Damalia looked around the corner. "No one is coming." she hushed the words to those behind her. They were all hunched over as if that would keep them from being seen by those...things.
No one said a word as they snuck across the empty alleyway and into a door on the other side. Once inside they felt a bit more comfortable and stood up straight. Still no one spoke but the outward sighs of relief were tangible.
"You're safe here." came a voice from behind a shelf in the far dark corner. A significant gasp escaped from everyone in the group. "Please stay quiet, but you are safe here." The hushed words were coming from the shadows. Demalia spoke her quiet words first. "Who are you? I'm glad to hear we are safe here but, who are you?"
"I'm Fredrick. Fred for short." He sounded a bit tired but not like he might be one of them. Damalia began walking toward him and..."Let's stay separate for now...if you don't mind. One can never be too sure." Damalia stopped in her tracks and said, "Fair enough. What is this place anyway?"
"It's an old papermill. It's been empty since the mid 2000s." Fred sounded a bit sad but added. "I owned it when I was...well, a long time ago. I was hoping to bring back paper books but didn't get the chance before everything went to hell! It started out really well and I had a loyal following for at least three years. Business was growing so fast I wasn't sure I would be able to keep up."
"What happened?" asked one of the others. Raymond, who was only fifteen, had heard of Fredrick's books but couldn't continue learning about them because the plague had swept over the world, taking curiosity and dreams away from everyone. "There was too many in governments against my work. Too many wanting to keep people under their control through their devices. It took them three years because, well, I didn't use devices. They couldn't control me."
"I wanted to learn about them but never got the chance to fully understand before..." Raymond's sad and forlorn voice trailed off as he thought back to the memory of being free to choose what he wanted to read. "You really didn't have freedom to choose what you read." said Fredrick. Raymond was a bit taken aback at the idea that Fredrick seemed to know what he was thinking.
"Whatever you read was dictated to you by others who controlled the tablets you read on. They tracked your eye movements, noticed where you stopped and what you looked up. They even suggested what you read next depending on what you pulled up. What you didn't see was the subliminal messaging behind what you read on your screen."
The room was even more silent than before. Damalia asked, "What do you mean?" "Mom," piped in Tarsy, a fiery thirteen year old and Raymond's sister. "he's saying there weren't only words on those tablets we were reading." She turned her head in the direction of Fredrick and said, "Is that right?" "Yes, I'm surprised you knew." "I didn't, but after listening to Raymond preach for weeks about it, I connected the dots after hearing what you just said." "You have a wise daughter there." Fredrick said to Damalia. He shifted himself but the group still couldn't see him clearly.
"Is that why you are in here, in your shop?" added Raymond. "I am here because I didn't know where else to go. This building has been in my family for decades and has been pretty hidden for all that time. It is my safe place."
Helen, the only five year old in the group said, "Why won't you come out?"
"I don't want to scare you. I am just a little sick and don't want to infect you." "Are you one of them?" Damalia's comment was trifold. Fredrick could feel her confusion, apprehension and tell her fear was under control. "If I was, wouldn't I have already attacked you?" "Fair enough," responded Raymond, but your teachings, at least the ones I was able to get ahold of, talked about strength of character and intention. I didn't get much but...could you have found a way to overcome the plague?"
Fredrick let out a guttural laugh and then said, "Yes my friend. I was about to show how it is possible to overcome almost anything by simply..." he hesitated. "I don't really think I should get into that here...and now." "Can I come alone to see you?” asked Raymond, “I'm not afraid." Damalia reached her hand for Raymond's arm and then pulled it back. Fredrick could tell Raymond was serious and he contemplated it for a small second before he said, "I don't think that is a good idea. You look like you are needed in your small group there."
Raymond's disappointment was palpable but Fredrick could tell it was being managed by a strength he hadn't seen in a long time. "Alright, but only you and not too close." The room was thick with anticipation as Raymond walked slowly over to the shelves behind where Fredrick had been hiding. As Fredrick came into Raymond's view, he couldn't help but let out a small, almost imperceivable gasp. "You..your.."
Raymond had stopped about ten feet away. He took a moment to process how he felt and then went a little closer. "You're not fully transformed! How is that possible?"
"It is a long story my friend. One that I'm willing to share but only if you are ALL willing and ready to hear it." Raymond turned around and every one of the four people in the group slowly nodded their slightly frightened faces. "Where would we go? It's not safe out there." suggested Raymond.
"Alright, sit down over there and I will speak from here."
