Perfect Future

Chapter 3

ShaLi tried to contain her nerves, but she couldn't help it. It was the day of the plan, or, as they liked to call it, The Imperfection. After eating a hearty meal of a few stale crackers and a fourth of a rat, ShaLi prepared to enter Wyatt's mind. They had practiced a few more times, and now it was the real deal. This was it, they were going to leave this house behind, and enter the Hub. Or, at least, Wyatt and JoVan were physically going to. ChaBo and ShaLi only mentally.

ChaBo said, "On three. One, two, thr-" And she collapsed on the floor. ShaLi looked at her for a second, then entered Wyatt's mind. She quickly brought up all the sensory information, and then dragged her body over to a corner, where she covered it with a few wooden beams. It felt wrong to leave it like that, but there was no time for ceremony.

"You ready?" Wyatt's voice rang out clear in her head. ShaLi took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." They moved out of the house, and, surprising herself, ShaLi recognized where they were. She motioned for JoVan/ChaBo to follow her, and they jogged out onto the familiar dirt path. This had been one of ShaLi's old homes, before she met ChaBo.

That was where I slept... an old hermit lived over there... He gave good food out sometimes... Ah! Here we go! This is the path towards the Hub! She made sure that JoVan/ChaBo was still following her, and they ran for quite some time. Of course, this camp had been abandoned long ago, when the survivors were still trying to hang onto life, before they had figured out how to prosper... It was eerie. ShaLi still expected to see some glimmer of life, but it was a desert of... nothing.

Soon, she saw the Hub looming up in front of her. She told Wyatt to change into a Faceless, and JoVan did the same, so ChaBo must've told him to as well. All was going according to plan, so far. They stopped running, and started the stiff-legged walk of the Faceless.

They were allowed into the Hub without a second glance from the guards. Yes, the Faceless could leave the Hub, but they weren't programmed to think about what was on the outside... just what's on the inside. How ironic. They walked down countless streets, taking in their surroundings. It seemed as if every single house was the same, every single street. Everything was either white, blue, or gray. It disgusted ShaLi. Where was the originality? To think that this was perfect!

But ShaLi was also beginning to worry. How were they going to be able to find Ringo like this? Ringo was the mastermind of the Hub, the total controller, and, as far as ShaLi knew, the only human in the Hub. They walked, and walked, and still, they could not find anything different. It was as if they were in a never-ending maze. Then, ShaLi sensed that ChaBo/JoVan had stopped behind them. ChaBo/JoVan tried to tap, but they were lifted up in the air by some unseen force.

ShaLi looked up, and saw Ringo floating there, using one hand to suspend her friend(s) and the other to pick her up. They both struggled there for a second, and then Ringo smiled.

"Hello, dearies. It seems you've found me. Oh dear, what are you going to do? Try to kill me? Burn the Hub to the ground? Oh my, it seems that just won't work, will it?"

He set the two bodies down on the ground, and then motioned for some guards to knock them out. It was only a few seconds before ShaLi blacked out that she realized that Ringo's voice sounded exactly like Silar's.