Power (Book 1)

Chapter 27

I was surrounded by a dark void. There was nothing around me. No stars or planets. No light at all. I couldn't see anything. There was no sound as well. I couldn't even hear myself breathing.

This must be what death is like, I thought. And then it hit me.

I am dead.

*****

I thought about everyone I had left behind. Jake. Cassie. Ben, who still was nowhere to be found. My mom, who I couldn't find as well, and my dad, who was in a coma. Why couldn't I come back as a ghost so I could get rid of my unfinished business? Isn't that how it worked?

I couldn't feel pain here, but I felt like I should. It would help me cope with my new reality. I would go insane soon if I couldn't get out of here, or at least feel something.

Wherever here was, I wanted to get out. This place gave me the same creepy feeling as the portal at Afterlight. Now that I thought about it, they both looked the same, too.

It felt like I'd been here for days, just floating in nothingness. But there was no way to measure time, and counting the seconds wouldn't help. I stopped trying after I reached 500.

So when someone else finally appeared,  I was relieved.

He just popped in, coming out of nowhere. Probably the same way I would look to someone else when I first got here. But it didn't matter; now, I wasn't alone anymore.

He looked to be about ten feet away from me. He was old, with wispy grey hairs clinging to his scalp; it came out of his ears and nose (ew) as well. He wore glasses that were precariously perched on the edge of his nose. He also had on a red sweater vest and a long sleeved shirt and tie with khakis.

Classic librarian.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? Am I dead? Did you just die? How can I see you? It's too dark here. Do you know what this place is?" I bombarded him with questions from across the gap between us.

"Slow down!" the man said with a wave of his hand. He drifted closer to me so he wouldn't have to shout. "I am not dead, and neither are you. We are in your mind right now. You're being placed here while your nanobots fix you up."

"Nanobots? You mean the infinity matrix?"

"That's what they chose to call it," the man said in disdain. "I prefer nanobots."

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "Next question. If we're in my mind, then why is it so dark?"

"You tell me," he shrugged. "You should be able to control this. It is your head, after all."

"Since this is my brain, then can't I make you disappear?"

"No. You don't have complete control over your brain- the nanobots take over some functions. But you can control what you see in here, that much is for sure," the man continued. "I have to be here to show you what to do. You created the way I look, but I was going to appear in some form or other anyway."

The man smoothed out his vest, even though I was sure there wasn't a wrinkle on it. "Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. My name is Boan. See, I'm here to give you understanding."

"Understanding about what?"

"About everything." He waved around him. I'm sure the move was meant to make me feel awed, but it was lost on me since nothing was around here. "About why you have to do what Sage said, how to use your powers, who the real creator of the nanobots is, that stuff. Everything you need to know."

"So why haven't you done it yet?" I asked him.

"Because you were asking questions, and I could answer them right away."

Boan looked around, probably noticing just how dark it was here. "Can you put some color in here? Think about your room, or somewhere else you go to often."

"Alright." I held out my hand, imagining my room materialize around us. I didn't close my eyes- it wouldn't have made a difference what with the darkness already around me.

After a few seconds of concentrating, I gave up. We would just be stuck here, in this inky black.

As soon as I stopped trying to bring the memory forward, it came to me. Little patches of individual pieces of my room started to materialize. What started to form strengthened the memory, and the pieces began to come together. Soon, Boan and I were standing in my room.

"That's more like it." Boan sighed, taking my desk seat. "Alright."

I stood hesitantly, not sure what to do.

"Well, come on then." He patted the floor in front of him, telling me to sit down.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him. I sat down in front of him.

"Just say still and close your eyes," he advised. "I'm about to transmit something to you. When I'm done, you will wake up. Simple as that."

I had to keep myself from saying, "nothing is ever simple anymore," but I held myself back. I was eager to find out what I needed to do. If Boan could give me whatever I needed to know, then he would give me the location of my mother in addition to everything else. That I really needed.

"Let's go," I said enthusiastically.

Boan placed his hand on my shoulder. Little blue lines spread from him into me. I could feel them inside my body.

"One last thing." Boan looked deep into my eyes. I felt my own start to droop shut, against my will. I had forgotten to close them, but I didn't think it mattered now. "I am the nanobots."

"But...how..." I struggled to speak as the drowsiness began to take over.

"I told you, you chose what form I took," he said. His voice seemed to fade away with each word. His face grew dimmer, as did my room around us.

"I won't leave you," he said his final words to me. "When you need me, just ask."

I felt my consciousness fade away.