Chapter one: A Regular Day
In only five more days, Neuroner: Book One by J. Faith Kenney comes out!! E-books are everywhere (you can preorder now). Paperbacks are more selective, and more information to come later.
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Copyright © by J. Faith Kenney
CHAPTER ONE
A REGULAR DAY
On a cold, windy night in the middle of the woods in early April, the moon shines bright in the sky with dark clouds rolling across it. No stars, just the moon. My vision clears up, and I know this memory all too well. It haunts me, even after fifteen years without reliving it by visiting the memory. The younger me of only five years old stands all alone holding the two things I have left of a family: my teddy bear and my baby blanket.
My breath hitches in my throat as I hold back tears now. They didn’t want me. My family left me in the woods to die, which was their intention. All because of what I am: a Neuroner.
“MOMMY, DADDY!” cries the younger me, still thinking they’ll come back for me.
The tears stream down my cheeks. I know now I will never see them again, and now I will be an orphan. I can never forget them though. Their faces will keep popping up with the few memories I have of them. We- I am all alone in this world.
The younger me starts running, going deeper into the woods, screaming, crying for Mommy and Daddy. A force like a strong wind pushes me against my will to follow the younger me. I don’t want to see this memory. I know how it ends.
“MOMMY, DADDY, PLEASE, PLEASE COME BACK. I AM SCARED, PLEASE!” A plea no one listens to, a plea no cares to hear.
My vision is completely gone because of tears, and the same feeling takes over my body. Loneliness at being betrayed by my own family, by my mom and dad, the people who were supposed to love me the most.
At age five, I accepted death. No one cared, and no one would notice that I was dead.
My footing stumbles, and I trip by kicking my own knee in the back. The taste of dirt is in my mouth, my vision blurs, my body starts to shake, and I gasp for air.
🧠
Waking up, still gasping for air, tasting the salt from my tears. I’m back in my bed- well, cot in the tent for Caretenders at The Helping Care Shelter. The Helping Care Shelter is a place where the poor or homeless can come for food, shelter, and medical care, things like that. I work here, and I devote my life to my career.
I try to fall back asleep, but I can’t. The memory of my parents leaving me in the woods replays over in my head. I try pushing it away, but it keeps coming to the surface of my mind.
My pager goes off, causing me to jump at the sudden sound. A simple code from one of my patients, who wants to talk to me about something.
Within minutes I have my wavy auburn hair tied into a braid, getting it out of my face. With the thin blanket, I wipe the tears away from my crystal-blue eyes and take a deep breath. My teal scrubs match my sneakers, which are already on from early- the previous day.
Walking to The Helping Care Shelter Hospital from the Caretenders tent, I look at my watch to read 3:22 a.m. It makes no difference to me what time it is since I practically live at the Shelter. I head to Tess’s room, the patient who paged me.
Tess has been at the Shelter even before I started working here four years ago. She lives in the unit for the homeless and has nowhere else to go. She has no family that she will talk about. We couldn’t send her to the orphanage because she is too sick, and over the last year and half, her condition has gotten worse.
Tess has sunken, dark brown eyes, making her look paler with her long dirty blonde hair. Her face has random scars that are probably from being homeless. Overall, Tess is underweight from being so sick, even for someone who is short, but still taller than me. From doing some testing, we have found out she is eighteen years old, two years younger than me.
She lies in her hospital bed with a nasal cannula connected to her nose, the heartbeat monitor going at a steady rate. She looks so tiny in the hospital bed, almost like a lost little girl.
Gently, I knock on the doorframe, and she turns to look at me with a warm, weak smile. I smile warmly back to her as I enter the room and walk to the foot of her bed.
“You called, Tess?” I ask with my polite tone.
“Yeah, Thela. I called because I feel very light-headed, and I have a headache,” Tess answers.
Putting my hand on her forehead to feel her temperature, feeling the heat radiating off her. The monitor starts beeping as her body temperature starts rising at a rapid speed. Tess starts to breathe heavily as beads of sweat drip down her face. Her whole body starts to shake, and she looks like she is going to faint.
“I NEED SOME COOLING BLANKETS IN HERE!” I shout to the few Caretenders in the main area.
With one swift movement, I am at the cupboard, pulling out a clean syringe. From the cupboard above, I grab the bottle labeled CBT. Within seconds the fluid fills the syringe to the appropriate level- an action that I can do in my sleep, and I stick the needle into her IV line. The room is dead quiet besides the machines beeping. I hold my breath for a second, waiting for her body temperature to drop back down to normal.
Another Caretender brings in two padded blue ice-pack blankets, placing them onto Tess. Her temperature starts to lower, and her body stops shaking. Her breaths are heavy but fine.
“She’ll be out until morning,” I whisper to the Caretender. She nods and we both leave the room silently. “Can you page me when she wakes up, and make sure someone checks her vitals hourly?”
“Will do,” she responds.
“Thanks.”
The Helping Care Shelter is like a big circle. Right in the center is the basic station where Caretenders check in and fill out their patients’ charts. Patients rooms surround the center, with more down the maze of halls toward the back of the hospital. Halls of all kinds branch off to operating rooms, special kinds of rooms for special occasions, and small conference rooms.
I head behind the center desk to the Caretender board to pull out Tess’s chart, and write down what just happened. I nod in disbelief, releasing a heavy sigh as I lean my head against the wall.
Tess isn’t getting better or worse. She is just in the same state she’s been in for the last three months. There is only so much I can do to help her, and everything leads to something else wrong. She is going to die soon, hopefully not this week or this month. I place her chart back, and head to the Caretenders tent.
I sit back down on my cot, putting my elbows on my knees and my hands on my forehead, only staring at the dirt floor. I am so tired. I don’t know why Tess’s results are affecting me so much. Times like this, I wish I could be alone and be a Neuroner in the woods. I’m glad I am a Caretender, though, and not a captured Neuroner being someone’s pet.
People say Neuroners are the lucky ones, but I am not a fool though. I know what people would do if they found out that I am one. Freak out or try to get the prize money for sighting a Neuroner.
Neuroners like me make a connection with others by going into their memories, whether we want to or not. All of this is caused by our brains having stronger nerves than the rest of the body. All it takes is a simple connection to a person to visit their memories and see secrets that they don’t necessarily want to share. It is not our fault, we are born with it.
I don’t know how long I am on my cot before another Caretender nudges me on the shoulder. I look up to him with my full tired attention.
“Thela, you have a visitor in the visiting lounge.”
Nodding my thank you before getting up, and making my way to the hospital.
The visiting lounge is meant for friends and families of the patients, but it’s mainly used by the Caretenders. The visiting lounge has a few small tables easily accessible for wheelchairs on one side. The other side has a coffee table with a few magazines that no one reads and cushioned chairs lining the wall. The wall opposite from the entrance that leads to the actual hospital has two giant windows almost covering the wall itself. Between the windows is the entrance, with automatic doors leading into the lounge. It is one of the many entrances to the hospital.
On the other side, staring outside the window to the morning sun, is Zac. He wears his dark green and tan uniform with light brown boots to show he is a Protecttender. I walk closer to him, rolling my eyes with a little smirk of joy at seeing him. Ever since I can remember, Zac has always been a couple of inches taller than me. But now, as an adult he is full foot taller than me.
From the very first day I met Zac at the orphanage, he has always been there for me. When I was younger and even now, I tried so hard to push him away, but he always stayed around. Still to this day, after four years out of the orphanage with careers of our own, he stays around to check up on me. Over the years I have lightened up on him, but not by much. Every week, sometimes multiple times a week, he comes by The Helping Care Shelter to bring me some kind of food.
“Hi, Zac.”
He turns around, and the metal badge over his left peck pocket shines in the sun, displaying his rank- a High Protecttender, able to give feedback on the laws or even make them. His light hazel eyes gleam, and his small but perfect lips smile all the way to his eyes. Zac’s medium brown hair is shaved at the sides, and stubble shapes his jawline on his oval face. His light honey skin fits his warm personality perfectly. Zac’s body is lean muscle, not an ounce of fat on him.
“Hi, Thela, brought you some yogurt, your favorite.” His voice deep but also light at the same time.
“Thanks. You know you don’t have to do this, right?”
“I know, but I want to.” He reaches into his uniform jacket and pulls out a little container of yogurt and hands it to me. “I will always check up on you because that is what friends do, and that is all that we have.”
I look down to the yogurt, grateful for it, while in a little dazed as I nod my head in agreement. “Yeah, it’s all we have for a family.”
My eyes meet his, and he nods with a sad smile before it turns to happiness. “I will see you later, Thela.” I nod, offering a smile of my own. “Remember, Thela, I am always here for you. If you are ever in trouble or just need to talk, give me a call.”
I smile with a little nod, taking a step toward him. Zac smiles back for a few seconds before wrapping his arms tightly around me for a hug. I hug him back with a pat, hoping this hug will move along quicker, but at the same time hoping it never ends. Always with his hugs, they last longer than they should, but I always feel safe in his arms. We depart, going our separate ways with one last wave goodbye.
My stomach growls for my first real meal in seventy-two hours as I head to the Caretender tent. I look down to my watch to read six a.m. The oval table at the very back of the Caretender tent is clear. A couple of other Caretenders are up who are walking to work or going to bed for the day. Two are in the little kitchen, making coffee for breakfast before sitting down at opposite ends away from me. Every Caretender knows that in the early mornings or late at night everyone stays to themselves for their own time to relax.
The yogurt is gone in a couple of bites, and I am back at the hospital to really start my day. I take a shower, put on a new clean pair of teal scrubs, and rebraid my hair tightly. At the assessment board, under my name is a new file for a new patient.
Name: George Good
Age: 45
Birth: January 1
Status: poor with a wife and four kids, needs food
Position: Techtender
I look at the chart again to make sure I read it right where it says Techtender. Yep, that is what it says. What is a Techtender doing being poor? They are one of the highest paid tenders in the world. Closing the chart and placing it back in my folder assessments on the board. There has to be a mistake with George Good.
I walk to Carrie’s office down the hall to the main entrance for Emergency. Carrie is the administrator of the hospital, but is also the person who runs the whole Helping Care Shelter. She has deep brown hair that is turning gray. Her bright green eyes fit her youthful skin with hardly any winkles even though she is in her late fifties or early sixties. Her soft, rosy lips match her skin tone well- light with a touch of color.
Politely, I knock on her door and wait patiently for her to open it. It takes a few minutes before she opens it and gives me a warm smile as an invitation into her office. She waves her hand for me to sit, and I do before she sits down behind her desk as well. Even with the warm, inviting smile on her face, I am still a little bit shaky to be in her office.
I try to smile but it comes out nervously. Instead, I clear my throat to speak. Before a word can come out of my mouth, she speaks.
“Is there anything I can help you with Thela?” she asks sweetly.
“Yeah.” My voice has a little tremble of nerves in it. “I have this new assignment that doesn’t make any sense to me, and I was wondering if you can clear it up?”
“You are the one who got George the Techtender.” She says, not a question but a statement. “You are probably wondering why he is poor, and I was wondering the same thing. But we did do a background check on him to make sure he’s not using us, and he is not.”
“Oh, but why me? I usually work with just the medical assessments.”
“I know, and I have to say your work is tremendous. The way you wake up for your patients to help them at any given time, Thela you have saved so many lives, and you are a good Caretender. One of the best I have.”
“Thank you.” My voice low with pride.
“So tell me,” continues Carrie, “people who are as good as you usually transfer to the Caretender for Medical. Why do you stick around here?” she asks, raising her hands to emphasize the Shelter.
“I love it here,” I respond, the nerves in my voice gone because I speak the truth. “I like helping the poor or the homeless. I really don’t see a difference in them.”
“Really? If you were higher, you would get noticed more, you could even become a doctor. You would have more ‘respect’ than what you have now from certain people, and you would get paid more.”
“I know, but I’m fine where I am at.”
She smiles a true smile of pride and happiness with my choice. She knows I am not lying to her, that I am telling the truth. “Alright then, we are happy you are here as well. Have a good rest of your day, and please try to get some rest. You’re making me tired just by looking at you.”
“I will, and thank you. You have a good day as well.”
Leaving, I feel a little more confused than when walking into Carrie’s office in the first place. Did she know I would come in there and ask about George? Was this all a way for her to see where I stand regarding how I feel about my position? Was she worried about losing me as a Caretender? Shaking my head with a smile, accepting her compliments with pride.
I look at my watch again and read 8:28 a.m. Right now I don’t have anything that I have to do. No patients are scheduled for an appointment, and my pager is not going off saying I need to be somewhere. A yawn creeps out of me with heaviness from the lack of sleep my body desperately needs to function.
Within minutes I am on my cot and out like a light.
🧠
The sun touches my skin as I stand in the alleyway between the hospital and the back of the tent for the Protecttenders. A smile curls my lips, telling me this is a good memory, but isn’t mine.
My eyes open all the way to see a few years younger Tess with someone, but it is hard to see with the memory still blurry. All my mind can think about is Tess, and I know it is hers as the memory becomes clear like I am there. The boy, around her age but maybe a little older, has black hair with dark almost black eyes. He’s taller than Tess, but not as tall as Zac. His body is thin, with a round face and still growing into a man’s.
Wait, I know you. You visit Tess sometimes in the hospital wearing the Shelter Protecttender uniform, but you always run whenever a Caretender comes by. He has grown into his body with muscle, but is still thin.
Both of them look happy, holding hands and laughing about something. He stops and spins her around before picking her up and spinning her around again. Tess shrieks with laughter that echoes through the alley. When he sets her down, she pulls him in for a kiss.
I guess that tells me who he is.
“Hey, promise me no matter what happens, we will be there for each other,” says Tess, keeping her face close to his. I inch closer to hear.
“I promise, and will you do the same?” he asks.
Tess nods and they both lean in to kiss each other. As their lips touch, my body starts to shake and my vision becomes a blur. I gasp as my mind shifts to a new memory of Tess’s, still in the alleyway.
The mood of the memory feels dark with betrayal of Tess’s trust. Everything is quiet for a few more seconds. The back door to the hospital is flung open, banging against the side of the building as Tess comes storming out. Hot, angry tears stain her checks and her eyes. A few seconds later the same guy comes chasing after her. He yells for her to stop, but she keeps walking at a brisk pace.
“Tess, wait, Tess!” he cries.
He finally catches up to her and grabs her by the arm to make her turn to face him. She tries to wriggle free, but after a while she stops and looks him straight in his eye with angry tears still boiling up.
“You knew. You didn’t try to stop it.” Her voice calm, with a hint of anger.
“Tess, I didn’t want to hurt you more.”
What are they talking about? He knew and didn’t try to stop what?
Tess loosens the grip and frees herself, but she doesn’t run away. She points at him with frustration, and she can’t stop herself from crying.
“You knew my mother,” said Tess, “and how she died, or even if she is dead or not. You told me- you made a promise we’d be there for each other. But then you turned my mother in to someone to get the reward.”
Tess turns and walks away. He doesn’t chase after her this time. He stands there with pain in his eyes, looking to the ground.
I start shaking again and feel my head spin before my mind can wrap around what is going on. My vision blurs and I wake up.
🧠
I shoot right up on the cot. My mind is still running with confusion about what exactly happened to Tess’s mother. It made her angry, and it made her scared. Questions of all kinds fill my head as I still try to wrap my head around the memory and what it means.
I get up and head back to the hospital, still lost in thought. The only thing that makes me stop and my mind shut off is bumping into someone. As I start to say my apologies, I look up and my words get cut short. Standing right in front of me is the man from Tess’s memories. You cause Tess pain.
“Uh, um, sorry about that,” I say, struggling to find the words.
“Oh, it’s okay,” he replies. “I know the feeling of getting lost in thoughts in your own head.”
“Yeah,” I say slowly, still finding it hard to believe it is him. “Um, sorry again,” I finish and walk around him to the hospital, but turn around to ask my question. “What is your name?”
He turns around to face me and answers it without question. “Lucas.”
“Okay. Sorry, I know it’s sort of weird, but I see you sometimes around one of my patients, Tess.”
“Oh, um, um-” This time it is him struggling for words. “I just walk around the Shelter sometimes doing my position.”
“Right, position.” I nod, more to myself than him. “Well, nice meeting you.”
I stick my hand out for a shake, and he shakes it after a slight pause. “Yeah, nice meeting you too,” he states before turning to walk away.
A little sigh comes out of me before I turn to head to the door for the hospital. That was weird. Again lost in thought, I walk past Tess’s room to head to the assessment board. My thoughts and my body turn cold only a few feet past her room, and I stop dead in my tracks. My head rises with alarm as I take the steps back to look through her room window. Tess is not in her room.
Rushing to the main desk, feeling the panic fill my veins. How could Tess be gone from her room? She is too sick and weak to be walking around on her own just in general.
“Where is my patient Tess?” I ask- demand, with worry in my voice.
“Don’t worry Thela. They took her to get some testing done. That is all,” answers the Caretender behind the main desk in the center of the hospital.
“I didn’t approve or schedule any tests,” I snap out.
“Oh, but I did,” says Carrie from behind me.
The panic slowly fades from my body as I turn to face Carrie. “Hi, Carrie, can you please tell me why you are doing testing on Tess?” I ask.
“We are testing her to see if she is a Neuroner. Her mother was one, the dangerous kind. All we are doing is retesting her to see if she has any kind of Neuroner in her. I know it is not genetic, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. You understand, right?” she asks.
“Oh, yeah, I understand. We don’t want any Neuroner out in the world, you know,” I said, adding an uncontrolled, nervous laugh.
“See, I knew you’d understand. See you later, Thela, and stop by my office if you need anything at all.”
“Will do.” My voice rises higher than it should.
Carrie walks away to her office, and it feels like the whole world just caved in on me. Tess’s mother was a Neuroner. That explains why she was mad at Lucas. He turned her in to get the reward for finding a Neuroner.
“She was the dangerous kind.” What does that even mean? Aren’t we all dangerous to society? I take a deep breath to clear my mind of these thoughts, but it is too late for my nerves. Another deep breath, this one deeper than the last. All I have to do is wait for Tess’s test results.
Don’t freak out.