An unfamiliar ceiling greeted Sam when he opened his eyes. He raised his arm, but he couldn’t lift it more than an inch off of whatever soft surface he was lying on. A piercing pain assaulted his head as if someone had grabbed his brain and squeezed it. Sam winced and gasped as he brought his palm up to his face, the motion sending jolts of electricity through his arm and hand. He must’ve passed out on his way down the chute, so where was he now?
“You’re up? Great.”
Sam tilted his head to the side, the motion shooting a sharp pain down his neck. He winced, but a second later, the cool feeling of a spring breeze washed over him, numbing his aching body. A woman with green hair came into view. She was wearing a white sundress, and sunflowers were visible behind her shoulders, placed in a basket she was carrying on her back, two brown straps holding the basket in place. There was a clipboard held in her right hand.
“My name is April, and I’m your personal nurse,” the green-haired woman said with a smile. Her brown eyes seemed to glow as she stared at Sam. “How are you feeling?”
Sam blinked. “Oh,” he said, his cheeks taking on a tinge of pink. “H-hi. I’m great, how are you?”
April snorted as she chuckled. “You’re great, huh?” she asked and leaned forward. She poked Sam’s arm, causing a jolt of electricity to shoot through his brain, his face contorting as he winced in pain. “I don’t know; I’ve seen half-eaten patients in better shape than you.”
Half-eaten? Sam furrowed his brow, deciding it was better to keep his mouth shut about the topic. What if he had misheard her? She’d probably get frustrated if he repeatedly asked her what she had said. “Was the procedure a success?” Sam asked and swallowed. It would suck if he went through his previous suffering for nothing. “Am I awakened now?”
“Can’t you feel that for yourself?” April asked, the corners of her lips curving up into a smile, revealing two dimples on her cheeks. “Close your eyes. What do you see? How do you feel?”
Sam blinked before closing his eyes. All he saw was red from the light on the ceiling penetrating his eyelids. A chill ran down his spine as a breeze caressed his skin despite the lack of windows in the room. For some reason, his skin was warming up as if he was standing in the sun. A vague image appeared in his mind, too intangible to grasp completely but leaving tiny details behind. “It feels like … I’m in a field of flowers.” Sam opened his eyes and looked at April. “Is my talent related to plants?”
April laughed, the sound akin to songbirds singing. “No,” she said and paused. “Well, it might be, but the flower field you’re experiencing, that’s because of me. Everyone gives off a certain vibe; awakeners can easily sense those vibes thanks to their heightened spiritual capacity.” She pointed at Sam’s nose, causing his eyes to cross to look at her finger. “If awakeners can sense vibes, and you’re reading my vibe….”
Sam’s eyes widened as they uncrossed and met April’s gaze. “I’m no longer talentless?”
“Bingo!” April said and looked down at her clipboard. “Thanks to Wendy’s suggestion, you were given a sprite lord’s core. Sprites are unpredictable with what they can do, so it’s hard to say what kind of talent you ended up with.” The green-haired woman’s eyes glowed. “However, we did put some probes into your brain to measure the strength of your spirit, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear your talent is rated at S-minus. Congratulations!”
Sam blinked and swallowed. “You did what to my brain?”
“Personally,” April said, placing her free hand on her chest, “I didn’t touch your brain. Our researchers, however, cut open your skull and stuck some probes inside along with the emergency brake, but who cares about that, right? With an S-minus talent, your future looks very bright.”
Sam ignored the part about his future. “Emergency brake?”
“You read the contract, right?” April asked, raising an eyebrow. Upon seeing a sheepish expression form on Sam’s face, the green-haired woman pursed her lips. “Did you not read the contract?”
“Well…,” Sam said, dragging out the word. An awkward smile appeared on his lips. “No?”
“Uh….” April stared at Sam with a blank expression before clearing her throat. “Well, you basically signed away your rights as a person, and now you’re the property of Monarch. As insurance, an emergency brake is installed in all of Monarch’s free-thinking lifeforms.” April brought her fist up to the side of her head. “If you’re disobedient and found to be more trouble than you’re worth, then”—the green-haired woman’s fist shot open, her fingers spreading out—“bang!” She looked Sam in the eyes. “Do you understand?”
Sam’s face paled. “On a scale of minor headache to my head bursting like a watermelon, how big of an explosion are we talking?”
April’s face remained neutral as she spoke. “Your brain will be reduced to a slurry and leak out of your eyes, nose, and ears. I’ve seen it happen, and it is not pretty. The clean-up isn’t so bad though.” A faint smile appeared on her lips as she tapped on her clipboard. “S-minus talent, shall we talk about that instead?”
Sam regretted his decision to sign the contract without reading it. Even if he did read it, he still would’ve signed it, but still. Now, he had turned from a talentless into a slave; on the bright side, at least he was an awakened slave. If he were still talentless, he would’ve slaved away at minimum wage for a company before meeting his inevitable end, accomplishing nothing of worth in his life. Now that he thought about it some more, perhaps having the emergency brake in his head wasn’t such a bad thing. Anyone with a bomb in their head would come to the same conclusion to remain sane. Sam took in a deep breath, the scent of spring flowers washing away his negative thoughts despite how strong they were. “How do I figure out my talent?”
“If your talent awakens naturally, you’ll know what it is just by thinking about it,” April said. “Unfortunately, for artificial awakeners like yourself, you have to go through a series of tests, and if your talent is unique, it’s possible we won’t even be able to figure it out.” She shrugged. “Even without your talent, with your spirit being as strong as it is, you’ll make a fine combatant with your base stats alone.” April’s gaze scanned Sam from head to toe. “After we bulk you up, that is; talentless are always so malnourished. Luckily for you, Monarch is in the forefront when it comes to steroid development.”
“Don’t steroids have terrible side effects?” Sam asked, a wrinkle appearing on his forehead.
“Yes, yes they do,” April said and beamed. “Remember, you always have a choice: you can take the steroids, or you can let the higher-ups melt your brain. Speaking of which, they’ll want to meet you soon. It isn’t every day an S-ranked awakener appears; you got really lucky.” The green-haired woman winked at Sam. “I suppose I’m lucky too. As your personal nurse, I’ll be seeing you a lot from now on.”
The wrinkle on Sam’s forehead deepened. Was the green-haired woman cursing him with a future of pain and injury? What other reason would he have to visit a nurse? “Great,” he said, averting his gaze from April, staring up at the ceiling of the room. It reminded him of his ceiling, the one that had collapsed on him when he made a wish—a successful wish. Perhaps magic did exist; then again, in a world filled with monsters and otherworldly beings, why wouldn’t magic work?
April smiled at Sam before taking a sunflower out of her basket. She placed it in a vase on the bedside table. “My talent is positive healing,” she said as she took a seat on a stool beside the bed Sam was on. “As long as I’m in a good mood, things around me will rejuvenate. Do you feel it?”
“I think so,” Sam said. Ever since the green-haired nurse had arrived, his aching body felt numb rather than sore. “How long am I going to be bedridden?”
“A few hours,” April said. She added after a pause, “As long as my mood stays good.”
“Well, let me know if I’m doing anything to make your mood worse,” Sam said, staring up at the ceiling. He thought back to the talentless who had undergone the procedure with him. “Does everyone get a personal nurse?”
“No, just you,” April said, Sam unable to see her expression from his vantage point. “Healing-type awakeners aren’t that common. You get special treatment because of your S-minus talent; I’m sure you know how society works by now.”
Sam grunted. He was all too familiar with the difference in treatment between awakeners and talentless. It made sense for a hierarchy to exist amongst the awakened as well; at least, he was near the top of it this time. His eyes rolled to the side to look at April. “Were you a talentless too?”
April blinked before smiling at Sam. “Me?” she asked before shaking her head. “No, I was born with my talent. I’m a salaried employee, so even if I fail my task and your recovery is botched, there’s no brain-melting device in my head, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Oh,” Sam said, his eyes shifting to look back at the ceiling. Once again, he was reminded of his destroyed home. Technically, it wasn’t his, but he almost lived there long enough to gain squatter’s rights—not that they would’ve been reinforced for a talentless like him. “Does Monarch provide living accommodations?”
“For you?” April asked and nodded her head. “Definitely. You wouldn’t let your prized dog wander around outside by itself, would you? Of course not, someone might kill or steal it. Monarch shares the same concerns.”
Sam exhaled through his nose. “I suppose being a dog is better than being talentless.”
“Yep!” April beamed. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll be a dog forever. If you contribute enough, you can buy your own freedom.”
“Because a dog needs rewards to be motivated,” Sam said.
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“Precisely.” April nodded. “You’re pretty bright for someone who can’t read.”
“I can read,” Sam said with a straight face. Sure, he was a little slow at deciphering text, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do it. “I just chose not to.”
Before April could respond, the door to the room swung open. Upon seeing the visitor, the green-haired nurse bolted to her feet and bowed her head. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Sam gritted his teeth and sat up. He rose halfway off his bed before his muscles failed him, causing him to fall back into his original position. He tucked his chin into his neck, straining himself to look at the visitor. An old lady with silver hair came into view, her back hunching with her hands placed on top of a scepter that seemed to be carved from a single piece of black and reddish-brown stone. The butt of the scepter rested on the ground, the old lady using it as a cane. The old woman turned her head towards Sam, meeting his gaze with her icy-blue eyes.
Sam’s eyes widened as his vision dimmed, a translucent tree appearing behind the old lady. Even though there was a ceiling blocking his view, Sam envisioned the branches of the trees stretching up beyond the clouds and reaching into space. In the past, Sam might’ve been talentless, but that didn’t mean he didn’t follow the news. Queen Annabeth, leader of Monarch, she was rumored to be over three hundred years old, making her one of the original survivors of the cataclysm; now, she was standing before him.
“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Sam said, the image of the tree fading from his mind. Was that the queen’s vibe he had experienced? Of course, he knew better than to ask. He avoided the queen’s gaze, his eyes slipping downwards to look at her scepter. If he knew the names of different rocks, he would’ve recognized it was made of mahogany obsidian, but he didn’t. However, he didn’t have to know its name to appreciate its beauty. His neck was stiff thanks to his posture, but he couldn’t stop staring at the orange and black swirls on the surface of the scepter. The swirls seemed to be moving, beckoning him to touch them.
Queen Annabeth raised the scepter and tapped its butt against the ground. A clacking sound rang out, snapping Sam out of his stupor. “Welcome to Monarch, Sam,” the old lady said. “I hope you’ll feel at home in my little company. If there’s anything bothering you, don’t be afraid to let me know. I’m always generous with talented individuals such as yourself.”
Sam forced a smile. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said, his eyes drifting towards the scepter once more.
The queen noticed, and she smiled before raising her scepter, offering its butt towards Sam. “Would you like to touch it for good luck? It’s one of my most cherished possessions,” she said as her icy-blue eyes clouded over as she relived her memories. “You wouldn’t believe the trials and tribulations I had to go through to obtain it all those years ago. Back then, the Earth had just ascended; we didn’t even have running water.”
Sam raised his numb arm up and grasped the end of the scepter. It was cold to touch as if it were a block of ice. The chilling sensation ran up his arm, into his chest, and down towards his crotch, goosebumps rising from his flesh everywhere the chill passed. His eyes widened as the scepter melted, turning into a liquid that was immediately sucked into his palm. The queen gasped, and without warning, a woman with blonde hair, Wendy, appeared by Sam’s bedside and grasped Sam’s neck. “What did you do?”
April retreated, backing away from Wendy, the queen, and Sam. Although the green-haired woman was Sam’s personal nurse, she wasn’t going to take any heat from the higher-ups for him—that wasn’t in her job description.
Sam blinked rapidly, his head pounding as Wendy’s fingers constricted around his neck. “I, I don’t know,” Sam said in a voice barely above a whisper while looking into Wendy’s black-and-red eyes. If April’s vibe had been one of a flower field, Wendy’s was one of a barren tundra: vast, empty, and bleak; only death awaited those who entered.
“Release him,” Queen Annabeth commanded.
Sam gasped for breath as Wendy’s fingers slipped off his skin, her nails scraping against his windpipe as she brought her hand back to her side. Sam shifted his eyes to look at the queen. Thanks to the old lady’s poker face, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. Her back was still hunched despite the missing scepter no longer being there to support her weight. After a long pause, one that caused the bedsheets underneath Sam to be drenched with sweat, Queen Annabeth nodded at Sam’s hand, the one the scepter had entered. “It must’ve been a result of your talent,” she said and made eye contact with Sam. “Do you feel any different?”
Sam swallowed and closed his eyes. Although he didn’t feel any different, maybe he could find a difference? The queen would obviously be upset if her treasured scepter was eaten by his hand for no reason. Sam focused on his body, starting with his toes. They still felt like toes to him. As he went up the various parts of his body, anxiety sank into his stomach like a rock. There was absolutely nothing different about him. He opened his eyes and met the queen’s gaze. Sam opened his mouth, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. Before he could say anything, something on his crotch squirmed and ran up his body underneath the blanket, causing Sam to squeal like a little girl. A black-furred head poked out of Sam’s blanket, reddish-brown eyes greeting his, looking like little, glossy marbles.
“Is that a ferret?” April asked before anyone could say anything, her eyes wide as her hands gripped the hem of her sundress. “It’s so cute!” A second later, April pursed her lips and brought her hands up in front of her mouth, taking another step back.
Sam blinked, and the ferret blinked back at Sam. “Hey there,” Sam said, keeping a straight face as his cheeks burned red from squealing in front of the queen earlier. “Where did you come from?”
The ferret wriggled its way out of the blanket and stood on its hindlegs like a prairie dog, ignoring Sam’s question. The ferret’s body was completely black, white highlights on its fur from the light’s reflection. Two reddish-brown eyes gazed at the queen for a few seconds before turning to look at April. It smiled and waved at her, causing the green-haired nurse to blink twice before waving back. After greeting April, the ferret turned around and made eye contact with Wendy. A tiny squeak escaped from its mouth as its fur stiffened, causing the ferret to swell in size. Wendy raised her arm, but before she could do anything with it, the ferret had already retreated into the blanket and wriggled its way down underneath Sam’s body.
Wendy’s lips curved downwards in a slight frown, and she lowered her hand before turning her head towards the queen. “It has the same color scheme as your scepter.”
Queen Annabeth nodded. “So it seems,” she said, a twinkle appearing in her eyes. She walked forward and placed her hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Your talent must’ve given life to Raindu, my scepter.”
The blanket on Sam wriggled as the ferret poked its head out from underneath, shooting Wendy a wary look before eyeing the queen. The queen held out her free hand towards the ferret, and it stretched its neck forward to nibble on her finger. After a few seconds of nibbling and sniffing, the ferret retreated once more.
“I think he wants to stay with you,” the queen said, smiling at Sam. “He’s protected me well all this time; I’m sure he’ll do the same for you.”
“Are you sure?” Sam asked with an awkward expression on his face. He transformed the queen’s precious belonging into a ferret; not only that, but he was going to keep the ferret too without compensating the queen? It didn’t sit right with him. “I think you should keep him. Your Majesty.”
“I’m sure,” Queen Annabeth said and tightened her grip on Sam’s shoulder, hard enough to make him uncomfortable but not enough to cause him pain. “Take good care of Raindu for me.”
Sam nodded at the queen. “I’ll do my best,” he said, withholding the fact he had never taken care of a small animal in his life. As a talentless, food was hard to come by sometimes, and little creatures weren’t seen as friends. If something walked, swam, or flew, it was food. “If Raindu turns back into a scepter, I’ll be sure to return him to you.”
The queen nodded and gave Sam’s shoulder another squeeze before releasing. She gazed at the bulge in the blanket where the ferret was hiding before turning her head away. “Wendy,” she said as she exited the room. “Let’s go.”
Wendy gazed at Sam as she followed the queen, the blonde-woman’s bloodred pupils sending chills down Sam’s spine. He watched as she closed the door behind herself, and after he couldn’t hear her footsteps, he exhaled. Tiny paws stepped against his stomach and chest, Raindu’s head popping out of the blanket a second later. The ferret stood on its hindlegs and turned to look at the exit before placing its front paw on its chest, letting out an exaggerated exhale.
Sam gave the furry creature a wry smile. “She’s scary, isn’t she?”
The ferret nodded its head.
“You know, she probably heard you,” April said from the side of the room, causing Sam and Raindu to stiffen in the middle of their bonding moment. The green-haired nurse grinned when she saw she had their attentions. “Her ears are very sharp. It’s always best to watch what you say even if you think you’re alone.”
Sam bit his lower lip. Wendy wasn’t a petty person, right? There was no way she’d give him a hard time just because he said she was scary. Sam thought about how Wendy and the queen had treated him, and a smile appeared on his face before he let himself relax. His eyes lit up, and he turned his head to look at April, the motion surprisingly doable considering the state he was in. “By the way,” Sam said, “what kind of vibe do I give off?”
April raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to know?”
Sam blinked. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t know?”
“Well,” April said, dragging out the word. “Your vibe reminds me of an abused puppy desperate for attention but too scared to seek it.” After seeing Sam’s expression stiffen, the green-haired nurse added, “But vibes can change, so don’t worry!”
Sam shifted his gaze back onto the ceiling. “With this brain-melter in my head, I basically am a dog just like my vibe, huh?”
Raindu blinked its beady eyes and jumped onto Sam’s face, causing the incapacitated man to wriggle and splutter. “Hey!” Sam shouted in a low voice. “What are you doing!?”
The ferret jumped down from Sam’s head, holding a metallic cylinder in its front paws. Sam spat out a strand of ferret fur from his mouth and looked at the culprit. “What’s that?”
“The emergency brake,” April said, her eyes widening as she looked at Sam’s head.
“What?” Sam asked. Did Raindu dig the brain-melter out of his brain? “Is there a hole in my head?”
April walked over and rolled Sam’s head around in her hands as if it were a ball to get a better look at it from every angle, not caring about the pain she was shooting through his neck muscles. “No,” April said. “There isn’t. It’s like he bypassed your fleshy bits and took the device right out of your skull.”
Sam stared at the metallic device the ferret was holding out towards him. The queen did say Raindu would protect him, but this probably wasn’t what she was expecting. He put on his best smile and looked at April. “What do I have to do for you to pretend like you never saw anything?”
“Don’t worry,” April said and smiled at Sam. “It’ll be our secret … and Wendy’s because she probably heard us. I doubt they’ll put the emergency brake back inside you considering how easily Raindu took it out, so you don’t have to look so frightened.”
“I’m not frightened,” Sam said. Although he denied it, his body still relaxed upon hearing April’s reasoning. The nurse was right; if Monarch put the brain-melter inside his head again, the ferret could remove it in private, and they’d be none the wiser.
April’s smile deepened. “Of course,” she said before looking at Raindu. The ferret put the brain-melter aside and looked up at the nurse. “He’s so cute. I’m jealous of your talent; I bet he knows exactly what you want and need.”
Sam didn’t know what to say, so he let out an awkward chuckle instead. The black ferret approached April and touched her hand, causing the green-haired nurse to beam at the small creature. A moment later, a pair of red, silken underwear appeared in the black ferret’s front paws. Sam and April froze. Raindu hopped over to Sam, showing off its findings by holding the luxurious garment up in front of the bedridden patient’s face with its furry chest puffed out.
Sam’s neck creaked as he turned his head to look at April. The green-haired nurse stared back at him with a stony face; Sam could envision the field of spring flowers withering as the sun grew in intensity. “Sorry, sorry,” Sam said, his face scrunching up. “I, I’m not in control of the ferret.”
“I know,” April said and snatched the undergarments, but she was too slow. Raindu slipped away, holding its trophy with its little paws.
“Give it back,” Sam said in what he thought was a stern voice, glaring at the ferret.
Raindu stared at Sam. Then, the ferret shook its head before burrowing underneath the blanket with its prize. Sam cursed at the stupid ferret in his mind before turning to look at April; she was not amused.