Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nightfall had set in and the group was still hunkered down in the abandoned factory. They had been there for hours, waiting for Alex to regain her consciousness. When she finally did, everyone gathered around.

“Alex, are you okay?” Mara said with joy. It wasn’t the first time she had been by her daughter’s side while waiting for her to become conscious again, but hoped it would be her last.

“Mum?” Alex said with a look of confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“You texted me to come, remember?”

Alex looked around at all the faces staring at her and eventually landed on Milo. She smiled. She had a million things to say to him, but wanted to wait for an opportune moment.

“How was the flight in?” Alex asked.

“It was the least of our concerns. Everyone is just glad to know that you’re okay,” Mara said.

“You are okay, right?” Milo asked. It felt good for Alex to hear his voice. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him.

“Come here,” Alex said, extending her arms. Milo stepped in closer and wrapped his arms around her.

“I missed you so much, Alex,” he whispered in her ear as he squeezed tighter.

“I missed you too,” Alex said, sniffling. “More than you’ll ever know.”

After a long hug, they disengaged.

“I like your hair,” Milo said, trying to lighten the mood, “it looks good on you.”

“Thanks… but that’s not the only thing that has changed,” she said bowing her head in sorrow. “I downloaded a patch and something went wrong. I no longer have the same mental capacity as before.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Alex,” Mara said, “but your ability was never what defined you or made you special. You have an amazing heart.”

“Remember last year when the world was about to end, and you picked up a piece of litter from the ground?” Milo said. “I mean, who does that?”

“Thanks guys, but I haven’t really felt like myself… my head is all messed up. The way I think and act is a lot different than you may be used to. I have a short temper now and get really aggressive. I told The Fox I was going to kill him. As soon as the words left my mouth I wondered why I said it.”

“It’s a natural thought to have, considering what you’ve been through.”

“Maybe,” Alex said. “It’s been a transition, that’s for sure. Tasks that used to come easy to me, I now struggle with. And I can’t recall information the way I used to.”

“Welcome to our world,” Milo said.

Alex stood up and said a few words to everyone — mostly thanking them for coming to her rescue. She then pulled her mother and Milo aside for a chat. The three walked to a private part of the factory, away from the others.

“When I was under,” Alex began, “I had a vision of the future. A new Leader was elected and the world completely changed. Somehow the eternity hack was released and people stopped aging. People in their fifties looked like they were in their twenties, and hardly anybody died. It upset the natural cycle of the Earth and the population got out of control again. I realized that the Child Rearing Act is only effective when it operates under the assumption that people die.”

“That sounds like a crazy dream.”

“Yeah, it was a lot crazier than that too, but I can’t really remember it all.”