Chapter 1 New Beginnings (Part 2/5)

After hearing that devastating news, weeks had passed where I was in a stupor, spending the majority of my days at home, reading several science advancement articles, and searching for a solution. It wasn't until I came across a fairly hidden article that I gained a new sense of hope. In short, it discussed how at the conclusion of the destruction of WWIII, there had been an increase of mutated and new diseases that were popping up across the globe which showed a resistance to our current treatment standards. In addition to that, there were new forms and variations of plant and animal life. Those variations resisted modern day full-spectrum analysis techniques. It was like an epiphany then struck me. Nature seems to always provide a way to overcome its destructive side, through the utilization of its bountiful secrets. What if some of those new secrets or mutated flora and fauna could be the way to finding a cure to these new diseases? And so, my pursuit of studies in pharmaceutical botany began. Now here I was, in my room, living on my own in St. Louis Missouri, pursuing my goals with dedication. The level of pressure I put myself under was immense with my studies and continued work in the medical field. I coped with the mounting stress in mainly two ways. One was through a cultivated sense of dark and self-suffering humor, laughing at the setbacks and forging onward despite the opposition. The other was this sensation that I was currently experiencing with my music. This feeling wasn't limited to music, but it helped greatly to stimulate this merging of warmth and chills. As the crystalline notes from the violin played against the alternating piano and bass, the pure voice of the female singer brought an increase of chills rushing through me. It was this sensation that brought me peace of mind and allowed me to find my center in my ongoing world of inner chaos. In this day and age, being just shy of half a century following the conclusion of WWIII, the public and people of Earth are not fond of individuals with unexplainable oddities or abilities. There had been rumors of supernatural events caused by hidden individuals displaying impossible abilities during the 3 years that the war raged across the continents. The number of first-hand accounts witnessing these individuals in action was enough to make one believe that they just might be real. The mainstream media refused to cover any articles on the possibility of these unique individuals existing, and if anything was posted on streaming services, they would disappear shortly after. It was a silent affirmation that something was going on, and this caused a surge in the public's fear of the unusual. Having turned 22, I had just completed my first four years of college, earning myself a bachelor's degree in Pre-Pharmaceutical studies, in addition to my previous associate in architecture. My social life was practically non-existent, but in return, my social obligations were few. In the past, I had tried to share that which I felt with my parents, yet they neither appeared able to understand nor feel what I was capable of experiencing. Although they tried to understand me, for which I am grateful, they still failed to reach the standard of truly appreciating or empathizing that which I experienced on a deep enough level. I still continued to keep in somewhat regular contact with them, for they were good parents. However, it was on the scale of a short call or text maybe a couple times a month, as I felt I had little to talk about with them. I reveled in the freedom of living a bachelor's life, while I quietly missed having someone special that could accept and understand me for who I was, unique feelings and all. Although, I have to admit that I don't believe I deserve that special someone's presence in my life; nor would I be able to fully reciprocate their feelings for as long as I had the guilt of my sister's condition hanging over me. At the conclusion of that song and end of my musings, I paused the audio player and took a glance at my phone. It was 8:12 am Tuesday. *groan* As an unashamed night owl, it was too early to do anything of note on a day off, yet too late to go back to sleep. With slow and reluctant movements, I clicked a nearby switch which turned on my bedroom light. "Ugh!" I flinched back at the sudden brightness which filled my room. *Sigh* The rush of air in and out of me contained the familiar feelings of disappointment as I looked around the room. "And once again there is nothing." I said to myself. Despite the many things I could experience on the inside, stimulated by certain music, heightened emotions, and sometimes danger among other things; never once had I seen a physical manifestation of what I felt, nor were there any physical changes within my own body. There was no fire, no ice, no unexplainable fluctuations in temperature, or latent charges of electricity; just the plain surroundings of my own bedroom. I often wondered if there were others out there, able to feel what I could feel; at a loss as to how something seemingly so powerful and entrancing, was so ineffectual when applied to the outside world. Throwing off the remainder of my blankets, I swung my feet out of bed to get ready for the day. Rubbing my face and eyes to wipe the sleep dust out of them, I could feel the coarse hairs that told me I would need to shave again soon. Thankfully, being blonde haired and a young adult, I could get away with not shaving for a few days at a time, as the rough look wasn't too much out of fashion or noticeable. And who honestly could blame a single guy for not being perfect when it comes to everyday shaving. As it so happened to be, today was my 4th day of summer break from school. Unfortunately, work was still a factor as I hadn't been able to schedule a two-week summer vacation for myself till June 6th, during which I was planning to take a trip to one of the rumored nature sites which might contain mutated flora. That was 2 1/2 weeks away. *sigh* The good news though, was that I was still on the part-time schedule that I had requested for the school year. Reaching down to pick up my fallen water bottle, I took a long swallow from it before placing it back on my bedside dresser. "Haaaah." The huge gulp of water hurt a little going down my dry throat, but the pain soon faded and the satisfaction of being hydrated won over. Among the items on my dresser, my gaze lingered upon my work badge. Andrew M. PCT My first name and work title boldly stood out while my last name just had the initial. I had been told that this was to cut down on the number of stalkers in the business I worked in. Recalling the number of attractive female Nurses, PCT's and CNA's, I had to admit that they had a valid concern. The stories I'd heard of attempts by male and sometimes female patients to make a pass at, or an impression on their caretakers, frequently left me struggling between a sense of concern and barely concealed laughter. Being a male myself, I wasn't free from those advances. However, my fan club was generally smaller and tended towards the older, silver haired, and heavily wrinkled crowd, of which I had no desire to explore the possibilities of. Quite often, they were simply lonely, sweet, old ladies, but just the thought of . . .. Ugh! I almost dry heaved again . . . Yeah no, not going there. Tasering those delinquent, disturbing thoughts, and unwanted mental imagery, I distracted myself by mentally planning out my day. I wasn't scheduled to work until tomorrow afternoon, leaving me with an entire day to myself. Tempered excitement and hope rose briefly within me before I quashed it down. Too often I had gotten my hopes up for something only for it to let me down. But once again I was reaching out for something that I felt I had a chance at. I was hoping to hear a response from Millennial Enterprises, but was uncertain when they might get back to me. This was considering how many other messages they must get on a daily basis. Just 4 days ago, I received my final grades on this latest semester of classes I had taken. Although I had yet to receive it officially, I met all the requirements for my bachelor's degree. Upon completion, I had immediately applied for a medical scholarship with hope for an internship eventually with my corporate idol. With those thoughts and hopes in mind, I convinced myself to get up out of bed. Making my way to my full-length mirror to see the damage the bed did to my hair, I looked back at my reflection. Disheveled blonde hair sticking up every which way that looked like it needed a trim, piercing eyes of two different colors, being blue and green, and a waist that held at a steady 34 in pant size stared back at me. It had been a continuous battle with me slowly increasing my swim sessions to improve my physique. Though I wasn't terribly overweight at 5' 10" and 190 lbs., I could however afford to lose a little or at least tone up a bit. Renewing my mental promise to do something about it, I started getting ready for the day. I honestly didn't have anything going on besides waiting to hear back regarding the scholarship request. My current ability to research pharmaceutical botany on my own, had hit a wall of sorts as I lacked the resources to begin experiments. The whole summer was waiting for me and I had nothing to do. I was mostly in a waiting period, as everything holding promise was in limbo. After a quick shower, and as I busily worked about my small kitchen to create a delicious grilled cheese sandwich, I heard an app on my phone go off with a chime. This chime meant that my mail had arrived. Turning off the preheating stove, since I hadn't yet put the bread on to crisp it, I then donned my dark blue bathrobe as I was currently only wearing my boxer shorts. Stepping out into the humid Missouri air as it was nearing the end of spring, I found myself standing barefoot in a shallow puddle of water on my cement 2nd story apartment landing. Closing my eyes while taking a deep breath through my nose, I took in the amazing scents that could only be present after a heavy rain. "HAhhhh" The fresh dew of pine trees, the mild acrid smell of wet roof tiles, and the whiff of various other aromatic plants filled my senses. Looking up at the sky, I smiled as my view was filled with overcast clouds that continued to threaten additional downpours throughout the day. Carefully making my way down the exterior stairwell, as I watched for any sharp objects due to my being lazily barefoot, I then maneuvered through the simple paved pathway of the apartment complex. Running my fingers through the foliage of the dense green trees and bushes that lay low with saturation I continued to my destination. The weather and nature here, were a couple of the reasons why I had moved to Missouri, that is after moving away from my first home in southern Texas. Heading out to my assigned mailbox with ill contained excitement, I fumbled with my keys a bit before I was able to open it. Nestled within the moderately sized case, I was able to see a small box and envelope that filled the frequently empty, of anything important, mail slot. Wiping my dew-covered hands on my robe before handling the mail, I ignored the box for the moment in favor of pulling out the manila envelope that read 'Millennial Enterprises.' "Yes! Please be good news, please be good news!" I whispered fervently to myself. Unable to hold my excitement any longer, right there I ripped open the envelope, careful to not damage the contents, and read what it had to say.