Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Without any sort of direction in life, Aris occupied most of his time by playing video games. The ease of life made him lethargic and complacent. The only success he strived for was in virtual reality, perhaps because it was much more exciting than his actual life.

In the middle of his game, Aris was interrupted by an incoming message. He removed his video glasses and had the message read to him.

“Meet us at 49°15'N, 123°6'W,” the automated voice said.

Each attempt to reply to the message had failed. He figured the message was either using a trace scrambler, or it was on outdated technology that could only send messages one way.

“Meet us,” he said aloud, re-reading the message. “Who’s ‘us’?”

As far as he knew Mara and Alex were still locked up in prison, and Milo would not refer to himself in the plural form. The idea stirred around in his head as he went to the kitchen to get a beverage. The news site was enabled, providing background noise as he puttered around his apartment.

“Scientists are still baffled at the abrupt outbreak of an illness that has plagued people of all ages. Reports are coming in from all over the world, indicating this is a global pandemic. So far, there have been thousands of reported fatalities with countless others hospitalized and seeking answers. The Leader made an emergency webcast moments ago, advising citizens to remain calm and that the government was doing everything in its power to investigate the causes of the sickness.”

The news piqued Aris’ interest, but not enough for him to devote his full attention. With his head buried in the refrigerator, he began taking out the ingredients to make a sandwich. The news still blared in the background.

“Local authorities are pursuing several leads in the hostile infiltration of the Megalopolis Penitentiary that occurred Tuesday night.”

This was definitely news that captured Aris’ attention. He stopped what he was doing and stood in front of his computer.

“Masked assailants swarmed the prison in the middle of the night, immobilized the prison guardians, and deployed several detonations. Two people are reported missing: 40-year-old Mara Miletus and 18-year-old Alexandra Gray. According to testimony from several inmates, Miletus and Gray are related. Although it has yet to be confirmed, Mara Miletus is believed to be Alexandra Gray’s estranged mother.

“Ms. Gray is no stranger to the public eye as she has become renowned for being the youngest person ever to have graduated from the Facility. The young prodigy and her alleged mother are believed to have orchestrated the breakout. However, authorities have no substantial evidence linking them to the crime.”

Aris was now staring at the two images displayed on the screen; a young beauty and another pretty woman that bared a striking resemblance to Alex. This was the first time he had set eyes on Alex’s mother. Aris now had an idea of who the ‘us’ from the message was referring to. He turned the volume up and leaned in closer.

“This incident marks the first attack on the prison since inception and although none of the guardians sustained any serious injuries, most are pretty shaken up about it.”

Aris instructed his access pod to pull up a satellite image of the coordinates. When the images populated, they revealed a dense forest. What would Alex be doing in the forest? he asked himself. He was of course assuming the message he received was from Alex. There was a possibility that it came from Milo, or anybody else for that matter. Am I being set up here? Is this a wrong number? Maybe they entered the coordinates incorrectly. Aris’ paranoia kicked in as he began to question everything.

He decided to take a chance, put the video game down, and for once experience a real-life adventure.

Aris went into his room and retrieved a black duffle bag from his closet. The bag was filled with some survival gear he had put together in case of an apocalypse-type situation. With all the deaths and the secret meeting in the forest, he figured it was as good a time as any to use it. He slung the bag over his shoulder and left his apartment immediately.