Imaginative Future 3

Chapter 30 -Full lockdown

The world was fracturing. Screens flickered with chaotic news reports: a state of emergency, a national lockdown. The imagery was relentless—overcrowded train stations, empty airports, and long lines snaking around gas pumps. Fear was a palpable force, amplified by the sight of masked faces, their eyes wide with anxiety.

Charmaine, her own mask a stifling barrier, found herself trapped in the heart of this chaos. The central train station was a sea of frustrated humanity, announcements garbled and useless. She managed to send a message to Ryan, a brief plea for information, but the comms were as unreliable as the trains. The faces around her—a mother struggling with her children, an elderly man coughing—were a stark reminder of the human cost of this crisis.

Back at the Imaginative Future agency, Valerie was a whirlwind of anxiety. The news reports were a constant barrage of horrors, and the silence from Jiaxing was deafening. She replayed his last transmission, the static a cruel reminder of his isolation. A quick flash of a shared laugh, a moment of warmth, momentarily cut through the tension.

The focus shifted to the hospitals, where Anna and Dr. Lin were facing a tidal wave of suffering. Exhausted doctors, overflowing wards—the visuals were stark and unforgiving. Charmaine's voice cut through the despair, a plea for makeshift schools, a desperate attempt to salvage some semblance of normalcy. The team scrambled to find solutions, their efforts a fragile bulwark against the rising tide of chaos.

Valerie's anxiety reached a breaking point. She couldn't focus, couldn't think. Memories of Jiaxing flooded her mind: a quiet moment of comfort, a shared look of determination, a rooftop conversation filled with unspoken connection. Then, the sharpest of them all: Jiaxing standing between her and bullies, his wit a shield, his kindness a lifeline. The library, filled with shared laughter and intellectual curiosity. And finally, the rooftop, the promise—"I'll always be here."

**Here's the new flashback:**

* **Flashback: School Days - Jiaxing's Bullying and Valerie's Support**
    * *A young Jiaxing, perhaps during their early secondary school years, is sitting alone on a bench, looking dejected. A group of older students are taunting him, mocking his intelligence and his quiet nature. They push him slightly, and he looks down, his face flushed with humiliation. Valerie, who had been observing from a distance, approaches the group with a determined expression. She doesn't hesitate; she confronts the bullies, using her sharp wit and a surprising display of assertiveness to send them scattering. She then sits beside Jiaxing, offering him a kind smile and a comforting word. She pulls out a book, and they start to talk about the contents. You can see Jiaxing’s mood start to lift. This is the moment Jiaxing knew, that he was not alone.*

Her composure shattered. She sobbed, the weight of her fear and helplessness overwhelming. Silva offered a gentle reminder of Jiaxing's strength, of the need to push forward. Jane, surprisingly, offered a moment of understanding, her construct form flickering with a hint of empathy. Aloysius, ever the source of comfort, knelt beside her, a steadying presence.

Then, Kaelen arrived, a ghost from their past. The tension was thick, Jade's regret a tangible thing. Valerie, desperate for answers, interrogated him, demanding to know what OmniCorp had done to Jiaxing. Kaelen, in turn, revealed pieces of a puzzle, details of OmniCorp's plans, the risks that Jiaxing faced. The team, faced with a difficult choice, debated whether to trust him.

A faint signal, a flicker of hope, cut through the darkness. Jiaxing was alive. Valerie, her eyes filled with renewed determination, vowed to find him. Dr. Andrew, working alongside Jane, presented data, a thread of scientific hope. Visuals of empty streets and checkpoints underscored the reality of their situation.

Finally, Kaelen revealed a hidden facility, a new threat, a cliffhanger that left the team—and the audience—on the edge of their seats. The fight was far from over, and the clock was ticking.