CHOSEN: A Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Dystopian Novel (17 page)

Antarctic Research Center

There was the
sound again telling him someone else was there. He sat up quickly and tried to
speak.

“Hello?
Hello?” Canson Pritchard said.

Canson
had been disconnected from the room the last time he’d tried to get in. He
needed Marco and Stephen to know he was there.

“This
is Mr. Pritchard, from the advanced science and technology class. Your science
in life class. Who is this?” Canson waited for a response. He was hopeful one
of them would answer.

On
the other end Stephen and Stella sat staring at the screen, their eyes wide in
panic. They hadn’t turned on their side of the video and quickly muted the
sound.

“What
should we do?” Stephen asked Stella. 

“I
don’t know. It’s your teacher. Will you get in trouble for using the class chat
room?” Stella answered him back in whisper. She got up and stood in the corner
by the door where she would be out of the picture. 

“Hello?”
Canson’s voice came through again. “It’s okay. You’re not in trouble. Are you
still there?” Canson tried to calm the person on the other end.

Stephen
looked at Stella once again and then turned his voice back on.

“Hello?”
Canson’s voice cracked with nervousness.

“Hello.
I’m here,” Stephen finally said, clearing his throat and sounding a bit calmer.

“Who
is this?” Canson asked. 

“Ummm.
I’m in your class. I’m sorry for using this room to talk. I, we, I-I just
didn’t, we didn’t know,” Stephen stopped. He was stammering all over his words.
“I needed a secure place to talk to someone, Mr. Pritchard. Please accept my
apology.”

“I
see. Do you mind telling me who you are? I can’t quite catch your voice,”
Canson prodded. He was curious what Stephen would say.

“I’m
sorry Mr. Pritchard for using this interface. It won’t happen again.”

“Wait!
Don’t go. I know who you are. I know who the other kid is too.” Canson paused
and Stephen considered disconnecting again, but his sister in the corner urged
him to talk.

“I’m
here,” Stephen replied.

“I
need to talk to you Stephen. It’s important.”

“Hold
on, Mr. Pritchard,” Stephen said and put his voice back on mute. “Get Marco
back in the chat room Stella. Hurry. I think it’s going to be okay,” Stephen
said before turning his voice back on.

“I’m
back. What’s going on Mr. Pritchard?” Stephen asked.

There
was a moment of silence as Canson’s eyes seemed to look straight at Stephen
even though his video was still off.

“Stephen,
I need you to listen very carefully. What I have to tell you is very important
and may not, well, probably not, make any sense. It has to do with you, your
sister, Marco and a girl you haven’t met, but your sister has, named Alexis,
Ren, and two others.”

“I
met Alexis, sort of,” said Stephen. Stella walked out of the corner and sat
back down on Stephen’s bed. “Stella is here too,” Stephen told Canson who was
glad she was there to hear what he had to say as well.

“What
do you need to tell us?” Stephen asked, leaning in. The staticky sound came to
an end and then Marco appeared on the other side of the projection showing on
Stephen’s wall.

“Hold
on,” Stephen said wanting Marco to hear this. “Marco, I have our teacher Mr.
Pritchard on the line. He has something to tell us. It has to do with that
friend of yours too, Alexis.”

Marco
wasn’t sure whether to speak but Stephen had already called out his name. He
figured he’d take a chance. He was pretty sure there was no way this would end
well, but nothing he was involved in at the time was likely going to end well.

“Yeah,
what’s going on?” Marco asked reluctantly.

“Marco,
thanks for coming back. I was trying to get in on your connection, but I’m
guessing you two did something to block me,” Canson said. Both boys were
silent. They actually liked their teacher but they could still get in trouble
for what they did.

“Anyways,
the three of you here, you two, and Stella, are a part of something bigger. The
fact that you all are connected isn’t a mistake, an accident, or coincidence. We’ve
been working very hard to get Alexis and Marco connected and then connect them
with you and Stella,” Canson paused, letting what he said ruminate for a
moment. 

“Can
I get Alexis on my system? Seems she may want to hear this too,” Marco asked. 

“Sorry
she can’t get into this room. It’s for registered students only,” Mr. Pritchard
said but Marco had already sent her a message to have her open up a
transmission with him. She’d be able to hear everything going on in the room
and at least see him.

While
Marco went to get Alexis connected, he, Stephen, and Stella were all wondering
what this was all about. When Marco saw Alexis come up he quickly caught her up
on the conversation, leaving out the fluff. She’d have questions but he would
let Mr. Pritchard answer them.

“We’re
back,” Marco said. “Alexis can hear us but she can’t see you,” he added.

“No
problem,” said Canson as he readied himself to continue. He understood why he
was the one who had to get them prepped. With everything going on with Mave he
had to fill in the gap. It didn’t make him feel any more comfortable. He took a
deep breath.

“Again,
this may not make any sense but you are all together, so to speak, for a
reason. You are part of a small group of kids designed to perform a certain
mission.” Canson stopped again trying to find words that would make sense.

“Designed?
How are we designed?” Stella asked, sitting up behind Stephen.

“That’s
a good question. I can try to explain but it’s much bigger than me. You were
made with certain, hmmm, qualities that you can use when the time is right. Then
you were given a serum before birth to enhance these natural qualities. They
aren’t fully developed yet because before they can be fully there and usable, you
have to know they even exist,” Canson sighed, pleased he’d managed to find
words that might help them begin to understand.

“So
each of you have some general talent or gift or ability that sets you apart
from others. For example, Stella, you can get a sense of what is happening
before it happens and a sense of what people are thinking. Not exact but their
motivations, fears, you know? It’s just a part of who you are.”

“Are
you saying we’re like part cyborg or something? Or we aren’t all human?” Stella
asked worried.

“Yeah,
what do you mean? How do you mean we were made?” Marco asked.

“It’s
something you have to feel more than me just telling you. Each of you has it
and the rest do too. Next month when Stella and Stephen are approaching their
sixteenth birthday we want to hold a special ceremony for all of you.

“How
many of us are there?” Alexis’s voice broke into the conversation from
somewhere in the distance.

“There
are supposed to be eight of you. We have managed to reach seven of you. The
status of the eighth remains uncertain,” Canson said back to Alexis and the
others. “But we want to get you all together, in a way, so we can help you
better understand your mission.”

“This
is bull. Is this some kind of new project you are doing for school Mr.
Pritchard? Technology and society or science and society?” Marco asked.

Stephen
just sat and listened silently. He was following the sequence of incidents and
coincidences that led to this point. He tried to reason that it was just
coincidence but the likelihood of all of the random events truly being just
random kept falling outside of his range of likely probabilities.

As
he settled on accepting that perhaps Mr. Pritchard wasn’t lying his thoughts
turned to something else. That there wasn’t anything really special about him.
Sure he was smart, but a lot of people were smart.

“Mr.
Pritchard, you said we all have special qualities. I don’t have anything
special,” Stephen spoke up awkwardly.

“What
are you worried about that part for Stephen? He’s saying we are here for a
mission. That we were designed! Doesn’t that seem a bit stranger than whether
or not you have a special quality? And besides that, of course you do but
that’s not the point,” Marco said, bewildered at Stephen.

“All
of you were given something shortly before birth, a booster shot so to speak. The
full effects of it haven’t really been seen yet. You’ll see a difference when
the time is right and after the ceremony. I need you all to trust me, trust
those who have always been there for you. We will all participate in this. It
is my plan to go through this with Marco and Alexis. Stephen and Stella you’ll
be with Mave.

“Mave!
How is she involved with this?” Stella asked while moving in closer. She now
wondered just how much she didn’t understand.

“Mave
is like me. We have been assigned to you,” Canson said, offering no further
explanation. 

Instead,
Canson continued with his original thought. “Some details are still being
worked out and I’m glad to say that isn’t my area, but until then, keep
searching for the truth of what is going on.”

“Wait,
Mr. Pritchard. Maybe you can help us with something,” Stephen said.

“What?”
Canson asked curiously.

“We
have some files we can’t open. It’s really important because it has to do with
some work we are doing here and stuff happening in other places and we…”

Mr.
Pritchard cut Stephen off. “I can’t help you with that. I believe between you,
Marco, and Alexis you have all the skills you need to get what you need. Besides,
as a full adult the consequences are much worse. You’ve got a few years before
you turn twenty-one.”

“Can
I ask you something?” Stella asked Mr. Pritchard.

“Sure.”

“How
did you get involved? What part do you play?” she asked him.

Canson
looked at Stella and Stephen. They were so innocent and on the ARC they had
lived much more sheltered lives than the others. He wondered if they would understand.
 

“I
was chosen as well to serve as a guide and help things line up. I’m called a
Keeper. There are things happening beyond what we can see with our eyes or hear
with our ears or feel on our skin. I am a part of that, walking sometimes on a
fine line between there and here.”

“Are
you a Connected?” Marco asked.

Canson
hesitated for a moment before answering. “Yes, Marco. I am.” 

“This
is unreal. I’ve heard about Connecteds but I’ve never met one,” Alexis said
with a sound of wonder in her voice.

“Wait…how
do we know you aren’t just saying crap and messing with us or that this isn’t
some kind of class experiment to see how a group of kids react in a strange
social situation?” Marco’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t very trusting after what
happened to his father.

“It’s
not a social experiment and it’s not for class. This is real. What you do will
impact society but at the same time you will learn from it,” Canson answered
trying not to feel offended by Marco’s accusation.

“Wait.
Back up. You said ‘we’. Who is ‘we’? Are there more Keepers?” Alexis’s voice
broke in again.

“I
did say ‘we’. ‘We’ is hard to explain but there are more Keepers. You know Mave
already, Stephen and Stella. You will meet the others, in time. I’m sorry if
I’m leaving you confused. I sense there are many more questions and they will
be answered but there is a process for understanding,” Canson said. He offered
nothing else as they waited. 

“Darn
right we have more questions, Mr. Pritchard,” Alexis said hoping he heard her
clearly. “And if we are so involved, we deserve answers,” she argued.

“In
time. You’ll get answers in time.”

Canson
had ripped the lid off the box and there was no putting it back on. He hoped it
wasn’t too soon for them to be getting this hurried intro. He hoped they’d
trust him and what they were already feeling enough to follow along.

“And
keep working on that file. I believe it’s important too,” Canson encouraged
them before returning his attention to Alexis. “About what you said before
Alexis - I am sure you have met other Connecteds. We are all Connecteds. Stella
and Stephen, Mave is assigned to you two as well as Ren. I’m assigned to Alexis
and Marco with a connection to Stephen to connect those dots. The two who are
in Southern Liberty have another Keeper.”

“How
are we all Connecteds? I’ve never heard of anything like that?” Alexis
questioned further.

“Just
because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I need to go but I
will be in touch. Stephen and Marco,  I’ll see you both in class next week. The
room is yours. Oh, you cannot speak of this to anyone who does not first speak
of it to you. Good night.” Canson was gone. 

The
group was silent for a moment. “I call B.S.!” Marco said forcefully. “What do
you think his game is?” he added.