THE NEYVEN MAYHEM

Chapter 4

"First thing tomorrow we look for Zoe." I say and all of us agree to it.

All night I couldn't sleep well. Ever since Zoe found me in the orphanage when I was 5, she has been everything to me. I've never seen my parents except for the pictures Zoe shows me. She is my mother's younger cousin. I could but only think, 'I can't afford to lose the one person I love.'

JULY 2nd, 2045. 05:00.

Aria's POV:

I won't say I'm not worried. I've been trying to connect Mom and Dad on the line but no luck, we don't know where Zoe is. I might as well be overthinking it, maybe Mom and Dad are just busy and Zoe is out for some work but I have this weird feeling that something's not right.

I get up from my bed, where I've been tossing all night without a good sleep. Not that I get them back home but the least I wanted is to avoid night-ups here. I go to June and find her getting ready and Chad's already in the Glass room with breakfast on the table.

" Morning!" "Hey! Let me guess, couldn't sleep well.." Chad looks my way from across the table. "Nobody could. I'd better take a pod for a round of the charted areas towards East." I look straight at him, " What are you thinking of? You're not going alone." "I know these places well. No one needs to come with me." "But we are," says Ian pulling a chair for breakfast opposite me. " Chad, you are not going to stop us. We'll go together, didn't we agree to it last night?"

Chad sighs, " See, I know what Zoe means to you. And that you're really worried. But I can't risk it knowing that those forests are dangerous. You all need to stay here and wait. If Dr. Renn returns they need to be informed and in case Zoe comes back to the headquarters, there has to be someone here." "I get the point you're trying to make. But the chances of Zoe returning to headquarters are slim. If she was still on the island, we'd have found her on the radar. She obviously won't go to the unexplored areas. Right?" Ian looks at me expecting a sort of approval. I just nod, firmly. " Anyways, we are coming with you."

"Ian, guys. Please, try to understand. You people going there is not safe. You all won't know how to handle it if something untoward happens." Chad tries to convince us. "And you think you'll be able to come back safe without anybody going with you. Don't tell me, I know it's the norm that a pod can only venture out if a total of three people are going, Mom told me." I say. " There are only five other scientists here, those who know only of things inside the lab. So, we are coming with you. Period." I say in a way that it is decided.

I go to my room to try to get Mom on the line one last time. No response. I move around and stuff some important things in my bag. Suddenly I hear faint footsteps from the corridor and notice a shadow at my door, "Who's it?" I ask and it moves away as soon as I do. I ran outside, but no one was visible. 'Who could it be?' I think 'Maybe just an attendant.'

.................

"So are the pods ready?" I asked Chad who was checking something on his AI band. He turns to face me and says, "Y'all won't listen to me, right?" "About going out there by yourself, no," I reply. He sighs, "Yes pods are ready." "We're too." June says swinging her bag on her shoulder, Ben following right behind.

"I'd rather go and check the pods for any technical faults. It happened once that a few explorers got stuck in the middle of the forest because the pod stopped working." Chad says. "Oh! That's awful. We wouldn't want that." June says in a way that she doesn't mean it.

"Hey! Stop!" We hear Ian shout from the corridor. We glance at each other for a moment and run towards his room. "Ian? You okay?" Ben asks pulling him by his arms up from the floor, a few feet away from his room. Ian was panting lightly. "What's the matter?" "There was, there was this man with scrubs and a face mask, at my door. When I came out, he tried to pierce something on my neck. I almost caught him, but.."

"On your neck?" I sounded almost anxious. I might not end up being a celebrated scientist but I know this much that piercing something on anyone's neck cannot mean good. "Yeah, he almost did but unknowingly I had grabbed his hand that had the thing, and I guess he hurt himself instead." he says. "We should check the surveillance." June suggests. "No. We don't want to waste any more time. It's 7 already. We should go. Where is Chad?" he asks. "He's gone outside to check the pods." I reply. "Good. Don't let Chad know that this happened." Ian says. " Someone was there at my door too this morning, though I couldn't see anybody, just a shadow and footsteps." I say recalling. "So there almost definitely is somebody who do not want us here or what?" June says doubtingly. " Let's not think too much about this. And avoid bringing up this in front of Chad. You all know why." Ian says and we nod in understanding. " We should go." Ian strides towards the stairs that lead outside. June gives me a nudge, "What's up with you two?" she whispers. "What do you mean?" I say and walk ahead.

.........

" Okay, so one pod needs to go auto-drive. " Chad says getting on one of the pods. " There's no need for that, I can drive. Just guide me a bit." I say. Ian and Chad both give me a confused look. "Okay, so she won't tell you. Zoe taught her the basics last day. Of course, she isn't an expert yet but I guess she'll be able to bring us back in one piece." June informs them.
" Thank you for confirming." I sarcastically roll my eyes at her. Also, I notice Ian smile at me. I don't know what he means by that.

" You four take one I'll take the other. That way we'll be saving on oxygen." Chad tells and we agree, "You go ahead and I'll follow on the heels."

"Alright! Ready?" I say looking at the others sitting in the pod, gripping the controller in my hand. And as soon as I do, everything around trembles for a few seconds startling us all. "That, wasn't me." I say looking around to see if anything is wrong with the pod. Chad comes to our pod and asks, "You all felt that?" "Was it an earthquake then?" Ben asks, "If everyone felt it, it's not anything wrong with the pod." June adds, "It's something wrong with the island, you mean?"

.................

Hey all! What do you think may be wrong with the island? Where did Zoe disappear? And who wanted to hurt Ian and why?

Do comment with your opinion. And don't forget to vote :)