Wherever You Are

Eight: A Different Kind Of Human

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"Fine," I sighed, as I slowly followed Jack out of the elevator and into the kingdom I had looked down upon not any more than a minute ago in confusion. People stared at me like I was an alien, coming straight out of space and into their world abruptly. "What's going on? Why are they looking at me like that? I'm just like them," I whispered to Jack, as he walked beside me closely.

"But you aren't, Charlotte. You aren't like them. These people down here are a different breed, a different kind of humans. They might have blood running through their veins and a heart keeping them alive, but they are still very different," he replied, as I looked around some more at what he meant while we walked along the small town.

Rows of pure glass homes, like I had seen earlier, lined perfectly; something I had not noticed as too strange before, but now was thinking twice about it. Metal daisies and maple trees each in an exact amount in every corner came back into my sight as well, colorless, but still beautiful somehow. The ground, concrete, yet soft like grass as I walked upon it. The so called sky above, merely filled with dozens beyond dozens of shining lights.

"Well aside from their odd surroundings, what makes them different than us?" I asked Jack once more, since I was obviously bewildered.

"They have never seen the light of day," he told, greeting a few people off to the side that seemed to know him, before continuing walking with me.

"You mean they have never seen sunlight? Never been above ground?"

"Exactly. Scientists have been conducting an experiment to see if special bred kind of humans can survive without actual sunlight. You know, if ever something terrible happened to the world up above and this was our only option quickest for survival," Jack said causally, as we arrived at another elevator on the opposite side of the town, the only other way it looked as anyone's way out.

"So these people must be from generations and generations of bred humans in order to not have nearly as much actual human DNA as possible," I noted, looking back once more as people still kept their eyes locked on me before entering into the elevator with Jack and going up.

"Yeah, it was a long process. Multiple scientists have existed whilst trying to achieve their actual goal of knowing whether these kinds of humans would succeed or not," Jack replied, as I watched the world that seemed so strange to me now slowly disappear below as we entered back into concrete surrounding walls.

"Isn't it illegal though? I mean to hold people practically prisoner down here for scientific research they didn't sign up for?"

Laughing a bit at my question, Jack didn't reply, yet instead pushed another button on the elevator that sent us plummeting to the right through an opening in the wall. Without another thought, it then stopped suddenly, nearly throwing me down onto the floor if it wasn't for Jack catching me.

"They've got to fix that, it always stops so harshly," he said to himself, as the elevator door opened abruptly and we both stepped out into a long, completely white hallway.

"You still haven't answered my question," I snapped, not wanting to wait any longer. "Isn't it illegal to hold them all here against their will?"

Sighing, I knew he didn't want to talk about the subject, but he responded anyways. "This is all they know, Charlotte. This is all they have ever known. Sending them out into the real world would be murder. They would die off quicker than disease ridden rats-"

"But what about the government? Do they know that you are doing this?" I butted in, as he turned back forward to continue walking down the hall. Catching up to walk beside him, I waited for his response.

"Yes, they know. They actually have been aiding us financially for nearly a century now upon joining our team. They keep it quiet from the rest of the country, though, for obvious reasons to keep everyone sane. They believe it will benefit us all," Jack said quietly, as we got to the end of the empty hallway and stopped in our place. Digging around in the pocket of his jeans, Jack pulled out a small card that he seemed to be looking for and waved it out in front of him. Waiting patiently as he then stared blankly into the dead end hallway wall before him, I was yet again confused.

"What are you waiting for?" I questioned, right as the wall ahead of us opened up without a doubt and welcomed us into what looked to be someone's home. Following, yet again, Jack led me through the passage, where it closed before us effortlessly like a charm. "Well I guess that answers my question..." I hesitated, as I then opened my eyes fully to view what I had entered into. An apartment fit for a king was presented upon me, as I stood in the formal living quarters of whom seemed to be the richest person in the world.

"I would like to welcome you to my home," Jack told me, opening up his arms and presenting what was before us. Flooring made from the finest wood laid underneath my feet, as beautiful stripped wallpaper lifted the room up to the evenly decorated ceiling with multiple chandeliers hanging about. Couches of white lined before a wide screen T.V., as windows lined the walls all around. To the side, in a different room, a kitchen of glass presented itself.

"Wow...much different than your farm..." I said quietly, absentmindedly walking in more and exploring the rest of the beautiful place. Two guest bedrooms spread down a long hallway adorned off the living room, furnished fully with queen sized beds of white and a bathroom each. Beside the kitchen the dining room awaited, an elegant, long glass table with chairs sat in the center, as windows encased the walls surrounding it. Looking out of each glass panel, I realized the view was nothing like an ordinary window might view, yet completely white.

"That's something I miss about the outside world," Jack butted in, coming over to stand beside me and look at the pure white window as well. "I miss being able to look outside of a window and see beauty. I miss being able to see such ordinary things that no one up above thinks twice about." he said, before leaning over and placing his finger upon the white glass.

"However, anything is better than nothing..." within the second, then, his finger was creating an image that left a mark in its place, almost as if he was drawing on ordinary paper. And with a finishing stroke to complete what he was making, I watched before my eyes as the small tree he drew upon the window came to life. Blooming with greens and browns, an entire scene was created from one simple drawing; the plain, white window then becoming a beautifully real masterpiece.

"What did you just do?" I wondered, as all the other windows in the room then lit up with the same forest scene, moving almost as if we were then looking at the outside world. Wind rustled the trees side to side, as leaves moved amongst the windows as a storm seemed to be coming in.

"Whatever I draw on the window is portrayed in it. And though it might not be real, it helps when I'm missing home," he told, before swiping away the forestry image completely with his hand and bringing back the white, plain windows.

"I've never seen anything like it," I replied, since I was beyond shocked at what great inventions had been shown to me underground. "but how can it help you with home sickness? Trees don't seem to be something that would help me other than to catch a glimpse of what I just haven't seen in a while," I spoke, looking over at him as his finger once more came out to draw upon the white glass. Another image much different than the last, when completed, filled with color and warmth to fill up each window again.

1032 Redlynn Road was what he drew. A place that tears escaped my eyes just thinking of, and a place I had no idea he had been watching over as much as he had...

Our home fifteen years ago.