The Next Generation (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 3

    “What do we have here?”

    Ben cautiously opened his eyes to find out he was no longer in the hospital room that he had collapsed in. He had been transported to an entirely new environment. Looking around, it seemed he was in a clearing of sorts. For miles in every direction, all he could see was rolling hills covered in pine and oak trees, much like the mountain near where he lived. Unlike those mountains, though, here, there was not a single sign that any one person had ever been here before. This area was completely void of human influence, being just him and pure nature. To his right, there was a break in the treeline, opening to a large lake stretching out endlessly beyond the horizon. The surface was smooth, void of a single ripple. It was so perfectly smooth that it perfectly reflected the things around it. Ben felt that if he touched it, the ripples would spread out undisturbed until they hit the other side of the lake out of his view. He sat up from the ground he had been laying on and reached out to try.

    “Are you listening to me?”

    Ben jumped. He whipped his head around to the direction of the sound. 

    “I swear I thought the last guy was spacey,” the figure began, standing at the edge of the treeline, covered in shadow to obscure his appearance. “but you’re worse.”

    Ben opened his mouth to speak. “W-who are you?”

    “Oh, no one special,” the person said with a chuckle. “I’m just the one that saved your life.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Do you happen to remember a large oval sort of thing? A cavern, perhaps?”

    “No…?” Ben said, confused as he got to his feet. “Am I supposed to?”

    “Curious!” the figure laughed. “Tell me what you do remember, then.”

    “Um, well, I was in my hospital room about to give up fighting when this strange nurse came in and told my mom and I that they could cure me. Then this team of doctors took me away and gave me this weird shot and all of a sudden, I got all my strength back and I was healed again, or at least I was for a little bit. Then I felt like I was on fire and collapsed…,” Ben trailed off. “I think I might have passed out? How did I get here?”

    “Hmm, I see,” the person said. “This one shared the discovery! Must have picked a good person.”

    “Can you please tell me what is going on?”

    The figure took a step forward, seemingly materializing in front of Ben. As soon as Ben got a good look at the person, he shrieked and fell backwards, trying to get away from them as fast as possible. This figure looked exactly like him down to the smallest detail. It had his same sandy blonde hair restored to its length before chemotherapy and pale skin with a splatter of freckles across its nose. It was his height too, with his same narrow shoulders and oval face. Even its eyes were the exact same Pacific blue as his. There was no difference. 

    “What’s the problem? I thought a familiar face would be comforting!” he chuckled.

    “Why would you ever think that?”

    “I see I’m not very good with current human social norms, am I?”

    “No.”

    “Then what form should I take instead?’

    “Anyone but that!”

    The figure began to shift, changing before his eyes once again. Instead, the figure changed to a stockier guy shorter than Ben with mud brown eyes, bronze skin, and dark curly hair.