Chapter 12: Leaving.

The director had finally finished talking and was ready to go. Stark didn’t know if he brought up anymore rules after the second and didn’t care either.

As everyone prepared to leave Stark impatiently tapped his feet on the floor awaiting the director’s go ahead for them to leave.

The director nodded in satisfaction when he saw that everyone was ready and turned to face the pair of iron doors ahead of them.

With a single hand motion the two metal doors silently drifted open revealing a long corridor at the end of which was another pair of metal doors.

Directly ahead of them was the nursery section and beyond that was unknown territory to the six teenagers.

Stark felt excitement start to build up inside of Victoria through her trembling hand. He felt the same, this had been a moment he could only dream of. The one hundred year old internet logs, two hundred year old documentaries and simulations would no longer be all he knew of what lay beyond those second pair of doors.

The group of eight began to progress through the metal corridor with the director leading. They walked down the nursery corridor that had a different and much more colourful aesthetic to it than the rest of the facility.

Pink, sky blue and green blanketed the floors, ceilings and walls, along with all manner of cartoons and childish drawings.

Several adults in white lab coats walked back and forth as they escorted droves of the facility’s youngest children in between several smaller intersecting corridors.

They occasionally waved to the group of eight along with the children as they passed through, several of the children even hurled rude remarks only to be quickly scolded.

There were various windows along the walls through which Stark and the others saw their old bedrooms. They hadn’t been back here in years and Stark had almost forgotten this part of the facility existed.

“Thats the old calm down room.” Victoria said pointing towards one of the approaching windows.

As they got closer Stark saw the inside. It was filled with a mountain of random stuffed animals and teddy bears, as the name suggested it was a place where the children were sent while in severe distress.

“It was here remember?” Victoria said in a bitter sweet tone.

“This was where we first met right?” Stark said as he too began to feel melancholy.

He could still remember it, though he didn’t quite remember why he had been sent to the calm down room in the first place.

He remembered banging continuously on the glass door angry at something he couldn’t remember. He must have been three, or perhaps four years old? Was that the final year of nursery or not? Stark couldn’t remember to save his life. But what he did remember was what he saw when his outburst ran dry of energy and he turned around to look at the pile of stuffed animals. Staring straight at him was a pair of Dilated blue eyes buried amidst the countless stuffed animals.

Stark immediately became wary before his heart skipped a beat when he saw the young Victoria emerge to get a closer look at him.

Even back then Stark was captivated by her cuteness and felt an instinct to protect her.

She sniffled constantly as she smiled with a red nose and red cheeks. The area of her eyes were also red as if she had been crying not too long before.

Stark didn’t remember much about his first few interactions with the girl. He knew only that by the time they had left the nursery she had become a real annoyance who would never stop begging him to play with her. It was clear that she had developed a strange fixation on him back during their first encounter. It was something that drove her to always want to cling to him like glue. At times it was annoying, at other times touching. Either way he had come to accept Victoria for who she was and valued her as family.

The director stopped infront of the second pair of doors before waving his hand in the same manner he did earlier.

Once the two metal doors opened the youths would see sights they had never seen before.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Stark felt Victoria’s grip tighten once more.

The rest of the youths didn’t show it outwardly but it was obvious that they were excited.

The doors slowly and silently opened to reveal… Another corridor?

It was completely bland and resembled the interior of those old hospitals from some of the older simulations. There were many adults in white lab coats walking back and forth between various rooms and facilities.

As they marched on through the grey glossy corridor, the youths saw various rooms filled with all manner of large quantum computers and projection screens.

“Where is this place?” Lupus who walked at the front just behind the director and Aunt Veronica asked curiously.

“It’s a lot more boring than it looks.” The director explained. “I’m not in the mood to explain it all.”

“Judas, have some patience for a change.” Aunt Veronica said, casually revealing the director’s first name to everyone.

“Judas?” Beverly looked back at Victoria before looking around at everyone else.

“It’s insane now that I think about it.” Victoria muttered as she walked alongside Stark at the very back of the group. “We’ve known him our entire lives and we’ve only just now learned his name…”

Stark was too busy looking at the surroundings to care. They were constantly passing by rooms filled with computers attended by countless white lab coats. It was a sight that stirred up a complex mixture of emotions within Stark. His knowledge of the facility itself was rather limited, but that didn’t stop him from guessing that these people were collecting data on them all and sending it back to the government. It was another sobering experience, a reminder that Stark and the others were just glorified experiments.

Stark’s eyes softened as he fixed his gaze back ahead of him where Hockney was laughing out loud.

“Judas huh!” Hockney said as his laughter subsided. “I never took you for a Judas. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

The director sneered. “That’s the name my mother gave me.”

“Mother!” Stark’s eyes widen along with everyone else’s.

Beverly quickly snapped back to reality and said “That means you’re…”

“A third generation immortal soldier.” Aunt Veronica said finishing her sentence.

The director let out a deep breath before gazing back at the teenagers as they came to a stop before another pair of metal doors. These ones were fancier than the previous ones. They were far larger and grander with various intricate circuits and patterns going up and down the sides.

Looking around Stark saw that they were now in a wide hall that resembled the reception of a skyscraper. Some effort was put into decorating the place with a large and intricate chandelier on the ceiling and multiple reception desk staffed by young women. The floors were made of pink stone tiles, it was something Stark had never seen before.

“Beyond this door is the shuttle us adults use to go to the city and back.” The director explained in a calm and measured voice. “It’s quite loud when it travels, and I know you’re all sensitive to loud noises so be sure to prepare yourselves mentally.”

Beverly quickly yelled out. “Wait tell us more about being a third generation immortal sol-“

The two doors opened up and they were met by a sudden gust of cold air from beyond it.

All of the teenagers were immediately overwhelmed with stimulation. Simulated smells were one thing, but this was the real deal, the true air of the outside world.

It wasn’t sweet but earthy and electric and unbelievably potent.

Their hair stood on end as a chill rippled down their backs.

“My goodness!” Victoria quickly began to tremble with cold sweats.

Stark wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her stable before looking straight ahead.

Beyond the open doors was a large twenty metre tall round tunnel that resembled a subway station. Two tracks ended just beyond the doors with a large train of some kind parked in one of them.

“Jesus, I need a second…” Lupus moaned as he rubbed his forehead. Beside him Delilah was breathing heavily, he appeared as if he could collapse at any moment.

Hockney and Beverly both had unsightly expressions as they desperately tried to fan away the smell.

The director’s coat fluttered in the flowing wind as he began to speak. “I’ll give you all as much time as you need. The sensory input of the outside world can be quite overwhelming at times, especially when exposed to large crowds of people.”

Beside him Aunt Veronica smiled and said. “It can be intense at first, but our bodies adapt to new environments fast. Within an hour you should feel completely comfortable walking around in the city.”

“I think I’m ready to go now.” Victoria said as she began to stabilise herself.

Stark who was still propping her up quickly nodded before holding her hand again and moving forward.

The rest also largely regained their composure and marched forward along with them.

The group soon progressed through the doors and on to the parked shuttle.

The interior resembled that of an ancient subway carriage with all white seats that ran along either wall facing each other.

The teenagers all sat down as the director pressed a red button on one of the hand poles.

The doors then all slammed shut as the shuttle began to rattle.

Remembering the director’s warning Stark quickly covered his ears alongside everyone else.

As the shuttle began to move a loud screech could be heard coming from its steel wheels. It caused them all to sneer in discomfort.

“Is that a normal sound these vehicles make?” Lupus asked the director before cautiously removing his hands from his ears to hear the director’s answer.

“It’s perfectly normal.” The director replied, seemingly unfazed by the merciless assault on the ears.

Aunt Veronica sat down opposite Stark and Victoria who sat together. She smiled at them both before retrieving a bottle of water and taking several sips.

As the shuttle began to speed through the tunnel the noise increased rapidly. Stark couldn’t help but scowl internally, hopefully this shuttle journey wouldn’t last too long.