Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening - Episode 4

 

 Carl opened his eyes sluggishly, and took a long time to understand that he wasn't in Joyce's place. He tried to accustom his eyes with the thick darkness he was in. His eyes fluttered as he rolled his neck, trying to figure out where he was. At least if one was in a dark place, there was no way the darkness would be so thick, but the place seemed impenetrable by any ray of light, making him assume he was finally dead. One of those philosophy teachers in his school once theorized that when they died that everything might be dark and they might remain in the darkness of the abyss, useless and for nothing . But how could he be dead? 
 All he remembered was that he was coming out of Joyces house to get ready for his own part of the plan. He was being careful to check if the street was empty, when he saw a head materialize out of the air. He was so stunned that he couldnt shout before the man covered his mouth. The man wore one of those chameleon types of uniform. They had a bit of struggle, but before he could get hold of himself, another head materialized and stabbed him with a syringe. Whatever was in the syringe made him lose consciousness immediately, but not before he saw the other man putting on a sort of cap that made him become invisible. His fear now was that the uniformed men he witnessed the other time later saw him after they killed the old man

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

. If it were so, he had to find a way to escape from the place he was.
With every part of his body blaring an alarm, he decided to stand, but was stopped by something that held him down. The thing was metallic. It held him in place. There was also metal chains holding his hands and legs firmly to the chair. Staring about to check for any ray of light, or anything to help him know what part he was sitting on, he was sure he might finally meet his demise in this place. The thought of being there was infuriating on its own. His eyes roamed in its socket as he hoped his eyes would blend with the darkness. Everything was silent. 
He wondered what could have happened, and why they must have wanted him. He wasnt from a wealthy family. He wasnt exceptionally brilliant. He wasnt a geek like Fred. So, he was so sure the person that kidnapped him would see his worthlessness and return him to help Joyce. There was no way she would even believe anything he told her, but he would still give it a trial. She must have been expecting him. No one could tell him how many hours he had been out. If he had been gone for long, then someone other than him must have gone to her rescue, and that meant they would have alerted the police.
Suddenly, someone yelled, where am I? 
Carl almost jumped out of his skin, and might have probably jumped out of the metal chair if the metals didnt hold him in place. He never assumed anyone was there with him.
Who is there?' Another voice yelled.
Where are we?’ Another voice shouted. He would have calmly watched them scream and not flinch, but the darkness was making him falter in his calmness. Everything made him edgy. The noise retrogressed to murmur, then sprung into a full-fledged hysteria. Noises diffused into the dark hole or room or whatever they were in. Carl was very sure the people in the place were insane because they were all getting on his nerve. He held his breathe with a little assurance that the humanity ingrained into them would soon resurface, but none of them seemed to waver. He was so annoyed and vexed now and was sure that the frustration was getting to the 100% of his breaking point. He assumed he would keep his emotions together until a lady began to shriek. That was the crux of the whole matter.
He screamed, Shut up! Shut up! Shut your trap! Shut your trap! Shut it! 
Everywhere became silent. He cleared his voice as he tried to stabilize his voice. He still always wondered why humans have to behave like chickens whenever they are in terrible situations. They all kept quiet as if they were expecting an instruction. He wasn't the speech-giver type of guy. He never loved climbing the podium to address people. He was always the background type of guy. There was no way they were getting any word from him again, other than for him to yell, if they mistakenly reverted to their former noise.
Someone got tired of waiting and shouted, 'where are
The light came up, making the person's voice fade. Carl closed his eyes, and tried opening it again, slowly this time. His eyes widened in surprise as he glanced about in surprise. Like he suspected, they were in a train-like vessel. The top was rigged with strong black metals that stretched from the place he was to the end. There were several air ducts under every fifth seat. The air ducts looked more like an exhibition than a real thing. Their chair was made from the same type of silver metals held them in place. Everyone in the place wore the same grey silver uniform that had semblance with swimming trunks; and the color stretched down the line until what looked like the end of the train, which looked as if one was staring at a tiny bird in the sky.
He could see the same look on almost everybody in the room. They all looked surprised, and he was sure he wore the same look too. The people that were shouting seemed too shocked to utter a sound. Before anyone could make a comment about where they were and before Carl could try to fathom what that place was, the door beside him slid open. Despite the silence with which the door opened, most people glanced towards the door, and those that didnt see the door open were informed by their neighbors or they noticed what everyone was doing, and did the same.
A young lady strutted in. She was wearing the same uniform as theirs, only that hers was red. She was followed by two people with the yellow uniform. They held guns and looked fierce. The lady was slim and could pass for a model. Her curves weren't too pronounced but she definitely had a shaped that a lot of women would kill for. Only that she had an unusual gait and balance that would make anyone continually scared of her. And despite her beautifully packed blond hair, something was eerie about her. She had a diamond shaped face, which looked like that of a robots. And her eyes were very tiny, black, lifeless; another reason to be afraid of her. Someone whimpered in front of Carl. He hurriedly glanced at the fearful person, and back at the lady.
Good morning, my name is Diana, and I welcome you to Etyes, the home of Peacemakers, she said into a public address system.
Then, she pointed a remote control at them. Let's start with the first lesson to peacekeeping. We follow the pattern of the ants, not the rowdy ones. But the workers among them. They move in a straight line. Even when an intruder tries to scatter them, they are known to always return to their initial positions. In that regard, youd follow me orderly. The person at my She shook her head as she dangled her hands as if she was weighing the idea. Okay. The person on my left should come first'.
 She pressed the button, and the chains holding them in place slid off and disappeared into the chairs as if they weren't there initially. Carl sighed and brushed his hair as others murmured and rose. He rolled his wrist, and rose to follow her. He hoped the hair wasn't ruined. 
Suddenly, someone screamed from the end row. Why are we here? Why did you kidnap us from our place, you nincompoops?
 Diana rolled her eyes as if she was dealing with another insolent little child, and that she knew just the right way to show her power. She turned towards them, and Carl couldnt help but hold his breath. Diana stared at the wall and said. Computer, who spoke?
She stared at a point not visible to any of them and sighed. Take the offender to the punishment room.
Immediately, person shrieked, and her voice faded, but was soon substituted by a brief shout of surprise mingled with fear. Then, the noise transformed into silence.
Now, lets go, Diana turned and the guards moved sideways, out of reach. The Peacelearners followed her out of the train and kept going. The place that led outside looked just like the place they had just left. The only difference, this time, was that there wasn't any chair there. Diana didnt look back, but nobody dared do anything stupid. Or so did Carl think until someone came out of nowhere, and overtook him. His movement was so silent that it surprised Carl. 
Whats this? Carl whispered. The guy turned and gave him an icy look as if he was daring him to do his worst. Carl gritted and wished to land a heavy punch on his stiff back, but he only stared and hissed. The guy moved on majestically, but didnt get to move far before an alarm blared. Carl hurriedly looked at his feet and brushed the dust that might have stained his silver cloth.
Diana turned and her dark small eyes scanned the room as if she had a laser in them. She raised her hand, and everyone stopped. Carl felt his heart pound so hard that he could feel the warmth of the fear in his mouth.
Diana looked up and said, Computer, what happened?
A robots voice replied, Peacelearner with the code number 7429 swapped places with Peacelearner 7428. Body temp showed that that Peacelearner 7428 was angry, but controlled his anger immediately. Meanwhile, Peacelearner 7429 was ready to fight if 7428 decided to pick one.
Diana stared at the stern looking guy for a few seconds, then her face cracked into a phony smile. She stroked his chin. I like your guts.
Immediately, her face reverted to the form it was as her eyes roamed to Carl. He was sore afraid the moment she pointed at him. She brought the P.A system to her mouth and said. 'Peacelearners, learn from this and let it be planted in your consciousness because this lesson would be used to punish people till the last days in this place. Young man, what is your name? 
Different television screens shot out of the wall. They made sounds like that of a marching army. Carl glanced at them. The Television screen spread from where he was to the far end, where the Peacelearners might be. One of the screen was also at their side, so Carl could see himself from the corner of his eyes. The screen showed Diana as she placed the P.A system in front of Carls mouth. Stuttering, Carl said, CarlCarl Cokers.
People, be like Carl Cokers. He is the epitome of a true Peacemaker. Peacemakers dont fight in the public. They mingle with everyone and are never controlled by their emotions or overzealousness. They are controlled by their need for peace. And as for Whats your name?' She asked with her phony smile and placed the mic in front of 7429. 
Jeremy Jephthah.
I want you to remember Jeremy Jephthah, the name. I want you to remember it and this lesson attached to him, she said as she stepped back, and glanced up. Computer, dump Jeremy Jephthah in the punishment room.
Immediately, an iron shoe pierced its way out of the ground and held Jeremy's feet to the ground. A laser drew a square shape around his feet, and the ground under him parted into two. He yelled as he dropped into the hole, while frantically trying to hold on to something. His noise kept reducing as if he was still going to a very far place. Carl swallowed hard as he watched the ground close, and become normal as if nothing had happened there. The lasers brushed over the place Jeremy fell and continually did so, to and fro, until there wasn't a crack on the floor anymore.
 For the first time, Carl knew there was someone he was afraid of and a place he wanted to leave at all cost. His eyes batted repeatedly as others gawked at Diana. She winked at him and turned. Lets keep moving, Peacelearners.
If no one was afraid after the first encounter, they became afraid after this one.
                    ***
Joyce kept moving the moment she entered Carls street. She was supposed to be angry at him, and was supposed to never confront him. But she needed him to be bold enough to present the truth to her that he ran with his tail between his legs. He had left for over three hours, and hadn't returned to check her. She wasnt supposed to demand an explanation from him.
She had lived alone for years, and had lived in different orphanage homes. Or where did he think she got the name Felix from? She could live without him. She would make him know that even the most invisible part of life worth more to her than he.
The crazy paintings made by Grousters, defacing the walls, only aggravated her anger at everything. Why do the people, who were meant to be close to her, always run away from her? The only way she would believe Grousters' claim would be if their invisible thing could find her parents. They kept disturbing her to join their team, but she had a better life to live than to fool herself with the dream of a man, Groust Fleming. The world had turned upside down since the man published a fiction based on his dreams. The world leader had him killed, and banned the book from existence. The world leader's foolish act aggravated some lovers of the book, who saw deeper meaning to the book, and the act.
Joyce turned sharply from going to Carl's house before her emotion took over, but her thought of Carl disappeared immediately because she saw someone scrambling to hide at the back of a house. That was curious. Something was certainly wrong because that was the second time she would be noticing such movement. She wrapped her sweater around her body, and knew it was time to show her evasion skills.
She moved into a corner, and waited patiently to see if the person would come after her. But nothing happened. So, she moved into another part of the road, and made sure no one was following her. She entered another crescent that would make it nearly impossible for the person to move unnoticed.
Just as she turned two streets away from her house, someone came out of the shadows, and pushed something hard into her ribs. She groaned as she noticed that it was a gun.
If youre cooperative, nothing would happen.' The man growled into her ear. He pulled her back into the shadow. Within a few seconds, a black sedan drove up, and parked five feet away. Someone opened the door, the man pushed her into the car and the car drove off.
What do you want from me?
Someone is watching you, Joyce Felix.
Of course. Were you not the one watching me?'
 The man raised his gun to show her he didnt plan to harm her, then he slowly dropped it. I'm here to help you, but I also need your help.
And you expect me to believe you, a man with the Smiths.
Hey! Look, I'm the good guy here.
Joyce nodded sarcastically. I believe you. A good guy who abducted me at gun point.
We dont have time. Im a P.I
Private Investigator?
 Joyce calmed a bit. She should have known. She had always wanted to be a Private Investigator herself, and had only one company in mind, Blanj. They had branches worldwide. Although compared to the map of the previous world, she would call it countrywide. The whole worlds population had shrunk to the size of a country. Their teachers had shown them how other places of the world looked like. And they have been taken in planes to sightsee the other parts of the world. It was desolate, and was looking terrible that it would take a very great resource to rebuild it. The only thing that surpassed the former world was their sophisticated level of technology.
I work for Blanj.
She held her breathe. His statement piqued her interest. She sat straight and tried to figure out if he was lying. She glanced at his hand and sighted the small signature on the smallest time ticker of his wristwatch. She knew it anywhere. She had always dreamt of having one. Everything in her mind and body was ignited as she watched him with awe.
What What do you want from me?  She asked after trying hard to conceal her happiness. 'Just mention it... I mean you could have just asked'
Were recruiting you.
Me?
And you have to start your work immediately.
She blushed and sat up. That implied they had been watching her for long, and they must have noticed the training and drilling she had subjected herself to.
Weve been following a series of kidnapping around the world and we've discovered a pattern. They take two people from each country'.
She bit her lower lip as she tried to show how excited she was about the case. The case had been included in the numerous unsolved kidnappings. If she could be the one to come out with the real information, Blanj would make the world know she did it. So, how does that concern me? I mean I can do it But why me?'
We dont know their criteria for picking people, and where they are taking these people to. And we think youre the next from Nigeria.
Whoa Whoa... Me? I'm the next?
 Yes. A boy that came out of your house today was the first.
Carl? Wait Did Carl send you to plead on his behalf?
On what or whose behalf Who is Carl? The man stared at her for some seconds. The boy Carl? He was kidnapped by some mysterious uniformed men, one of those watching you. Our investigation made us know they are not in any organization and they are only found at every disappearance. But the problem is that we always meet a dead-end as to where they go'.
That means you want me to spy on them? Allow myself to be kidnapped, Joyce lamented. Her heartbeat raced faster and she exhaled loudly.
Yes. We will plant a signal into your body. It has been known to work anywhere. Even in dead ends, the signal is always strong. You will activate it only when you are fully into the system.
Joyce stared at his black mouth and felt like ramming her fist into it. 'Thats callous. Instead of protecting me, youre sending me into their den. No
I thought you always wanted to be a spy, to work with us. Remember. Only when you're into the system.
But not without proper training or backup. What if What if they want to kill me... to kill all the children?'
Why? Who kills children irrationally? The law of the world, this berserk world, even commands us to be married to populate the world.

Read " Grabbing The Hot Gate " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. We have men around the world ready to help you. All I need is your consent.
Let me think about it.
You dont have that luxury. It is either now or never. If you step outside this car, that's the end for all of us. 
She stared at the dark, well-trimmed P.I. In a case like this, she loved the odds to be in her favor. No matter what, those people might still come for her. She gave him a curt nod with pinched lips.
'This would be painful', he said as he opened a small black case, and injected something into her body. She groaned as the pain surged through her body, and subsided in a little second.
'You're jumping down in 5, 4, 3'
Joyce was perplexed but braced herself.
'Go'.
The car stopped and she came out of the car, and headed home with trepidation. As she began to climb the staircase towards her the door, her phone rang to show Carl's mum trying to reach her. If that man was right about the disappearances, then it wasn't right for her to pick the call. The moment she inserted her key into its hole, still staring at the ringing phone, the expected pain came and she blacked out.