Far below the hill, streets of red, green, blue, and various other colours sprawled for as far as Kevin could see. Cars, trains, and airplanes animated the busy city of Nuuk, whose population bustled through the many streets and centres as the people went about their day. No doubt many of them were tourists, escaping from the hot and harsh conditions of the Grand Market. Behind him, many more streets sprawled up and through the mountain range, where the Greenlandic Astronomical Centre loomed beside the mountain peak. Kevin ran through those streets towards it, desperate to find his missing sister. Nighttime suddenly arrived, heralding the cosmic exhibition of stars and swirls across the summer sky. Large flying objects descended from the ether, shining green lights upon the streets, hauling screaming civilians into their crafts. Time was running out. Kevin would never make it to the Astronomical Centre. The saucers prevented that. He was forced to seek refuge in a nearby, dilapidated building.
Inside was a familiar, cramped, and dimly-lit corridor. When Kevin realised he was in his new flat, he also realised he was dreaming. His legs felt rigid as he stepped into his bedroom, unsure what he should do now. Moonlight illuminated the room from the tall windows. Kevin approached and apprehensively gazed outside, locking eyes with a multitude of owls perched throughout the trees, watching and waiting for something. Perhaps they were waiting for him. An eerie calm filled the room, accompanied by faint drumming, and a green glow shining through the tinted glass of the wardrobes on the opposite side of the room. A woman's whisper beckoned him to come closer, away from the terrors outside. With every beat of the drum and call of his name, the light shone brighter, eventually spreading beyond the window, repelling the owls who hastily dissipated into their forest; their kingdom. The woman's voice grew louder and the drums deeper until she was practically screaming his name.
"KEVIN JOHNSON", echoed the man's deep voice as he pounded upon the front door.
Kevin catapulted from the bed, realising that the woman's voice had been a manifestation of Daniels', and the drumming was the door being pounded by his fists. He ran to the front door, opened the curtains and locked eyes with Daniels through the tall, blurry window.
The man sighed and turned to his right, then back to Kevin, "Enjoy your sleep?"
Kevin nodded and yawned.
Daniels sighed once more, "Well get a move on. I'll give you five minutes to—"
"I'm already dressed", Kevin sleepily interrupted, wanting to get the task over and done with. The apprehension towards the entire situation seemed to have faded away overnight. Perhaps it was being in Greenland once more, being so close to his sister. Or perhaps it was the mysterious, relaxing green light and the woman's soothing voice which had comforted him. He was so relaxed after that sleep. I need away from this stench anyway, he thought, covering his nose as Daniels unlocked and opened the door.
The fresh, natural air was a welcome change to the stench of egg and dust. He would have to address this, but not today. He felt oddly relaxed and passive, moreso than he had in the last home. He was so serene that Daniels had to hold his arm as he escorted him to the car and fastened his seatbelt for him.
As the car drove, Kevin saw others either exit or enter similar vehicles. Some people walked freely down the streets without an escort. "Behave yourself for a time and you'll be trusted enough to have certain privileges", called Daniels, who must have caught Kevin's observance of the people outside.
He didn't reply however, he was far too tired and wanted this appointment gone so he could go back to sleep. Strangely, he did not dread the appointment. Throughout all of his life, appointments had terrified him, and waiting rooms remained somewhat traumatic. Waiting was the worst thing Kevin had to endure throughout his life. Even worse was when it fused with hope, to create a multitude of potential catastrophic predictions, which in turn killed said hope, and decayed into despair. Right now, he didn't feel like he was waiting at all. The relaxation made time feel as though it were flowing faster. Perhaps this was why Daniels didn't bother to handcuff him.
Nearing the roundabout, Kevin noticed many other cars going about their business. Not all of them were the same vehicles used by MEPHRA. Daniels followed most of them as they drove towards the eastern side of the village, defined by tiny, square prefabs instead of the apartments on the western side. Throughout the journey, Daniels tried elaborating on what some of the locations outside were, yet stopped when he realised Kevin wasn't paying attention. After a few streets, he continued.
"There are town squares here and there, for each area of the village. Most folks gather there every week to catch up on the news and changes to businesses, events and whatnot. We call them the Arum Squares", he explained as they passed a guarded petrol station at the side of the road, "And there's a couple of shopping centres, where you'll get your supermarkets and clothing stores. Not much in them though."
"I can't afford anything", Kevin replied.
"You'll get an income. Least you don't need to work like I do". Kevin was relieved to learn this. If he didn't have to work, there may be some serenity to life here, however short it may be. How do these workers get paid then? Who funds them? How do they profit? What do I need to do? The questions swirled in his head, but the tranquillity prevented him from panicking.
Daniels pointed ahead towards a small shopping district, guarded heavily by patrollers, "There's one of the centres there. Bit far from you though. Anyway, we're nearly at the health centre".
After a series of turns, Daniels drove under an archway and parked outside of the somewhat small, ordinary health centre. If the purpose of this village is to help our mental health why is this place so small, Kevin thought, before he realised through a signpost that this place was only for people in his age bracket.
While the design of the building was almost as bad as the abomination at the gateway of Arumlily, the green trees and bushes in the large garden outside certainly made up for it. Daniels escorted Kevin out of the vehicle, past the car park and ventured through a stone pathway in the garden. They passed a few younger folk accompanied by their own escorts. One of them said hello to Daniels, who only grunted in response. The pair made it into the entryway, where Daniels held the door open for Kevin, who entered coughing thanks to someone's cigarette smoke.
After the brief corridor, the pair emerged into a waiting room, to Kevin's dismay. Daniels approached the reception desk on the far right of the room and informed the woman that Kevin had arrived before telling him to take a seat. There were six other people spread out across the waiting room. None of them paid much attention to him. The one in the back corner was hugging himself, shaking uncontrollably and hiding his face from everyone. Besides him was a woman in a grey suit, much like Tessa's. The only one who looked at Kevin was a pretty girl without an escort who stopped looking at Kevin when he looked at her and began fidgeting with her messy black hair. Daniels told him to sit down once more, and the pair sat on the front row.
Olga emerged from one of the rooms ahead and studied the waiting room. "Charlotte Kerr", she called. The black-haired girl arose and followed her into a room. Kevin's relaxation had dissipated by now, leaving only the recurring sense of unease activated whenever he as much as thought about a waiting room. He would always experience flashbacks to the time when he and his parents went to visit his grandmother in the hospital. The family had waited for hours in anxious anticipation before a doctor arrived to announce that the operation was a failure. She had died. The sobbing of his father and grandfather Benedict haunted him even now. He missed Benedict, or Granda Benny as he and his sister called him. He would often showered them with expensive presents whenever they'd stay over at his grand estate. He eventually stopped visiting Benny, yet his sister continued her visits for a time until she left the country. The last time I saw him was at mum's funeral and dad went berserk when he showed up. Kevin had been escorted out of the room once the fight began. It was around that time that his father became violent, cruel, and vindictive. He met Jules not long after the funeral, yet instead of helping him, she merely fuelled these impulses. I think they were arguing about money.
Within the span of thirty minutes, two more names were called and several more boys were escorted into the waiting room from outside. One of the escorts' sat beside Daniels and the pair engaged in meaningless small talk. This, combined with the irritating sound of the boy in the corner's chair creaking and wordless rambling, only amplified Kevin's distress. Behind him, two young people began conversing until one of their escorts demanded they be quiet, reminding them that they are not supposed to speak to each other. Daniels stared intensely at Kevin as if to enforce this rule upon him as well.
Charlotte finally left her room and left the building. The door she had emerged from remained opened, and Olga emerged once more and called Kevin's name, who rose with a deep sinking feeling within his stomach, and followed her into the room.
Olga closed the door behind him, and sat down behind her desk, gesturing for Kevin to be seated opposite her. "Just a few moments so I can pull your files up", she declared. The walls were decorated with generic psychological infographics, with the occasional owl or alien depicted. Behind Olga and her computer desk, books in both English and Russian filled a small bookshelf beside a window.
"Okay, Kevin Johnson, my name is Olga Canning, I'm sure you'll remember me from yesterday", she began. She spoke slowly, yet with glee, as if she were speaking to a small child. "I work with the troubled youth here at Arumlily, so naturally we both will be working together. I know, I know, the look on your face — you don't want to be here! Yet fear not, I'm sure we'll have a smashing time! Okay, so today is more of an introductory meeting. I need to get the gist of you, what's been happening, how to wind down here. Moving to a new place, it's very stressful, isn't it, Kevin?"
He didn't reply. In truth, he had no definitive answer to whether or not he wanted to be in the village. Overthinking had only produced either unanswered or debunked theories, and anywhere was better than living with Jules. Yet the atmosphere so far had been inexplicably uncanny.
"How long will I be staying here for?", he asked.
"That depends on how quickly we think you'll recover, Kevin. It's a tough world out there, cruel and unforgiving. Yet here, you're safe and protected. Don't worry, I'm here for you", she replied, with a look of apparent understanding.
Kevin had so many questions. What was he meant to be doing here? Where would he go after he left? Would he even leave, or would he be kept here permanently against his will?
"Who funds this programme?", he asked. The look on Olga's face and the prologued pause made him almost regret asking.
"People with your best interests in mind, Kevin. Good, proper samaritans, like me. Even if you don't want to trust them, you'll always have your Olga", she chuckled, "You won't be on anyone's bad side if you behave".
"You mean the patrollers? What if they think I misbehave?"
"That must be concerning for you, seeing armed patrollers marching through the town. I know I was intimidated when I first came here. But they aren't there to hurt people. They're here to defend us".
From what, he wanted to ask, but decided not to.
Olga continued, "You stay well behaved and you'll be trusted enough to leave your home to go on walks unaccompanied. Anyway, on a lighter note, I have a present for you". She produced a box from a drawer in her table, opened it, and presented Kevin with a phone. "It'll allow you to check appointment times, check your credits, phone your escort and nearby patrollers if there's any issues or disturbances".
Kevin fidgeted with the phone for a moment, suspecting there would be all sorts of spyware installed. He smiled and thanked Olga for the gift, who smiled back.
"How do you feel now that you've moved?", she inquired.
"Tired", he replied, not wanting to confess too much, "I just want to go to sleep. Haven't had a proper sleep in months".
"It's so easy to sleep here, isn't it Kevin? It must be how quiet and natural it all is here. What about your past home? Do you feel more at ease knowing those issues aren't here?"
"What issues exactly?", he responded.
Olga glanced at her notes, "We have on record that there have been numerous accounts of violence against your stepmother, rebelliousness, running away, alcoholism... erm, quitting school and refusing to work. Your social approval ratings are very low as well, not that those matter here".
A cold rage washed over Kevin, yet he managed to keep his cool. "I was never allowed to give my side. Those accusations are—"
"I know, that's why we're having this meeting, so you can discuss your side and your feelings", Olga interrupted, "You just have to tell me as much as possible and follow my advice for living here, think of us as a team, Kevin. Did you confide in anyone else, perhaps another family member not mentioned in these notes? Or did you have someone else back then to speak with?"
Kevin recalled his grandfather Benedict and wondered why he didn't keep in touch, "Only my grandfather. But I haven't seen him in years, at my mum's funeral".
Olga nodded, "It's so difficult losing a close relative, Kev", she reached out for his hand, "I can tell you're a strong, young man". Kevin recoiled his hands and Olga continued her interrogation. "The notes mention your sister disappearing. You didn't respond well, did you?". Neither did my father.
After a brief silence, Olga sighed and continued with the questions, "Are you, perchance, prone to periods of time where you don't remember anything?"
She's taking the side of my abusers, he thought bitterly. Olga must have detected his anger. "Kev, these are just formalities. But it may help to think back. You can trust me. Look, you've only just arrived here and you're already thrust into these therapy sessions. We can call it a day here and I'll schedule a new appointment for you another day, okay?".
Kevin nodded, wanting desperately to leave this place. He could feel the eyes adorning the posters staring at him. Olga stood up and escorted him outside, leaving Kevin to wait awkwardly in the near-empty waiting room. "Murray Eustace", she called, and an especially thin boy stumbled over to Olga. Kevin was left alone in the waiting room. Daniels was nowhere to be seen.
"Your escort is Daniels, right?", called a bald man standing by the reception desk, "He's waiting outside for you". Kevin nodded at the man and left the waiting room, emerging into the corridor he and Daniels had come in from. A guy with messy blond hair and a short, unkempt beard held the door open for him and the pair exchanged an awkward greeting. When Kevin walked outside, the boy spoke to him.
"You just moved here?"
"Yesterday", stammered Kevin.
"Yeah, I can always tell. Surprised you don't have one of those stupid escorts following you about. Some folk get dragged about in handcuffs and gags in their mouth", he laughed, and walked down the steps, "My name's Dean".
"I'm Kevin. How long have you been here?". He had no time for small talk, but anything to get away from Daniels and the uncanniness of the village was a boon he couldn't just refuse. I could do with the information as well.
"Two years and they're still not letting me leave. I'm normal, I swear", he chuckled.
"Me too", Kevin replied, "Think they'll ever let us out?"
Dean glanced around, and above the main doors. "If you want, we can meet up soon and I'll fill you in. You look like you could do with the company", his eyes widened, "and the information".
"Where? I don't know my way around this place".
"15 Hazelnut Road. Write it down. Find the directions on your phone's map app. See you tomorrow night".