The Apprentice's Journey

The Evaluation

We manage to navigate our way through the elaborate set of hallways and eventually find ourselves here. We are in a small room with padded seats and a couple of tables dotted round the walls. In the corner there is a coffee machine. I pour myself one and am about to take a sip when a horrible stench infiltrates my nostrils. I examine it for a moment.

"Sips, it's black."

"Oh good, I like black coffee."

"No, I mean it is properly black."

"Racist."

I look at him for a moment, I can tell from the small glimmer in his eyes and the faint smile beginning to appear on his lips that he is doing this on purpose. He is taunting me. I grab the bin from the corner and pull it over next to the booth he is sitting at. I then move into the seat opposite him and slowly pour out the thick, tar-like substance into the bin. He begins to laughs louder.

"God Kim, you understand you have to be nice to me as I got us in."

"Yeah I saw that." I lean back into my chair and put my face into my hands. More in relief than despair. I look at my hands. The fingernails are caked with dirt. The mud goes up my arms, mixing in with the flux to create something putrid. My body aches all over and I am so tired. I just want to sleep.

"There are so many things I need to know." I say.

"I know, where do you want to start?"

"What's his name?"

"Who?"

"You know." I say. "The one in the red coat, the one in charge, the one with the girlfriend." Who bitch slapped him to oblivion I think to myself.

"Lewis."

"You called him something else though."

"What?"

"Xephos...I think."

"It what his workers call him, though it is not his real name. He doesn't come from around here, he comes from up there." Sips points to the ceiling.

"What??? Upstairs."

"No, you know what I mean. He comes from outer space. Blue Xephos is the name of the sun and so forth became how his workers knew him. Yet his real name is Lewis."

I nod. Now is time for the more serious questions. Yet I can't think straight. I can't control my train of thought. I don't know what to ask him.

So I just sit there in silence and wait for him to explain it to me.

"First of all, however it may look, Lewis and I don't hate each other completely. Everything that has been going on....it just means we have....different opinions. He stopped caring. I like to believe I still care. After the war, everything changed. Believe it or not, he worked for me once. But everything was different back then before Dunc....."

He trails off. I look straight into his eyes.

"Kim," he continues, "whatever they tell you and try to convince you it isn't Duncan's fault, you won't understand what I mean right now but eventually you will. And when that time comes please remember what I told you today. Because he cares....." He turns away, hardly able to look me in the eye. "More than I ever did. Kim, I failed you. You trusted me and I.....I'm sorry Kim and if this is my last opportunity to help you, then I want you to have Duncan because he truly cares and that's important."

Did he just apologise to me? I'm unable to comprehend what he just told me. Because that wasn't just an apology, it's what I wanted to hear. That not everyone is mad at him. That people still care about him.

"Sips." I say. "You do care. You just proved that."

He gave me a small smile but then he stands up abruptly. I quickly stand up as well and turn around to see what he is looking at. It's just Simon but he doesn't seem as happy as earlier. His face is more stern.

"I don't know what happened to you two but Lewis wanted me to come and get you and take you to the medi-bay." He looks over at us, covered in mud and blood. "Which seems like a good decision as you both look like hell."

He takes us down a long corridor before eventually we reach a door. Simon gestures to it.

"Sips, you have to go in there."

"I'm not going without Kim." He says defiantly.

Simon pats him on the back. "It will all be fine."

Sips turns round to face me. He looks distant and lost and confused.

"I have to go now Kim." He says. "Xephos told me I had to."

He walks towards the door before collapsing on the ground. I see the device on his back. A group of scientists come through and grab him.

"You did that to him." I can barely control my anger. "We TRUSTED you and you do THAT to him!!!!"

"It's a mind control unit that Lewis uses on some of the workers. He said I had to do this."

"So what, he's your friend not your controller."

I can see some signs of guilt appear on his face. More scientists come and grab me. I try and shake them off but they won't let go. Lewis comes in and walks not far behind him. Simon grabs him.

"Where are you taking her?" He doesn't reply.

I am pulled down further into the corridor until we reach a giant grey dome. They shove me in there an lock the door. I bang my fist on the door, shouting for them to let me go. What happened... I almost thought they were going to help us for a second. I hear the ceiling shift as it splits apart above me. Something is lowered into the room.

It's a node.

I feel myself begin to lose control of my body. I can't, not now, for Duncan.

And Sips.

But it is to big and bright. I must listen to my mothers influence. And it's so pretty. And I'm falling, falling, falling in a world of purple. And they're screaming, screaming, screaming and then they're dying, dying, dying. But they deserve this because they don't care. One of them does but I don't remember who. And I have never been so powerful before. They will burn. All except one. And then the world begins to slip into darkness.