The Chosen Dawnseeker

Chapter 12

Hannah and the group emerged from it and faceplanted. They landed on metal floors with the sound of electricity crackling around them. Hannah looked up and noticed they were in some kind of lab, the kind you'd see in sci-fi movies. It was a futuristic facility with holographic displays and sleek metal surfaces. Hannah recognized it, remembering it. It was the lab where she was sent into Etherea. Hannah scrambled to her feet and looked around. She saw a door, and walked over and opened it. Dead soldiers with guns laid there, their dead bodies limp on the ground. The room was lined up on the walls with high tech computers and monitors, with images of a brain scan, along with photos of x-rays all of the different people from the village, such as Aria and Rylan and Ethan and Kieran and even Hannah, and there were photos and videos of the jungle.
In the center of the room was a table, with a huge holograph of planet earth projected above it. Hannah ran her hand along the holograph and a projection came up, asking for a hand print. Hannah put hers on the holograph and it turned green. But another one was needed. It was a smaller handprint, so it belonged to Thalia, Lena, Aria, Kieran or Evelyn. Hannah tried to remember who it belonged to and her mind just went to Lena. Hannah looked to the others. "Lena? I think this might be yours" Hannah said. Lena looked confused. "Mine? W-why would it be mine?" Lena asked. Hannah shrugged. "Just try it" She suggested. Lena stepped forward and pressed her hand on the handprint and it turned green. Looks like it was hers. In the holograph's replacement was a video feed. Hannah clicked play. On the video, was a middle-aged male with a gruffly beard and a calculating gaze, dressed in a sharp suit adorned with intricate symbols and patterns, the ones that were usually found in the jungle. Next to him was another middle-aged man with a sharp gaze and a calculating smile, always dressed in impeccably tailored suits, except this one had a grey beard and he had a gun in hand.

"Hello. My name is Director Malachi. As the name suggests, I am the director of operations at the Enigma Agency. I didn't have a hand in picking the name or else it would've been different. Next to me is Assistant Director Calvin. He chose to have his first name instead of his last name, but oh well. If you're seeing this video, then congrats. You completed the chosen Dawnseeker test. You fought, risked your lives and proven that what we were looking for was worth it. When you leave this place you're in right now, known as the Genesis Hall, you will discover the real world and you will see that there is a problem with the world. 3 years ago, a supernatural phenomenon occurred. The moon went up and stayed up. It never went back down, plunging the world into eternal darkness. Because of this, the world turned upside down. An illness emerged. A virus, that attacks the brain and the nervous system. It sounds silly, but it turns people into werewolves of sorts. It's called The Eclipsed Plague. We did what we did to you because we learned that people were immune. Only certain ones were so there was no way to know for sure, but with this experiment, there was a possible way to tell the difference. Which is what most of you were sent into the jungle for. People, particularly young, would be put in harsh situations, even dangerous violent ones, so they can be studied. Immunes act differently than most humans do, so if we could tell the difference, then we could maybe.....just maybe we could find a cure. You are very important, all of you. You could save all of humanity. Well whatever is left of it, that is.

Hannah. I'm so so so sorry. You were never meant to be caught up in this, you were supposed to be kept safe. If you survived the jungle, that means you're very very special. You are the Chosen Dawnseeker, and you are immune as well. The horrors you will face are unlike anything you could imagine. But I know you'll fight through it. Be careful, Hannah. Trust the Enigma. And remember, the jungle was only the beginning"

The video message shut off and Hannah was left staring. How did that man know her? And what was this Eclipsed Plague? Questions filled Hannah's head but she was interrupted when Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder. "You alright?" He asked. Hannah nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm ok" She said before removing her head from his shoulder. A metal door opened next to them and the group turned to look at it.
"Is it done?" Kieran asked.
"I'm assuming not. He said we were important" Rylan said.
"Well where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do?" Aria asked. The entire group looked at Hannah.
"If you think I know, then you're out of your minds. But we'll figure it out. Let's get the fuck out of here, huh?" Hannah said. Then she heard the sound of a gun cocking. Hannah turned around and saw that it was Thalia, holding Evelyn and pointing a gun at her head. It was evident that Thalia had been slashed by a baneclaw during their escape and had picked up a gun from one of the dead soldiers.
"Holy shit, Thalia! Put the gun down, let her go" Hannah shouted, thinking of pulling out her dagger.
"I can't. This is the only way I can save us. If I kill all of us. The world out there, it's not safe. We can't get out of here" Thalia said.
"Yes, we can. We'll be fine, I promise" Evelyn begged. Eldran saw this and used his powers to bring Evelyn over to the group. Thalia pointed her gun at Hannah.
"Whoa ok just......think for a second. We're out, Thalia. We did it, look. We made it out. We're free now, free from the ones who put us here" Hannah pleaded.
"No. We're not free. We'll die, we will all die. There's no escaping this place" Thalia said, pointing the gun even higher, towards Hannah's face.
"Look, just.....listen to me. We can help you get better, you're not yourself right now. Just.....just put it down. Put down the gun" Hannah begged. Aria tightened her grip on her bow.
"I'm saving us all" Thalia said, sobbing as she pushed down on the trigger, firing the gun.
"Wait-!" Hannah shouted as Evelyn pushed Hannah out of the way and Aria quickly shot Thalia in the chest with an arrow. Thalia grabbed at her chest, and gasped for air but couldn't. Eventually, Thalia just collapsed on the ground, seemingly dead.
"Is everyone ok?" Hannah asked. "Are you ok?" Hannah asked Evelyn, given she was the one who pushed her out of the way.
Evelyn nodded and then shook her head. "No. No, I'm not" Evelyn whimpered, as she revealed a gunshot wound to the left side of her chest, right where the heart is. Evelyn collapsed and Kieran caught her and held her in her arms. "Eve? Eve?!" Kieran shouted, as Evelyn's breathing was faltering. Kieran began to cry. "No no please. Please don't go, I love you" He sobbed. Hannah fell to her knees and felt tears in her eyes too. "Lena! Can't you heal her?" Hannah asked. "Not without any supplies, no" Lena said, her voice breaking as she held back tears. Evelyn pointed to Kieran's necklace. "Find someone. Promise me, you will find someone to give this too. Promise me" Evelyn stammered, looking to Kieran. He nodded. "I promise, I promise" He said.
Evelyn nodded. "Good. Good" She said, before closing her eyes and taking her last breath.
"Eve!!!!" Kieran screamed as he cried into her body. He cradled her, refusing to let go. Hannah walked over to Kieran. "Kieran, we gotta go. We have to go" Hannah said, however had tears rolling down her face. Kieran let go of Evelyn's body and buried his face into Hannah's shirt, crying his eyes out. Hannah placed a hand on his head, hugging him as he did. Alarms blared through the genesis hall, signaling they really had to go. Hannah let go of Kieran and sprinted into and through the open door. Hannah's group, which consisted of Eldran, Aria, Ethan, Lena, Kieran, and Rylan, all followed her. Hannah sprinted until she took a tumble and fell, falling down rocks until she landed on a dirt road. She looked up and saw the moon in the sky. The words echoed through her ears:

"The jungle was only the beginning"