"What do you mean I can't go in with my son?" Sneered Jordan, exasperated as he struggled to grasp what he just heard.
The woman who delivered the news smiled courteously as she repeated the words that left Ari's father frazzled. It was a sudden shift in formality at the same private practice they had visited for months. He and Hannah had taken Ari through the translucent glass doors for his appointments dozens of times before. This was the first time he was asked to go in alone. Although Jordan didn't mind it, he wasn't one to accept changes in their routine without a reasonable explanation.
"I'm very sorry, sir," said the woman, looming tall at the pristine entrance of the research institution.
"New policy."
After Jordan chose not to create a scene in front of the other patients, he turned to Ari, whose perplexed face shifted between the two. He didn't understand why his father was upset, but he could sense his deepening agitation. Jordan knelt down to his level, ruffled his unruly hair, and offered him an insipid grin. He realized Ari had already done this many times and could manage well without him, but he'd been through so much, and the weight of being separated from his only son stirred a distressing feeling within him.
"I'll be right here waiting when you're finished," said Jordan, reviewing all the possible ways he could deviate from anything expected.
After Ari nodded ecstatically in reply, the woman escorted him beyond the room with a cordial smile and an impersonal tone, checking him in at the front desk and situating him in an empty seat. He awaited his appointment in a sparsely populated waiting room at Nuvo, occupying himself by studying one of many brightly colored magazines meant for kids his age. Still, as time passed—nearly an hour—he began to feel the effects of renewed impatience. Observing as each of the remaining patients was called into an examination room, he contemplated the reason for his extended wait.
After the last patient before him had been called up, he heard a familiar voice announce his name. But it wasn't a nurse like the many visits of his past. When he looked up to see who it was, his face bloomed to life as he rose to his feet with vigorous excitement. It was Dr. Simmons, who looked as though he'd had a long day nearly behind him. He brushed his thick black hair to the side, double-checked a clipboard before him, and then went to Ari with the same catching smile he always wore. Ari waited as long as he could and then bolted toward the Doctor, running into him and wrapping his arms firmly around the man he adored, who lovingly patted his back in response.
"Hey, champ," greeted Simmons, briefly surveying the empty room around the two of them. "Where's your dad?"
"He had to wait in the other room," declared Ari, gushing warmly as he released a flood of developments he'd encountered since they last met.
Just as he began chattering in circles, he learned Simmons wasn't keenly listening to him as he often did. He seemed distracted, glancing everywhere else but him. He even moved differently, and as Ari's wandering words slowed, he realized the Doctor was speaking much quieter than him. He followed his abnormally shifty line of sight from the busy hallway to the receptionist's desk, where several women were taking calls and laboring on their computers. As Ari spoke, he took in the details of a man who behaved strangely in every way, seeking clues explaining why.
"So your father isn't with you?" Simmons asked again, causing Ari to shake his head and wonder why it mattered.
Ari's diminishing enthusiasm left him with a feeling that something wasn't right. Dr. Simmons held a visage of mundane comfort, but his eyes told a very different story. The ominous realization stirred a visible apprehension that forced Ari's grin to fade, tugging the edge of his lips as he watched his family doctor move disingenuously.
"Is everything okay?"
The physician crouched down next to Ari, dusting off one of his shoulders and fastening his jacket with the same foreboding smirk. He peeked behind himself again, and when Ari fixed his eyes on the same area, he saw nothing unusual. Why does he keep looking at them? Ari wondered, returning a gaze to the staff behind the desk.
He kneeled in such a way that no one else could see either of their faces, shielding their exchange as if in front of a watchful audience. He glacially moved his head towards Ari's, stopping uncomfortably close to his ear, and the boy smiled again, confident that whatever he was about to hear would cause him to laugh. Anything that would explain why the Doctor was so obscurely tense.
"Run," whispered Simmons, leaning away from him with an indifferent expression as if he hadn't said anything strange at all.
Ari moved away from him, and even though what he heard was no laughing matter and instead ignited terror in his heart, he giggled uncontrollably. He tilted his head to see the space behind Simmons, and then, he saw it—something out of place he hadn't seen before.
The eyes of every member of staff were upon him.
They weren't busy working at their desks, catching up on a day's work, as they appeared to be. Every time he spoke, they seemed to listen too intently, and when his focus caught them off guard, they glared brightly at him, detailing his every move. He glanced at Simmons again, and it suddenly all made sense in a surreal moment that seemed to slow.
Something indeed was happening. Something insidious.
"Get out of here," whispered Simmons. "Go. Now."
It took Ari a long time to comprehend what he'd just heard. He was confused and frightened, and as Dr. Simmons returned to standing, he felt an ache in his stomach when he realized that what he was asking was too much for a boy his age. He searched for some palpable explanation that would send him on his way, anything to get him out of there quickly, but he couldn't find one that wouldn't accompany a host of questions.
"Not that way," said Simmons quietly, stopping Ari from returning to the direction he came from.
When Ari turned around, he noticed one of the receptionists wrapping up an important phone call, one undoubtedly about him. He spotted another receptionist pointing in his direction as she whispered something to another. Simmons knew that whoever was on the other end of the call wasn't anyone dismissible. Ari scanned his surroundings, and it was as if every employee who walked by knew something he didn't-Something important, eying him sharply with a stoic face.
Ari was the unprecedented center of everyone's attention. Indeed, Dr. Simmons knew many things he didn't—things he wouldn't dream of saying out loud. Most importantly, he knew that if Ari stayed much longer, he wouldn't be permitted to leave. That's when Dr. Simmons made a choice.
A decision he knew he could never reverse.
He sprang to his feet, eyes darting around to assess the space surrounding them. He gripped Ari's hand in a single beat, yanking him forward as they plunged into the bustling hallway.
"Come with me," he demanded, carving through a crowd of medical personnel.
"What's going on?" Ari asked. "Where are we going?"
"Just follow me and act normal."
Normal? Ari wondered. Why would we need to act normal?
They raced through a labyrinth of twisting walkways that spider-webbed through the enormous building. Simmons expertly guided Ari past dozens of strangers, each waving with excitement at the sight of the Doctor, blissfully unaware of what was happening. Driven by deep trust in the Doctor's judgment, Ari followed closely through a whirlwind of confusion that swirled in his mind about the purpose of their frantic dash.
He didn't know why they were doing what they were. All he knew was that the further they walked, the more worried he became, especially as he watched Simmons keep his head down, purposely avoiding security cameras that seemed to decorate every possible corner of the institute.
Ari forced himself to behave cavalierly under surveillance, but he couldn't rid himself of the gnawing possibility of who might be watching them. Perhaps a team of highly trained security guards, ready to spring into action and halt their movements immediately. But why?
With each charged step, they passed countless personnel, many unaware of what they were doing, like Ari. Simmons was granted access through several doors by sliding his ID badge through a nearby receptacle in a passageway made only for those who worked there. The Doctor's heart sank into his stomach every time, tension coursing through his blood as he waited for each door's lights to turn green with approval.
He wondered how long it would take every time before one turned red and his ID badge would cease to permit access. He wondered how long it would take before anyone caught on to their swift escape or how much longer Ari would blindly follow his lead without question. He tried to hide his look of sheer terror from the young boy, but he found it difficult as he looked at him with an agonizing grin, focusing on the physician to gather assurance that everything would be okay.
After clearing several sections of the busy practice, they neared a freight elevator different from the rest. It was different because it was the only one to evade every building floor, reaching the outside world without pause. By then, Dr. Simmons could feel his heartbeat drumming inside him where a growing mountain of pressure stiffened his muscles, making it impossible to move saliently. He checked his surroundings methodically, knowing that what he was doing transgressed the boundaries of a nightmare only he could comprehend. Most symbolically, it defied Nuvo and whatever sinister plans would play out if he didn't intervene.
With another green light, the steel doors to the elevator parted, and they stepped inside, appearing as out of place as they sought to avoid. When the doors slid shut, Ari's synthetic composure fell away, and he looked to his physician for answers as the two were alone for the first time. He started to speak, but just as soon as he did, Simmons held a subtle finger to his lips, directing Ari's focus to a camera that lurked in the corner of the confined space using eyes concealed from its view. When the elevator finished its descent, they stood before another door enclosed by concrete in a desolate place.
It was the final door. The last chance to make it out with Ari before they were caught. He readied himself as he slid his ID badge through the receptacle next to the door, holding his breath to see what color the light would turn and whether they would be greeted by someone on the other side. He slid the card, and suddenly, the light turned green, the doors sliding open. Dr. Simmons stepped in front of Ari, extending his neck out of the doorway to see if the coast was clear. As the emptiness around him loomed, a surge of adrenaline coursed through him. With absolute resolve, he lunged forward, seizing the boy's arm, pulling him along in a breathless sprint toward his car.
When they arrived at the vehicle, they leaped inside as Simmons gazed around the sprawling parking lot. Once the doors shut, the engine fired up, and both he and Ari heard a roaring alarm outside the complex. That's when he knew they had to leave quickly before they would be stopped.
"Please say or enter destination." The car's computerized voice asked as Simmons fastened his seatbelt before doing the same for Ari.
"Manual override!" The Doctor exclaimed.
Suddenly, the steering wheel unfolded from the dashboard and expanded before him. He sped the car out of the massive parking lot. As he drove out onto the boulevard that encircled Nuvo's campus, he slammed his foot down onto the acceleration peddle, getting them further from an army of security personnel who emerged from the door they just exited.
"What are you doing?" Asked Ari frighteningly.
"I'm getting you out of here. See those men back there?" he asked, pointing across the console to the side view mirror. "They're after you."
"Why are they after me?"
"I can't say Ari. All I can tell you is that you're in danger, and I'm trying to save you."
"Warning—Vehicle speed exceeds legal limit," the car warned as it zoomed past evenly spaced traffic on a crowded interstate during rush hour.
"I want my dad!" demanded Ari, varying quick glances between the road ahead and the Doctor.
"Can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because you're a danger to them!" screamed Simmons, his voice so electrifying that it caused Ari to jolt into the air.
"Now, no more questions!
What kind of harm could he possibly be alluding to? The only thing dangerous was everything that seemed to surround him. It wasn't until Simmons navigated the car to a bleak off-ramp into apparent nothingness that Ari questioned his faith in the man he was sitting next to. He couldn't come up with any feasible guess as to what Simmons meant, so he said nothing more, quietly planning his escape from the car. But as he watched the outside environment pass him by at an intrepid pace, he decided to wait and take off as soon as the car stopped. Paying careful attention to every turn they took, he mapped their journey in his mind, deciding how best to return to where they came from.
The Doctor drove down a winding freeway that narrowed as they moved through the outskirts of town. Piles of white bordered their path into deserted lands where people and structures were vastly eclipsed by snow-covered nature. Ari planned to run through it all, imagining a sprint so fast he would bloody his arms and legs across piercing bushes and branches. He would tumble along uneven terrain, so breathless his insides would threaten to come out. He would take the longest path back to Nuvo, hidden from anyone's sight until he could find his father. He would know what to do. He could keep Ari safe, even if it meant returning to peril.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Listen to me very carefully, Ari," he said through a forcefully tranquil tone, as unconvincing as it was.
"I'm getting you out of here fast. I can't explain why because it could make things worse for you. I can't involve your parents because it could make things bad for them. All I can do is get you away from here. Somewhere far away where they can't reach you."
"Warning! Collision imminent!" the computerized voice announced, automatically taking control of the car to circumvent an accident with the vehicle in front of them before returning the controls to Dr. Simmons.
"I know this is all so strange and scary, but I need you to trust me. I'm only trying to help," said the Doctor, trying to alternate his focus between the changing path ahead and Ari's horrified face. "Do you trust me?"
Suddenly, Ari began weeping uncontrollably. He nodded his head up and down with rivulets flowing out of his red eyes as they sped down a crooked road of granulated mud and gravel. He glimpsed out of the window next to him, staring at the flushed features of his inflamed face in the reflection, experiencing a torrential flurry of crippling fear in unmovable silence.
"I need you to be strong for me," said Simmons. "Do you think you can do that?"
Ari nodded again, avoiding any sight of him as he watched the trees pass his view. The physician felt a pit form in his stomach, fighting the urge to console him while he wrestled stubborn tears in his own eyes. They arrived at a cargo depot, and Simmons drove around it across an unpaved road beside a chain-linked fence. After parking the car, he stepped outside, leaving Ari to watch his rapid movements in the rear-view mirror. He readied for a swift escape but couldn't bring his body to budge.
Dr. Simmons released the trunk of his car, pulled out a backpack, and didn't even bother closing the trunk before he drew Ari from his seat. With a thunderous grip on Ari's arm, they crossed painfully sharp rocks covering railroad tracks, moving briskly towards a massive train, long and decrepit, corroded and weathered in the cold, dry air.
"See that train over there?" asked Simmons, pointing a zeal finger into the foggy distance.
"That's your ticket out of here."
"I'm not getting on that thing! Where am I even supposed to sit?"
"I said no questions," he shouted, hoisting him onto the caboose of the colossal, metallic train.
"I said I'm not going!" Ari hissed, rising taller in defiance before the Doctor clutched handfuls of his jacket and forcefully yanked it towards him with fury.
Ari looked into two sharp gray eyes of steel. His focus trailed the jagged edges of solid lines that displayed all of his wrath along the grooves of his face. He watched his skin turn blood red, and he knew he wasn't prepared to cave into his last-minute temper. Without the protection of his own anger, Ari was vulnerable, transparent, and afraid.
"You are going," he decreed, shoving him onto the rusty grate outlining the train's frame. "Now sit down!"
Simmons raised the backpack in his other hand and unzipped it, opening the bag to put its contents on full display. As Ari revealed the darkness inside with his hand, he discovered several water bottles and packaged food. The Doctor pulled a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket and inscribed a note using Ari's back as a surface. Only then did Ari wonder if his Doctor harbored a plan all along; A series of shadowed events that were playing out right in front of him, leading him to where he was at that moment.
"Now look, I'm sorry about all this, Ari. I know this is unfair, and none of it makes any sense, but this is the only way," said Simmons, handing him the note with an address distinguishable from any other by a state abbreviation far from where they were.
"This train travels faster than 100mph. They won't be able to keep up with you on this. Once you get there, you need to find that address. Don't stop anywhere, and don't talk to anyone on your way. Got it?"
"Why is this happening to me?"
"There's something different about you."
"Different?" Whimpered Ari, and only then could he see the glistening of the physician's eyes, wet from remorse as he detailed a little boy, too young to travel by himself, let alone in the perilous conditions he found himself in.
"How am I different?"
"When they brought you out of that coma, something happened, Ari. Something that changed you."
"What do you mean changed me?" asked Ari as the train began creaking and shifting so loudly that it stopped Simmons from responding.
He waited for a chance to speak, but when the opportunity came, Ari was already yards away, moving robustly down the railroad track, too remote for him to hear his words. Ari watched the moving rocks beneath him, planning a perfectly timed leap, but he still couldn't follow through with his impulse to get away. When his last chance to jump presented itself, he remembered the unfolding scene at the institution, and he wondered what terror awaited him if he did return and if he was better off where he was.
As the train began hastilly picking up its pace, the Doctor waved the 12-year-old boy goodbye, deliberating his future but certain that it wouldn't be good if he stayed behind. Only a child, he faced something much more significant than he could ever imagine, something he was too young to understand. Something he didn't speak of that sent Ari into a confounding voyage of mystery where the only thing certain was the profound danger ahead.