Chapter 1 Draft

Chapter 1

Emma was reading - like she always did. In the vast library that was in the mansion she lived in, she had read almost all of the book there. Being mute, she didn’t have very many friends but she made friends with the animals and characters in the stories she read. Out of the hundreds of books she had read, there was one favorite; Alice in Wonderland. It was an old story, several hundred years old, but Emma loved it anyway. She wished she could go on a fantasy adventure like that but knew that would never happen. She stood up and went to a bookshelf to find another book but was distracted from her search by voices. She sensed it was an argument. Emma quietly stepped down the ladder and walked to the door and pressed her ear to it to listen in.

“General, you must understand our circumstances.” A man said to her father.

“I understand clearly. But I will not allow you to touch my daughter.”

“You have no choice. She will be well taken care of.”

“She isn’t a soldier. She will be fine here.”

“I am afraid I cannot make that risk. One week.”

“I will not allow you! I will talk to the President himself if it comes to it!”

“If you do - I am afraid you will get the same answer.”

"I'll at least try. I fully support this project but I refuse for my daughter to be effected."

"Have it your way. But we will end up having every one non-government at one point. Good day."

Emma heard footsteps and a slamming door. She opened the door and went to her father. As she couldn’t speak she looked up at her father with a worried look. He hugged her.

“It will be okay. I won’t let them take you.” he promised and she nodded in return.

“I know we will be.” she thought to herself.

Her father patted her back and told her to go back into the library as he had to leave for the base. She walked back in and went back to her search for a book. She eyed a large book at the top of a shelf and pulled the ladder to reach it. She stepped up and grabbed it - it pulled the top down and she heard gears shift. Down below her a cabinet opened, one that had always been locked. Out of curiosity she went down the ladder and looked inside the cabinet. There were several folders with military names. She grabbed one and opened it - much of the contents involved codes and symbols she barely understood but there was a single page of real English. The page was entitled Project Sky and it read;

November 13th, 3205

Subjects 203 and 405 responded well to Gas-Form Serum Draft #3. Will be testing on 13 and 48 until proven reliable.

November 20th, 3205

Subjects 13 and 48 have proven our theories of chip buffer for Serum Draft #4. One beta testing left till release to public.

November 26th, 3205

Beta Test #27 is successful and the serum is being manufactured. Release date to public: December 1st, 3205

END OF DOCUMENTED RECORD #002994

Emma placed the paper back into the folder. The entries were written recently because December 1st was in exactly one week. She remembered what the man had said to her father - one week. She shivered as she put the folder back into the cabinet and closed the cabinet - it self-locked. What was this memory serum and who were the “subjects”?

The library intercom came on and announced there was a visitor. She stood up and went out of the library and to the front door. It was one of her father’s co-workers - the lieutenant.

“Morning, Emma. Is your father home?” the kind lieutenant asked.

She shook her head and pointed out the door trying to tell him that her father was out.

“Ah…okay. Tell him I stopped by and need to speak to him as soon as he is available.”

She nodded and smiled as he walked off and she closed the door behind him.

Emma, instead of returning to the library, went up to her room. She sat on her bed in silence for a while, thinking about everything she had heard and read - she was also curious of what the lieutenant wanted to speak to her father about. About an hour later she heard her father open the door. He called for her and she went downstairs.

“Dinner, Em.” her said father and held up a bag of sandwiches - she felt grief radiating from him.

“I love you dad. It will be okay.” she thought, wishing to herself that one day he could hear her voice.

They sat down at the kitchen table and ate in silence. He ever so often made comments of the future but she knew whatever was going to happen in a week would cancel those plans. After dinner, the maid came and cleaned up their dishes. Emma remembered the about the lieutenant and quickly wrote a message to her father that he had visited. He thanked her and called the lieutenant to come by. Her father and the lieutenant talked for long time - Emma was sent up to bed as the night drew late. Though terrified and worried of what lay ahead - Emma fell asleep quickly.

She dreamed the same dream as normal - she switched roles with Alice in Alice in Wonderland. The story was as the book, almost exactly as the book. Emma loved this dream because she could actually speak - though it might not be her own voice, she hoped it was. In the middle, the dreamed shifted to what seemed like a reality. She could not speak but her clothes had changed and she felt a burning sensation at her leg. She looked down and saw it was bleeding - her vision was fuzzy from the blood lose.

“She will be fine.” a girl said.

“I know, but I am just worried. That is a lot of blood.” another voice said that sounded like a boy.

Her dream shifted back to Alice in Wonderland - still confused from the strange small dream. The dream ended as normal with her waking up in a tree. Then everything faded to black and she opened her eyes to a sunny room in the real world.

Emma stepped out of her bed and went over to her curtains and slid them open. The sun washed into the dark room. She smiled noticing small snowflakes falling outside. She looked down at her desk and saw a note from her father - he was out for the day for business.

She walked downstairs and smelt breakfast - the maid had made it perfect.

“Morning.” she said and smiled at Emma.

Emma smiled back and looked at the food hungrily.

“Go ahead, sweet heart.”

Emma held no restraint and grabbed a plate and filled it to the rim with pancakes, bacon and eggs, also grabbing a cup of coffee and a biscuit. She sat down at the table and turned on the TV to the news. It was normal as ever - a few arrests for shop-lifting, a house on fire and such. As she finished up her breakfast, and the news changed to an alert - her father came into view. What? she thought and turned the volume up to listen.

“We have reason to believe a Code Red infection has been released and we caution you all to stay indoors as much as possible until this infection has been contained. Thank you.”

“Thank you, General. Please take note of his word folks.” The reporter said and the news changed back to normal.

She turned the TV off and became to theorize of what this infection actually was. She assumed it was a cover for the serum stuff that was going to be released. But she didn’t quite understand how it made sense to keep everyone inside - unless they planned to use air systems, which could be problematic. She decided to go back to the library and do research on air systems and how they could convey gas that was heavier matter than air.

Emma didn’t find much about that in the many books in the library - apparently that wasn’t a thriller. Since her father wasn’t going to be back for a while she decided to open up the cabinet again. She looked through the other files - seeing a new folder she pulled it out and opened it. It revealed a very recent update to the document she had read the day before. The document was much shorter, only containing one entry:

November 29th, 3205

Serum date of release has been updated to November 29th at 15:30. Subject 27 has offered to turn on air machine in case of malfunction.

Update when Serum is released.

Emma was now terrified as this entry was dated today. Someone had put this folder in this cabinet today and the serum was going to be released today. Terrified she quickly replaced the folder where it had been as she saw someone walking outside. She closed the cabinet just as there was a knock at the door. She walked out of the library and opened the door. It was a man that she had never seen before.

“Hello there, young lady. Is your father around?” The man said with a familiar voice - it was the man that was speaking to her father the day before.

She shook her head and used sign language to say he was out for the day - she hoped he knew sign language.

“I see. Thank you anyway.” he said and walked away toward his car - she heard him whisper something but couldn’t make it out.

Emma shuddered - the man had had a very strange essence around him. She quickly closed and locked the doors.

She turned from the door and walked back to the library. However, as she walked in she began to smell a strange scent. She looked up and saw blue gas pouring from the ventilation in the library. She knew exactly what the gas was. She quickly ran back to the door in an attempt to open it but it was automatically locked. Whatever was going to happen was out of her control now, she could only wait and hope for the best. There was no escape.

Did you enjoy this chapter? Please leave comments, suggestions, edits and friendly criticism!