Uncovered (Book one in the Last Resort Series)

Part One: The Change - ELI

SIRENS ECHOED THROUGH the city. Sixteen-year-old Eli raced down the street towards a building. He climbed up the stone staircase towards the glass doors. The doors slid open as Eli rushed towards them. He had to reach the bottom floor in time. He was the last one.

Eli clenched his fingers around a small transparent screen in the palm of his hand. A message was opened on the screen. Eli had no time to close the message. He heard a computerized voice repeat the message in his ears, "It happened."

He raced through the building, passing statues of familiar faces. He knew almost every one of their names. He had no time to spare.

Eli raced towards a door in the back of the room. He held the screen in his hand up to a scanner next to the door. His heart pound in his chest. He heard the sirens growing louder outside the building. They were getting closer.

The door at the back of the building opened. Eli ran through the doors, as they cracked open. He no time to wait for the doors to finish opening. He had to get to safety.

Eli ran down a narrow hallway as the doors opened behind him. He reached a couple of steps in the hallway. He jumped over the steps. He landed on his feet on the bottom steps. He reached another door at the bottom of the steps.

This door stayed closed. Eli looked up at a camera above the door. The camera was a small hole, the size of the point of a pen. The camera scanned Eli's face.

He tapped his hands nervously on his jeans. He needed the door to open for him. He kept his head still as the camera finished scanning him.

The door began to open. Eli pushed the door open. He stood on the other side of the steps. He looked down at a spiral staircase that went down several stories into the ground.

Eli heard the sirens blaring through the building. He looked at the screen in his hand. The times read seven forty-three. He had four minutes left. He ran down the spiral staircase. He rushed down the steps like his life depended on it.

He reached the bottom of the steps as the time on the screen showed seven forty-four. He approached a door at the bottom of the steps. Eli touched his hand onto the door handle. He pulled the door open.

Eli rushed into the room. He looked around the room to see, a chamber of pods. He took a step towards a pod that was left empty. He knew that the pod was his to use. He reached his hand up to the pod.

The pod opened like a puzzle, sliding around to fit in itself. Eli took a step towards the pod. He placed his hands along the sides of the pod. He leaned his head back into the dent in the pod.

Eli felt a slight sting in the back of his neck. He glanced around the pods in the room. He knew the faces of each person in the pods. Some wore the same faces as the statues upstairs. He saw a few friends among the faces, in the pods. He wondered if any of them knew what was happening.

He leaned his head further back into the pod. He kept his eyes fixed on the girl in the pod next to him. He realized how peaceful she looked like she was asleep. He wondered if he would look that peaceful.

Eli watched the pod door begin to swirl close in front of him. He felt the restraints tighten around his hands. He knew the restraint was a part of the process.

He felt himself beginning to drift off. Eli closed his eyes. He wanted to fall asleep. He wanted to pretend that what was about to happen, never did.

The sound of an explosion erupted further down the hallway. Eli kept his eyes close as he felt the building shake. He wondered if the world would survive, what was coming.

He opened his eyes. Eli drifted through a space of darkness. He saw a bright light at the end of the darkened space around him. He reached his hand for the bright light.

The light sparkled across his body. He felt like the light was a new beginning. He pushed himself towards the light. He felt weightless as he drifted towards the light. He wanted to stay like this forever, with no care in the world.

Eli woke up to the world until the one her left. The world was thriving. He saw people smiling every day. There was no fighting, no war, no chaos. He laid on his bed like he did every morning. He looked over at his hand to see the screen in the palm of his hand.

He heard the voice of his best friend coming from the screen, "It's Jewels."

Eli felt happy, "Hey you."

He heard her giggle as her face appeared on the screen. She was laying in her bed like she did every morning. She covered her body up in her blanket.

"So," Jewels voice came from the screen in Eli's hand, "What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking," Eli smiled over at her, "Which reminds me."

Jewels stood up in her bed, "Oh-kay."

Eli asked her, "Are we still on for that movie tonight?"

"Yeah," She giggled, "but I should probably stay home and study."

Eli sighed, "Maybe tomorrow?"

He knew that Jewels preferred staying home. She was the types of girl who stayed home every night, studying for the next test. Eli could try a hundred times to get her to ignore her studies, but she never would. He heard her let out a sigh. He thought it was strange she would contemplate such a thing.

"Fine," she told him, "I'll meet you at the theater."

Eli knew that she was a part of the simulation. The real Jewels was much harder to convince. He was feeding the perfect world that he always wanted. One were his best friend picked him first and her grades second. He wanted real life to be that perfect, but he knew that was a fantasy. The world he knew, was long gone.

He watched the movie with Jewels. They sat in the middle of the back row. They shared a bag of popcorn. He smelt the popcorn that lingered through the air.

Eli knew that the perfect life he was in, could last forever. He wanted it too. The simulation changed from one day to another. He felt like this fantasy was real. He went to sleep every night and woke up every morning.

There was something to do every day, even when it was raining. Eli began to forget about what happened before he laid in the pod. He was distracted by his perfect world. The one where his best friend was still alive. His parents greeted him each day, unlike in reality, where his parents were separated. He let the computer fill his mind with a life that never was.

Some days were the same, and others were different. Eli felt like he was missing something. Then the glitches began. He lived longer than the simulation was prepared for. The perfect days began to blend together. His perfect life was beginning to fall apart. He began to remember what happened before the pod took control of his mind.