The New Generation

Chapter Six - All Aboard the Happy Train!

Chapter Six- All Aboard the Happy Train!

Lucas pushed the cart filled with books, bandages, prescription drugs, and the occasional sweet that he was able to get his hands on. Stumbling as he pushed the cart, he let out a yawn and wiped his eyes. Lucas tried to remember the last time he had slept. Three? Maybe four days? His powers had been really throwing him off lately. For days he had been finding himself in the heads of others, learning all about their lives in seconds without making the physical contact like he normally does. And he never liked what he saw. Why can't people choose good memories to hold onto? Lucas looked down at the cart full of medicine and and sweets to hand out to people who were subjected to human testing for all or most of their lives. Oh yeah. That's why.

Lucas felt the dull throb of his ever present headache flare up. It was always the type of headache that left him sobbing or vomiting at night, and wondering how he was still alive. He reached into his baggy sweatpants, and grabbed a small bottle of antidepressants. He was well aware that he had only six pills left. Sighing, he tipped the bottle into his mouth, and dry swallowed exactly half of them.

"All aboard the train to Happy Town. Population: one," he mumbled to himself as he pushed the cart. The drugs helped to keep Lucas numb. He wasn't sure why, but whenever he took them, they seemed to make the voices a little quieter. He was beginning to think they dulled his emotions and empathy, so that he didn't have to care so much about everyone around him.

Lucas ambled along the halls giving the goods to the patients, and making small talk with them. Tia and Kory had been trying to reach out to Lucas in the past few days, but he couldn't deal with them. Everyone was in his head, and the last thing he wanted to hear was Kory going on about how Tia's ass is able to break boulders, or the latest gossip Tia was able to get out of the guards.

With Ray and Allie nearly dead, Lucas isn't sure if they should continue on with their plan of resistance.

Once Lucas had nothing left on his cart to pass around he made his way down the hall towards the elevator passing crowds of patients and new recruits who looked as if they were forced to watch their grandmother drink acid. Maybe they were, but right then, Lucas couldn't care less. Those tiny, yellow pills he consumed were kicking in, creating a delicious fog of ignorance and peace. Perhaps those pills were his only true friends. He almost laughed at the thought.

He was tired, so tired. Things were quiet. Or at least he couldn't hear anyone in his head right now. One or two Monitors usually escorted the patients to and from their cells, but as of late there were a lot more Monitors and they all seemed to be armed with assault rifles. Lucas normally never saw them walking with a weapon. Their super strength tended to be enough of a deterrent for the patients. Lucas bumped shoulders with a few patients, and was relieved when no rush of emotions or memories came into him.

He made his way to the elevators. All the patients were getting off, so there was a tiny crowd huddled around the door. Once the crowd of people had emptied out, he walked into the elevator car. He reached for the button for floor two but stopped himself. He didn't want to be around people right now. He clicked a random number for one of the higher floors. Floor twelve. Lucas wasn't sure if he had even been to a level higher than floor eight in months, but he knew no one would be there. There was only some old archives and a library of uninteresting textbooks that the scientists barely ever used.

Lucas physically felt the growing distance between himself and any other person in the facility as the elevator rose higher and higher. It was like finally removing oneself from a loud, crowded, hot room. His body was finally able to relax. His mind felt lighter. His hearing was normal as the hum of and chatter of people's thoughts dissipated. He vaguely heard the thoughts of a young woman. He registered that she was angry, before she disappeared from Lucas's radar.