Chapter 4 - The Inventor

June 5, 2020, Friday

Naples, Southern Italy

"The woman that changed his life. Which one is it?" Sabbina kept asking herself.

"This might be one of his tricks to fool me." she added.

"But since she's the first and only woman that I'll meet here, she'll be my primary answer." Sabbina concluded, and she saw Kairon looking at her strangely.

"What are you doing? Pack your things, we're leaving." he said.

Sabbina prepared her luggage and then they took an elevator ride.

"You know what, I'm afraid of elevators before. I saw a movie where a man's body was split into half and then there's blood everywhere!" Kairon said.

"That's horrible." Sabbina reacted.

"I don't like human blood!" she added.

And then the elevator door open. Sabbina looked around and saw that the clinic lobby is overcrowded.

"Is this really a clinic?" Sabbina asked.

"It's huge." she added.

"It's called Ospedale S. Maria degli Incurabili." Kairon said.

"I searched it on Google earlier, I don't even know this place." he added.

"Come on, we'll sneak out." Kairon said as they ran out of the hospital's main door.

"That's not how we sneak out! It's too obvious that we went outside!" Sabbina commented.

"We're not hiding from the people. We're hiding from them." Kairon said as he pointed in to the sky.

Three huge flying creatures can be seen flying in the sky. The street lights are out and only the full moon is providing light in the dark.

"Is Vien's house somewhere near?" Sabbina asked.

"I can't say that it is near, but it is distant." Kairon replied.

"How do you define distant?" Sabbina asked.

"Enough to tell you about this inventor man that we're going to meet tomorrow." Kairon answered.

"Why not talk about your friend Vien instead?" Sabbina asked.

"We can talk about the inventor tomorrow in the train on our way to Aversa." she added.

"We're not boarding a train to Aversa." Kairon replied.

"What are we going to do then?" Sabbina asked.

"We're taking a one-hour bus trip." Kairon answered.

"That's not the answer I'm expecting to hear. I thought were going to walk a dozen of kilometers and then get eaten by a Dente midway through our journey." Sabbina blabbered.

"So what's the deal with this inventor guy?" she asked.

"It all started more than a year ago." Kairon started.

October 29, 2018, Monday

Aversa, Southern Italy

"Turn it off!" a man shouted.

"I'm trying!" Kairon replied.

"Simon, I need your help. Pull the lever!" he added.

"What lever?" the man named Simon asked.

"The one-" Kairon was interrupted when the machine sent a beam of light into the sky, making the clouds heavy and gray.

"It's too late." Kairon followed up.

"It is my fault!" Simon said.

"Hey, don't blame yourself. You can still try next time." Kairon told Simon.

"I can't try again. Do you know what that machine just made? It will create violent storms that will flood all of Italy!" Simon explained.

"But you can stop it, am I right?" Kairon asked.

"No! The storm will only disappear after a few days. Much worse if it took weeks." Simon answered.

"I quit." he added.

"But you still have a lot of things to teach me!" a sixteen year old Kairon said.

"You're a genius, Kairon. I can't teach you anymore." Simon said as he sets up the Memory Recorder machine that they made before.

"Genius? Me? You know more than I do, and you still have things to tell me!" Kairon begged.

Simon grabbed the hat that is connected in the machine and placed it on his head.

"Why are you inputting your memories there?" Kairon asked.

"Nope." Simon replied.

"I'm forgetting everything." he added.

Kairon quickly stood and tried to stop Simon, but it is too late. As the first thunderclap rumbled from the sky, everything that Simon knows disappeared, all of which are now contained inside the machine.

"Simon, can you hear me?" Kairon asked, checking on his friend's condition.

Simon looked at him, and then he looked around.

"What is this place?" he said.

"Hey, Simon, do you recognize me?" Kairon asked, but Simon did not answer.

Heavy rain started to fall outside followed by frequent thunderclaps. Kairon stared through the window and saw how quick the water is rising.

"No one must know that we are responsible for what's about to happen." Kairon told himself.

He grabbed a crowbar and smashed the machine that manipulated the weather, in hopes that destroying it would fix everything outside, but it only made things worse. Hopeless, Kairon sat at a corner, with Simon a few feet in front of him, both of them without any idea on what to do next in their lives.

June 5, 2020, Friday

Naples, Southern Italy

"So what happened to him after that?" Sabbina asked, interrupting Kairon's story.

"My mother sent me to our farm in Sorrento. I haven't seen Simon again ever since." Kairon replied.

"How about the Memory Recorder? It's in Aversa, right? How did it ended up being in Sorrento?" Sabbina asked.

"Simon's parents sent it through mail." Kairon replied.

"It's only three feet tall and four feet wide, so it is not a problem to send it about thirty kilometers away." he added.

"Did Simon regained his memories?" Sabbina asked.

"I have no idea, but since the day it reached Sorrento, I tried improving how the machine works. Instead of an helmet, you can use the eye. I even made a mobile application specific for that machine." Kairon replied.

"But his memories are still inside, and he needs to recall everything." he added

"How?" Sabbina wondered.

"All I need is to scan his eye and then if it worked just like how I hypothesized it would, then he will regain his memories." Kairon answered.

"But why do you have to keep secrets between you two, even if he already forgot your deals and stuff like that?" Sabbina asked.

"A true friend would never do that." Kairon answered.

"Now, stay quiet. We're a few steps from Vien's." Kairon said.

They walked a few steps for the next two minutes, and they're still aren't there.

"How do you define a few steps?" Sabbina asked out of frustration.

"We're here." Kairon stopped walking.

They have reached the end of the street, and that's where Vien lives. Kairon opened his phone and tried to call his friend.

"Hello, we're already outside." Kairon told Vien on the phone.

"Kairon, there's a doorbell, why not use it instead?" Sabbina said.

Kairon is focused on his phone.

Sabbina tried to press the doorbell but was stopped by Kairon.

"No!" Kairon said in a loud voice.

"No!" he repeated again, this time in a softer voice.

"I did not use the doorbell because its sound will attract an Orecchio!" Kairon explained.

"Orecchio?" Sabbina asked.

"They are monsters that cannot see, but they have sensitive ears that will react to high frequency sounds. A doorbell is an example." Kairon explained as the front door open.

"Good to see you, Kairon!" a woman from the door said.

"Nice to see you too, Vien. I would like you to meet Sabbina, the one I told you about earlier." Kairon introduced.

"Hello, Sabbina! It's nice meeting you!" Vien offered a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too." Sabbina shook hands with Vien followed by a smile.

"Let's go inside." Vien said and the two dragged their bags inside the house.

"So you have plans to sneak out of Naples, right? What are your plans?" Vien asked.

"We don't have a plan yet, but can we travel by water?" Kairon asked.

"No, Kairon. I'm asking about your plans outside Naples." Vien clarified.

"I already prepared your escape route earlier so there's nothing else to be worried about." she added.

Kairon cleared his throat.

"Remember Simon? I'll be seeing him in Aversa because we have some things to talk about the Memory Recorder we made before." he said.

Sabbina looked at Kairon.

"I thought no one else knew about that whole thing?" Sabbina said.

"Of course, but since Vien is a close friend, she must know all about it." Kairon replied.

"But Simon have to regained his memories yet, can you restore it?" Vien asked.

"I have that same question on my mind too." Sabbina added.

"The mobile application I designed, it will scan the eye and it will either duplicate the memory into the system or duplicate a memory out of the system. Remember that his memories are still stored inside the machine in Sorrento." Kairon explained.

"But the machine is in Sorrento." Vien wondered.

"This application acts like a wireless transmitter that sends data even without the use of wires or a helmet like it did before." Kairon answered.

"Vien, it's our time to escape. Tell us your plan." Kairon told Vien.

"Okay." she responded.

"The Gulf of Naples is closed due to an oil spill last Wednesday night." Vien said.

"I've seen it in the news yesterday morning! A cruise ship crashed into the pier and then the oil spill happened. Am I right?" Sabbina asked.

"Yes, but it is not an accident. It was attacked." Vien said.

"Attacked?" Kairon was surprised.

"It is an underwater creature living deep in the waters, something that we haven't seen yet." Vien described.

"Reports said that its actions are weird and the monster isn't making any sounds. It just tackled the cruise ship that sent it to the pier." she added.

"Did you just say that we're going to escape Naples through the waters?" Sabbina asked Kairon.

"I said that before knowing about the monster." Kairon replied.

"There's no other way. You need to ride a boat all the way to Pozzuoli, just west of Naples." Vien said.

"It's still part of Naples, but there is a taxi terminal there that will send you to Aversa." she added.

"Is there no other way to escape Naples?" Kairon asked.

"There is no other way." Vien replied.

"Okay, let's go." Kairon said as they picked up the things that they need to bring to Aversa and then left the house.

They went into the port where they can see the cruise ship that was stranded in the pier.

"No one's around. The boat is behind the ship. Stay safe." Vien said.

"Thank you." Kairon said and they ran towards the back of the cruise ship and saw the boat that Vien prepared for them.

"Really? I thought it's a motorboat! I don't want to row this boat!" Kairon exclaimed.

"Fool! Motorboats are noisy, it might attract an Orecchio. You told me about that." Sabbina commented.

Kairon was left in silence as he started rowing the boat.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the gulf!" Sabbina started singing and Kairon is slowly becoming irritated.

"Stop that." he said.

Sabbina smiled and then continued singing just to irritate Kairon more.

"Sabbina, there's something I need to tell you." Kairon said.

"What?" Sabbina asked.

"Once we're in Aversa, do not leave my sight. Stay with me, okay?" Kairon said.

"You're acting weird now, Kairon." Sabbina said.

"No, I'm serious." he said.

"Here in Naples, we fear the monsters that comes out every night." Kairon told her.

"Where do the monsters hide when it's day?" Sabbina asked.

"Under the sea, up the mountains, we don't know." Kairon replied.

"So what's in Aversa that I should be scared of?" Sabbina asked.

Kairon looked at Sabbina and then took a deep breath.

"This inventor, I haven't seen him since the day Italy was flooded." he said.

"What do you mean?" Sabbina asked.

"We don't know what this man turned out to be." Kairon said.

"But once his memories are back, the old him will return, will he?" Sabbina asked.

"I hope, but it's been more than a year. I wonder what he is doing now." Kairon said.

"I wonder if he even survived the flood that our invention have caused." he added.