The Disparate One

Grime, mold, and other disgusting unknown remnants plagued the place. Ray’s feet splat in the middle of the small puddle meters in front of the giant door. He brought out his phone to check the map but its screen won’t light up.

He gazed around, eyeing the hanging corridor where he came. On the walls, he could see an endless line of stains wrapping around the place. Aside from the echoing mumbles of the generator, he could hear trickles of water from somewhere.

He stepped towards the door, gazing up at the towering structure. Its light gray color made him think it was molded out of concrete, or a giant slab of rock. He pressed his hand and knocked as if it was a normal wooden door. It was indeed made out of concrete.

He looked around for a button, a lever perhaps. But his sight was limited by the lack of lights because most of which were pointed at the door.

After some closer inspection, he found a flat device stuck onto the wall next to the door. It was a scanner. Though, it looked different than any scanner he saw in the facility. No key nor card slot. Not even buttons. Just a flat surface.

He knew it was a biometric scan. Pressing his palm flat on it, the device suddenly beeped and lit up. Ray pulled himself away from the door when he heard a loud bang.

Waves of dust particles barrelled from the walls, colliding in the middle where Ray stood. The door started to slide open. The deep bangs of each tooth of each gear shook Ray’s mind which was baffled by the bright glow seeping from the door.

On the other side of the door was a large glass platform with a wide control desk up front where it showed a great view of endless rows of glass cabinets. On one side of the platform was a tall conveyor belt that led to the pair of robotic arms meters below the platform.

Ray’s breathing shortened and smoke poured out of his mouth and nose when he walked onto the platform which he found out to be floating by itself.

He immediately wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing. He inspected the control desk that appeared to not have any frosting. He moved to the edge of the platform which didn’t have railings, but he later found out there was a forcefield around it when he stretched his hand out. There was no possible way for him to get down without breaking his legs. He refocused on the desk decorated with different buttons, levers, and screens.

He jumped when he heard a hiss behind him. It was only the door closing. When it had closed shut, he began to hear his heartbeat. His breathing trembled.

He found another familiar-looking flat scanner on the side of the console. He pressed his hand on it again, fighting the urge to instinctively pull away from the freezing surface. The console came to life.

A giant, holographic search bar appeared above him followed by a keyboard sliding out of the console.

The place was getting colder by the minute. Ray knew he wouldn’t last long. His body shivered and his teeth chattered when he entered a random letter on the search bar and pressed the key which had a magnifying glass symbol.

In an instant, infinite numbers of holograms showed around him, filling his view with different unknown videos. Not a single one was in common. Except for one thing, all of which seemed like it was recorded from the recorders’ point of view.

Distinctive voices flooded his ears as he tried to figure out what he did and what these were. He didn’t want to assume someone was stalking others.

He deleted the letter on the search bar and replaced it with a group of random letters. It couldn’t even be classified as a word. Immediately, the holograms disappeared and were replaced by two words below the search bar.

No result.

Then, something came to his mind. He replaced the letters with Chap’s name on the search bar and suddenly, the countless holograms returned, this time with different videos. Same perspective.

He watched a specific hologram where Chap held a syringe while extracting someone’s blood. Seconds later, Chap looked up to an oddly familiar-looking figure. It was a teen. Wearing a white… general... suit.

Ray stuttered. He leaned closer when Oxford’s figure came to the picture. His eyes gradually grew on an idea.

He snapped his fingers and punched the air with overwhelming joy. He had found it! These weren’t videos! These were memories! Ray loudly sighed in relief with a smile across his face.

You’ll get your memories back, Oxford, Ray thought when he removed Chap’s name and placed Oxford’s.

Numerous holograms changed Oxford’s perspective. His familiar, thick New York accent brought joy to his ears. He admired every hologram around him, seeing Fier’s figure and other familiar-looking faces when he reminded himself to not be a stalker. Now that he had found what he was looking for, another question arose. How would he put these back?

He scanned the console but was too afraid to touch anything. He never knew when one of these buttons could put the entire facility in self-destruction.

He found one of the screens displaying what appeared to him a menu. There were different types of commands listed alphabetically. He scrolled down and stopped when his eyes read “Retrieve chip”. He gulped when he pressed it.

Suddenly, he heard something buzzing below his feet. He looked down and found the pair of arms moving and twisting in their places. A second later, Ray watched in amazement when the arms dashed forward and turned to one of the rows in the far distance, disappearing from his sight.

On the other screen on the other side of the console, Ray found a progress bar and a small map that showed where the arms were heading.

A whole minute later, they returned to his view with a trail of mist behind them as they dashed back below the platform. Ray caught them holding something shimmering. The conveyor belt suddenly whirred to life. Many empty, soft-padded trays moved in front of him until it stopped, presenting one tray overflowing with thick mist.

Ray waved the smoke away, revealing a tiny, thin, glass, square sheet. He carefully picked it up, feeling its sharp edges. Miniscule, semi-transparent lines ran around the unknown material. On the corner of his eyes, he found the first screen blinking.

Memory Chip delivered.

Ray showed a curious, yet mixed look at the device. The device that held all of Oxford’s memories. In the size of a thumb. Made out of a fragile material. He grinned when he patted his pockets, picking which one was the safest. He decided to slip the device into his breast pocket, hoping to any god out there that this would be a wise choice.

He walked back to the giant door when it began to open. He knew this device alone wouldn’t solve the problem and the mystery. He still needed a way for him to transfer these to Oxford’s mind, which was inside his skull.

Then, somehow, his mind wanted him to stay put because of one reason. Why would someone put a pin on the map to this secret location? If it was Sion, then why? Did he discover something? Was this off-limits to everyone? It must be since it probably contained everyone’s memories. But… the real question arose. What did he see?

Ray stood still in front of the moving doors. He thought about his next step now that he had the chip. But for now, something on the other side of the door waiting needed his attention.

A tall shadow cast over Ray who couldn’t move in his place. He swallowed hard when he slowly looked up and met with Cal’s eyes.