Outside The 'Verse

I looked at my phone, didn't work, it was useless. All this happened since the 'Conversion'. All phones stopped working. 7G was out, so were 6G and 5G. Now they had a network called INFRA. Everybody was connected, except me.

I wanted to go into the 'Verse. It happened about a year ago, and no one had told me, and I didn't know. I guess I was at fault, since I decided to stay away from media; right before the Conversion. Now I regret it.

I looked around my room, it was a mess, phone parts allover. I searched for a certain phone piece. I was messing with an Android Z, 'hope that works'. I had spent hundreds of hours trying to figure out a way to hack into the 'Verse. It is hard. The closest I ever got was to the third layer, and there are seven of them.

I miss everybody. Being alone is not good.

After all that phone wrecking, I was mind-tired, and I decided to take a walk. I went outside. It was cold, and I liked it. I preferred cold over hot weather. The Trees were all dead. 'Why?' My heart couldn't not take it. I should not listen to dad; He told me to stay away from it. 'Yes Dad, it was easy for you to say, you never liked technology'. I miss dad. I miss every one, I miss her. My brother had better luck--no, he knew, he was smart, it was not luck. Now I can't be with them, but this is how it is.

I kept walking down the street until I got to Vauxhall, then left on Gillingham. I was about to pass Wilton. I was hungry, and I that remind me. Yesterday I found a Chinese restaurant and the food was still good. Thanks the solar panels power was still functional; that kept the fridge running. Wilton St was one of the few streets that had power.

I always try to go back home before it gets too dark. I don't know, I have a bad feeling.

I went straight into the fridge. I found some eggrolls and orange chicken. I knew that I was not on the position to eat all that food, but it was going to go bad anyway. I ate. It was good. While ate I saw a shadow. I knew I would see it again. It is like it is following me. That time, I knew I was going to get things straight. I thought I was the only one out. Who else? No one. Before, I have looked around, and have not seen signs of life, except for some animals. I finished a bite of eggroll and headed out the restaurant. What was that shadow? There was only way to find out. Follow that shadow. I saw it. It thought it turned right on St George. I ran, but the shadow was faster than me. I thought had lost it, but then I saw it again, by the station, it would not flee, it was like it was luring me, like it wanted to show me something. Once at the station, the shadow went to the lower level. It was dark, and hard to keep an eye on the shadow, but it kept luring me. When I felt like I got to a dead end. I felt the walls with my hands, then I stopped. It was dead quiet. "Why are you here?" I heard that loud and clear. "Who's there?" I asked. No reply. "Who' there?" I repeated. I hear a scratch. It was a match. There was visibility now. I was in a small room. Behind the match's light there was a face, of an old man. "Why are you following me?" The old man asked. I didn't reply. I didn't know if it was the match or seeing the old man. "It is called 'match'. " He told me. I kept looking at the old man. He use the same match to lit a candle. "And that is a called candle." The old man told me, then he used the match to lit two more candles. "Candol," I whispered. The room was lit now. The old man shook his hand to turn off the match. "Why are you following me?" The old man asked again. "I...I..." I couldn't get the right words, I had so many questions for the old man. "Go on, what is it that you want to ask me?" Said the old man as he sank on an old dusty sofa. Used his hands to rest the back of his head, then put his feet on top of a small-wooden table. He gave a look of I'm-still-waiting. I still didn't have the right question, well I had a lot of questions, didn't know what to ask first. "Well, I would start," Said the old man. "Yes, I've been in and out of the 'Verse. No, You are not the only one out, there is more that were left out. Yes, the..." "Is that a" I interrupted the old man, I saw an old phone one the floor. I went and picked up the phone. "Oh, that." Said the old man as he stood up. "Don bother with phones, boy, it is useless, phones are not the way into the 'Verse." I looked at the phone in my hand. "But you can connect a VGR to..." "Yes," The old man interrupted me, "you can connect a VGR to your phone..." The old man started walking, "follow me."

We walked about a mile until we got to Victoria St. All this thoughts and feelings ran through my mind. I was a mixture of excitement and fear combined. 'Where are we going?' The old man paused until he got to an old building. "Press that block." He told me. I saw this brick that was marked with a small triangle. I was not sure about that. I did as the old man told me. As soon as I touched the brick, it lit up. It was a greenish light. "Password." I jumped, wasn't expecting that. "Say her name." The old man told me. "Her name?" I was confused. "Don't you remember her name?" "Oh, yes, I do remember...'Gracie'." I said it. The green light went off. and a hear a click and part of the wall opened like a door. "How do you..." "Hush," The old man didn't let me finish. "Quiet, you might wake them up." "Wake them up?" "Just follow me." I obeyed. When we stepped past the door, we were in a hallway. The old man beckoned me to follow him. I noted the walls were white, so was the floor. As we advanced, my heartbeat accelerated. Didn't want to ask the old man where we were going. We got to the end of the hallway, and there was a big double door. "Say it." I said her name again, and the double door opened. As I stepped in, my mouth fell open. There were hundreds of beds. Each bed occupied by an individual. "What..." "If you wonder, yes, that is how they connect to the 'Verse." This was terrifying, seeing hundreds of humans sleeping. "But I found a way to connect without sleeping..." the old man sighed, "What do you think is going through their minds? What are they are seeing? Imagining? It's like a big dream." I had no words to reply. Kept looking towards the beds. "She is not here, if you wanted to know." "oh," "she is on Sector Alpha." There was a moment of silence. "Well, now you seen it. My time's up. I must go." the old man turned around and headed to the door. "Wait!" I called. "You haven't told me how to go into the 'Verse." "Go to the tower." "The tower?" "There you'll find a watch." "A watch?" The old man went outside. I ran after him, but there was no sight of him. All I found was note. I read the note and my heart dropped.

The tower was not far from there, but there was an issue, it was on the other side of the river. There used to be a bridge, but it collapsed. I had to find a way. I looked around and saw a wire that hanged from one side of the river. That was my only option; to hang by the wire and make my way across. It was goin well, until a hear a crack. The pole from where the wire attached snapped. I knew this was not going to end well. I was right, the pole broke in two pieces. I held onto the wire. I landed on the cold water. I Thought I could still use the wire to pull myself to the edge of the river, but the current started pulling me downstream. I kept pulling, but then I felt something hit the back of my head.

+++

I opened my eyes and saw that I had ended up down the river, and even worse; on the wrong side. I had to start allover again. My clothing was damp, I needed to change. I thought of going back to the old building. Perhaps I could find something there. It took me about an hour to walk upstream. When I got there, I saw the sun was already going up. I walked to wards the wall at the old building, and I looked for the brick with the mark, but none of the bricks had the mark. I pressed almost all of them, but none of them worked. I knew this was the right wall, I knew it was one of these bricks, but nothing. I went and sat at the edge of the river, then used my hands against my face. At that moment I thought It was over. When I heard something. A car. It stopped right at the end of the road, at the remains of the collapsed bridge. It was a really ancient car, Gen 3, I'll say. The door opened. A man wearing a top hat and a long-black coat stepped out of the car. "Howdy!" He called. "I've been looking all over for you." He told me. "Me?" that came out of my mouth as a whisper. "Yes, you." The man with the top hat walked towards me and stood there looking at me like if I was a rare bug. "Yes, it is you." "I'm sorry, but who are you?" The man took off his hat, "my name is Ramsey, my task is to collect and rescue." I had no comment for that. "The Supreme, sent me to rescue you" I still didn't reply, "Oh, here you must be hungry." From his coat, Ramsey took out a foil bag and handed it to me. "Eat." I opened the bag and found it full of small cubes. "They are fruit flavored, my favorite." I wasnt sure about this, but I was starving. I took one of the cubes and threw it in my mouth. I chewed. It was good. Tasted like apple. "I have more if you want. Why don't you sit down and finish your cubes." Once I finished, I stood up. "Where were you heading?" Asked Ramsey. I turned around and pointed at the tower. "The tower?" I nodded. "There is nothing there. It is empty." "But the old man told me." "Old man? Kid, there is no old man, none of them survived, in fact, you are the oldest of all my tasks." Ramsey rolled his sleeve and showed me a watch, pressed a few bottoms, and then I could see my profile in a hologram. "Wow." "See, I told you, you are important. Now, if you don't mind going to the Center." "What is there?" I asked. "Well, there, you are going to be examined, then they'll decide which sector you belong to." I was thinking, it was a time to negotiate. "All right, I'll go, but first, you will' have to take me to the tower." Ramsey curled his lip, then sighed. "Alright, you got a deal." I followed Ramsey to the car, the he paused, "you are going to need a suit." He used his watch, and scrolled, "yes, this will do." I heard a click on the back of the car and a small door opened. There was a pack, which Ramsey handed to me. "Here try it on." I opened the pack and there was a black long sleeve shirt with some metal plates. So were the pants. I assumed this was a tactical suit. The suit did fit me. "Well, now we head to the tower, I know of another bridge. If we go south we'll see it."

As Ramsey said, we headed south, traveled along the big river. We traveled about half hour, I think, I wasn't sure; since I'd lost time's notion. We got to the bridge, "There it is, as I promised. Now we go back to the tower." As we advanced, we saw that the road were getting worse, weren't sure if the car would go through. Ramsey stopped the car. "What happened?" I asked. "There is a mud pit ahead, the car will get stuck." "I see." "We must walk." I had no problem with walking. Getting through the mud was easy, the issue was ahead, there was no road at all, instead there was a big cliff; and climbing was the only way. Ramsey climbed faster than me, then he sat on the edge, "Take your time," he told me. I was almost to the top, when I grabbed onto a loose rock, I thought I was going to fall. Then I felt something grasped my wrist. "I got you." Ramsey got my arm before I fell. "Give me you other hand." I trusted Ramsey, then he pulled me to the surface. I gasped, my breath was gone within seconds. "You all right?" Asked Ramsey. I nodded. Once I was stable I stood up. "Are you sure? It looked like you were going to have an attack. I chuckled, "Sorry..." "Well, lets get going, before it gets dark. "What happens when it's dark." "Shhh, don't be to loud, they might hear you." "Who?" "Hush, just do as I say."

Walked for about an hour, then I saw the tower. "There it is." Said Ramsey in a low tone. "We made it." When we are the tower's foot, It seemed bigger than I thought. There was no door. For sure no one had placed foot in there for a long time. "Are you sure there is a watch in here?" "That 's what the old man told me." Ramsey shook his head, "I told you, there is no old man alive, they are all gone." I didn't reply, looked around the tower, then I saw something. A brick; it had the same mark the old man found at the old building. I went and placed my hand on the brick. "What is that?" Asked Ramsey. "Gracie" I said it. Nothing happen. "Who is Gra..." The wall started shaking, then there was the door. "How did you do that?" "I told you, the old man showed me." Ramsey looked concerned. "Shall we go in?" "This is not..." "Right?" I finished the sentence. "That was not what I was going to say, but since we are here, let's take a look." From his backpack, Ramsey took out a torch.

I followed Ramsey as he illuminated the way. Then we found the stairs. "Do we go up, or down?" Asked Ramsey. I had no idea where the watch was. I guessed. "Up." I replied. The stairs were countless. Felt like we were never going to get to the top. As he went up I saw another brick, same mark. "Here." We stopped and looked at the brick. "Well, do your thing." I touched the brick and said her name. I was waiting for another door, but this time I saw three green light spots. We walked towards the light and there it was the watch. "It can't be, do you know what this is?" I shook my head. "This watch is...wow, do you know?" It happened that Ramsey was more exited about the watch than me. "This watch is very special, they used to call them 'Runners', don't know why, but all I know there were only a few left. and what makes them special is that you can use them to go in an out of the 'Verse without leaving a trace." I started at the watch. "Well, what are you waiting for?" I nodded then took the watch.

As we headed back to the car I had a feeling that something was watching us. So did Ramsey. Gave a few steps, then Ramsey paused, "What is it?" "Hush." "Ramsey?"... "Run!!" I turned around and saw a big black wolf. I ran, but I felt the wolf almost touching my heels. I saw Ramsey far on the distance.

+++

I opened my eyes and saw a man wearing a white coat. "Welcome." The man with the white coat greeted me. "Where am I?" I asked. "You are at the Center." I tried sitting up, but my neck and back were hurting. I grunted. I felt my torso and saw blood. "You almost died, no one had survived a Cio's Bite, luckily we had one vaccine--anyway, do you know why you are here, Mr. Galvin?" I shook my head. How did he know my name? The man went and pulled a chair and sat next to the bed, "Well, the Supreme had classified you as an I.S.O. Since you refuse to join the 'Verse..." "I do want to join, I've been trying. " The man shook his head, "That is not the way. You've tryin to hack in, which is different. Hacking is prohibited. Did you know?" "No." I lied. I knew. "Well, let's get started." He stood up, then used his watch. Seconds later two guards entered the room. "Take him to the courtroom." One of the guards came to the bed and pulled my arm, "up," he commanded. When we stepped out the that room I found Ramsey standing by the door, "wait where are you taking him?" The guards didn't reply. The man with the white coat stepped out of the room, "We are taking him to be judged," he said. "That wasn't part of the deal." Said Ramsey. The man with the white coat ignored Ramsey. "Let him go!" Called Ramsay then went and pulled one of the guard's arm. The guard grasped Ramsey's arm then the man with the with the white coat stood face to face with Ramsey, "do you want your privileges taken?" Ramsey shook his head. "Good, do not interfere with your superiors' business, understood?" Ramsey nodded. "Now, go find me more I.S.Os." Without replying Ramsey left the building.

Before going to the courtroom the guards took me to a small room, they gave me new suit, and waited for me to change. While I was inside the room I looked around, thought I could find a way out, but the only way in and out of that room was the door.

After walking past several alleys, the guards left me in dark room. "Now what?" I asked, but the guards didn't reply; instead they slammed shut the door. I could not see, then the lights went on. I saw a chair in the middle. I went and sat down. "Ze Galvin" I looked around and saw a hologram; it was another man with a white coat. "As you may know, you've been categorized as I.S.O., do you understand?" "Yes." "Good, now you have two options, to serve the Center, or to go into the 'Verse under the Center's conditions. This sounded like a good deal, I couldn't let this opportunity go. "You have plenty of time, think about it." The white coat told me. It took me a few seconds before I made a decision. "I want to go into the 'Verse." I said. The white coat smiled, "good choice," He said, "Now lets get you ready." The door opened again and the two guards came in.

I was now in a small room; there were hundreds of devices allover. The door opened and another white coat came in. "Mr. Galvin, are you ready?" I nodded, then the white coat handed me a pad, "these are the terms, sign, please." I started reading. I didn't like it. "This was not part of the deal." "Well, you agreed to it." "But this is not..." One of the guards came and stood next to me. I knew I was cornered. There was a moment of silence. "Can we move on?" asked the man with the white coat. I had no other option. As soon as a used my fingerprint on the pad, some lights went on, and I heard the machines turning on. "Now." The white coat beckoned me to stand by the machine. I stood there, then felt like hundreds of needles stabbing my skin. "Relax, it is going to be 'short trip'."

+++

I woke up in my bedroom it was clean and organized, no phone pieces on my desk. I looked out side the window, it was nice. The trees were green and healthy. Then I realized, "Mom, Dad." I ran downstairs. The house was empty, something was telling me that this was the way it is supposed to be. I decided to take a walk. I wanted something to eat. I used my phone and found one place that was like two blocks away. When I got there an old lady greeted me, "It is just you?" She asked me? I nodded. "This way, please." I followed her to a small table by the corner. "Is this okay for you?" "Sure." "There is a code on the table if you will like to see the menu." I was scanning the code when I heard a voice, "Hello, can I get you something to drink, while you order?" "Sure..." I looked up and saw her. I felt my heart beating. It was her. I was numb. She waited for an answer. "What would you like?" I mouthed, "Gracie?" "Excuse me?" I snapped out of it. "I am sorry, I've mistaken you." The girl smiled, then went close to my ear, "It is me, I've been waiting for you." I didn't know what to say. "Here," She took my hand, "Follow me." She guided me outside the restaurant, where we met a big man in black, "Mrs. King, here's your coat," "Thank you," Replied her. She put the black coat on. I looked inside the restaurant and the old lady was coming. Gracie, or whoever she was, grabbed my hand again. "Hurry, she is coming." We walked about three doors down, and stopped at big red building, "This is it." We went inside the building and saw a man sitting behind the counter. "Name?" He asked. "Lolly." She replied. The man nodded, "It is door 'Forty-nine'." "Thank you." We had no trouble finding door 'Forty-nine'. "Are you ready?" I nodded. I stepped into the room. everything went white.

+++

I woke up gasping, and sweating. I looked around and saw a bonfire. I stood up. "How are you felling?" I turned around and saw Ramsey. Thoughts came back to me, "You?" I was mad now. "You sold me out?" Ramsey didn't reply. I was mad I wanted to confront him. "Don't you realize?" I stood there quiet. My mind processed thousands of thoughts. "Oh, I see." Then Ramsey smiled, "here." I caught the watch. "That belongs to you." "How did you?" It is a long story. I felt better. "What are you going to do now?" I smiled, "I have a few deeds, then I would return this watch. Ramsey nodded.