THE DOME
PRESENT DAY, 2022
"Guys, shhh... I can sense her coming. Act natural", said a cautioning voice.
The voice sounded so familiar but where have I heard the voice from?
Getting closer to the crowd, I started getting very tense and afraid.
What if they think I am weird? What if I stutter or start rambling uncontrollably?
Or worse, what if they try to hurt me
We got closer to the voices and arrived in front of the glass automated door leading to a dome-shaped room. The walls of the room were made of glass, showing plainly the outside world but without rendering light to reflect sharply into the room. Chairs were littered in an arranged manner inside the room with people sitting in clusters.
"Are you sure that you are ready to meet your friends? I already gave notice them of your coming", the nurse said with worry on her face
"I can do this... I guess", I said more to myself than to her
She placed her palm on the scanner and the doors opened.
Immediately I walked in, and ten pairs of eyes stared back at me. At that point, there was pin-drop silence.
My head felt very heavy and waves of pain radiated through as memories gushed in.
The last thing I heard was, "Oh shoot! She passed out"
And it went black.
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THE CLINIC
'Beep'
'Beep'
"Can someone shut that beeping sound up?"
Wait, a beeping sound. It then clicked in my brain, "Fuck, I fainted"
After several attempts, I succeeded in opening my eyes.
All it took was one look at my surrounding to confirm where I was. I must have a love for hospital beds, really
Realized I was alone in the room, once again and I decided to explore my newfound interest, the plain white ceiling.
"But why did I faint?" I pondered to myself
I saw images flash before my eyes but they were not clear enough. I decided to close my eyes and concentrate, despite the stinging in my head.
What triggered the memories?
It happened when I met my 'friends' that I don't seem to even recognize. That must be the key. If I can recall what my friends looked like, I don't think any of them has bright blond hair though. Who were those people?
I need some answers because all I can remember is the explosion.
Firstly, I tried to think back to who I was.
"My name is Elise Redfox. I am a third-year student at the academy. I am 14 years old." Good start, but 4 years have passed. "That makes me 18 years old now, which means everyone also would have aged."
With this newfound understanding, I came down from the bed and went to the bathroom, cleaned my face and headed out of the room, down the same path the nurse led me through before.
I needed explanations and I was going to make sure I got them. This time, without fainting
While walking down the hallway, I heard two voices whispering,
"What if she doesn't remember us anymore? Or worse, what if she finds out what she has become and decides to kill herself?" the voice said panicking
"You know, for a guy, you are a drama queen. You overreact so much. Funny enough, she can hear you. Can't you, Elise? You don't have to eavesdrop, you know?"
Giggling nervously, I said,
"I just stumbled into the conversation. Not to be rude or anything"
Looking up for facial contact, the person who caught me looked so familiar, while trying to remember who it was, images flashed again and it made my head hurt
"I suppose our dear Elise would love to receive an explanation for everything, wouldn't she?" said a voice from behind.
Instantly, the two people I just met bowed down to the figure behind me
"Sensei!" they conveyed with respect
Turning to the one they call 'sensei', I saw the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen, it was both clear and delicate. Golden bronzed skin like that of the Greek gods, he looked like a little over thirty-five. Dressed in a white Israelite robe-like top, with a black belt in the middle and white pants.
Snapping me out of my trance of how flawless his skin was,
"Shouldn't you two be in the Dome now, everyone else is waiting?" he declared with authority
"We will be on our way now, Sensei", they spoke simultaneously
They bowed to the Sensei and walked to the 'Dome'.
"Elise, shouldn't we be on our way too?" he sounded with a smirk and giving his hand out toward me to hold
"Me?! Oh! Please lead the way" I took his hand and followed him.
He led me to what I now knew was called the Dome.
Getting to the entrance, he guided me to the tablet for automated doors,
"I shall let you do the honours of opening the doors yourself, just place your hand on the scanner," he said meekly
I almost hesitated but, taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on the scanner and the doors opened up
A girl almost ran me over and hugged me
"Elise! Are you okay now? When you conked out, I was so scared. I hope you didn't hit your head or have a concussion. Well, if you had a concussion, you would still be in the medics but I guess you are fine right? Oh my, how could it skip my mind? You have forgotten me? Well, I will reintroduce myself, I am Hannah and I control plants. Oops! I shouldn't have told you my power but anyhow I hope you are good", she rambled so fast I barely caught a word and ended with a smile
Noticing the shock she put me in, she drew away from me looking sad
I could tell she was so concerned about me and also very apprehensive. So I smiled back at her and assured her I was fine which cheered her up a bit. Taking a close gaze at her,
Chubby Hannah? So not chubby anymore. Wait, did she just say she controls plants?
"Did you just say you control plants?" I asked out of curiosity, thinking I heard wrong because of all her rapid talking
'Cough'
I remembered the Sensei still behind me, he strode forward and spoke,
"Thank you Hannah for showing Elise your love", facing Hannah with a smile, "And yes, Elise, you heard her distinctly, Hannah here has abilities, just as everyone else in the room and maybe in the world, that is including, you", he said directing his words at me, then to the remaining people in the room.
Someone wake me up, it is either everyone here is psycho or I am dreaming, if I am, someone pinch me
"ouch, that hurt"
I turned to find out the source of my pain was the nurse whom I met earlier
"Hey, what was that for?" I cried in pain
"You said someone should pinch you. You really should learn how to protect your thoughts. I have been reading them all morning. By the way, my name is Sophia and I am not anything but a nurse", she stated before taking a seat.
My mouth was left ajar as looked at everyone seated, then Sensei and Sophia and did something so unexpected, I burst into rounds of laughter. I laughed so hard until I was out of breath.
Like a switch, I started crying so hard. Everyone was looking at me like I had grown two heads with a tail.
"I am...so...tir...ed and...so...confused..." I said in between tears and sniffs
After crying my eyes out, I wiped my face and just took a chair that was lying folded on the floor, unfolded it and took a seat in front of everyone as if the past five minutes didn't happen
After a deep sigh, trying as much as possible not to sound like I hadn't just crying my eyes out, I asked,
"Now I want to get everything clear. Can you explain what happened from the explosion till now?"
Sensei took his seat and clears his throat,
"Where exactly do I start from?" he says deeply, more to himself than to me
I paused for a moment to brace myself,
"The very beginning", I say more confidently
Looking up in thoughts, he begins,
"It all started on that day of the explosion, the explosion itself wasn't what caused the change but the other activities going on simultaneously as the incident occurred. Not so far from your school, where the explosion happened was an underground research lab. The research was all about enhancing the human limit in different life situations."
"But were they ever successful?" I interrupted
"No, no they weren't. The explosion had an immense impact on the lab and the toxins being researched on got exposed into the atmosphere, nearly wiping out everyone."
He pauses, gets up from his seat and paces around before stopping before the see-through wall of the dome
"We assumed we were all dead but we were just going through a hibernation cycle of the toxins, altering our genes from the inside out. We were lifeless for two years, never ageing, just evolving."
"This is where it gets a bit complicated. When everyone slowly woke up from this coma, particular individuals began experiencing metaphysical evolutions, primarily people below the age of 30. We discovered the abilities they had and knew, something needed to be done. Hence why institutions like ours have been given the mandate to teach and supervise these unique abilities. So that you can live semi-normal lives."
Now that was a lot to take in, explosions? Toxins? Evolving? Someone needs to turn down the a.c. in this building, it's freaking cold
But out of curiosity, I had to raise a question,
"What about my friends that were in the explosion with me? What about my parents?"
"Well, your friends are here, it might take you a while to get used to their physical transitions, but about your parents..." Sensei said the last sentence with a solemn face or rather empathy.
"They are not knowledgeable of the existence of these abilities. When everyone that didn't get powers woke up, they have no recollection of the time lost. But I guarantee that everything will be fine"
Trusting his words and assuring myself everything will be fine, I say to him,
"Okay, I believe you. Anything else I should know?"
"Oh yeah, you control ice," Sophie lets out from behind me while adjusting her glasses frame on her nose bridge, with that hint of negligence in her tone.
"Wait! WHAT!" I blurted out in shock
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Heyo chingus (it means friend in Korean)
So I removed the whole zombie apocalypse part of this Chapter because I am not writing an "All of us are dead" story. This is a slice of life with a speck of pixie dust if fantasy included. You will get love drama not chopping off heads and zombie bites.
But if you guys can give me the motivation to post more chapters by voting, commenting and cheering me on, I will post as often as possible.
Please don't forget to vote!!!!
Love you all❤️❤️❤️
"Because it is only you – Why Secretary Kim ost."