THROUGH NEW BEGINNINGS
Chapter 1- Genesis
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Before I start to fall apart
I want to run back to the start
Destroy the person that I've been
I just want to begin again
"Drowning" by Faidless
I want to run back to the start
Destroy the person that I've been
I just want to begin again
"Drowning" by Faidless
This fic is dedicated to the three people in my life who passed during the writing of What Lies Beyond--- people who meant a lot, who stood for faith, generosity and legacy, who always took interest in my life and my creativity. They are missed. And here's to all readers who have lost someone during that time too.
Somehow, they'd thought coming home was going to be easy.
The sight of sunlight--- real sunlight, in their eyes for the first time in months--- had been jarring, to say the least. Although the sky was cloudy, the sun managed to outshine any artificial light on the AARC for miles.
The process of returning to normal would no doubt be long and disorienting. First, they would need to gain back their land legs. Kai, for one, had never felt so heavy in all his life, not even while climbing set after set of stairs in the AARC. His head was light and his stomach was still rolling from the trip back down to earth. He didn't care that it was daytime--- all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep until he felt better.
The two teams had been separated, each trio taken to a separate part of the sprawling facility. Kai didn't know what to call this place; there was no identifying signage, nor any logos on the buildings. The buildings were either grey and off-white, or covered in glass panels. Kai, Mira, and Adam's destination happened to be both. The majority of the building was white and grey, but the entire lobby was encased in a tall structure of glass panes.
Kai was almost certain he'd been here as a kid, but he just couldn't remember what this place was called.
Their escorts led them inside the building. Three people waited in the lobby; Kai recognized all three. Weirdy--- or Chris Gage, host of the Hollow. Anna Abrams herself--- shorter than she looked onscreen. And the third... a blond man he recognized, but couldn't name. Ernie, maybe? Dread filled Kai's stomach--- that dark heather suit the man wore seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it in a nightmare.
Was he the man with the burning fingers?
Anna's eyes lit up the moment she laid eyes on Kai, bedraggled as he was. She put on a bright smile, strode straight to him, and threw her arms around his neck, much to Kai's chagrin. "Kai! Kai, sweetie, I'm so glad you're alive!"
"Hey! Leggo!" Kai squirmed. He peered toward Adam, who was visibly confused. Who did this woman think she was?
"Let me see you." Anna Abrams stepped back, but kept her hands firm upon Kai's shoulders. His skin crawled. Can't escape! The woman smiled again. "You've gotten so tall!" she remarked. "I should have known you'd been due for a growth spurt..."
Kai wrested her arms from his shoulders. "Who are you?" he asked. "And why the heck were we on that busted old space thing?"
Anna sighed. "It's a long story. We were hoping you'd remember it by now. But... you really don't remember me?"
"No," Kai snorted. "Not much. Why do you know me?"
"Because," laughed Anna. She touched Kai's cheek--- a touch like fire. He flinched. "I'm your auntie."
Kai's blood ran cold.
"You... you built that thing. Why should we believe a word you say?" asked Adam, his eyes smoking black coals.
"And where are our parents?" Mira added. "I thought they'd be here to pick us up."
"Oh no, no. You three aren't ready to go home yet. We have to take you through our mental evaluation process first." She smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry."
Adam frowned deeper. "How long will that take?"
"A few days. Maybe a week or two." Anna clasped her hands together. "It all depends on how well you're coming along. We can get started right away if you'd like."
Kai groaned. "Can't we sleep first?" Not that he wanted to lie down while this crazy woman was around, but the idea of boring tests and questions so soon after coming home sounded positively awful. Especially while so exhausted, body and soul.
"Yeah," said Adam. "We're tired. It's been a long day."
Anna and the blonde man shared a concerned glance. Then Chris Gage stepped in and officially became Kai's hero. "I can take the kids to their rooms, if that's OK with you," he offered.
Anna nodded. "All right. I suppose they'll perform better on fresh minds." She smiled. "We'll begin first thing tomorrow, after breakfast." With that, she and the blond man walked in one direction, while Chris gestured for the teens to follow him down a glass-plated hall in the opposite direction.
Once they'd made it down a sizable portion of the hallway, Chris loosened up. "Wow. Wish we weren't meeting again like this," he said with an awkward laugh. "Say. Do any of you remember my name?"
"Chris Gage," answered Adam. "You're the host of the Hollow... right?"
"Yes!" Chris danced a little cheer. "You didn't remember my name last time." He sighed, all at once turning grave. "Sorry it had to be this way, kids. I didn't know doing what I did would do what it did. I knew I should've called Ernie; he invented the tech. I just host the show."
Kai would have asked Chris a few questions--- but he was so exhausted he could barely think to ask them. Besides, he figured he'd learn what Weirdy was talking about eventually.
"It was my duty to keep you all safe." He barked a sour chuckle. "Much good I did, huh?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself," said Mira. "I don't know what you did, but... it worked. We're all still alive."
Chris took a deep breath. "You survived, yes." He nodded, now oddly distant--- very different from his television persona. "And you all very nearly didn't."
Kai didn't need to think too hard to recognize a guilty conscience.
Chris laughed, attempting to bury the dark mood as they turned down another hallway and stopped. "Well, here we are. Each of you gets a room. Don't worry about anything tonight; I figure they'll leave you guys alone until you get up in the morning."
"What about the others?" Adam questioned, scouting the hallway with a suspicious eye. "Are they staying here tonight?"
Chris shook his head. "No, no. The tall kid--- Skeet, I think. His specific... complications required they take him and his two friends to a different part of the facility. They'll be spending the night over there. I doubt you'll see them here." He slid the card for one door, opened it, and motioned for one of them to enter. Kai seized his chance and hurried inside the room. Chris caught him by the arm. Kai looked up, giving the man the grouchiest, sleepiest frown he could muster.
Chris' expression was dead serious, thoughtful--- like he didn't quite know what he was about to say, and he was trying to be smart with his choice of words. His eyes were haunted, his brow pinched. "Don't be so... anxious to remember everything about your aunt right away, kid," he warned, voice hushed. Kai didn't respond. Chris pressed the card key into his hand and let him go. Kai spared a moment to wonder what that was about, but thoughts of sleep soon pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind.
At last, a warm, comfy bed! As soon as the door shut behind him, Kai flopped face-down onto the bed and unleashed a long yawn. Finally, he could splay out in whatever sleeping position he wanted; that pod had become such a tight, restrictive space over those two months. Within minutes, despite the drabness of the room and the strangeness of Weirdy's warning, Kai drifted off into a deep sleep.
A thankfully dreamless sleep.
But in the next room over, hours after Kai had fallen asleep, Adam tossed and turned, unable to do the same. The bed was comfortable enough, but after sleeping in a constrained pod for two months, the experience of lying in a regular bed was strangely unfamiliar. He tried to lull himself to sleep by staring at the plain grey walls. They reminded him of the AARC. Adam hated that place, yet in a strange, twisted sort of way, the AARC had become another home. It had become familiar.
Familiar was comforting. But lying here alone, without the soft sounds of Mira and Kai at rest nearby, the vague familiarity did little to help Adam fall asleep. He hated to resurrect his insomniac tendencies, but there wasn't much he could do when his thoughts raced, and his body refused to relax. He had too many worries; too much on his mind to let his eyes slip shut. He still had no peace, even here on earth.
Relax, he scolded himself. It's not like these people are gonna kill us. We'll be home sooner than we know. All we need to do is answer some questions and maybe get our brains probed. Hardly worth staying awake about.
Adam was not thrilled at the thought of his brain being probed. But if he and his friends had suffered brain damage, memory loss, or anything else, he'd rather know how much damage had been done than stay in the dark for the rest of his life. Registering how badly he'd been affected, both physically and mentally, might be the slap back to life he needed.
Adam hated the thought--- yet he feared a part of him still dwelled on the AARC, and that he'd never be able to get that piece back. Being back on solid ground felt so strange, so wrong, so... alien. So did he--- like he didn't belong here anymore. Like he didn't belong in his own skin.
Adam sighed, squeezing his eyes shut tighter. Ridiculous. He was back on Earth. Home was just a few days away, maybe sooner. And after a little more recovery, he'd be back to health. He'd be himself again. No more insomnia. No more anxiety. No more feeling like a failure to the only people who'd stuck by his side through his worst days.
The sun would rise in the morning, hailing the new beginning they'd all longed for. Adam just hoped he'd be ready to go through it.