Enslaved (ON HOLD INDEFINITELY)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"The whole base is gone. I think they fled." Dustin's grim voice echoed from the front of the plane where a hologram of the president stood, face hard and expressionless.

There was a second's pause before he let out a frustrated sigh and sat himself down on a virtual chair. Many a time, I've seen the president on TV, but never in person. This is as close as I could get.

Liyana was seated across the aisle in the business seat where she had a tablet in her hands. I could see by the translucent screen that she was doing anything but playing Angry Birds on it. Seeing as I am the only one left doing nothing, I sat back into the thick cushioned seat, and looked out the window at the endless expanse of ocean.

It was morning and the sun was shinning down, making the Pacific Ocean glitter like encrusted diamonds. Then, redundant as it was, I realized I've kept myself hidden a way away from the beam of sunlight that filtered through the cabin window.

Feeling rather stupid, I extended my hands, real slow, across the threshold. I wasn't lying when I say I am scared, that my hand will combust and burn me into a blackened corpse but that's just dumb.

Here goes nothing.

Taking a deep breath, I lunged at the open space, placing my right arm under the sunlight, bathing it in gold light rays. Ridiculous as it is, I bit my own tongue trying not to yelp for nothing and realised soon I didn't need to. My arm was perfectly fine.

I looked at it as if I've never seen it before-- a prized specimen.

At first, it felt normal, warm, but normal, then, it started to get hot, a bearable kind of hot but it was still normal. Finally, I had to pull it back as it started to turn red, and it felt as if I have dipped my hand in a pool of hot water. I let out a string of curse words, wadding it off, and soon, it healed but not without leaving it looking bleached. Damn it.

"Seriously?" Dustin said out of nowhere, making me jump. He was standing over me with an amused expression on his face. "I never said it won't burn us. Your'e still young," He continued, with an chiding smile.

I hid my arm, feeling kind of stupid, but kept my voice steady as I spoke. "What do you want?"

This time, the smile faded. "The president wants to see you, come on?" 

He moved and motioned me to follow.

Without much of a choice, I nodded and trailed behind through the cramp cabin towards the front seat. Dustin motioned to the extra seat beside him and I reluctantly sat my butt down. There, the hologram of the president, looked at me with nothing more than a cold stare. The projection flickered for a second, and he was already looking away at Dustin.

"So, this is...the one?" he asked Dustin, in which he replied with a nod.

The president sighed, and now, he was looking at me, while massaging his temples. "What's your name, bud?" he asked, eyes half closed but was still measuring me up no doubt.

"Michael...Sir. Its Michael." I stuttered, adding the sir at the back as a last second thought.

The acknowledgement  surprised him, and this time, a tired smile spread across his face. "Long week for you, huh?" he asked.

"Yes...sir. Very."

There was just this silent void of time, when he just looked at me, with those firm expression of his, like he could x-ray me if he wanted to. At last, he crossed his arms and kept his gaze, "I am sorry if this is sort of uncomfortable for you Michael, but I want you to tell me everything you know."