Los Angeles

At 100mph speeds, it was nearly impossible for Ari to get any sleep. Just as he drifted away, the train would abruptly slow down as it wound through sharp turns before jolting faster again. The crisp, night air became so cold that any corner of his blanket that exposed the slightest bit of him caused Ari to shiver wildly. The wind was so grizzly at times that it almost tore his blanket away from him. The train's erratic movements caused rusty metal to squeal so loudly that it hurt his ears.

Each time he emerged from under the covers, he found himself in a different landscape. Though the wild frontier of snow-capped mountains, the train became engulfed in boreal forests that transformed into badlands of an endless desert tattered with pastel-colored canyons. At one point, the train vanished into such a long tunnel that he wondered if he would ever return to the surface. In its darkness Ari was frightened for his life, losing his breath before trying to catch it as he covered his ears from the tunnel's deafening noises until suddenly, blinding daylight rescued him.

When his eyes adjusted to the powerful sunshine above, he removed the protection of his hands to discover he was surrounded by infinite rolling hills of green. Crops, vineyards, and small towns were nestled in sparse groves of trees next to lakes and rivers. By then it was so hot that he threw his blanket into a gust of air that snatched it away.

Suddenly another tunnel swallowed him up, and his breathing became so shallow he was gasping for air underground. He closed his eyes and crouched into his trembling legs, dizzy from endless questions swirling around in his head. He didn't understand why all of this was happening, and least of all, to him. Hundreds of miles away from home, he was alone, traveling into the unknown as he fled from a mysterious enemy.

Suddenly, the darkness lifted again, and when he opened his eyes, he was stunned by what he saw. Glass, everywhere. Glass-covered buildings scorched his eyes as the sunlight beamed through its reflection. Glass-domed vehicles that looked like hundreds of tiny ants marched in opposing formations over elevated freeways that jumped to either side of him. The highways and boulevards bowed to towering skyscrapers that glimmered amid a futuristic cityscape on the other side of majestic bridges. An enormous digital sign hung above an artery of roadways that greeted drivers as they entered the city.

Welcome to Los Angeles

The train slowed as it curved through sprawling suburban neighborhoods, winding into an industrial wasteland. When its pace slowed to a stop, Ari quickly disembarked before he could be detected by one of the workers at the freight Depot.

With his backpack securely in place, he trekked for miles, passing through slums and Shanti villages. Above him, the sky was filled with countless drones, their presence so dense that they occasionally cast shadows on the ground below. Steady streams of pedestrians passed him as they walked their dogs, sauntering away on their phones. The vehicles of a bustling morning commute rushed by, their subdued rumble a stark contrast to the thunderous sounds of trucks and SUVS in Colorado. Some of them hummed along so quietly that he found himself dodging cars as he crossed extra-wide Californian streets. It seemed like even the outskirts of the massive city was so alive and crowded that he was almost invisible, marveling at his first taste of life away from home.

He was without money, food, and water, and the sun had been beating down on him for so long that dust was clinging to the sweat that covered his body. He was so dehydrated that he felt a headache coming on, and he had to take frequent breaks to make it as far as 1 mile.

When Ari found the condominium matching the address Dr. Simmons gave him, he could barely walk any further. He scrolled through a list of names on the building's call box, looking for the one that was written down on the wadded-up paper in his hand. When he found it, he alerted the resident that they had a visitor waiting downstairs. He waited to hear a voice on the speaker, but there wasn't any, and instead, the door simply unlocked. He made his way up the elevator and onto the 3rd floor, and when he found the door he was looking for he noticed that it was already cracked open. Just as he was about to knock on it, it swung open, and an older woman was standing in the doorway.

"You're Ari I take it?" She said, eyeing him up and down with delicate caution as she nudged her glasses halfway down her nose. "I'm Jean. Come inside you poor thing."

When he entered her condo, he found himself surrounded by antiques and trinkets. Being in her home felt like stepping back in time. Old, stained photographs hung from the walls whose paint looked like it had been chipping away for some time. Used, outdated plates and cutlery was scattered around her home and vintage clothing covered dusty furniture next to an ancient-looking computer that sat on a desk in the corner.

Jean Wilkins was a no-nonsense black woman with narrow eyes that hid behind a pair of oversized glasses. She worked for the institute during her younger years and moved away from Denver to live closer to her family. After Jean told Ari that Dr. Simmons had already called her and explained everything, she seated him on her sofa while she tidied up the cluttered space.

"That train ride must have been so awful. I can't even stomach commercial trains anymore. They always find a way to pack as many people into those tiny things as they can." Jean rambled away as she rummaged through cupboards in a kitchen that looked like it had seen better days. "You must be starving!"

"I'm okay."

"Nonsense. If you're gonna be in my house, you'll eat and eat well. I'm going to make us grilled cheese sandwiches."

Jean spouted off random gossip and the latest developments of the neighborhood while she dug through a sink full of used coffee mugs to wash off cookware next to countertops that were crusted over by old food debris as she prepared lunch for the two of them. She stole frequent glances at Ari as he sat in the living room, and for a moment, her radiant smile reminded him of his grandmother. Even though he couldn't keep up with her rambling on from subject to subject, he found comfort in her warmth and kindness. It was exactly what he needed so far from home, and he was so overcome by exhaustion that he found himself nearly collapsing as he sank deeper and deeper into her couch.

"Why are those people after me?" Asked Ari, his question surprising Jean so much that she nearly dropped the plates she'd pulled out of the cupboard. She stepped into the living room with a grim look on her face, handing him a serving dish with perfectly manicured sandwiches as she drew a heavy breath of air.

"After the car crash, your parents signed off on an experimental operation that saved your life. What they didn't know is that your doctors never expected you to survive the procedure."

"They expected me to die? Then why did they do it?"

"It's complicated, Ari. You were in a coma and your doctors didn't have a better option. I was there when it happened, you know. No procedure had ever been done like it before. It was the first of its kind."

"But why are they after me?"

"I don't know, to study you perhaps. Who knows? The only thing that matters is that you don't speak a word of this to anyone. Do you understand?"

"But why?" He whimpered, scarfing down corners of grilled cheese sandwiches while a bowl of tomato soup sat untouched on the coffee table in front of him.

"Because the world simply isn't ready for something, someone like you." Said Jean, resting on the living room window sill before continuing. "Everyone's belief system is too fragile. Most people live in fear, afraid of anything that invalidates what they believe in." She turned to look at Ari with an ominous expression as her tone deepened. "Your very existence could cause people to re-evaluate what they think they know. Within you is something that could change what we understand as the difference between what's right and what's wrong, the answer to what the nature of a soul is, even the definition of what it means to be human."

"What do you mean by what's inside of me? I don't understand."

"And it's better that you don't honey. Those people are dangerous. The less you know, the better off you'll be."

Suddenly a dexterous knocking against the door interrupted them, causing Jean to drag her slippers across the floor to see who it was.

"Hello?" Her voice trembled as she approached the front door, but there was no response. When she leaned into the peephole, she was shocked to discover several armed men on the other side of the door.

"Who's that?" Asked Ari.

"We have to go, now."

"Why?"

"Quick, no time for questions! Pack your things!" She glanced out of the high-rise window, searching for her new visitors' vehicles. She didn't know who they were, but she sensed it had to do with Ari.

Another knock came at the door again, only this time, much louder as it grew into a ferocity that rattled Jean's nerves. With swift determination, she grabbed Ari's backpack, leading him into the kitchen. Using the refrigerator's touchscreen, she selected the garbage chute. A small space opened in the wall, and she tossed the backpack in. She handed him her car keys as he gazed at her with a quizzical expression.

"What's that for?"

"Go. Take my car. Drive north."

"But I don't know how to drive!"

"Tell the car to head to San Francisco. It will take care of the rest"

Without warning, Jean thrust Ari into the opening of the garbage chute, her legs trembling as she struggled against his resistance. In the background, the unsettling sound of wood starting to crack came as the banging of the front door became both immense and hostile.

"I'm not going down there!"

"Sorry honey, but you don't have a choice!" Said Jean, pushing him down with all of her strength, causing him to lose his grip and fall into a long vertical tunnel.

Ari fell through almost two stories of darkness before softly landing on his backpack. He forced himself to lean upright, miring at mounds of trash around him. He eccentrically brushed away dirt and dust that now covered his shirt, pushing away at the rubble that kept him sunk as if he were trapped in quicksand. Suddenly the blaring sound of an alarm went off next to him, the sound jolting him like a shockwave of electricity. The garbage that surrounded him began to shift, condensing the building's trash as it released a combination of pungent liquids that soaked his clothes and caused him to gag profusely.

The sound of crunching wood and breaking glass stirred within him a heavy consternation that widened his eyes as he wrestled moving garbage that threatened to swallow him up. With haste, he gripped onto a solid chunk of particle board that floated above the sinking rubble, pulling himself to the top of the garbage compacting machine. He leaped out of its rusted metal frame, and it was only then that he realized he was in the building's parking garage.

Once Ari found Jean's car, he climbed into the driver's seat, his presence automatically activating the vehicle's power. He gazed up at the dashboard as it illuminated a myriad of dials and controls, projecting an array of turquoise-colored information that spanned across the windshield.

"Say or enter destination." The computerized voice asked.

"San Francisco!" His voice squeaked in response.

The vehicle swiftly reversed out of the parking spot and slowly made its way out of the garage and onto a bustling road. As the car entered the street, Ari was in for a surprise when he spotted three parked black SUVs blocking the car's path just as he was fastening his seat belt.

"Vehicular obstacle detected." The car announced as it slowed to a stop.

Ari positioned himself high enough to see through the windshield. He spotted a group of armed men emerging from their vehicles and advancing toward him. Instantly, he engaged the car's manual override, seizing control. Without hesitation, he threw the car into reverse, stomped on the accelerator, and bolted away as the men hurried to re-enter their vehicles.

Ari found himself in a thrilling chase as he swerved around clusters of traffic on the busy street, driving backward into an intersection that just turned red. One of the SUVS that pursued him crashed into a car from an oncoming lane, forcing the other two to skid along the asphalt as they swerved around the collision. With a rapidly increasing distance between him and the mysterious men that were following, Ari didn't stop. He continued driving backward using the rearview camera, driving as fast as he could to get away as vehicles all around him broke to avoid Jean's car.

As he raced away, tension mounted while they persisted in their chase, desperate to catch up. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a semi-truck started reversing onto the road, and Ari narrowly avoided colliding with it. The two SUVs behind him slammed on their brakes, and as the massive rig glacially joined the road, their pursuit was abruptly halted.

Hunched over the steering wheel, Ari placed the car back into forward drive and sped away as quickly as he could. With the mysterious men hot on his trail, Ari pulled off a daring move, outsmarting them and leaving them trapped behind a semi-truck.

He manually drove through narrow streets that became freshly paved boulevards before at last, he was on the freeway. After engaging the car's automatic functions, the car drove him as long as it took to leave the massive city, and even though it was clear that the men that chased him were far behind and out of sight, Ari couldn't help but wonder if every vehicle he passed was one of them.

As Ari embarked on a journey to nowhere, he couldn't help but ponder how long it would take for his relentless pursuers to catch up with him. What did they want from him, and why were they so determined to find him? Jean's enigmatic message about something inside him only deepened the mystery. With each mile he covered, he could feel the truth drawing nearer. Little did he know that the truth held darker secrets than he could ever imagine. He was up against a force far too powerful for him to face alone. Unbeknownst to him, hundreds of miles away, his mother was tirelessly following his tracks, searching for her only son in a desperate attempt to save him.