her. The one called
Blake was holding her eyes open. The other man, Rahul, leaned close to her and
looked into her eyes. The light faded from her vision, taking the world with
it.
Chapter 6
W es opened his
eyes and looked around the room. It was different from the one he was taken
into prior to his soul-sync with Emily. Examination of his surroundings took
only a few seconds. This room was small and square with solid concrete walls
painted in a light shade of blue. On the walls were framed Escher prints. The
other furnishings were simple. He was lying on a leather cot positioned in one
corner of the room. At the foot of the bed were two bookshelves full of books
and a small desk with a computer. On the opposite side of the room was a small
closet containing a dresser.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Wes noticed his
hand was back. It looked great and he had complete control of it, as if it was
never detached from his body. There were no mirrors in the room, but from what
he could tell, his entire body looked much better than it had before his rebirth.
If he didn’t know better, he would have believed he was alive again. Except
that he still didn’t have his sense of touch.
Wes got up and looked through the clothes in the closet.
Most of the clothes in the wardrobe were his. In fact, almost everything in the
room was his – from the books on the shelves to the computer. The only things
that didn’t belong to him were the cot, desk, and dresser.
The hallway outside the room was empty when Wes stepped out.
It was long and narrow with numbered doors on either side. His room was 1124.
Looking both ways, he noticed the hall to the right ended after only a few more
doors, and he headed in the opposite direction. There had to be someone around
who could tell him what was happening next.
At the end of the hall, he entered a large room that looked
like the lobby of a college dorm. Emily was sitting on a chair watching TV and
crocheting. She looked up and saw him.
“You’re up,” she said, putting down her crochet and
standing. “It’s so good to see you in person. Here, come sit with me.” Wes
walked over to the couch and Emily gave him a hug and another smile.
“What is this place?”
“This? Oh, these are the dorms. You have your own room now.”
Emily sat down and started crocheting again. Wes sat next to her. “Was it okay,
the room? Meri and Jordan did the decorating before they headed back to
Chicago.”
“Yeah, it was great. I was wondering who had done that.”
“Hopefully it will help ease your transition. It’s always
nice to have some familiar stuff around. You don’t want too much, though. At
some point you have to give up the past and move on with your life.
“A woman was abducted two days ago,” Emily continued,
motioning to the TV. “We’re almost certain it was done by the Atumra, or Truly
Dead, as I call them. Her husband reported her missing yesterday morning when
she didn’t come home. He thought it was strange that she’d left the house
without taking her car or her purse. This morning they found her body lying on
a bench in Lincoln Park.”
“That’s horrible, but how do you know it was the Atumra?
After all, it was Chicago.”
Emily’s focus was on the TV, but she continued working her
crochet needle. A small chain bracelet with the same medallion Wes had seen on
Meri and Jordan slid around on her wrist as she worked. Wes concluded the
emblem stood for AfterLife.
“No,” Emily answered. “The whole situation definitely has
Atumra’s signature all over it. She had markings on her body as if she’d been
attacked, but there was no definite sign of death. There were IV marks on her
arms and an unidentifiable compound was found in her blood. This is the second
body the police have found in this condition in a week, and we have reason to
believe there have been more.”
“How many more?” Wes stared at the TV, which was now playing
a
Blake was holding her eyes open. The other man, Rahul, leaned close to her and
looked into her eyes. The light faded from her vision, taking the world with
it.
Chapter 6
W es opened his
eyes and looked around the room. It was different from the one he was taken
into prior to his soul-sync with Emily. Examination of his surroundings took
only a few seconds. This room was small and square with solid concrete walls
painted in a light shade of blue. On the walls were framed Escher prints. The
other furnishings were simple. He was lying on a leather cot positioned in one
corner of the room. At the foot of the bed were two bookshelves full of books
and a small desk with a computer. On the opposite side of the room was a small
closet containing a dresser.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Wes noticed his
hand was back. It looked great and he had complete control of it, as if it was
never detached from his body. There were no mirrors in the room, but from what
he could tell, his entire body looked much better than it had before his rebirth.
If he didn’t know better, he would have believed he was alive again. Except
that he still didn’t have his sense of touch.
Wes got up and looked through the clothes in the closet.
Most of the clothes in the wardrobe were his. In fact, almost everything in the
room was his – from the books on the shelves to the computer. The only things
that didn’t belong to him were the cot, desk, and dresser.
The hallway outside the room was empty when Wes stepped out.
It was long and narrow with numbered doors on either side. His room was 1124.
Looking both ways, he noticed the hall to the right ended after only a few more
doors, and he headed in the opposite direction. There had to be someone around
who could tell him what was happening next.
At the end of the hall, he entered a large room that looked
like the lobby of a college dorm. Emily was sitting on a chair watching TV and
crocheting. She looked up and saw him.
“You’re up,” she said, putting down her crochet and
standing. “It’s so good to see you in person. Here, come sit with me.” Wes
walked over to the couch and Emily gave him a hug and another smile.
“What is this place?”
“This? Oh, these are the dorms. You have your own room now.”
Emily sat down and started crocheting again. Wes sat next to her. “Was it okay,
the room? Meri and Jordan did the decorating before they headed back to
Chicago.”
“Yeah, it was great. I was wondering who had done that.”
“Hopefully it will help ease your transition. It’s always
nice to have some familiar stuff around. You don’t want too much, though. At
some point you have to give up the past and move on with your life.
“A woman was abducted two days ago,” Emily continued,
motioning to the TV. “We’re almost certain it was done by the Atumra, or Truly
Dead, as I call them. Her husband reported her missing yesterday morning when
she didn’t come home. He thought it was strange that she’d left the house
without taking her car or her purse. This morning they found her body lying on
a bench in Lincoln Park.”
“That’s horrible, but how do you know it was the Atumra?
After all, it was Chicago.”
Emily’s focus was on the TV, but she continued working her
crochet needle. A small chain bracelet with the same medallion Wes had seen on
Meri and Jordan slid around on her wrist as she worked. Wes concluded the
emblem stood for AfterLife.
“No,” Emily answered. “The whole situation definitely has
Atumra’s signature all over it. She had markings on her body as if she’d been
attacked, but there was no definite sign of death. There were IV marks on her
arms and an unidentifiable compound was found in her blood. This is the second
body the police have found in this condition in a week, and we have reason to
believe there have been more.”
“How many more?” Wes stared at the TV, which was now playing
a
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