Darkness (The Chosen, Act 3, Part 1)

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What happened so far:
_{(Links to the previous parts below this summary, in case you want to read from the beginning, act 3 is the last one.)}

In the year 1276, the society of the enlightened was founded, based on a prophecy. This prophecy announced the arrival of a “chosen one”, who’d rise among his peers to save the world. At its hidden base in Antarctica, the society survived the industrial revolution, the technological revolution, extreme climate change, and the arrival of insect-like aliens in 2050.

The aliens attacked the American continents in the year 2100, eradicating almost the whole population and turning the land uninhabitable. Shortly after, in 2114, Britain made a pact with the alien visitors, which resulted in the small country overtaking most of Europe and the birth of the British federation. Soon, aliens were everywhere, and artificially created human-alien hybrids roamed the streets.

In 2165, a young member of the society of the enlightened, Joel, was sent out to find the chosen, as many had been before him. He met the hybrid Xeraias, who appeared to be exhibiting signs of being the chosen, and allowed Joel to try and teach him - for six months. If there was no success after that time frame, Xeraias promised to kill Joel.

Soon, Joel learned that Xeraias had a wife - a pregnant wife. Mia was the first human woman to become pregnant from a hybrid, and for a long time, Joel doubted the child was actually fathered by Xeraias.

When Mia was 8 months pregnant, Xeraias was killed during a drug deal, and the killer was never caught. Joel stayed with Mia, as he had promised Xeraias. But when her baby was born, it was clear that the girl, Lily, was in fact Xeraias’ daughter. Following the orders he had received from his superiors, Joel abducted the child and fled back to the South pole. _@suesa

Lily grew up in the society of the enlightened and developed a range of powers (like telekinesis) that convinced everyone she was the chosen one. When she was five years old, visitors from South America arrived, who had tracked down the society of the enlightened, and asked for an allegiance against the aliens, explaining that they were the only survivors from the Genocide in North and South America.

The chosen one is hidden away from the new allies, to protect her. But when she was almost 14, she was exposed to a Venezuelan soldier called Tif, whom Lily knocked unconscious by telekinetically throwing a stone at her. The soldier ended up in a coma, which forced Joel on a trip to Venezuela, to bring her back to her government and give them a lie about what happened, to not expose Lily’s existence and powers.

When Joel stepped off the vehicle bringing him to the foreign land, he was met with two surprises:
1. Lily had snuck on board, unwilling to stay behind
2. The president had already been waiting for Joel, and with him was Mia, Lily’s mother …

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Act 1:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Act 2:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

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Not even rats could be found in this dismal place full of dust and dry air. On top of that, it was so dark that Joel barely knew if his eyes were closed or not, it just didn’t make a difference. In the beginning, he had still wondered about how they were able to deliver his food through the small hole in his door without light shining through, but his isolation had made him stop thinking about it. Too depressing was the hope for a sliver of light, when it never came.

Joel had lost track of time early on, which did not surprise him. A lack of any kind of outside stimulation ruined even the most exact circadian rhythm after a while. Everything that was left was just darkness. Darkness and thoughts. Regret. Confusion. The slow descent into madness.

Why had Lily been on the transport vessel?

Why had nobody ensured that she stayed behind?

How had Mia ended up in Venezuela?

What happened to Lily now?

What happened to the society of the enlightened?

The only question that didn’t cross his mind was what’d happen to him. Joel knew that there was no positive outcome for him here. He was guilty of abducting Lily. In a way, he was guilty of Tif, the soldier, being in a coma. And for some reason, he even felt guilty for Xeraias’ death. There was absolutely no doubt in him that he wouldn’t make it back home alive. They were keeping him alive because they still needed him for something, but once that was over, he’d be dead.

Joel hoped that Lily wouldn’t have to watch when he got killed. The child had already endured too much in her short life, to see him die wasn’t something he wanted to burden her with. On the other hand, her mother had likely told Lily about what happened. Maybe she hated him now too, maybe she would be happy to see him die.

That thought hurt, even though it wasn’t the first time it crossed Joel’s mind. And it wasn’t the worst thing he had thought about so far. Everything repeated, over and over and over again. And then again. And then again. Like the earth revolving around the sun, until gravity would eventually pull it in and everything would go up in flames …

The door opened.

Light flooded in and made Joel scream.

His scream was immediately silenced by an invisible force, that seemed to fill out his mouth like foam. He gurgled and forcefully pressed his eyelids together.

Don’t scream, a voice said in his head. If they hear us, they’ll just put you back in here, and mom will be super angry with me. I don’t want her to be angry. She’s not nice when she’s angry.

Eventually, Joel was able to breathe again, and his thoughts started to follow structured patterns. After his long isolation, putting things together was a challenge.

A voice in his head.

Mom.

Lily.

Yes, it’s me. I’ve come to get you out, we must flee. This is not a good place. Joel could feel Lily take his hand, but he was still unable to open his eyes. Even through the skin of his eyelids, the light was blinding.

”I can’t see”, he whispered, with a voice as raspy as a rusty razor. ”My eyes … they can’t handle light as bright as this. Not yet.” The faint memory of his arrival in this place bubbled to the surface. Even then he had been blinded by the unfiltered sunlight. Joel was less than confident that he’d ever be able to see under these circumstances.

I brought you sunglasses, Lily communicated. I will help you put them on.

Joel felt the glasses slide on his face and tried to open one eye. Pain seared through his head.

”Nope, can’t. You’ll have to lead me.” He felt Lily’s hand cramp slightly.

I guess I have to. Follow me, don’t let go. This won’t be fun. She pulled him with her, so fast that Joel could barely keep up. He kept falling over his own feet, no longer used to walking, running even. But he did his best.

Once in a while, they abruptly stopped, and Lily pushed him against a wall, instructing him to be as quiet as possible. Those moments were the worst because Joel expected to be discovered and put back in his cell - or immediately executed, along with Lily. Would Mia kill her own daughter? Or just punish her? What would a punishment look like? He didn’t want to think about it.

The ground under his shoes started to change. Where it had been solid, it became soft, where it had been even and homogenous, it became bumpy and filled with different stones. Joel started to stumble more often, but he never fell.

Lily stopped.

”We’re here”, she said, with her voice this time. ”We’re safe.”

One more time, Joel tried to open his eyes. The light didn’t make him scream immediately anymore, but he couldn’t see well either.

”What is this place?” He asked. The blurred silhouette looked like a small house.

”I found this when I went exploring once”, Lily explained. I kept it secret from everyone, especially mom - which was super difficult because she can read my mind when I don’t make sure she doesn’t. But I needed a safe place where I could bring you, once I figured a way to break you out.”*

”How long”, Joel begun, but was interrupted by Lily.

”Five months. You were in there for five months. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get you out earlier.”

Joel clumsily reached out for Lily and pulled her into a close embrace.

”You came for me”, he said. ”It doesn’t matter how long it took. You came for me.”

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