Evenfall (3 page)

Chapter 1

The compound for Johnson's Pharmaceuticals loomed before Boyd.

The skyline was broken by a cluster of high-rise buildings that served as a stark contrast to the crumbling skyscrapers that had been devastated by the war. The city had never quite recovered from the bombs that had destroyed the entire eastern and southeastern section of the city's suburbs and wiped out entire neighborhoods within the city boundaries.
Although the economy had been decimated by the third world war and the companies and stores that hadn't been lost still struggled to survive, drug manufacturers continued to make a profit. With the diseases that followed the war like a plague, people became desperate for everything from prescription drugs that could make them forget, to miracle drugs that could cure the illnesses wasting away their loved ones. While most people could hardly afford a roof over their head, drug companies had enough money to spend on sprawling compounds and private security guards to protect their assets.

Boyd stopped at the gates to the compound, waiting while a woman in front of him flashed an ID and the guards let her in. Although Boyd didn't bother to get any closer even in the few seconds before the gate slammed shut again, the shorter guard eyed him. Boyd noticed that the taller guard's grey and black uniform had a small silver tag that read 'Veliz' while the shorter guard's read 'Garrett.'

"What do you want?" Garrett watched Boyd suspiciously.

"I have an appointment with my mother," Boyd said impassively.

"What's her name?" Garrett asked while Veliz continued to alertly watch the street behind Boyd.

"Vivienne Beaulieu."

For some reason, the name caused both guards to look at him more closely. Garrett especially scrutinized him, taking in Boyd's empty expression, the uncombed fall of long blond hair that went well past his shoulders, and the honey brown eyes that watched the guards blankly.

Boyd wore all black, from his long-sleeved shirt and simple pants to his military-grade boots and the long trench coat over it all. The dark color made his pale skin look even more washed out.

Garrett's eyes narrowed. "Show me your identification."

Boyd held out his
driver’s
license. Garrett snapped it roughly from Boyd and studied it seriously before turning watchful brown eyes onto Boyd again. Finally, Garrett handed the card back and glanced at Veliz briefly. Garrett disappeared into a small one-room building to the side of the gates.

Boyd stared ahead, not listening to the short conversation between Garrett and someone on the phone, and not looking at Veliz, who had resumed his scrutiny of the surroundings. Silence fell between them, lasting for a few minutes.

Garrett finally returned with a handheld metal detector. He ran it up and down Boyd's body; the detector made a quiet whining noise once it passed Boyd's belt and pockets, but once Boyd was directed to empty his pockets and remove his belt, it was silent. Garrett waited while Boyd silently put the belt back on and slid the keys in his pocket.

Garrett had a bright green visitor's pass with the day's date scrawled on it and he held it out as he said, "You're cleared. An escort will be here shortly."

Garrett stepped back to join his partner in watching the surroundings while Boyd placed the visitor's pass on his trench coat where it was clearly visible.

Boyd blankly watched the solid gates until they opened enough to reveal a guard from inside the compound. The new man was dark-haired with a dark complexion and taller than Boyd by several inches. As he stepped in front of Boyd, the small silver tag reading 'Amos' was almost directly in front of Boyd's eyes.

Amos grabbed Boyd's arm and started to direct him through the gates. Boyd didn't care for the fingers curling around his arm and wanted to pull away. In the end he didn't bother. It would simply draw more attention to himself.

As they passed the other two guards, Boyd heard Garrett mutter sarcastically to Amos, "Better watch out with that one. He'll excite the shit out of you."

Veliz snickered quietly and Amos snorted but Boyd was barely listening as his gaze slid disinterestedly across the compound. It was almost like a miniature city inside, with named streets that spread out before him, parking lots near the larger buildings, and more people striding around than he would have expected could fit in there. A large building sat to their left, the entrance dominated by a sign that read 'Johnson's Pharmaceuticals' with the company's maroon logo next to it.

"You taking him to Entry?" Garrett asked Amos idly.

"She wants him in her office," Amos said with a shrug.

"Really," Garrett drawled in an intrigued tone and although Boyd didn't look over, he could feel that dark brown stare burning into the back of his head. "Interesting. There must not be a long shelf-life on this one, huh?"

"Who knows," Amos said dismissively. "I don't make the rules; I just follow them."

"Don't we all," Garrett muttered, then turned away. "Later."

Amos nodded and tugged on Boyd's arm to get him moving. Boyd had barely paid attention to the conversation and expected to be brought to the Johnson's Pharmaceuticals building, but was led around another building and down the main street instead. Together, they headed toward the tallest building that towered off-center of the compound.

The building was a skyscraper that looked as though it held well over a dozen floors, and although there were high-rises in the city that were taller, this one was massive in its girth as well. The windows were reflective and black, making the place look like a modern monolith placed in the middle of the compound. There were no signs designating the name of it or even an address that Boyd noticed, yet it seemed like the majority of the people walking around the compound were heading in or out of the front doors.

Hardly anyone gave them a second glance and when Amos and Boyd went through the large double doors of the building, Boyd glanced past the lobby that opened before them.

A huge staircase dominated the room straight ahead of them while hallways opened up to the left and right. A main desk with a short, circular wall surrounding it sat in middle of the room, where three guards were sitting behind a small set of monitors. Two of them looked up and nodded amiably at Amos, who nodded in return and led Boyd around the set of stairs to an elevator bank just through a hallway behind it.

Four double-wide elevators in a row lined the wall with a large, open space in front of them, with another elevator at the far end that was smaller and looked to be the only place without a group surrounding it. About ten people waited there in varying moods. Lit signs above each elevator flashed ever-changing numbers, with an arrow next to them pointing up or down. Boyd got more than one odd look when his green visitor's pass was noted but no one said anything once they glanced at the guard holding his arm.

Boyd found his gaze tracking the people around him. A wide variety was represented, from ethnicities and ages to personalities. Now that he and Amos were stopped, he distantly noticed that something was starting to bother him.

The press of people gave him a strange sense of anxiety. He hadn't been around this many people for years. He'd spent every moment he could inside his house, barely thinking or moving, and had only left when he'd needed items he couldn't find a way to have delivered. He'd never been claustrophobic but the crowd of people milling around him came as close to that as he'd ever felt, and it took him a moment to understand why.

He felt exposed in this position. So many eyes all around him, seeming as though they were watching him. Hands that could touch him and potentially hurt him. It seemed more apparent to him in here, where the space was smaller and the people were closer.

Although he didn't care what anyone thought, it still felt incredibly strange to be noticed at all. He'd felt for so long like part of the woodwork in his home; like a painting that blended into the wall. These people reminded him that wasn't the case and it was an uncomfortable feeling. He shifted closer to Amos, unconsciously seeking some sort of protection.

Bits of conversation flashed around him; some of it making no sense to him and some of it seeming so mundane. Abbreviations and unfamiliar terminology mixed with people chatting about what sounded like routine business. What they planned to do tonight; where they planned to go. Projects they were working on at home. Lamentations of being tired and wishing the day was already over.

After years of being in stasis, it was like being thrown into a world on fast forward. He felt alienated by this everyday life even as a part of him wondered what those terms meant.

He'd been on autopilot for so long. He'd learned to shut everything down and feel nothing in a blank setting and it had worked well for him. It was almost alarming to feel that comforting nothingness bow with the pressure of such an alien environment. Feeling anything at all was a disturbing prospect and yet even when he looked straight at the wall and tried to ignore everyone around him, he still distantly noted their gazes and their words.
The third elevator over finally dinged with the sign flashing 'G.' The doors opened and a crowd of people exited. Amos led Boyd into the elevator along with many of the other people waiting, although some of them hung back and seemed as though they planned to wait for an emptier elevator. Small, nearly-hidden cameras discreetly watched their every move from the upper corners of the elevator.

Boyd stared expressionlessly at the metal doors as different people pressed the button for their correct floor. He was acutely aware of everyone around him and how close they were. He couldn't help noting the way their bodies jostled each other, growing closer and closer.

At one point, a larger man shifted back to let someone in on a new floor and Boyd was pressed up against the wall behind him. The heavy weight of the body against his front and the cold, unyielding surface at his back made his heartbeat spike and his skin pale.
He shifted, the movement not particularly abrupt but still just sudden enough that Amos looked over at him oddly. Boyd ignored him and moved until he was no longer being held in place. Even then the tension didn't leave him, and he found himself darting his eyes toward the door each time; calculating how many people were entering and how many exiting, and whether he had to move to not be caught again.

Amos didn't press any buttons. As the elevator ascended people entered and exited at different floors, stopping at seemingly every floor except the sixth and eleventh as they moved up. One odd thing he noted was that the floor options skipped the number four. The elevator ride felt like it took twenty minutes when it was probably only three.

Boyd assumed Amos hadn't hit a button because their floor number was already pressed. It wasn't until they reached the fifteenth floor and the last few people were getting off yet Amos didn't move that Boyd realized it was because Amos was waiting for something.

He looked over just in time to see Amos press the button numbered '17' and pull out his ID card, swiping it along a small device next to the buttons. A little red light flashed green once his card passed through and the last person getting off the elevator looked over in interest once he saw the number.
He looked between Amos and Boyd with an intrigued expression but when Amos gave him a narrow-eyed, hard look, the man simply gave a rolling shrug and stepped onto the fifteenth floor. He turned around and briefly watched as the metal doors slid shut and then Amos and Boyd were alone. Seventeen was the highest number listed and Boyd didn't know why it was apparently intriguing that they were headed there. Once the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, he saw that this floor seemed to have higher security than the others. While every other floor had opened up to hallways and the occasional large, open room behind the elevator bank, this one had a wall with a single heavy door and another code box next to it. Amos swiped his keycard and the light flashed green, allowing them entrance. Although there was a foyer and a large room opened up to the right, Amos brought Boyd down a hallway ahead of them and then took a left turn. Full glass walls separated what appeared to be a waiting room from the hallway, while another wall of floor-to-ceiling windows to the right looked out on the compound below.

Amos calmly walked into the room and Boyd followed.

A reception desk sat off to the left with a heavy-looking mahogany door behind it. A woman who seemed to be about thirty years old sat at the desk, light brown hair pulled back. Her hazel eyes watched Boyd with mild interest, although it was only distinguishable by the discreet arching of an eyebrow.

A small name plate resting on the desk read 'Annabelle Connors' and she continued to scrutinize Boyd before she slid her gaze over to Amos. "Is that the ten-thirty?"

Amos shrugged and dropped Boyd's arm. "I don't know, Ann. I was just told to bring him up here." Ann nodded and she pushed something towards the edge of the desk, looking at Boyd expectantly. It was as thin as a regular clipboard but was actually a thin flat panel computer. It appeared to be used specifically for logging data that would typically be found on a sign-in sheet.

Without bothering to speak or look up at her, Boyd used the stylus to sign his name on the panel and stepped back beside Amos.

Ann looked at the panel, taking in his name-- most likely his last name and the fact that it was the same as her boss'. Her eyes flicked up to him again, wandering over his form in an almost clinical way before she finally went back to typing on the sleek keyboard on her desk.