Prologue

PROLOGUE

 

SOMETIMES WE GET CAUGHT IN THAT VOID BETWEEN WAKEFULNESS AND SLEEP. Sometimes we’ll think things that make no sense and say things we wish we hadn’t once we actually wake up. Often, you find yourself in this void not remembering how you got to wherever you are.

That’s why, when I opened my eyes, I was terribly confused.

I was stuck in the void -- I must have been, since I didn’t really know where I was. But I was confused, conversely, because I felt fine; completely normal. My mind was alert, my thoughts ran smoothly, and I remembered exactly what had happened the night before.

The world had ended.

But then why was I here? Was I dead? I blinked away the lingering sleep from my eyes and tried to focus. Where was I?

I sat up and took a look at my surroundings. It was a simple bedroom --  certainly not mine -- with four plain walls and a table shoved in the corner. Nothing that suggested I was in some kind of afterlife or stuck in a type of limbo. I kicked off the thin blanket that covered me and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. My feet rested on the cold wooden floor with two irritating creaks as I straightened. I felt sore. My limbs were heavy.

I wasn’t expecting anyone else to come into the room. For some reason, I was sure I was by myself. I especially wasn’t expecting a gaunt-faced, wild-eyed man to blast through the door like a firecracker.  I jumped so high I must have cleared the bed by a foot. Electric-yellow dots danced over my eyes as my ears rung from the deafening sound.

The man was tall, two sturdy legs holding up a lanky frame. He blinked once in surprise, as if I were the one that just blasted into the room.

“Ah, excellent. You’re awake,” he said. His voice was wiry, sending tendrils of emerald green crawling down my vision. “Well, in that case, we haven’t got any time to waste, have we?”

I then figured out who the guy reminded me of: the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. I imagined him pulling out an enormous pocket watch and telling me to get dressed for tea.

My initial question was, “What is this place?” But as I opened my mouth to speak to this wiry man, I heard a different sentence roll off my tongue; a statement, in fact.

“You’re Dr. Paradaux.”

“Yes, yes,” he said on a note of irritation. He didn’t seem at all surprised that I knew his name, though I was a little shocked myself. Actually, he seemed more impatient than anything. “And you’re Ezekiel Barkley. But we’ve got no time for formalities, Ezekiel Barkley. We must get to business. Please, come along.” He motioned to the door, which was still hanging open from the doctor’s classy entry.

But I wasn’t going anywhere. I was still trying to work through my own thoughts. Should I have been surprised that he knew my name? Should I have been surprised that I knew his? No, I knew better than that. It had to be him. Who else could be the Dr. Gerard Paradaux, the man who’d nearly ended the lives of my friends, my family, and myself?

“Where am I?” I asked, holding my ground.

Dr. Paradaux clenched his jaw, obviously annoyed. “You, Mr. Barkley, are on the brink of discovery.” He pulled something, something thin and flimsy, out of his jacket pocket, blocking it with his spidery fingers. “Why -- can’t you smell it?”

I watched transfixed as he held out a piece of paper, a sticky candy red. He flicked his wrist, sending the card fluttering to my feet. I jumped away, staring at the crimson red as it landed on the floor. I flared my nostrils, my head suddenly filled with the dizzyingly strong scent of mint. I tore my eyes away from the paper.

But I knew it wasn’t the card itself that smelled so pungently. It was the color.

“That, Ezekiel Barkley, is the stench of discovery. Tell me, what does it smell like to you?”

I hesitantly lifted my eyes to his face again. His arms were back at his sides, and his curious pupils probed mine for an answer.

“Mint,” I told him somberly. “It smells like mint.”

A coy smile curled around Gerard Paradaux’s lips. The criss-cross wrinkles webbing his face rearranged themselves entirely as he showed his teeth.

“Excellent.”

Reviews

[Becky Lawrence]

It's an interesting read, I want to read more :D
I have a question though, is this about a person with Synesthesia? Sorry if that's way off... I'm curious haha

[Mutley]

Nice, this was really interesting :) . Dialogue is wonderful, and the whole sight-smell thing is intriguing, I want to know more! :P

[Calypso]

This is wonderful!!! I love it! I know this will be an amazing story!! I can't wait for the next chapter