The Door to Tomorrow

Conference

I periodically glanced at the watercolor painting across the room while the others took turns speaking. First, Trevor and Shiloh shared their frightening experiences with us. They weren't kidnapped at the same place, but they were both taken the same night...back in March.

Trevor had snuck out of his house late one night in an attempt to attend a house party that Shiloh invited him to. He tried to make it to the next town, but he was pulled into an ominous alley by a group of masked strangers. They held Trevor at gunpoint before pistol whipping him.

They stood there waiting for him as if they knew he was going to pass by. Someone had likely predicted the future and made a detailed plan just to catch him. The possibility of EverStar purposely hiring people with foresight for reasons like that upset me immensely.

Shiloh told us that she simply walked outside to wait for her boyfriend to arrive when someone jumped out from behind the trees and put a rag up to her face, just like they did to me.

The next time they saw each other, they were in a quiet, dark room. Both of them had woken up at the same time and whispered amongst each other. Shiloh sat up and observed the area around them. She was staggered by the sight of dozens of other unconscious children lying around. They saw rows and rows of helpless kids, and Trevor tried to wake some of them up. He was caught doing so by a guard, and he and Shiloh were tranquilized immediately.

Shockingly, the pair actually woke up a second time, then a third. They woke up in the Facility both times. Shiloh was careful not to make any sudden movements as she felt her body being moved along in a gurney. She heard people around her talking, but she refused to tell us what they said. She also teased us by saying she heard the boss talking. Of course, she didn't disclose much of what he said, either. That worried me for some reason. What worried me even more was how she said we were all in a room asleep on those stretchers for god knows how long.

Trevor woke up on a gurney as well. He wasn't awake for as long as Shiloh was, but he heard something strange. He said that the boss was still in there when he regained some consciousness. Apparently, Mr. Peterson started crying all of a sudden. Shiloh confirmed this and said someone had to escort him out of the room. That fact was mysterious, for sure.

"It was probably the guilt catching up with him. Just look at this mess he's made," Trevor avowed.

Shiloh then mentioned she..."felt" something happening. She talked about energies, and how there were waves of it being formed into patterns in that room. The patterns had a target, but she didn't know who. She used the term "etheric background", which every single one of us was unfamiliar with. I mean, Trevor gave her a really weird look, but he didn't give her a hard time about it. Whatever this was, it wasn't happening to her or Trevor, though.

Not long after that, she started double taking at Robin. He asked her what was wrong, and she said he seemed "different". Like, he stood out somehow. This part of the conversation fizzled out rather quickly, though. It ended with confused looks all across the table.

Anyway, the third time Trevor and Shiloh woke up was back in the computer lab. They both witnessed some workers placing our bodies strategically around the room.

Next up were Robin and Marina. They explained how they were brought to Soma to meet their parents.

Morgan's words resounded in my head — "And kids aren't really allowed".

That's how I knew something was up. These poor kids must've been tricked somehow, but I couldn't prove anything. Robin said they were brought to the island by someone their whole town trusted—some guy named Stewart Palmer. The mention of his name struck a nerve with the two of them. They glanced at each other as if silently agreeing on something.

"He...was killed. By one of the infected. Now we don't know how we're gonna get out of here. My dad said he won't let me leave, and I'm scared. He can see the future, so I can't even try."

"Chuck will help us get back home," Marina indicated. "Right?" She looked straight at me, obviously worried for their safety.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I obeyed Mr. Peterson's instructions back in the Lobby. I thought I was just betraying a bunch of unfortunate strangers, but there was so much more to it than that. Their grim backstories still didn't sway me, though. I wasn't gonna make serious sacrifices for some kids I just met.

"Right." I feigned concern.

I explained my abduction next. I told everyone how I was asleep when my captors barged in. I had to mention how I was a journalist who was told to report on this place, and, after hearing Robin and Marina's side of the story, I thought that maybe they weren't the only ones who were tricked. Allen had told me I was misled, but now I could actually see what he meant.

Oh, and of course I didn't mention Allen at all. I couldn't.

Hina was the last person to share her experience. Her parents had left her home alone at the time, and my family wasn't home, either. She was sitting on her bed doing homework when the abduction occurred. Some masked strangers barged into her room and knocked her out by force.

How irresponsible can her parents be?, I asked myself. It wasn't the first time Hina's parents had left her at home like that. Those two never could stay home for some reason. They were two immature socialites who couldn't handle the responsibility of having a child, which is one of the reasons they hired me. I was good at that job, but Hina just got on my nerves for some reason. I can't really explain it.

Mr. Peterson's workers likely calculated the latter approach like they did with the others', which just further proved my theory.

One thing most of us had done prior to all of this, however, was go to a doctor. I was the only exception. Knowing that, I compared my experience to everyone else's. All I did was show up on the island, meet Allen, and get thrown into the Facility. Even Marina and Robin went through some medical evaluation before showing up. They said they didn't know the reason at the time, but still.

After the discussion, we called it a day. We had no other choice.