Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 20: Run, Cameron, Run

Milangelo said that a workout routine was paramount to athletic success, and so offered to exercise and train alongside Cameron. They exercised, trained, and rested every few hours to drink and eat until the day was nearly over. Before Milangelo and Ibis left, they tested Cameron's running ability again.

This time there was a noticeable difference in Cameron's performance: he had improved. He was still far from the average running speed for someone his age, but it was an improvement nonetheless. The three of them headed to their homes confident that they could make a champion out of Cameron yet.

Later that night, as they slept, three men clad in ski masks came to the stadium. They were looking to secure the property for a third party, who were the current legal owners. This company was known as Indigo International.

"Those poor bastards who have to come here and intimidate the faux proprietor. Have no idea who they even work for," said one of the men.

"In fairness, we have little more than a company name. Do you really think that is any better?" asked a second.

"Shut up, you two. We came here to do a job, and I, for one, do not want to waste any time that needs no wasting," said the third man.

The captain of the ship paused the memory scan. He asked Two-Seven if this was more piecemeal memory.

"I don't know, sir," said the system.

"How does a boy learn about what random thugs were up to? None of this makes sense."

"Sir, I've been running diagnostics, and it appears that the memory scanning software is finding information from that time that is missing from their memories by scanning..."

"Sounds like it's going way further than it needs to. Are these even memories or are they glimpses of that time?"

"It is difficult to assess, sir. But it can be safely assumed that any events that do not include our subjects are gathered from outside of their memories."

"And how exactly does this serve us?"

"I'd say it gives us a broader perspective on the events that transpired in their past."

"Hm, well it might not serve our purposes, but being able to understand the full story, might keep things from getting boring and unwatchable."

The events continued to unfold. The three men set up cameras all over the stadium. They left after their job was done and said nothing of it.

The next day, Cameron and Milangelo continued to train, and this time Iris joined in, though she was far less confident in what she was doing, and more so just wanted to support Cameron. As the training continued, so too did improvement on Cameron's part. By the end of the second day, Cameron had gotten fast enough to be considered an average runner.

"I don't understand," said Cameron to Milangelo.

"Don't understand what, Camen?" asked Ibis.

"I've improved more in these past two days than in my whole life. I've gotten to a point that I never thought possible."

"That's what happens when you are dedicated and supported by other people who are dedicated," said Milangelo.

"For someone with such awful parents, you sure are an amazing person," said Cameron.

"Oh, come off it, I'm not that amazing."

"Don't sell yourself short, Milang," said Ibis. "You know exactly how to make everything better."

"I don't know how, I just have ideas. And thankfully, for all of us, they work."

That night, the three men observed the camera footage to learn that the kids had been training there.