ATLAS

Grow Up And Be Strong

4/5/2079

I sat in complete confusion as I stared at the tape player I held in my hand. "The patient was me?" I said allowed. I didn't want to hear anymore, once mother would return I'll ask all about it. I placed the box full of tapes under my bed and soon fell asleep. I had a strange dream that night. I stood upon a shore of a lake and was throwing rocks into it. The lake seemed so familiar, but I don't recall ever going there. But as I was standing there another bug like from earlier today was crawling on my arm. I threw it into the water and started to walk away, but the bug started to float and began to grow in size until it was the size of someone's head. Then it exploded and became a black and purple glowing ball of light. Similar to the glowing foot pints I saw. I walked into the lake and tried to touch the ball of light. Everything around me became dark and faded. As my hand touched the ball of light my fingers began to tingle and then the light consumed me. I began to see things. People, places, things I had never seen. I saw a laboratory, houses, strange glowing vortexes, large gateways similar to the ones I found in the basement, and I saw a wooden hatch door underneath mother's bed, and I saw many other things. It all happened in a flash.

I woke up in a cold sweat and got out of bed. I looked at my old damaged alarm clock. I had only been asleep for ten minutes. I stood up and went to the bathroom. as I walked down the tight claustrophobic hallway with my flashlight. I heard something come from mother's room as I walked passed it. I have never been in there, she always told me to never go in. But my curiosity got the better of me tonight. I opened the door and walked inside, It was dark, cold and very sorrowful. It matched mother's personality very well. The moon shined through the window and lit up the room. I looked around and found old photos on an old dresser. They were of her and a man. They were young, smiling, and happy. I wondered who he was, he seemed so familiar but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before. But besides that, nothing else really was worth hiding in there, not sure why she never let me in there. I was about to leave until I saw something. It was the footprints again they lead me to mother's bed. I pushed the bed out of the way and saw a wooden hatch door. Then I remembered my dream and seeing it there. I opened the hatch door. There was a ladder that went down a dark hole. I saw a glowing light down in the hole. I carefully climbed down the ladder. It was very old and rusted, and some steps were missing so I had to feel for the steps and make sure I don't miss one and fall. 

I made it to the bottom, it was dark and cold down there, with small puddles of water on the ground. I walked down a small hallway and saw that the black and purple light was glowing around a door. As I reached for the doorknob I saw a sign on the wall. It read "Deadman's land". I opened the door and found a large monitor with different places on the screen. the door had another weird gateway like the other in the basement. And it also had another large door with a large symbol on it. It looked like a hand reaching upwards with its thumb, index, and middle finger pointed upwards. I was about to open it up I was interrupted by a sound coming from the monitor. It was a strange popup on the screen. It read "Incoming call from "Jason". Then I began to hear a sound coming from the door I dropped my flashlight and ran back to the ladder and got out of there. 

I got back to mother's room and closed the hatch door and sat on the floor. "What... the fu.." my words were interrupted by something smacking me in the face and knocking me out unconscious. I opened my eyes and I was in a dark room. But shortly a light came on. It was the basement. I looked stood up and saw mother standing near the gateway. "M-mother?.." I said very confused. It was hard to speak properly because my face hurt so much. "I had a feeling you were going to find out my secrets. I just wish it wasn't now.." she said pressing some buttons on a strange device with a keypad on it. "What is going on? why did you knock me out, and what were the tapes and this lab and all of it! I deserve to know," I said walking over to her holding my hand over the right side of my face. Mother sat down on a chair. "Many years ago, a man named Paul and I were very in love, we lived together in this very house, we eventually had you. and well after some time, we began to notice something, you were different, you had powers no one had ever seen before, you could levitate, control things with your mind, and even instantly healing from any wound or sickness, even once an accident happened and we surely thought you were dead but you somehow did not die". "And what of these people called Alpha Advancements, and Doctor Vitch?" I asked in a concerned tone. "They were a large organization that took over much of the outlands and the central lands, becoming one of the largest authorities on the planet. Their goal was to research and create things that no one had ever seen before". Mother reached over and held up the weird pistol with the strange small canister with blue liquid attached to it. It had a tube attached to it that attached to the back of the pistol. "This weapon was something they made, its called the Shark Blaster, this blue liquid on the side is a liquid called Farewire-Acid. It can burn through anything," mother said as she aimed to a sack filled with old papers across the room. The liquid hit it and melt through the sack burning it down to just a blue puddle on the floor. "But what were they doing with me?" I asked bending down to get to eye level with her. she was silent for a moment. Then she spoke, "They found out about you and wanted to know more, they took you away to one of their research facilities called the Ceaser Facility far in the northern realms. they experimented on you and tested you like a damned lab rat, after many months of you being away I went there to find you I recused you from them, I stole this pistol on that very night and killed many who tried to stop me," mother said her eyes began to be filled with tears as she sat down the pistol. "And how did this stuff get here? this lab, the gateway things?" I asked. "Paul and I were part of a secret society known as the gatekeepers, we and many others created things to fight back against Alpha Advancedmeants, and when we moved here we created this laboratory to make many things," mother said reaching into a box and pulling out a small weapon, which had a black handle and strange silver circles on the front of it. "This is something we made, called the cobra blaster, it can shoot high voltage bullets and instantly kill anything," she said setting it on the table. She stood up and pressed a button on the keypad device and a strange glowing vortex with blue and red rings appeared in the archway of the gateway. "What is that thing mother?" I asked walking over to her. "This is a gate portal, it can transport you anywhere in the universe," she said opening the way around it. "But why are you activating it?" I asked in an uncertain tune, there was so much to this, one thing after another, it was hard to take it all in. "You have to go, my son... Alpha Advancements have unfortunately found out you are alive after years they believed that you were dead, and that is why I returned home so soon, I had received word from someone I know," mother said staring at the floor spacing out a little. "And who was that?" I asked. "Well, their name is-" she was interrupted by a large vibration that came from above. "They're here," she whispered as she began pushing things around in a panic. "Mother I-" I began to say but she put a hand over my mouth. "You do not have to say a word, you have no more time you must go now!" she exclaimed. "Master Atlas what in the name of Smithist is going on?!" a voice said coming down the stairs, it was Wasp. "There are large trucks and soldiers outside asking for you Mrs ghost," Wasp said walking over to us. "There's no time for this!" mother shouted as she pushed Wasp through the portal. She picked up the Shark Blaster and pushed me towards the portal. "Mother wait!" come with us, please!" I begged as small tears fell down my face. She placed a hand on my cheek. "I'm sorry my son, but they must not be able to find you, I am going to destroy this portal and everything here, just remember, I love you and I am sorry I was a horrible mother, I was too caught in my own depression after Paul was killed by A.A., I just hated it, and now I realized all the time I wasted," she began to cry slightly but soon managed to control it. "I am sending you to the northern realms because that's the safest you'll get," she stepped away for a moment then she hugged me. "I love you Atlas, you are more special than you think". "I love you, mother..." I said with a weak voice holding back tears. Then we heard loud banging from upstairs followed by shouting, they were breaking into the house. "Go...go!" she yelled. I ran and jumped through the portal. Mother connected all the power generators in the lab together with a cable and turned them on and stood on top of the table. "Grow up... and become strong my son.." she said as she held the Cobra Blaster and shot at one of the generators. It exploded and soon they all did, causing the whole lab and the house to blow up in a large explosion.