The Disc

Chapter 1

SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

          Emily, Andy, Dean, and Mia sat around the table in the school's courtyard for lunch, just as they had for the past two years. As her friends chatted around her, Emily was too busy thinking about the nightmare she had that night. This wasn't the first time she had a nightmare like this, either. This was the most recent of many that she experienced since she was three. Each time, it's usually the same scenario. She can't move, can't hear or see very well, and it always ends with a doctor like person coming in and giving her some sort of shot, then she wakes up. What could be the cause? Why would she have such specific nightmares? 

          "Hello? Earth to Emily! Are you in there?" Emily was suddenly torn from her thought by Mia's voice. Apparently they were asking her something. 

Emily quickly responded with, "Yeah? What is it? I was listening..."

          "Sure you were. So then, if you were listening, what have we been talking about?" Mia looked at her inquisitively, waiting for her to answer. Emily started trying to think of something that her friends could have been talking about, but her friends are so random that they could be talking about anything!

          Eventually, she responded with, "Alright, you got me. I wasn't paying attention at all... I was thinking about a dream I had last night." Emily had told her friends that she occasionally had nightmares, but never really went into huge detail about them. She thought that it was finally time to tell them about it. "Ever since I was three, I've been having nightmares every so often, as you all know. But I've never really gone into any details, right?" Andy, Mia, and Dean all agreed with her. She was always pretty vague about her dreams, but was especially controlled when talking about her nightmares. She continues to say, "Anyways, each dream  is slightly different, but they all have the same theme to them. I'm always strapped down, and I can't move. Then some doctor walks in and stabs me with a syringe. Then I wake up..."

           After a few seconds of silence, Mia said,"That's really weird. Why do you think that happens?" 

           "Yeah, maybe you're just afraid of doctors..." Andy said with a smirk.

           "No! I'm not afraid of doctors, stupid. It's just a random dream," Emily said, punching him in the arm.

         Dean suddenly spoke up, saying, "You think it means something? I mean, it could have some sort of deeper meaning..." After a few seconds pondering what Dean said, everyone unanimously said, "Nah!" and broke into laughter. As the bell began to ring, the four of them got up and headed off to class. 

SOMEWHERE IN NEVADA

          The operation was almost complete. The doctor was sealing up the incisions and repairing some of the skull structure. However, he realized that he needed to hurry, for the sedation was wearing off. Sarah would start waking up soon. The skin wasn't fully sealed when Sarah awoke, crying in pain. The doctor quickly tried to re-sedate her, but it was too late. The operation had been a failure. This wasn't the first time either. The operation has an extremely high failure rate. If the child wakes up, it feels the pain of the operation and moves around, causing the implant to be dislodged. If this happens, the child dies shortly after the operation. Not only that, but there is an exceedingly low percentage of children that the implant actually bonds with. The doctor turned to his chart, with tears in his eyes, and marked the box next to the name "Sarah Davis" with an 'x'.     

132 ELWOOD DRIVE, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

          Emily had just gotten off the bus and was walking up the driveway to her house. Just before she reached the door, she realized that the mail had come. Scooping it up into her arms, Emily opened the front door and walked inside. "How was school, Honey?" her mom asked from the kitchen.

          "Fine," Emily replied as she set the mail down on the kitchen counter. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a large, orange envelope. She pulled it out from the bottom of the pile and saw that it was labeled to her. It said, "Open only by Emily Stein " across the front in red letters. There was no return label on it, so she had no idea where it was from. Looking over her shoulder, Emily saw her mother working in the kitchen, diligently cleaning dishes. Maybe I can sneak this past her without her noticing. Come on, don't look up, don't look up.

          "Anything in the mail today?" Emily jumped as her mother suddenly spoke up. Frantic, Emily put the slim package under her shirt and headed towards her room. Sweat beaded on her brow as she scooted along the wall to her room. Then she remembered that her mom had asked her a question. "Hello? Emily, are you feeling alright?" 

          "Yes! Yes, I'm fine. Actually, I'm not, I'm feeling sic- I mean tired! I'm going to my room to lie down," Emily sputtered as she ran into a wall on the way to her room. Embarrassed, she dashed into her room and set the disc down on her bed. Immediately, she picked up her phone and texted her friends. Explaining all that has happened over the past few minutes took over an hour. Emily was so busy texting them, that she didn't even hear her mom call her for dinner. She didn't notice the sound of rustling in the bushes outside her window. She didn't even notice the man in the bushes causing them to rustle...

OUTSIDE EMILY'S WINDOW

          "Target confirmed....... Yes, sir, I'm positive...... It's her. I'm prepared to engage................ I understand........ I will wait to confirm that the disc has the correct information............ Yes, sir...... I'll wait.......... Over and out..." The figure then stood, and walked across the street, where a black van waited for him. As he entered the van, he nodded at the driver, and the black vehicle drove off into the distance.