evaran, indicating for Evaran to introduce himself.

Evaran raised his head and then tilted it toward Emily. “Ahh, yes. I am Evaran, and who might you be?”

“I’m Emily, Uncle Albert’s niece. Am I interrupting something?” asked Emily, glancing at Dr. Snowden.

Dr. Snowden smirked. “No, not at all. He was explaining to me that we have a few more minutes before this world, which is a virtual simulation, disappears and we awaken in the real world.”

Emily giggled. “I see.”

He knew she would find it comical in the way he presented it, but he was beginning to believe Evaran’s claim might have some merit.

Evaran extended his left hand again, showing the screen from his ring to both of them. “It is down to four minutes now.”

“That’s awesome! How’re you doing that?” asked Emily.

“Holographic projection he says. He also seems to know about our dreams,” said Dr. Snowden.

Emily’s eyes sunk as she grimaced. She took a step back with her hands clasped together tightly in front of her. “How does he know that?”

Dr. Snowden glanced at Emily, then back at Evaran. “A good question. You say this is not the real world but a virtual simulation, and your only evidence so far is the mention of dreams. That could’ve been a lucky guess, although a very good one. What other evidence do you have?”

Evaran nodded. “Well, I was hoping it would not come to this. I am standing between the beds you both are on in the medical room I described. To prove it, I will gently squeeze both of your shoulders. Tell me if you feel anything.”

Dr. Snowden’s heart pounded, and his eyes widened as he watched Evaran. Evaran froze in an unnatural manner, as if the pause button had been pressed on a remote control.

After a few moments of silence, Dr. Snowden retracted with surprise from Emily as she jumped. He had felt the light squeeze too, which couldn’t be possible. There was no object or force nearby that could have caused it. What the heck was going on? Evaran’s evidence seemed to keep mounting, while his skepticism was diminishing.

Evaran moved again and smiled at them. “Did you both feel that?”

Dr. Snowden’s left shoulder tingled as he rubbed it and processed the squeezing sensation. “How … how’s that possible?”

Emily whipped her head back and forth between Dr. Snowden and Evaran. “This is freaking me out!”

Dr. Snowden rubbed his chin with his trembling fingers and furrowed his eyebrows as he analyzed the situation. The two points of evidence were undeniable. The scientist in him would not let him dismiss it. “Why didn’t we feel anything when we were moved then?”

“Your physical sensations were neutralized. The virtual simulation is winding down, meaning your mind is now processing external physical sensations, as you just felt,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden snorted. “Well, I guess if this virtual simulation ends, that’ll be the final proof.”

Evaran pointed to the timer again. “You will have your proof then when the virtual simulation deallocation begins in two minutes. When the time comes, close your eyes and focus on clearing your mind. The sound of the deallocation will be all around. No physical harm will occur. Remember that. When it is over, both of you will be in the real world, in that medical room from your dreams. All I can do at this point is be your guide.”

Dr. Snowden and Emily poked their heads outside, surveying the environment. Dr. Snowden expected there to be something to lend credence to what Evaran was saying. Not seeing anything, he cocked his head at Evaran. “Assuming this is all true, are we the only ones in this virtual simulation?”

Evaran’s lips drew taut as he stared at the ground. “There are two others. I was not able to visit them due to time constraints. I had to make a decision, and I chose you and Emily. I got to visit both of you at one time, and you both appear to be fairly levelheaded. When they awaken, their experience will be vastly different from yours.”

Dr. Snowden tilted his head. He wondered who the other two were, assuming this wasn’t some elaborate hoax.

“So what now?” asked Emily.

Evaran cleared his throat and looked back up at them. “We wait. I accessed quite a bit from the logs. When you are both awake, I will try to explain everything.”

“Wait, were our names in those logs?” asked Dr. Snowden.

“Yes, they were.”

“So you knew who we were all along then!”

Evaran smiled. “You are correct. However, I felt it would be better to get your attention first before exploring that aspect. The holographic projection worked as I predicted it would. I knew you would be curious based on your profile. However, it is time. Prepare yourselves.”

Evaran looked off to the sky in the west. Dr. Snowden and Emily followed Evaran’s gaze. A loud boom shattered the silence, and the house shuddered as if an earthquake had hit it.

A jolt of adrenaline shot through Dr. Snowden. His breathing went ragged as he saw square chunks of the environment turning transparent, then fading to complete darkness. This must be the deallocation Evaran had mentioned. Why was it coming from the west? The sound the deallocation generated was similar to radio static. He rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and stepped out the front door in bewilderment. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Emily stepped out of the doorway and gripped Dr. Snowden’s right arm. Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped. “Whoa!”

The deallocation crept faster toward them. Cars, houses, and streets disappeared before their eyes. Dr. Snowden shielded with his left arm instinctively as he saw the wind toss the neighbor’s lawn fixtures around.

“The deallocation is almost complete. Come stand by me. We will do this together,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden moved to Evaran’s left side and hunched over, with Emily in tow.

Evaran put his arm around Dr. Snowden. Emily maintained her death grip on Dr. Snowden’s arm.

“This isn’t real! This is preposterous!” said Dr. Snowden over the deafening noise.

“Dr. Snowden … focus!”

Dr. Snowden and Emily shut their eyes and focused on blanking their minds. The deallocation was almost on them. Dr. Snowden peeped out and braced for impact. Although he could feel no pain, he felt himself beginning to slip away.

Dr. Snowden winced as pangs shot through his body. They passed as quickly as they came. It was enough to make him try to open his eyes. He immediately shut them due to the blinding light. His nostrils flared as the smell of sweat poured through them. He could almost taste it. He tried to talk, but his throat did not move. His stomach tumbled, and disorientation set in. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they were heavy and unresponsive.

He heard the distant, yet distinct, voice of Evaran. “Do not try to move just yet. Your bodies are readjusting after a few weeks of being under. Even with the periodic maintenance done to you, your bodies are still in need of repair. The nanobots are repairing your bodies now. It will be a few minutes or so.”

Prickles ran throughout his body. His hip region had the most intense prickle sensations. His mind swirled as he tried to focus on Evaran’s comment about nanobots. He was able to move more every passing second. He squinted hard and then peeped out, letting his eyes adjust. He watched as the environment around him became less blurred. Sounds became clearer. He heard Emily coughing and moving around on her bed. The pace at which he was recovering struck him as odd, like a cold car engine warming up.

He heard Evaran still talking. “These nanobots are a remarkable accomplishment. They can repair damage, fight off diseases, and even have rudimentary sensory aspects to them. I have seen other nanobots before, but never this advanced. They have integrated themselves quite well. Interesting. I will need to download the schematics for these before we leave.”

Dr. Snowden attempted to open his eyes completely. His throat unclenched, and the initial disorientation passed. He tried sitting up, but his arms gave out. The prickle sensations were gone now, and in their place was a warmth spreading throughout his body. He knew these sensations were real. In the virtual simulation, his aches felt disconnected from the realization of them. He heard Emily and two men groaning. They must be going through the same sensations he was.

After several minutes he tried sitting up again. His vision was sharp now, and he could move his body around better than he could ever recall. How could he go from such a debilitated state to one of such strength so quickly? He sat up without a trace of weakness and swung his legs off to the side of the table. He placed a hand on the cool slab. He glanced down and ran his other hand over the metallic dots on his white robe. Looking to his left and across a pathway, he saw two others on metallic slabs like the one he was on, groaning and moving around. One appeared to be a fair-skinned man in his mid-thirties, and the other was a darker-skinned man in his early twenties. He turned around and saw Emily beginning to get up. She had the same robe on that he and the others had. He turned back around and saw Evaran, but the blue suit with silver pinstripes was gone. In its place was a very different outfit. His breath slowed, and his eyes widened.

Evaran’s outfit looked like a padded light-armor suit. It was pale gray in appearance with highlights of blue, white, orange, and silver. The pads were spread out across the suit in various patterns. The suit covered the whole body except for the head, neck, feet, and hands. The pads were larger on the chest and legs and smaller and more spread out on the abdomen, arms, and shins. The suit also had a utility belt, boots, forearm covers, and a neck guard.

The silver segmented utility belt had various attachments on it. In the center of the belt was a dark-gray buckle with a button in the middle. He saw what appeared to be a cardholder on the right side. Behind that, a cylindrical rod hung off the utility belt. It was metallic and had intricate designs on it with several buttons. He thought it looked like the grip of a sword, but without the rest of the parts associated with a hilt. On the left side of the belt, various small metallic pouches and orbs were attached.

He slid off the slab and scrambled over to Emily. She was sitting on the edge of her slab, looking around with wide eyes. He verified that this was the medical room he recalled in what he thought was a dream. It was apparent this was not a typical medical room.

Emily slid off the slab and grabbed his right arm. She hunched over. “Uncle Albert, what’s going on?” she said with a wavering voice.

He cleared his throat as he wiped the sweat from his hands on his robes. His right arm tingled as Emily’s shallow breathing coursed over it. He wiped the sweat off his face with his left arm. Evaran had said this is where they would be when they awakened. “I don’t know, but this is the medical room from the dreams.”

The two men on the other slabs had sat up on the edges of their slabs. They rubbed their eyes and looked around.

The older man slipped off the slab. “What the
fuck
, man?” he said with a rising voice.

Dr. Snowden stepped in front of Emily with her still gripping his right arm. It was evident this man was unhinged.

The younger man had also slid off the slab. He jerked his head around and took off past the older man and Evaran. He reached the end of the lab, where he pounded on a light-blue smoke-filled doorway. “Help! Someone help, please!”

Evaran glanced at Dr. Snowden with furrowed eyebrows, then softened his look as he then turned to the older man. He raised his hand toward him. “Jay, please calm down. You are safe here. No one will hurt you.”

Jay focused on Evaran and walked aggressively toward him. “Damn right, they won’t. Who the fuck are you, man?”

Evaran stepped back. “I am Evaran. You have been through a traumatic experience, and I am here to help you.”

The younger man stopped screaming and slid down to the floor with his back to the shielded door. He grimaced with wide eyes and sunken eyebrows. His trembling hands were balled into fists and pulled close to his chest.

Dr. Snowden licked his lips as he watched the two men’s actions. These men were clearly in distress. He did not want to interfere, but it was apparent they were not forewarned about this awakening like he and Emily had been.

Jay stepped toward Evaran and then tried to push him, but Evaran didn’t budge.

“I said, who the fuck are you!” said Jay.

Jay tried to push Evaran again. Evaran sidestepped the push effort and brushed Jay’s arms to the side, causing him to stumble. Evaran spun Jay around and lightly pushed him to the nearest slab. Jay hit the slab, and his upper half spilled across it. He glanced at Dr. Snowden. His mouth was open, and his eyes widened. He stood back up and wheeled around to face Evaran, placing both hands on the edge of the slab.