Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening - Episode 12

 

 Carl sat still as he watched the big tower the Peacelearners referred to as their home. If he tried to compare it to any of the buildings he had seen in that place, there was no way he would successfully compare it. The building on its own looked like a bone that was buried for years and was only excavated because they needed a place to stay. Compared to the numerous beautiful houses in the place, the house was shambles . Its body crawled with cracks that would make anyone aware that it would crumble anytime soon. 
'He would come', Joyce said, pulling him out of his fear. They were both seated on a crooked stone bench that was placed outside their new home. She informed him that she had finally become a P.I without training. Her mission there was to discover where they were. She also told him how she handled the situation they were supposed to solve together.
He wouldn't agree that Etyes was their new home. It seemed almost everyone in that place wanted to leave the unknown place, but many of them couldn't dare try to leave after witnessing all they had seen. He wouldn't want to be irrational in trying to escape. It had to take a lot of time and planning. He had to team up with his people to make the best plan. Joyce was one person he didn't think he needed until he saw her

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/purified-tomorrow-the-mad-awakening

. The others were good with a different aspect of life, except of course, Iris, whom he wasn't sure could do anything. 
Carl looked about him to be sure they were alone. 'So, what if something happens to him?'
She shrugged, 'then we will find a way out of this hole'.
Carl looked about him skeptically. He didn't believe in anyone being the hero for him. Nothing worked best than clawing his way out of that place. 
'Have we been told why they brought us here?'
He shook his head. 
'Then, we are so screwed'.
'Let's go up. I think they've all gone before us, you just have to be careful around Regina because she can make you mad at the slightest thing'.
They had been waiting for the others. But it occurred to him that by the time they finished running, the others were gone.
'Maybe', Joyce said as she rose from the bench to follow him. She glanced at the field one more time 'Is that...Is that not Freddy?'
Carl turned. Fred was trudging his way towards them.
'Freddy', Joyce cried and ran to hug him. He expressed a short form of excitement, then receded to his weary gloomy countenance.
'Freddy! Oh God I never knew you were brought here'.
'Yes, I was and I'm so dying to leave here', he said amidst his heavy pants.
'What happened to you?' Joyce asked him as she cushioned his back with her hand.
'I ran 20 laps I ran 20 long laps'.
Carl nodded. 'So did we'.
Fred gave him a curt look. 'Sonia caused it. Remember my handler said I should imitate her instructions? He noticed that you were given 20 laps instead of the original 10'.
Carl nodded. 'So he made you...'
'Do 20. He wants to kill me. I thought I liked him, but now I'm adding him to my blacklist'.
'You mean we were supposed to do 10 laps'.
'Sorry. But right now, I'm really starving and wouldn't mind eating you', Joyce said dejectedly.
Fred walked away. 'See, I'm tired. I never booked for this. I love this place. But we need to find a way to leave this place'.
Carl looked about as they moved towards the door. 'Someone is coming to help us out of this place'.
'How?'
'J, she has...'
'I have a tracker'
'Wow. Who did it?'
'Blanj'.
'Oh wow. Blanj. Those guys are good. They use some of the craziest sophisticated gadgets in the world'.
Regina popped out of the front door, laughing hard. Carl and Fred wanted to join her in laughing, but Fred looked confused while Carl held his calm. Joyce stared at her as if she was another buzzing bee that must be swatted with a hand fan.
'Guys, you won't believe...' Regina said as she wrapped her hands around Carl's and Fred's neck. 
'What's happened'? Fred asked as he seemed to have regained his strength at the sight of her.
'When some guys saw me coming out of the elevator, they tried to enter, but they couldn't enter'.
'Carl, what's this?' Joyce said as she flung Regina's hand away from Carl's neck and pouted. 
Regina sprung from where she was, and pushed her way from in-between the boys to face Joyce as if her legs were on fire. 'What's that? Are you crazy?'
Joyce gave her a tough look and edged towards her. The tight uniform made her plump body look massive. 'What will you do? How dare you touch my boyfriend?'
Regina stared at Joyce as if she was a mad woman that had just escaped from the asylum. She shook her head. 'You are crazy. We are all new here. Hello. He's no one's boyfriend. Is it because he is handsome? He has a girlfriend outside this place'.
 Carl stepped into their midst. 'Typewriter...'
'No. Baby boy, let me talk some sense into her head. Is this not the new girl that got here this morning? How will she claim you're her boyfriend? Are you nuts? How will you claim he is your boyfriend?'
Joyce glare melted into amusement. She burst into laughter and glanced at Fred. As if her look was contaminable, the others, except Regina, also burst into laughter. 
'What's funny?' Regina spun from one side to another. 'Oh! It's a prank'.
Carl laughed. 'No. No. She's my girlfriend'.
Regina stared at Fred who nodded repeatedly. Regina seemed mystified. 'Oh'.
Carl gave Joyce his look that showed that she had overreacted again. She pouted.
'What? I thought she wanted to be with you'. She stared at the sky for a while and finally stared at Regina. 'I'm sorry. I overreacted'.
'Oh! I know people like you. Research has helped me discover that these people tend to lose their love or spouse more'.
Joyce rolled her eyes and dragged Carl away, he calmly pulled her back. 
'That means she won't be able to bring her to the top', Carl said and heaved a sigh.
'Bring her to the top? Why are we bringing her? She is coming to stay with us or won't you stay with us?' Regina asked, facing Joyce.
'Of course, I will stay'.
Carl stared at the two ladies. 'Of course. That's not what?'
'Just say you don't want me to come'.
'But I meant that...'
Regina plugged her hands, and pulled her towards the building. 'Whatever! She's coming with us'.
'That's not possible' Carl shouted after them. 
Regina waved her hand and pulled Joyce away. Carl stared at Fred who looked puzzled.
'Why will you say that?' Fred stared at him as he trudged towards the door.
'You too?' Carl said and increased his speed. The doorway was filled with people that gathered round.
'Make way', he repeatedly said as he pushed his way through the crowd.
'Leave the way' someone screamed with a pitched voice. 
Carl found his way to the front. Different people ran into the elevator. Immediately they entered, it scanned their body, and spat them out again. Many people tried frantically but were always thrown away.
'Get away...' Carl shouted as he began to pull people away from the elevator. 'Get back'.
Yet, they weren't relenting.
'I'm sorry. Listen... Eh, you...Get back', Carl stood in front of the elevator. 'This elevator has the information of those that first saw that top room. That got there first'.
Suddenly, the elevator closed and the wall became just like the regular wall in the broken building. Someone saw this and pushed Carl away from the way. Carl yelled as he spun to hit the person, but he had to jump out of the way as the person ran onward and shouted, 'it will be there'.
The person jumped into the wall, crashed into, fell back, and cried out. Normally, people should be laughing at him but they were desperate and wanted to get to the top along with them. He didn't understand the hunger that made them wish to follow them.
 Suddenly, the elevator's door appeared again but this time with a new door standing as the middleman between the frantic people and the elevator. People rushed towards it and they disappeared. After a while, they would be seen rushing from outside the building.
Fred also tried it, and didn't rush back into the building like the others. If Carl had hoped that the people would believe him after Fred didn't return, he was wrong. They decided to trust in their inner self. Many of them believed the elevator was truly for some set of people, and they were also part of those chosen.
Regina pulled Joyce into the elevator, and then it closed on them. Carl waited for the result. Joyce came from outside looking dazed like the other. 
'It led me outside'.
'I don't know what to do?'
'It means I won't be with you'.
'I can come to stay with you. That means we would be visiting them regularly'.
She blinked repeatedly. 'I want to be with you too, but what about the others?'
'They can survive it'.
'But can you?'
Carl stared about and held her head. 'I want this. I will be with you.'
She blinked back tears. 'I love you'.
'I do too. I love you like no other'.
'Let me get a few things from the top'.
His hand slipped off as he moved towards the elevator. 'I'll be back'.
She nodded as he watched him hurry into the elevator. Others tried to join him as he forced his way to the front. The desperate ones were pulling at his cloth, and he was so lucky that the Uniform was of a good material. If not, it would have been torn by the force with which the crowd pulled it. The desperate ones jumped through the door, but they never got the chance to enter the elevator because the door had its way of separating the stones from the grain. Seeing a good chance, he jumped through the door, and made someone grunt. However, he didn't have to press the button before it opened. 
'Carl. Carl. The time...' Fred shouted, but couldn't complete his sentence before Regina covered his mouth and whispered something into his hear. Fred opened his eyes in realization.
'What's that?' Carl shouted. The crowd was dwindling already, but they still had their way of overcrowding the place. 
'Outside...' She dragged Fred away. Carl glanced at Joyce and she followed him. The sky was becoming brighter. Someone followed them, but after Regina yelled at the person, he returned inside.
'The time is reading again.'
'We should tell people...' Fred said.
'No. Our place would be overcrowded', Regina countered.
'What Time?'
'What are they talking about', Joyce asked glancing first at Carl then at Regina and Fred.
'I don't know too. What time Freddy?'
'The time that was counting when we first got there. I think'
'We think it means Joyce can still make it'.
'Seriously?'
 Regina nodded. Joyce looked at them curiously.
'That looks good? What's this time all about?'
'I'll explain later'.
'But I'm having the same belief with Regina. I don't think she can make it', Fred muttered.
'Why is that?'
'The time It's just 16 minutes, 30 seconds.'
 'Are you kidding me? What are we waiting for?' Carl shouted and pulled Joyce.
'Carl you can't make it', Regina shouted. 'It took us 30 minutes to get to the top the other day'.
'Then we had better run'.
'Carl, wait', Regina shouted. She threw something that looked like a wristwatch at him and winked.
'What's this? Where did you get this?' Carl shouted and turned, pulling Joyce away. 
'It's a stop-watch', she shouted. 'I got it at the top'.
Carl ran off and Joyce was at his heel. Some people on the ground stared at them for some seconds then turned towards the elevator as if it was a force that kept calling them deeper.
'Carl, how far up is it?'
'Very far'.
'Then, we are so screwed.'
'Like, seriously'.
They ran up and the only thing Carl could think about was the way things would be if she really got the opportunity to stay with him: the untamed fun they would explore together after pushing the others out of their privacy. Dusts from the cracking house kept pouring down, and he wished it would crumble while they still had their abode there.
'Carl, calm down', Joyce said after a while. Carl glanced back and stopped.
'Okay, let's count one to fifty'.
'This reminds me of the ropes', Joyce said amidst her heavy pants, smiled, and looked away as she strengthened herself with the wall.
Carl stared at her for a while. 'The ropes I don't get...'
'The Janitor's closet'.
 'Oh! I'll still find my revenge. I will'
She burst into laughter, and used her free hands to hold her stomach. 'This was the same way I ran that day: I was so excited that I finally overcame you'.
'No one gets rid of me. I'm like that'.
'Yes. You're a Jackhammer, always determined', she said, winking.
He glanced at his stopwatch: 6 minutes 14 seconds. The problem was that he didn't even know how many floors they had climbed. 'We've got to', he nodded towards the top.
As they ran upwards, he remembered how he also ran the day she was talking about. But that was after she was long gone. After many days of asking her out, she invited him to talk with her in the Janitor's closet. He had expected that they would make out. When he got outside, she said she would blindfold him because she wanted to surprise him. And he foolishly agreed. She then blindfolded him and guided him into the closet. When they got there, she suddenly began to tie him, from his head to toe, starting with the hands. He should have restricted, but he assumed it was romantic. Though he knew her to have lived on the streets with the homeless for a while before the government got hold of her, he never expected such behavior from her. But after she told him he was in for a long time, he knew he was doomed. It was Fred that later helped him.
 'We are here', he said when it started reading down from 20 seconds.
'We are here?'
'We are here. Go there. Follow me'.
'It's dark'.
'I know'
'I'm afraid...'
'Be fast ...'
 He dragged her and they entered the light. Carl turned in time to see the countdown time touching down at 00:00.
'Oh God!' She said, hugged him, and gave him a prolonged kiss amidst the 'oohs' from Regina. 'Thank you'.
'You're here. Fred, they are here'.
 Fred hobbled out of the room, beaming. 'But from all indications, you shouldn't or couldn't have made it.'
'I told you if I can get Joyce, I can get anything in the world', Carl said.
Joyce blushed, yet looked weary.
'Welcome to my Janitor's store'.
She nodded as he guided her to a room. 'We will get you something to eat. In fact, we can explore this place together'.
As Carl entered the room, he saw a tiny piece of paper on his bed, created into a size of a bird. On the body was written 'Iris'.

Read " Don't! Look Closer " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. He slowly unwrapped it with one hand while he unwrapped a bar of chocolate with the other. That was one of the things others downstairs were missing. 
Carl, I've found some geniuses, we are leaving for the train. I'll tell you the outcome later if I ever have the chance to get back- Iris
He sat up and shouted. 'Everyone, come here. We've got to save Iris'.
They rushed outside and he explained himself.
'See, the time is reading again', Fred told Regina who scowled as if the timer offended her.
'Okay. We should tell the others', Regina mumbled and glanced at Fred, who looked triumphant.
'I think this is the last time'.
'How?'
'See... four of four'.
'Forget it. No one else is joining us. This is like...Erm... This is our own estate', Joyce said.
'That's so rich coming from you, after we saved you', Regina said and walked off towards the elevator. 'You're selfish'.