Fiction: Group 3
PÅNÅCEÅ
The International School of Macao, Chan, Jonathan - 12, Fiction: Group 3
hey took me into the room. Injected me with their chemicals. They made me inhuman as I tried to
overcome their power. They made me indestructible as I started to lose hope. They made me one
of them as my last tear carried all my emotions into the river. I can’t feel anything. Can’t remember
anything. Blackout...
The shining sun filled up the hovercraft with life as I slid the cover of the window open. I spotted
the famous Pearl River and the dusty city ruins. My team and I were going back to the Pearl River to
decontaminate its waters. The war had left most of the man made structures in shambles and we, the Re-
Foundation, were trying to restore everything to its former glory, but there was only so much we could do.
It was an odd day. It felt as if I had done this a thousand times although I had no memory of it. I
was neither excited, nor scared. I wanted to feel sad, but it was a challenge. I tried to feel happy, but that
was a far more difficult task. At last, we reached the Pearl River. The hovercraft began to slow down. It
skidded across the river surface creating big and lively splashes of water. As a drop of water hit my mouth, a
sharp pain sliced through my brain and a vision burst to life. I could not handle this kind of familiar pain. I
dropped on the floor as my teammates, Thalia and Raymond, ran to me.
“Terence! Are you ok?”
The sunlight attacked my eyes and I fell into the
agony of unconsciousness.
I had a dream about the vision I saw. It was me, but a me with less muscles, and less body weight.
Then these doctors, the doctors of the Re-Foundation, were injecting me with a chemical, as I fought to
break free. As soon as the chemicals started spreading through my veins, I went into a deep slumber.
“Done,” said one of the doctors. “His heart stopped beating. He’s ready for the tank.”
Two nurses grabbed me and inserted me into a cylindrical tank. They slammed the top shut while
blue fluid began to envelop me in a warm liquid coat. Then I was placed next to… next to all the other
people in my team.
Reality slapped me awake. The vision was gone. I was half conscious when two doctors in front of
me said, “The sample showed that the river water contains healing chemicals. A splash must have gone into
his mouth and brought back some of the old memories. We must condition him again.”
“No,” said the other doctor in a hoarse voice, “The others might find out. Let him be, but no
more missions to the Pearl River for him.”
I knew it was not the right time to ask questions. I pretended I was still unconscious and waited
until the two doctors walked out. “Conditioning?” I thought. “What do they mean? Old memories?”
Something told me that the vision I had had was not a vision. It was a memory. I ran out of the room and
back to the dorm. I knew what needed to be done. I knew why all my memories seemed fake. Thalia and
the other members stood up as I walked in.
“Don’t your memories seem fake?” They all nodded in agreement. “This is not us! They’ve done
something! We need to be cured!” That speech shook everyone awake.
“The Re-Foundation is not the government, they’re outsiders,” Raymond said excitedly.
A sharp pain seemed to hit everyone including me. Pieces of memories came back to us.
Immediately guards of the Re-Foundation ran in, guns pointed at us. “Come with us and we will not
shoot. Resist and we will.”
But as wardens of The Re-Foundation, we had the same weapons they did. Raymond and I took
charge. In an instant, the room turned into a war zone. Soon, the guards’ bodies were strewn all over the
floor.
Sixteen hover boards laid lifelessly in the parking area. We jumped on them. Once the hover
boards sensed out weight, they levitated above the ground and began to glide leaving history behind. They
floated weightlessly, twisting and turning down narrow dusty streets. We rose higher and higher. Up there
in the thin air, I could finally breathe. I finally felt alive. Below us, the Pearl River meandered its way
through the valley.
“Let’s get down there,” said Thalia. “Terrence, you’re going to have to lead us.”
T
