Alex Armstrong: Awakening (2 page)

“Might I be of some assistance to you?” The older guard left his post and approached the sedan. He leaned in the window.

Alex smelled equal parts tobacco and firewood. It was not unpleasant. “I must be early.”

“And what makes you say that?” The old guard spoke slowly, deliberately.

“I don’t see anyone,” Alex said. He motioned toward the campus.

The old man worked his mouth in a chewing motion, the tip of his beard twitching up and down. He looked at the empty brick buildings and then back at Alex. “What if I told you that over half the freshman class has already arrived?”

Alex glanced at what should have been the fountain.

“They ain’t in there, son.” The old guard backed away from the window and withdrew a tablet tucked inside his jeans along his lower back. He swiped through a few pages. “Alex Armstrong, I do believe.” He leaned forward again and extended a hand through the window. “My name’s Gus. Nice to meet you, Alex.”

Alex shook his hand. “You know my name?”

“That’s right. And everyone else’s.” He showed Alex the display. “Like I said, over half have already arrived.”

Alex looked at the gate and that imposing brick wall. He noticed the younger guard approaching the car. “Well…‌where are they? Did they move the dorms?”

“No need to get antsy, son. Ole Gus’ll walk you through it.” He twisted away from the window and pointed to a spot along the wall. “Look about nine feet left of the gate; about three or four feet off the ground. You see that brick that’s a little darker than the others?”

Alex nodded.

“Good, good. So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to take this thing off autopilot and back up a hundred yards or so. To the top of the hill back there. When you’re ready, floor it and drive straight into the wall, right at that dark brick. You’ll pass right on through and be transported to campus.”

Alex squinted at the brick. “No way.”

“Yes way. Like an airplane passin through a cloud. Now, you gotta get over fifty or it won’t work, but that shouldn’t be an issue in this thing. Isn’t that right?”

The younger guard nodded.

“You see? Now go ahead and slide it in reverse. We’ll clear outta the way.” He glanced at his partner and together they backed a few feet from the car.

Alex looked from one to the other but they were both stone-faced. He started to say something but just shook his head and sighed instead. He looked at the hill in the rearview and then back to the wall one more time. He sat there chewing his lip. “Which brick is it?”

The younger guard started laughing. Gus did, too, but it was more of a chuckle. He walked up to the car and placed his big hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Son, I’m just playin with you.”

“None of these kids get that wall reference.”

“Oh, I know it,” Gus said. “One day maybe I’ll put a sign up over there. That oughtta help.” He turned back to Alex. “Son, we’re gonna need you to stay put in that car. We’ll get you movin. It’ll all make sense in a minute.”

The two men moved away from the vehicle and approached the brass sign posted on the brick wall just right of the gate.

Gus removed a keycard and held it against the top-right corner of the sign. The brass plate shifted out and then slid down, exposing a control panel. He placed his right eye against an eyepiece and then his left and nodded at his hairless friend, who then did the same. Gus pushed a sequence of buttons and the brass plate slide back into place. Then he turned to Alex and winked.

3 - Campus and Registration

3

Campus and Registration

The road shuddered beneath the Mercedes. Alex looked at Gus and the old guard motioned for him to look down. He stuck his head out the window and saw that he was on a circular platform. When he looked back at the guards, they were both waving.

The platform began to screw into the ground and soon Gus, the wall, and the rest of the outside world slipped from view, leaving Alex with nothing to see but the glare of his headlights against the rifling of the elevator shaft. He felt as if he was being loaded into a gun.

Alex opened the sunroof and watched the little circle of sky get smaller and smaller. He stayed like this until he saw the underside of the shaft. He looked forward again. It was a tunnel wide enough to handle two trucks and tall enough for a semi. A single line of LEDs ran along the roof.

The platform settled into position with a loud
HISSSSS
.

“Mr. Armstrong.”

Alex noticed Gus’s bearded face smiling at him from the steering wheel display.

“Pretty neat trick, huh?” Gus said. “The real campus is at the end of that tunnel. I’m sending the coordinates to your car right now.”

The map flickered on; his new destination was 4.3 miles due north. The autopilot engaged and the car rolled forward. Alex heard the platform rising back into position.

“Next student’s on the way,” Gus said.

“Where do I go after this tunnel?”

“The car’s takin you to Registration. Go in there and see Melissa.” Gus turned his head and for a moment Alex could only see his beard on the steering wheel. “I gotta go. Good luck in there, son. And welcome to Pal Tech.” The old guard disappeared and the Mercedes logo and horn icon drifted back into place.

Alex closed his eyes and took a breath and tried to assimilate everything that had just happened, but his mind was spinning so fast that he knew there wasn’t a chance he could hold a thought. So he gave up and placed both hands on the wheel and leaned forward, willing the car to move faster.

He saw the tunnel’s end with two miles to go, just a pinprick of light. With one mile to go, it was a flashlight. A quarter mile and it filled the windshield and he could see its light reflecting off the concrete walls. He was beginning to think that maybe the car should hit the brakes when he lurched forward, the seatbelt tight against his chest. When he was finally able to lean back, the car was halfway out of the tunnel and passing a modest brick sign welcoming him to Paladin Technical Institute.

The Mercedes quivered a bit and the water in his bottle sloshed around. There was no more asphalt; it was a pathway of pavers, spaced in such a way that there was more grass than concrete. Alex had never seen anything like it. But it was the building coming up on his right that really caught his attention. It was large and its walls were mostly glass, with the type of modern, boxy architecture that would have looked right at home on a beach in California, save for one curious feature: its roof was covered in grass. Rye grass. The kind that makes you want to take off your shoes and wiggle your toes.

And it wasn’t just that first building. All the buildings were sodded. The only difference between them—at least, the three that Alex could see—was the color of their glass walls. The first had blue-tinted panels, the second, pink; and the third, yellow. Yet it was still the color green that stood out above all others. Everything about the campus was green and grassy and growing, as if he had just rolled into The Shire.

Alex was passing the pink glass when he saw his first student. The boy was older, definitely not a freshman. He held a football in his right hand and as Alex’s car pulled even he wound up and threw it across the field.

And then a funny thing happened. As the ball began its descent, it nosed upward and reversed course like a boomerang, right back into the boy’s waiting hands.

“What the…” Alex said. He unbuckled and twisted around in his seat and watched through the back window as the student heaved another pass. But before he could see any special effects, the road sloped away and the student was gone. Alex twisted back in his seat—slowly but not carefully—and his elbow hit the Driver 2 Memory Button. There was a single
beep
and the steering wheel telescoped and the seat slid forward. Way forward. Alex tried to push the other button but he was trapped, the steering wheel squeezing his elbows against his chest so that his hands rested lamely in the air. He looked like some elderly T-Rex leaning over a tree limb, squinting at its prey. And of course this is when he saw his second student.

She was tall and athletic and her straight blonde hair was shiny in the sunlight. She looked up at the sound of his car and smiled. Alex grinned and tried to wave but only succeeded in looking ridiculous. She laughed.

“Damnit! Move the seat back! Memory 1! Memory 1!” The seat moved back, but the damage was done; the pretty blonde was long gone.

The Mercedes approached a small natural pond and made a right. Alex glanced at the map. They were going east, toward the edge of campus. Wherever they were heading must have been near. He looked up and saw the gym to his left. No one was inside. To his right was another field, this one complete with wooden benches and tables scattered about under the cover of white oaks. He noticed a man lying in a patch of sunlight. He was reading a book. But there was something peculiar about him. Alex had to stare for a moment before he noticed. It was the man’s arms. They were at his sides, his hands near his kneecaps. The paperback hovered a few inches from his face. Alex leaned forward and saw a page turn in midair.

The car parked in the tiny lot at the bottom of the hill. “We have reached your destination.”

“Good, cause I’ve got some questions.”

****

Alex stretched his arms and cracked his back and bent over and tried to touch his toes. He closed the door and noted that his was the car on the right. Four more Mercedes—the exact same model—were parked to his left.

He walked up the pathway and the automatic doors ushered him into the Student Center. He took a step inside and stood still as he got his bearings. It was one large room divided into a student lounge and a café. Cherry-wood bookshelves were to his left and a stone fireplace was to his right. An aroma of coffee and fresh-cut lumber hung in the air. About the only thing missing from this Student Center were other students.

Alex glanced around the room again and this time saw the handwritten sign informing him that new student registration would be on the lower level. He walked downstairs into the much cooler basement.

He opened the door and entered a room buzzing with activity. There were about two dozen students, and for one brief but awkward moment, every one of them stopped whatever it was they were doing and turned to look at Alex. And all he could muster was a weak little smile. The door closed behind him and they went back to their conversations.

“Quite an entrance.”

“Huh?” Alex turned to the student now standing at his side. He had curly brown hair and was very short.

“You just stood there. I know, I know, you were caught off guard. But wouldn’t it be cool to have a do-over? You know, so you could do something awesome, like maybe do a backflip. Or have some theme music ready and walk in and just start breakdancing. Think of how cool that would be. You’d be a legend before the year even started. You’re looking at me like I’m crazy. I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry, I think about these things. I can also be a bit of a smart-ass, so I’ll go ahead and apologize for that now in case we become friends. I’m Patrick, by the way.”

Alex shook his hand, laughing. “Don’t apologize. That was impressive. I couldn’t talk that fast if I tried. I’m Alex.”

Patrick nodded and smiled. “Where you from?”

“Florida.”

“That would’ve been my first guess.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Surfer T-shirt. Tan.” Patrick shrugged. “I figured there was a better-than-average chance.”

“And the funny thing is I rarely go to the beach,” Alex said. “I just like these shirts. Where are you from?”

“Tampa.”

“Cool. When’d you get in?” Alex said.

“An hour ago. I’ve just been hanging out in here, trying to meet some people. You’re the first fellow Floridian.”

Alex nodded and leaned close and lowered his voice. “So, what have you heard about this place?”

Patrick smiled. “What, are you beginning to think this is more than just an elite college for geniuses? Gosh, what would make you think
that
?”

“So you do know something?”

“Oh, I looked at some of the course offerings. I have a pretty good idea.”

“Well?”

“And ruin the surprise for you?” Patrick said, still smiling.

“Come on, I’d like to know what I’m getting into here.”

“What’d you see out there, besides the fact that we’re on a secret campus?”

“I saw an older kid make a football change directions in midair, and I’m pretty sure I saw a guy reading a book without using his hands; it was floating.”

“That would make sense,” Patrick said.

“What? How?”

“Because this is a school for telekinetics.”

“What, like the
X-Men
?”

“If that helps, sure,” Patrick said. “Except this is real; you just saw a couple examples.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out his tablet. “Here, check this out. Here’s the course catalog. And this is the one and only class we’re taking this semester.”

Alex read the entry:

Alex stared at the screen long after he finished reading.

“Did I just blow your mind?” Patrick said. “Because I was freaking out when I read that. Seriously, how cool is this?”

Alex was vaguely aware that Patrick was still talking. Normally, he’d smile and nod to at least fake that he was listening, but not right now. He was too busy picturing scenes from
X-Men
,
Carrie
, and
Star Wars
. He never knew any of it could be
real
. He wondered what it would be like to move an object without touch, just by thinking about it. He zeroed in on Patrick’s tablet.

“Are you trying to pick this up?” Patrick said, waving his tablet in the air. “Don’t bother, man. It won’t happen.”

“I just thought…”

“I know. Seriously, though. No one in here has moved a thing. It isn’t gonna happen. Sorry to get your hopes up.”