Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Twelve

The three of them stood on the fire escape platform. Milo kept lookout while Alex reached into her bag and pulled out a device Aris had never seen before – an antique handheld radio.

"What the heck is that thing?" he asked.

"This?" she said, holding up the radio. "This is a special glass remover device."

Milo laughed because he knew Alex was just messing with Aris.

"No way, is that another gadget you invented? How does it work?"

"It's simple really. I just grip it like this," she demonstrated, clutching the radio tightly. "Then to activate it, I just need to raise it above my head like this."

"Yeah."

"You might want to stand back," Alex warned. She then forcefully bashed the radio against the window, causing the glass to shatter on impact. Aris felt foolish, but had a smile on his face.

"Not everything has to be so high-tech, you know," she said.

Now that the window was smashed, Alex reached through and unlatched the locking mechanism. She hoisted the frame up, being careful not to cut herself on the shards, then climbed through. Milo and Aris followed behind her.

Broken glass crunched beneath their feet as each one entered. All three now stood inside a room, which was believed to be Mara's old bedroom. After a quick walk through, Alex went back into the bedroom while Milo and Aris searched the living room and kitchen. Alex relished the fact that this was where her mother once lived, or at least where her mother was presumed to have lived.

The apartment was empty; however, Alex got a sense of where the furniture used to be based on the discolorations on the floor. It was another example of the sun's powerful effects as it once poured through the windows, bleaching the hardwood floor except in places that housed large objects. Now that the sun's rays had been mollified several decades ago with the gold particles in the atmosphere, these discolorations would likely remain there forever, almost like a photograph, preserving a moment in time.

Alex slowly made her way around the room, taking her time to examine everything. It was not that she was looking for anything in particular; she was just trying to absorb some lost piece of her mother's history. The bedroom was connected to a bathroom so Alex entered it. As it was in her nature to be curious, she opened all the cupboards and drawers, and even huffed on the dirty mirror hoping a hidden message would be revealed in the fog. She turned the knobs on the faucet, but nothing came out. After taking one last look around, she went back into the bedroom.

"Hey, Alex, come check this out," Milo called out from the living room. Alex went over to where Milo was standing. He was looking at something in the fireplace. Alex leaned in closer to get a better look at what Milo was referring to. Inside the fireplace, nestled in a pile of black ash, was a charred up teddy bear. It was pretty worn. The body was missing, the eyes were melted, and it was filthy with soot.

"Do you think that was supposed to be yours?" Milo asked.

"I'm not sure. We don't know what happened to this apartment after my mum left. Another family could have moved in afterwards, not to mention we have yet to find any evidence that my mother actually lived here. For all we know, she could have lived next door and just happened to run through this apartment during her escape."

"Are you really going to stay here tonight, Alex?" Aris asked. "No offense, but these hundred-year-old apartments give me the creeps. Who knows what's buried under the floorboards."

"If you want me to stay here with you, I will," Milo said.

"No, you should go back to the Facility, otherwise you might arouse suspicion and be placed on the government's radar."

The posse split up, leaving Alex in the apartment by herself. The fact there was no heat, hot water, electricity, or furniture did not bother her. Somehow, she felt at home. She occupied her time mainly by looking out the window and watching movies on her access pod. Before the sun went down, she did a few more laps around the apartment.

As the sun began its descent, Alex decided to go back to the room to set up camp. She took out her tattered navy blue blanket and made a cozy spot on the floor. Alex nestled in, preparing for a long uncomfortable night. She laid on her back and stared up at the patterns in the ceiling before closing her eyes. A million thoughts raced through her mind. She imagined her mother living in the apartment, and then thought about what her life would have been like if she were to live with her mother in the apartment.

After some time, she reopened her eyes. By now, the room was completely dark. A faint glow from the moon entered the room. Aris was right, she thought, this place is kind of creepy. It was at that moment that the following statement Aris had made entered her mind, who knows what's buried under the floorboards. Alex immediately sat up, unhitched her access pod from her arm, and enabled the density scanner application. She held her access pod out in front of her and slowly walked around the room, scanning the floor. A green image, showing anything denser than hardwood, showed up on the display. It was mostly pipes and screws being displayed, but then she noticed something hidden beneath the very spot she had been laying.