Chapter 19

Jason and Jenna followed Charles through the grass, and endless blue sky surrounding them and not a tree in sight. He considered grabbing Jenna and running.

Where the hell would I run?

He sighed and continued to follow Charles. With nowhere to run and Jenna the only friendly company, he watched the grass fold underneath his feet with each step. A hand grabbed hold of his own, causing him to flinch in surprise. When he realized it was Jenna’s hand, he squeezed back and smiled.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said Charles, a few steps ahead. As much as he hated the man at this moment, he agreed. There were a few clouds in the sky, but apart from that he’d never seen anything like it. A blue sky back home didn’t remotely get this blue. Jenna was staring up at the sky as well, doubtless thinking about the same thing.

“How long exactly are we walking?” Jason asked. They walked for an hour already, and Jason could feel his legs beginning to grow sore. Good thing I didn’t decide to run. I can’t even walk this long. I’m so out of shape.

“Three hours. Four at most. We could jog if you’d like to get there faster, although I imagine running already crossed your mind.” He turned around and glanced at their hands, still embraced between them. “Hmph. I wish they’d invent cars already. As much as I like this walk, I wouldn’t mind shortening the trip.”

Invent cars? Did they really just abandon all of those people?

Charles reached into a bag onto his back and grabbed a water bottle, tossing it to Jason. He let go of Jenna’s hand to grab it, offering it to Jenna before he took a swig. Condensation covered the water bottle, cooling his hands. “Where are we, exactly?” Jason asked after swallowing the water. He handed the bottle to Jenna.

“South of Hawai’i a few hundred miles,” Charles responded.

“And you haven’t been discovered?” Jenna took a sip from the water bottle then twisted the cap back on.

“Hah! It’s incredible how invisible you can become to the world when you have the right technology.” Conversation stopped for a while as they continued to walk, patterns of sweat forming on Jason’s shirt. He raised his arm to look at his shirt, curious how visibly wet his shirt was. Kidnapped, on an island in the middle of nowhere, crazed scientists everywhere, and I’m worried if Jenna is judging me for a sweaty shirt.

Jenna looked over and noticed Jason staring at his armpit and smiling. Jason threw his hand down, coughing to mask the embarrassment that was sure to redden his face. She splashed some water on him. Jason tried to swat it away, ending up getting some of the water back on her. They both laughed as Jason reached for the water bottle, Jenna pulling the bottle behind her back, holding up her free hand.

“Hey, you two!” interrupted Charles. “Let’s save some of that water for drinkin’, hmm?” Charles walked over to the two and snatched the water from behind Jenna’s back. “Kids,” he grumbled, putting the water back in his pack and continuing on. Jenna winked at Jason as she followed Charles.

“So what are they like? The people in Dawn?” asked Jason.

“Pretty normal. A few quirks here and there to one of us, but to them, normal.”

“A few quirks?”

“Yeah,” said Charles. “They don’t knock on doors. They typically knock on a window by the door so the person inside can see them. They don’t shake hands when they meet each other, either. They find it unsanitary.”

“Simon mentioned something about shaking hands,” chimed Jenna. “He never said what they do, though.”

Charles turned around to face them and moved his hands off to his side, palms facing them. He then brought them to his midsection, his right hand cupping his left. “Nice to meet you two. I’m Chuck.”

“Huh?” Jason’s face twisted in confusion.

“I said, nice to meet you.”

Jason looked over to Jenna, her palms facing Charles then moving above her waist. “Nice to meet you, Chuck.”

Charles nodded to Jenna then glanced at Jason when it finally clicked. “Oh!” He mimicked Charles, gripping his hands together then holding them at his sides, palms out.

“That’s how they introduce themselves here,” Charles began. “In our society, we shake hands. That originated because it was proof that you were unarmed, that you had no intention of bringing harm to the other person. Well, at least not with a weapon. It’s a similar idea, but it’s also more sanitary since you aren’t actually grabbing the other person’s hand. It’s just like any other culture having to invent their own way of introducing each other; theirs just happened to be a mosh of other cultures.”

Jason looked down at his hands, thinking about all of the times he shook someone else’s hand because it was what he was taught to do. He thought about waving his hand. Why does that signify saying hello? Someone a long time ago decided it was how to do things?

“I can see the cogs turning in your head, Jason. I felt the same way when Simon brought me here.” Charles turned back around began walking. Jason and Jenna followed.

“How did you become a part of this?” said Jenna. “This all seems so…wrong. I’m still not sure I believe everything.”

“I used to feel that way, too. I didn’t believe for the longest time, so it doesn’t surprise me that you still question it. Unfortunately, you’ll have to accept it soon. I can’t have you disbelieving when we’re interacting with everyone now, can I?” Charles turned and winked at Jenna. Jason felt a twinge of jealousy at that wink, just a hint of anger. Jenna didn’t seem to notice.

“Simon’s grandparents and mine were good friends a long time ago. My grandfather often spoke of John and Sue Ann, Simon’s grandparents. He would tell stories of them when they were children, riding their bikes to school, stopping to get ice cream even in the winter. He said that one day that John just disappeared without a word, as did his family. One day, decades later, after my grandfather passed away, I received a letter from Simon. It was…incredibly surreal. I nearly forgot entirely about him.

“In the letter he apologized to me for disappearing. He said it was for good reason. He also said he wanted me to come visit him and that he would come pick me up in a private jet. I almost threw the letter away, assuming it was a cruel joke.

“Lo and behold, a week later, Simon showed up on my f*****g doorstep. Nearly twenty years after they disappeared, and he shows up on my doorstep. I didn’t know what to think.” Charles waved his hand. “I apologize, I’m ranting. That was quite the turning point for my life, so I tend to get a bit sidetracked.”

They walked in silence for a few moments before Jason spoke. “How did this start? How could you just imprison these people here?”
“These people were here well before my time. Some of them have lived longer in Dawn than I have been alive.”

“But that doesn’t make it okay!” Jason considered grabbing Jenna and running again, but realized he had no idea where he would go. They had been walking for hours already.

“Okay? What’s not okay about it? What makes this different than any other culture? There are third world countries that are home to people far worse off than Dawn. We are merely studying the evolution of one culture in a controlled environment.”

Whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night.

“How have they not found out about all of this?” Jenna asked.

“Fear, mostly. Fear of the unknown. It’s easy to spread rumors when you have the ability to control aspects of a society. There have been some people that have attempted to travel as far as possible, some even getting close to our facility. We take extreme precautions in making sure they don’t make it, or if they do, that they don’t make it back.”

“You kill them, don’t you?” Jason had the sudden urge to strangle Charles. No wonder Chris left, these men are scum.

“Kill them? Only when necessary to continue our studies. A majority of them we employ, actually. It’s the ones that refuse servitude that we eliminate.”

Jason began to feel nauseous.

“This is bigger than all of us,” Charles said. “The deaths of a few of them is necessary to continue.”

I can’t believe these people actually think they are doing something good.

They continued walking in silence for another few miles, Jason occasionally catching Jenna glancing at him. The sun began to descend behind them. The three of them walked most of the way through the afternoon, stopping every now and then for a drink of water. They didn’t talk much about Dawn anymore, and small talk was the last thing Jason cared to do. About an hour after their last break, Jason could see buildings come into view on the horizon. There were only a few at first, none of them taller than a couple stories. As they got closer, he noticed more and more houses. A few of them had chimneys, the gray smoke disappearing into the darkening sky. Have we really walked all day?

Jason felt the strain in his legs after spending the entire day walking. He noticed Jenna slouching, most likely feeling the same fatigue that Jason felt. “We’re almost there,” Charles said. “I’ll put you two in the guest room for tonight.”

The grass beneath them slowly turned to dirt as they got closer to town. Jason could see lanterns being lit from afar as the sun descended further. Their shadows led them toward Dawn, getting taller and taller the closer they got. Twenty yards ahead of them, where the heads of their shadows rested, Jason saw a brick road leading into town. “Watch your step, you two. It’s getting a little dark.”

They reached the road and stepped on top of the brick. Jason noticed each brick was a square, each one lining up perfectly with the ones surrounding it.

“Welcome to my home,” Charles said, “my life’s greatest achievement.”