Crack!
'No,' Alexa moans as she sights her battered keyboard. But I was careful. Her weary face gleams red as numerous alarming messages pop up on the screens before her. 'Okay,' Alexa takes a few deep breaths, 'I got this.' She wipes the debris away from her desk and takes out a small device from the drawer underneath. 'Everything's going to be fine,' she says, assuring herself.
She places the device on the desk and carefully nudges the pink button on top. Alexa lifts her head to glance at the coded screen before her. I can block this. The device emits a holographic keyboard inches above the desk. Alexa immediately resumes to coding. Come on.
Suddenly, the screen turns beige, displaying a message. 'What?' Alexa says, flabbergasted.
PROGRAM DISABLED. RESTART UPON COMMAND.
'Then this means..' Alexa trails off as her attention diverts to the screens above her, each displaying the live camera footage of the halls and rooms of Pearl Manor. She sighs in relief, 'It stopped.' Alexa reels back in her seat. It actually stopped. She flashes a smile as she gazes at the screens. 'Nathan, I think we're finally out of this.'
There is no response.
'Nathan?' She turns back in her seat and sees Nathan wearing his headset. Did Eliza leave a message? Alexa gets up from her seat, 'Nathan?' She heads to his station. He can't hear me.
She walks past Nathan and turns back to face him. 'Nathan,' she pauses when she notices Nathan's bewildered face. 'What's wrong?'
'Nothing,' Nathan replies, astounded when he sees Alexa standing before him. This can't be true. He removes his headset and places it on the table beside him, 'Just checking if Eliza sent any messages.'
'I called you several times before,' Alexa says. 'What were you listening to?'
Ping! Ping!
Nathan exhales slowly in relief as they both receive a notification. He checks his wristband. 'What?'
Alexa reads the message before her again, 'This can't be.' She rushes to her station, Nathan following. She adjusts the screen before her as she carefully gets seated. Stay calm. She taps on her keyboard.
'How can the force fields get disrupted?' Nathan says as Alexa's gaze shifts to the screen beside her. She zooms into the footage of the courtyard. 'No way,' she utters under her breath.
It was him. Nathan realizes as he watches the man tread toward Eliza.
'Wait, that idiot is alive?' Alexa realizes, leaning back. 'Nathan, please tell me that what I'm seeing-'
'It's him,' Nathan replies, his eyes glued to the screen. 'Tom Banks is back from the dead.'
...
It worked. Tom looks at Eliza, who is stunned by her transfigured surroundings. I'm back, Lizzy. As he treads toward her, Tom notices Anthony break out of his stance. No. He takes out a small, flat device from his front pocket. He activates the device by pushing its button and tosses it in Anthony's direction. Not today.
Meanwhile, Jason stands up, dusting his pants. 'This is all a game.' He says, glancing his surroundings in disbelief. He glances at his beeping wristband, 'I even have a wristband that notifies me of my levels.' He sighs, tapping his wristband. 'I hope I can get out of here when I complete my first level.' His gaze shifts to Eliza and the man as the unread screen disappears.
Eliza dusts her hands off as she marvels the sight around her. How is this possible? Tom stops right before her, 'We need to talk.' He says, extending his left hand.
Jason chokes when he watches the man transmute into a young tween who extends her hand. Definitely a game.
I have definitely seen this person somewhere. Eliza muses as Tom waits for her to get up. But where? Her gaze shifts to his hand. What? She stares at the glinting sapphire embedded in the center of his palm. He's a teleporter?
'Eliza, step away from him right now.' Anthony says, just a few meters away.
'We don't have much time,' Tom says. 'I'll answer all your questions.'
Eliza's gaze remains fixated on his hand. She notices a mark on his wrist. Is he? She lifts her head to see the man's brown eyes. Are you... She slowly extends her left arm in Tom's direction. 'What is she doing?' Jason whispers as he slowly approaches her.
'No,' Anthony says when he suddenly can't move forward. He places his hands on the transparent barrier before him. So this is what he wants to do? He rubs his hands, while glaring at the tween who smiles at his daughter. Don't do it, Eliza. He places his hands on the invisible barrier and closes his eyes, 'Dissolve.' His hands pass through the barrier which begins to melt. The barrier diffuses as Anthony opens his eyes.
'No!' He hurtles forward to where Eliza once stood and scans the vacant courtyard.
...
Eliza falls down, coughing. That was too tight. She muses as she rubs her shoulders. Her eyes slowly adjust to the view before her - a plush couch, an oak coffee table and a semi-closed serving hatch that displays a modular kitchen. What is this place? She gets up, straightening her coat.
And where is he? She scans the area, rubbing her left wrist. 'If only if I hadn't seen that scar,' she whispers, remembering the 'Z' shaped mark she had seen earlier. But still, it can't be him. She takes out a small device and attaches it under the table. This better work.
'Uncle!' Eliza turns back when she hears a voice squeak from the hallway. A young girl wearing a dragon costume enters the room, 'Where are you?' The six year-old Elizabeth scans the room as she tries pulling her costume out, 'I need help in removing this.'
'Coming, Liz,' A voice answers from the kitchen. He peers through the window to see his niece. 'Oh, that wasn't ready yet. Why did you wear that?'
'We were going to be late for Dessie's birthday party,' Liz answers. 'And I found this on the bed.'
'Okay, just a second,'Her uncle removes a tray of muffins from the oven. He walks out of the kitchen, removing his gloves, 'Liz?'
Eliza shudders. That was a hallucination. 'Liz, are you okay?' Tom says, slowly approaching her. 'Yeah,' Eliza replies, taking a step back. She studies the figure before her. It is him.
Does she remember me? Tom watches his niece's eyes for any spark of recognition, 'Liz?'
Eliza looks around, straightening her coat and takes a seat on the couch, 'What is it that you couldn't tell me back there?' She grabs the water bottle on the table and examines it. 'It's water. You can have it.' Tom says, pointing to the bottle. 'And one moment,' He says and canters back to the kitchen.
Eliza pulls out the tracking device. It's not working. She recollects what happened this evening. I will find out who's behind this. Her gaze falls on a photo frame hung on the wall, displaying her uncle carrying a four-year-old Eliza on his shoulders. It's been fifteen years, but he kept his promise.
Eliza sees a younger Tom enter the room with a bag. An eight-year-old Elizabeth enters, carrying her backpack. 'Lizzy, be nice to your dad when I'm away.' Tom says as he wraps a scarf around his niece. 'Where are you going?' She says, as her uncle puts a cap on her head. 'I have some work to complete,' Tom replies, checking his bag. 'When will you come back?' Lizzy asks. Tom looks at Lizzy, his brown eyes glistening in the lamplight, 'I'll come back soon, I promise.'
Eliza's flashback is disrupted when Tom places a casserole on the table. 'I made some chicken wraps earlier today,' Tom plops on the chair beside her. 'You must be hungry after teleporting here.'
Chicken? Eliza's mouth waters as she gazes at the casserole. It's been ages since I had chicken... No. She reclines, her stomach grumbling in protest. 'Who hacked into my systems?' She looks at Tom who suppresses a grin. 'We have time, so you can have some of this.' He replies, opening the casserole.
He nudges the basket on the table toward her, 'Sanitize your hands before eating.'
'Who is behind the Lock Mode and Foyer incident?' Eliza says, looking away from the casserole. Tom sighs, 'You already know the answer.' He grabs the sanitizer bottle from the basket. 'I will finish all of this if you don't take one soon.'
'I don't know the answer,' Eliza replies. Why am I doing this to myself? She grabs the sanitizer bottle while Tom bites into his wrap. Eliza grabs a chicken wrap and takes a small bite. Woah. An inexplicable vim surges within her body as long-lost flavors caper on her taste buds. Tom chuckles softly as he watches his niece get mind-blown when she takes a bigger bite. She hasn't changed.
Things start to click together in Eliza's head as she munches on her uncle's chicken wraps. He knew about these incidents and about Adam. She glances at her uncle, her brows raised in astonishment, 'You're the hacker.'
'No, I'm not,' Tom says, grabbing another wrap. 'Because it was my systems in the first place.'
'No way,' Eliza replies, leaning back. 'Dad created those systems and I upgraded them.'
'You upgraded my systems.' Tom replies.
'Okay,' Eliza resumes to eating. We'll be stuck in this conversation if we continue. 'Why did you do all of this?' She says, taking another wrap. 'Since you had access to the systems, you could have met all of us without causing chaos beforehand.' She pauses, realizing something. 'You are following someone's orders.'
'Yes,' Tom says. 'Now hear me out.' He looks over his shoulder at the kitchen window. 'When the alarm rings, we need to return to Pearl Manor. Don't ask why.' Eliza hesitates but nods after a moment. 'The reason why this is happening is because,' Tom pauses, 'the President suspects the residents of Pearl Manor of orchestrating a disastrous attack that occurred last year.'
'What?' Eliza says, baffled. 'But we didn't do anything. We didn't even know a flourishing civilization existed until Jason - no - until you came in.'
'I know,' Tom replies. 'But the Squad from the Emerald House found evidence that you were the mastermind behind the attacks.'
'Wait,' Eliza straightens. 'The Emerald House exists?'
'What do you mean by that?' Tom pauses. He leans forward. 'What do you remember happened?'
'Didn't the Emerald House get detonated?' Eliza says. 'The president had to flee and everything.' Her head starts throbbing. 'But this doesn't make sense. Everything was destroyed. How are there people living outside?' She looks at Tom. 'How are you alive?'
...
'That scumbag!' Anthony yells as he enters the foyer.
Ping!
He checks his wristband as he walks past the shattered chandelier. He stops when the screen before him displays 'ACCEPT CALL.' They must have seen him. Anthony sighs, rubbing the back of his head. He taps his wristband. They'll have to wait. He saunters across the atrium.
'Coward couldn't even face me.' Anthony mutters as he enters the Control Room. He plops on the seat and types a bunch of code on the keyboard. 'He could've called me if he could hack into the systems.'
The alarms on the screen before him vanish. RESTORATION WILL BE COMPLETE IN 00:20:00. Anthony pulls his chair to another monitor. 'Where did he take her?' He clicks on a few things, causing a map to appear on the screen. Anthony clicks on the search bar at the top of the screen and enters a bunch of numbers. She was still wearing her earpiece. He muses as he taps the ENTER button.
Ping!
Anthony watches a purple line trace eastward from a blue dot labelled 'Home'. The purple line stops when it reaches another blue dot. 'TARGET FOUND.'
Anthony hovers his mouse over the blue dot. Details of the location, including the image, pop up on the screen. Its... Anthony's forehead corrugates in realization. It's our old home. He recoils, 'That's where he took her.' He alarmingly gets up from his seat as memories rush in, 'He's going to make her remember everything.' He storms out of the Control Room.
Anthony scampers toward the family portrait, 'I need to get her back.' He presses the red button and steps into the staircase. As he rushes downstairs, Anthony muses. Am I forgetting something again? He tries to recollect this evening's incidents when he enters the Underground Facility.
Anthony halts in his tracks when he sees Fred strolling toward him. I won't tell him. Fred smiles as he approaches Anthony, 'I wonder what's there.' He saunters past Anthony and heads to the pantry. He didn't see me. Anthony muses, realizing what he did. Nobody can. A smile lights up on his face as he heads to his room, contemplating his next move.
...
'Tell me what you know.' Tom says. Eliza calmly recollects the things that happened while rubbing her forehead. She spits out the captions of the images that appear in her mind, 'Bomb blasts. Massacres. My mom dying.' She looks at Tom. ' and you fleeing.'
'Okay,' Tom says, softly. 'Now, some of the events that you mentioned are true. But the bomb blasts didn't happen and-'
Beep! Beep!
Tom looks over his shoulder to see an alarm clock beeping on the counter. 'And what?' Eliza says, leaning forward. 'It's time to go.' Tom says, getting up. 'We need to return to Pearl Manor before the shields come back on.'
A question pops up in Eliza's mind as she gets up. 'Are you with the Emerald House or with us?' She straightens her coat, 'You know we aren't behind the attacks.'
Tom notices a wristband fallen near Eliza's shoes. 'What do you think?' He looks at Eliza. 'I don't know to be honest,' Eliza says. 'If you were with them, you would have let them capture us. And if you were with us, you would have contacted us instead of wrecking the Manor.'
'You'll see later whose side I'm on,' Tom replies, checking his watch. 'I'll explain more at home but right now you need to go back.'
'Where are you going?' Eliza says. 'I'll be back in a minute,' he replies. He looks at her, 'I have to check something and I'll be there in a minute.' Eliza calms down, 'You better not be late. I still have a lot of questions.'
Tom nods, grinning. He transfigures into the tween again. Seeing his niece's incurious reaction, he asks in the tween's voice, 'You don't get startled by this?'
'By this?' Eliza points to the sapphire in his hand, 'No. I read about this a long time ago.' She looks at Tom, 'I just didn't remember you being a teleporter.' She rubs her aching forehead.
I'm not. Tom muses, astounded. 'Lizzy,' he steps back. 'How do I look?'
'You haven't aged,' Eliza pauses. 'Uncle Tom.'
She can see me. Tom realizes as Eliza holds his sapphire embedded hand.
...
Jason gapes as he scans his surroundings. 'I'm out!' He looks at the distant five-story edifice. I'm home. He pulls his phone out to check the time, 'Oh, I forgot-' He almost drops his phone when it restarts. 'Woah.' He gapes at his fully charged phone. 11.47 pm.
'Why haven't I received any calls or messages?' He checks his phone. 'Right now, that's not important.' He places his phone back and marches toward the edifice.
As he walks across the sidewalk, he notices an old woman waiting near the crosswalk for the traffic light to turn red. She recoils when a SUV swooshes past her. 'Are you're blind!' She barks, waving her cane in the air. She sighs when the traffic lights turn red. Jason watches her cane get lodged in the curb mesh as she enters the crosswalk.
Jason rushes to her, 'Let me help you.' He takes out the cane and hands it to the lady. 'Thank you for helping me find you.' The old woman says, scanning the now empty intersection. 'What?' Jason replies. He steps back when the old woman transforms into the man.
'Mr. Dames?' Jason exclaims in shock. 'It's Banks. Jason. Tom Banks.' Tom replies. 'Now you need to return back.' He looks over Jason's shoulder at a looming silhouette. 'I'm here.' Jason says, tracing what Tom sees. 'I mean, Pearl Manor.' Tom says, stopping Jason from looking back. 'You need to be treated for your injuries.'
'But I'm fine.' Jason replies, shrugging his shoulders from Tom's grip. 'That's only going to last for a day.' Tom says, 'And from past experiences, I know you'll be aching in pain in a few hours.'
'But the medical team can help me recover.' Jason replies. 'Those injuries can never heal with ordinary treatment.' Tom says. 'I made sure of it.'
'Wait what?' Jason says, realizing something. 'You were the hawk.'
'Yes. Now you and I need to return so that we both can be treated. I'll bring you back here once you're discharged.'
Why should I trust this person? Jason furrows his brows as he gazes at the Emerald House. 'Look,' Tom says, looking at Jason. 'I found out about the encounter you had earlier. So I can help with that.'
'How do you know about that?' Jason says, bemused. 'I'll answer your questions too, but when we return.' Tom says, placing the cane near the newspaper stand. He transforms into the young girl. 'Now hurry.' She offers her hand. I don't want to go back. Jason glances at the distant Emerald House. He heaves out a sigh as he takes the girl's hand.
...
Eliza dusts her pants when Jason falls to the ground with a thud. 'Are you okay?' Eliza says, rushing toward him. Tom appears beside Jason. 'He's fine,' He gestures Eliza to walk with him.
Jason gets up as he finishes coughing. I'm stuck here once again. He mutters something under his breath as he looks up. 'Guys, wait for me.'
'See, he's fine.' Tom says, not looking back. 'Now Lizzy, we need to first find someone before we meet the President.'
'We'll be meeting the President?' Eliza asks. 'The President wants to meet the Owner before interrogations.' Tom says, 'So before that, we need to find the person who was brought in to this Manor a year ago.'
'A year ago?' Eliza asks, baffled. 'But nobody came over to our place in the last fourteen years.'
'Does everyone know about Jason?' Tom says. 'No.' Eliza stops, realizing something. 'Keep walking.' Tom says. Eliza resumes walking, 'So you think Dad brought someone in last year?'
Tom nods, glancing over his shoulder at a distant Jason. 'Wait.' Jason says, wary of his right leg. 'Don't want to sprain this.' He mumbles, remembering his injuries. His gaze shifts to the transfiguring night sky. The glittering skyline fades back into the forest that encompasses the colossal courtyard. 'Wow,' Jason says.
'Her name's Carolina Smith.' Tom says, taking out his phone. He shows the live footage of a comatose patient in a room. 'Everyone thought Carrie died on the first night of the attack.'
Eliza's face goes blank when she sees Carrie. How is this possible? She looks at her uncle for a moment. He's not lying. She looks at the footage again. She's living in the same house as me and I didn't know. 'Liz?' Tom says, bringing her back. They stand on the porch now. 'How will bringing her-' Eliza stops when something clicks in her mind, 'She's the president's daughter, isn't she?' She turns to see Jason. 'And he's the President's son.'
Tom nods, 'Bringing Jason here was part of the President's plan to find you all.' He enters the porch, 'So we need to find Carrie and take her back.' Eliza glances at Tom when she enters the porch. Again, he's not lying. She sighs as she takes out her card from her front pocket. She pauses, looking back at him. 'Welcome home, Uncle Tom.'
Tom grins. 'Uncle?' Jason says when he enters the porch. Oh yeah, all three have the same surname. He stands behind them. But I'm sure Dr. Banks didn't have any kids back then. He looks at Eliza with suspicion as she swipes the card on the card lock. Who am I to say that? I didn't even know he had a brother.
'ACCESS GRANTED.' The voice from the card lock announces. 'It's been a long time since I heard that in person.' Tom sighs. Eliza smiles as the door swings open. 'Dad?' she asks, astonished when she sees her dad donned in black.
She can see me. Anthony muses, surprised. He clears his throat. 'You're here,' he says with a tinge of anger. His gaze falls on the newcomers beside his daughter. 'Bring Jason in. He needs to get treated.' Eliza nods and gestures Jason to enter. 'And we both need to talk,' Anthony says, looking at her. 'Yes,' She replies, making space for her uncle to enter.
Anthony steps forward, blocking Tom in his path, 'Not him.'
'Dad?' Eliza says, astounded. 'He doesn't belong here,' Anthony replies. Jason, meanwhile, watches the family before him. 'This is not going to be a sweet reunion,' He whispers.
'Dad,' Eliza steps forward. 'You allowed complete strangers in here but you won't allow your own brother to come in.' She looks at her uncle, 'Please come in.'
Tom grins at his niece, 'Thank you, Lizzy.' He glances at his brother, 'Please step aside. The owner wants me to come in.' He says, flatly. This is going to be interesting.
Anthony doesn't budge, his gaze fixated on his daughter. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Eliza.'
'First let him in,' Eliza says, trying to stay calm. 'No,' Anthony replies. 'He's not injured, so he can go back to his place.' Eliza exhales sharply. 'Of course. You brought Carrie Smith in last year because she was injured.'
Jason recoils in disbelief, 'What!'