A World Apart (16 page)

The loud steaming sound of the train woke Alan from his early morning nap. He looked at his watch to find his was an hour slow compared to that at the stations, although he didn’t seem to care. He walked along the backend of the train and noticed a gathering of people around the station which was a lot larger than the one he had ran from last night. He jolted as he saw police officials searching the civilians. He levied himself down from the stairs to the track of the railway and checked as he crossed to the platform edge. He stayed low and quickly walked to his right where the platform dropped to normal level, where he ran across to the stations edge and picked up a discarded hat that was on a bench near a wall of a restaurant. He picked up a cup of coffee that had just been placed down by someone and exited the station, drinking it down in massive gulps and discarding in on the floor. As he crossed the street he noticed a few more police cars heading his way, so he adjusted his hat to conceal his face and carried on walking, turning down a street that contained a garage covered in graffiti and a stray dog that didn’t look too kindly upon humans. The loud ship horns woke Alan considerably more that the coffee he just had as he realised he was at the coast. Finding a safer way back to the station, he asked a person on the street how to get to the shipping bay, speaking in English which was very posh and well spoken. The old women gave him directions, but demanded something in return, so he reached for his jacket pocket and placed the map near her hand which she drew away instantly and huffed as she past him. He wasn’t at all bothered about her reaction and had one thing on his mind. It wasn’t that far to the bay according to the women, that’s if she’s not lying.

    The shipping bay took up the entire coast, demolishing its natural appearance into a business point. Large ships loaded with goods coming in and out of the country, all being coordinated by a few members of staff in black overalls and navy caps. Cranes were prodding the African skyline as they lifted cargo onto the vessels ready for shipping. Alan couldn’t believe that amount of security around the shipping area, noticing that it was due to international shipping as not all the guards bore the same uniform. Alan confidently walked up to the shipping area and crossed the wooden planks that allowed for the boarding of personnel. He withdrew a pass from his pocket that showed a picture and details that didn’t match at all. The security looked suspiciously at the documents and accepted them, as he briskly walked onto the ship that alerted even more attention from that guard. He got on to the main deck of the ship and proceeded to the front and positioned himself where there were no people and stood looking out over the ocean with a terrific smile. He reached for his hat as the ship left the bay and threw it into the broad blue sea, to unveil the long golden hair that swooped down out of the hat and on turning around to look back at the country behind through the eyes of Liona.

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CHAPTER FIVE

2025

“Though leaves are many, the root is one;

Through all the lying days of my youth

I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;

Now I may wither into the truth”

W.B.Yeats, The Coming of Wisdom With Time

    Loud footsteps rained the dark longing hall that three shadows loomed. One of the shadows wondered to attend to a piercing whine coming from the far end of the hall that echoed spontaneously around the great walls filled with images of stars, planets and wonderfully splendid colours. The view seemed to calm them who were flat beneath it. Another outcry from not so far away pulled a shadow towards, where the shadow was greeted by anxious sweat dripping hideously from the small pale boy. The sturdy snatch of the young boy’s arm asserted him, their eyes glued.

    The shadows left the grand hall, admiring the display before them to see the wonderful yet painful sight of symmetrical white fields darted across the room. Pure white and reflective as the shadows recoiled and all that was heard was the crash of a door and the metal lock clattering shut.

“They do look tired” whispered a middle-aged woman dressed in a blue wearing a cream nursing outfit. She looked down at a child that was turning and groaning in their sleep at the thought of waking up.

“Yes, well they need all the rest they can get” replied a man in white overalls; splashes of blood on the cuffs and over the abdominal region of his bright clothing. He gently stroked the forehead of the whimpering child as he left the room thoughtfully.

   
A zooming noise thundered past the windows on the side of the rather high building, which returned no acknowledgement from the nurses or children outside.

The city was covered by a blotchy fog that infected the trees and wildlife, casting a white tip of frost over the landscape. A still was present, as though time itself had stopped turning. The nurse moved along the hall, checking the status of all the children and encouraging a noisy girl to go back to sleep; which she ignored. A tall grotty man creepily entered the hall to pass on a message to the nurse. She placed her things down without looking and immediately overtook the man and proceeded past the doors which swung wider open. Her shoes could be heard on the cobbled steps, getting faster and ferocious. 

The nurse swung her head intriguingly around the corridor on the ground floor; looking for the correct room to enter, when she bumped into a mighty figure as she took a left. She bounced back and stumbled over, although she avoided hitting the ground.

    After a few seconds she realised that she was being held up by something, a figure lurched over her had her arm in full ownership as she was helped up. She straightened her clothes and adjusted herself upright. Now fully aloft, the figure’s image came into full view. A broad smile lifted the dark shadows that surrounded him.

“Always were in a hurry you” said the figure known to be one of the wealthiest men in the country. Feeling weak and idiotic, the nurse curtsied which wasn’t appreciated by the man. He assisted in lifting her once more, interjecting a sparkle of laughter which made her feel even more moronic, although the man appeared to admire the behaviour.

“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.

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    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.