Saving the World - Awakening

The Seed Planted

Dreams were always a good sign to Eliot.  They meant that he was actually getting a good night's sleep, a rare occasion for him.  Though they were cryptic, he still enjoyed having a release from his normal life into a world where he wasn't bound by parental control and abuse.  Even the nightmares were a welcome change from the nightmare of reality that he had lived in.  At least, that was before the Side Show.

Now, Eliot was falling to his death.  His childhood had taught him to be brave, to not feel fear. As it was, he basically slept with spiders for all his life.  But his fear of dying was something he couldn't shake, every instinct inside of him telling him to panic.  As he plummeted to the earth from wherever he was, he screamed.

All around images were rushing by, distorted and difficult to make out.  He could only catch glimpses of what was passing by him, such as B's bloodied face and Samantha's captivating eyes.  Then, things started growing unfamiliar, with strange, exotic beasts and jungle surroundings.  As soon as he tried to understand them, they would be swept away, only to be replaced by another.  Old memories on the streets as a child melded with memories of hunting, training with the spear and survival.

He never seemed to stop falling, but never seemed to get anywhere.  He couldn't relax.  His body was tensed up, unable to do anything but scream and wish for it all to stop.  Helpless to the whims of his imagination, he fell for what seemed an eternity. Finally an end seemed to be near. Unfortunately, that end was the ground below, and he rushed downwards with an even greater panic.

Eliot didn't hit the ground, though.  He passed right through it and gasped awake, the panic still seizing his body.

He fell off his bed and hit his face on the ground - the real ground, that is.  Had anyone been watching it would have been funny, but really it just hurt a lot.  He put his hand up to nose and felt a warm trickle run down his fingers.  His eyes teared up and he fumbled around the room blinded.  He could feel the blood dripping down on the floor.  Blinking the tears out of his eyes, he struggled to his feet, still shaking from his dream.

He looked around the room desperately for something to stop the bleeding.  A tissue, a paper towel- anything.  He was used to bleeding, he bled almost every day of his life, but if he let himself bleed then there would obviously be problems.  His new luxury room was becoming a hassle.

Staggering to his bathroom, Eliot leaned on the wall for support.  He walked over to it, growing stronger on his feet each second.  There was a box of tissues on the counter.  He grabbed a tissue and stuffed it up his nostrils, preventing them from bleeding out.    He grabbed the box and exited the bathroom, remembering his unconscious friend. 

After fumbling with the door handle, he entered Samantha's room.  She was still on the bed, looking pale and cold.  Her weak breaths were the only thing that indicated that she was alive.  Unable to do anything to help, Eliot pulled up the chair next to her bed and dabbed at his nose, hoping his presence would help her.  He didn't know what she did last night, but it had taken its toll on her.

He took that time to reflect on the previous night's occurrences.  Samantha had not only invaded his mind but had invaded an entire conversation.  This was something he had never seen before, and he had seen a lot of messed up things in his life.  He had not idea what to do with this information. Samantha was his guide, and now she was seemingly unreachable.  Something inside told him to wait, but wait for what?

* * *

Eliot had dozed off in the chair, waiting for Samantha to wake.  She hadn't stirred at all, and he was growing concerned.  B could blame him for this, obviously not good for his first days here. Also, Samantha intrigued him.  She seemed like someone he could get along with, someone who knew what it was like to fight for survival.

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Samantha, is everything okay in there?!" B shouted from the other side of the door.

Eliot leaped out of the chair ran to the door, opening it swiftly.

"She isn't waking up."  He said, acting concerned.

B stepped forward into the room.  The room was still the same dim jungle as before, the lighting never seeming to change.   His eyes widened when he saw Samantha's pale, emotionless face.

"What happened here?" B asked evenly.

Eliot hesitated before answering. "Nothing, she told me that she had something to show me and then took me on some kind of a mind trip.  I didn't know what to do.  When it was over, she was asleep, so I figured that she was just tired from it."

B looked at Eliot for a few seconds.  It took all he had to hold back a smile.  The serum was working, and he could continue with his plans for the two. Still, he needed to go through the motions with Eliot, training him and preparing him to be a real agent.

"Eliot, go back to your room and get ready for a day of training.  We are going to test you today, and we need you to be ready.  We will be able to take care of her." B said calmly.

Eliot hesitated again.  He considered staying to help, but could he even help her?  He had no expertise in science or really any way to help her, so what would staying accomplish? Samantha might be the only one who he could trust, but had only just met her.  B's plans for him involved these tests, and if he passed them then he could run into something interesting.

"You will only get in the way here, getting your tests done is the best way you can help her." B said frankly.

Eliot looked at B and knew he was right.  He turned to the door and looked back one more time at Samantha.  He made a mental promise to her: He would find out what the two of them were doing there, and he would wait for her as long as she took, just like she did for him.

He went back to his room and cleaned up.  Something inside him had changed since he arrived. Every instinct he had to steal, cheat, or kill was all conflicting with whatever it was that was messing up his thoughts.  Samantha had done something to him in her mind trip. 

After getting properly dressed for the day, he stood in front of his door, contemplating the previous night's occurrences.  He focused his mind on his tasks. This feeling that conflicted with his instincts needed to leave him, else he would end up failing the tests.  Or worse, he could die trying.