Encephalon: Emergent

Chapter 5

The hours that followed were much like a blur. Elena wanted answers, but she had trouble keeping her eyes open, her peripheral vision coming in and out of focus not yet used to its newfound ability. The big, burly man carried her to an adjacent room much warmer, larger and with a more comfortable bed than her cell, where she slept for hours. The last sight she saw before she fell asleep was Justin leaving the door ajar and saying she could leave whenever she wanted. She was trapped by bounds no longer. Those words reverberated around her head and though she was finally physically comfortable, her dreams were laden with anxiety, dreaming of silver swirls whisking her away.

When she awoke she found a large plate of food on a table next to the bed and Justin watching her patiently in the doorway. But a dull headache throbbed and she sat up, dangling her legs over the edge of the bed and rubbing her temples, her eyes still playing havoc with her vision, focal points dropping in and out of range.

"How long will this last?" She asked.

"Not long. You're emergent, adjusting. Your vision will stabilize shortly."

She nodded in disbelief, "And anyone can learn this?"

"Think of it like reading. Everyone is capable, not everyone is literate." More questions flooded to her brain, but he stopped her before she had a chance. "Eat up," He smiled. "Today your questions will be answered."

He left her to devour the food before she found a new set of clothes in a cupboard waiting for her and then stepped outside into the corridor. Dressed and a little refreshed, she followed curiously through to the hall where the burly man stepped out behind her. She froze.

He looked apologetic. "Please forgive the rough treatment," He said in a Russian accent. "It was important for your psychological development."

She nodded apprehensively and he showed her towards the exit, opening the door for her and smiling to let her through. She stepped around him then stumbled out into bright sunshine, raising a hand to cover her eyes, already beginning to stabilize but unable to yet take the bright light. A miniature, toy plane streaked across the sky, which she watched with confused bemusement; it seemed so far removed from her current existence. Then a larger real plane landed in the distance and she spotted a runway not too far over. She heard a child's laughter, and in a field nearby a little boy controlled the toy plane with a remote. He glanced at her and smiled. Dazed, she smiled back then looked at her captivity: a warehouse on an airfield.

"Elena." She span round to see Justin signal from round the side of the building, next to a helicopter. A helicopter, somehow this no longer surprised her. If she was going to make a run for it, now truly was her chance. Instead she hurried away and got in beside him. He turned on the engine and started up the rotors before the helicopter took off towards a rising Manhattan in the distance. She shivered wondering what next awaited her.

Her mind had trouble processing any of the ride into the city, and the only part of the journey she noticed was when they flew over her old neighborhood, a great sense of relief and sadness passing over her, feeling guilty and liberated as she realized it had never actually felt like home. By the time she woke out of her reverie, Manhattan's concrete jungle was upon them, and the helicopter landed atop a large building where a nondescript man opened her door to greet her.

"Welcome, Elena," He said.

She shot him a surprised look; how did he know her name? But he only smiled and helped her out of the aircraft. She looked round for Justin who already strode towards the rooftop entrance. Elena smiled back at the man and skipped after Justin, joining him in an elevator he held open for her.

"You ready?" He asked and she nodded. The doors closed behind her.

She looked at him staring out the elevator window over the city. He pointed to a building opposite as they descended. "Life, it would seem, is divided." Floors of the building flashed past: a lone businessman drank a cup of coffee; a packed meeting of corporate executives studied spreadsheets; a playful mailroom of interns threw round a parcel. "But you see further now, don't you, Elena?" She looked at the building opposite with only one room coming into focus. Then she looked again and blinked. All three focused as her peripheral vision kicked into gear.