Post Transition

Date: Unknown, Time: Unknown

The sound so familiar, a melody to my ears, such a wonderful notes that came in contact with the two ears which had longed to hear this melody.

"Someone there?..."

Relieved

The clothes which I felt disgusted from now became the source which made me feel safer, to decrease the level of distress. Was it due to someone offering help, that wasn't actually the real reason. I had been there for several minutes. My mind had went blank until the I heard a voice, even though it was distorted I knew who exactly it was. I squeezed my body out of the hiding, the joints were aching but that was not even a concern anymore. Upon standing I darted my eyes around the dark room. In end finding a walkie-talkie which laid next a broken computer screen. I hastily grabbed it, pushing the button to reply.

"Yes, I receive you over" I tried to control the gladness that overtook me.

"Why are you here?" The voice filled with sadness and concern came back.

"To save you?, to put an end to American conspiracy?"

There was silence, I released the button waiting for another reply. I had forgotten about where I was and that I could any time be killed. I wanted to find her instantly but that was not gonna be any sooner.

"You sure you are not here to entertain your small dream, I don't think your grandfather would be please, well it's good he is dead"

"Stop bringing the past back, I am not going to argue, just tell me where are you"

She gave a chuckle to this and then replied with the distortion increasing, but I still understood her.

"You cannot save anyone if you cannot save yourself"

That words crushed me entirely, it was worse than getting crushed by the huge boulder that was rolled by Sisyphus. My ear started to ring, I saw flashing pictures of child standing in isolation, where no one knew how hard he tried to reach the world on other end. A boy who saw everything before his age.

I sighed deeply, calming myself down "Ok, I cannot save you then I know"

"So you finally admit defeat, that was easier than expected, huh... I thought you were a person who never gave up no matter what" She was being difficult, first she says I cannot save her now she says I have given up, what was that supposed to mean. I remained silent and did not respond, I was not gonna be emotional in this case, but then she began saying something, not just something but unexpected.

"No need to be down about it, By saying that you cannot save me means you have done enough, I am grateful for all of the past years, you have done enough saving, now it is time to save yourself and you cannot, I am sure about that"

I leaned against the back side of the table, all of the memories flashed, my head went back to all those good and bad times. When I was just a lost boy. But I did not have any ambition upon entering a university, I was going to lead a normal life, study, get a job, find someone who agreed to marry me, have kids, raise them until they leave me, then retire and die. But that did not go according to plan did it now, due to certain someone entering my life, I just couldn't carry out the plan.

It was a normal day, a mundane day, whatever day, a day that repeats again and again, because I did not do anything new, just repeat the same acts of eating, studying and sleeping, maybe even snuck in some runs here and there. But one day I was going on my way to the train station, I never took the train as I didn't have much business out of the city usually, I was going back to my hometown where supposedly my grandfather had returned, but the only difference was this time he was not alive. I remembered being sad about him passing away, as he was the only immediate family I had left and he was the one who brought me up. Anyways the point was that I was sad in simple, as I had seen him during my middle school days and after that he disappeared. Even though it was common for him to be with a research team for the summer shift in Antarctica, but this time he actually vanished until his body was sent back without any reason behind his death, there was pure mysteriousness behind this notion.

But then I encountered a scene which was nothing out of ordinary, but it still made me forget everything. You know what I saw, I saw masses of leaves floating around, a rain, a dance of different shades of orange and yellow. It was right outside the station, the entrance had many trees which now had awaited the fall. In all honesty autumn was not associated with happiness as it was when the leaves said their final goodbye to the trees, then these leaves would gently fall, and become one with the ground, it was like those leaves never existed. Wasn't it same for humans?, once they die, they are buried, in end they cease to exist.

But that was not what really made the impact on me, I saw a girl with a broom in her hand, she had just cleaned all of the leaves from the entrance now had this task again to do. One in this type of situation should been cursing or annoyed but she did not seem to care and went back to her work. Her eyes were not exactly sad and not even emotionless, but there unexplained emotions which lied deep within. I didn't go out of my way to take broom and sympathetically do the work for her or day it's fine, but then again she was a stranger. I only watched for the seconds I passed by but I don't know why I wanted to help her, tell her it was ok, but in end travelled to sort out my own sorrows.

"Just don't worry... and Follow the... golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man, golden man" The words golden man repeated, it was like she had become a broken record and movements passed the voice started to gradually blend with the background noise of faint steps.

Then I heard thumping thunderous footsteps, they proceeded to get louder with each passing moment, realising how daft have I been.

"Imagine... Imagine... Once I get them back"

Apparently he was lingering around close enough to hear me. The footsteps were not desperately moving toward my room, but still I had few moments to react before he ripped my hair off my scalp. The man I still haven't named, barely fit through the door frame, his massive torso clearly was result of experimentation. I tried to get a closer look upon peaking from behind the table. There were several scars carved on his leathery skin, bullet marks trailing from his left tricep till his forearm and even thou he slowly skin decayed, he still stood as firm as pillar. His teeth complimented his skin tone which was in tone of sickly yellow. I was afraid to stare him below waist, who knew what monstrosity awaited there.

It was clear that from that he was one of the test subjects lucky enough to survive, but not enough to keep his sanity in tact. I had made a hypothesis that it was Americans who were trying to test illegal genetic modifications and create humans who possessed super natural abilities. But as cliche it sounds they opened the Pandora's box. From what it appeared, the laboratory was in a state of destruction, lab rats and researchers both laid on the same floor, bodies piled up on broken tiles with splattered blood which now had turned black like the darkness in the room.

I crawled behind the table as the naked man lethargically swung his body to change the direction, I slowly without a sound made it nearer to exit. My thoughts currently were split up, one rationally trying to make up of the situation other trying to avoid the words that echoed "Follow the golden man"

I tried to sway myself away from my emotions, I needed to know what she meant by the golden man, was it the nickname of the creature who followed me around, if it was then the name was ironic. Researchers who though they had struck gold with successful experiment were actually the one getting struck to death.

I bounced back on my feet, making out safely. The man still stared in the same corner, I took a deep but silent exhale. The lights dimly lit through the hallway lead me to a small staircase, there I saw a notice board. I moved closer to examine the contents, Mostly there were different timetables attached, stating when a researcher was to carry its shift. There was also some information on the layout of the floors, thou useful that was not what caught my eye, but a name that I hadn't read or heard in a while. A shiver went down my spine, now I was truly lost.