Ch. 18
Evan’s Monday through Friday was spent going to classes and studying. Saturdays were the days he would spend at the base helping Dr. Campbell with his experiments. The only true day off he got every week was Sunday. It was a day he dedicated to being completely lazy. He would sleep in late, plant himself in front of the TV, and then he would barely move. It was his favorite day.
It was the Sunday after his conversation with the general, and he was very much looking forward to vegging out. After waking up, he spent the morning in bed on his phone. He would probably scroll social media for a while before he finally got up, most likely to get some food. It was almost noon when he checked his school email and saw a message from Ms. Vaduva. The email was asking if he could come to her office sometime that day. She said it was an important matter.
“Ah, fuck,” he said feeling his lazy day slipping away.
Evan replied that he would meet her after lunch. He grumpily got cleaned up and ate a sandwich. He had managed to fill his mini fridge with a few items for simple meals courtesy of the local convenience store. When he was done, he locked up his room and went downstairs. He was surprised to see Robin in the common room waiting for him.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“Hello, I’m going to escort you to your appointment.”
“Really? I’m just heading to the administration building.”
“I know,” she said.
“Ok then.”
They walked in silence as they made the short trip across campus. Evan was confused why Robin needed to accompany him this time when he was just walking on campus like he always did. He wondered if there was something wrong. It wasn’t long before he knocked on Ms. Vaduva’s office door.
“Come in,” came the voice from inside.
“Hello,” he said holding his hand up as he entered.
“Hello, Evan,” Ms. Vaduva said. “Thanks for coming to see me today.”
“Is everything ok?” he said.
“Well, not exactly,” she said, now frowning. “I’m afraid that something terrible has happened. A student has gone missing.”
“Really?” he said. “Who is it?”
“Derek Volkov,” she said.
“Derek!? But I saw him Wednesday night. When did he go missing?”
“We aren’t certain,” she said. “We know he was at the party this week like you said, but we haven’t confirmed any sightings since then.”
“Unfortunately,” she continued with a sigh. “It was not uncommon for Derek to cut class or spend nights in places other than his dorm room, so it took a while for his absence to be noticed.”
Ms. Vaduva shook her head.
“The security force is probably smaller than you realize,” she said. “They monitor high risk areas and respond to emergencies, but they don’t have the manpower to watch everyone. They only made an exception for you since your safety was deemed to be our number one priority.”
“I’m honored, I guess,” he said.
“There were several members in the area of the party that night, but none of them reported seeing Derek leave the party.”
“What do you think happened to him?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But that’s why I wanted to talk to you today. I think you need to know that you might be in danger.”
“I’ve heard that before, but in danger from what? Who wants to hurt me?”
“In this case, with Derek going missing, the most likely answer is that someone from inside Tourmaline is responsible,” she said. “But we can’t discount the possibility that it’s an attack from outside either.”
“From outside?”
“Yes,” she said. “Evan, do you remember how we found you? The government runs a program searching for DNA markers, and yours came up as a match. Well, shortly after the match was confirmed, there was a breach in security.”
“Someone had planted a mole within the agency,” she continued. “That person was a mage, and they managed to escape with all the information we had on you.”
“…”
“We don’t know what group was responsible for that attack, but there can be no mistake that their objective was to find you.”
“Wow.”
“That’s why we’ve been taking your safety so seriously, Evan. I thought it was best you knew.”
“So, is this why Robin had to walk with me today?”
“Yes,” she said grimacing slightly. “It’s been decided that, at least until Derek is found, your security will be stepped up. An agent will be posted close to your room at all times, and Robin will escort you whenever you leave.”
“I guess I get it,” he said. “But that… kinda sucks.”
“We also want you to refrain from leaving the dorm. Classes being the only exception.” Get faster updates on g.com.
“Seriously!?”
“I know. I’m sorry. Hopefully it won’t be for long.”
They finished their conversation shortly after that, and Evan made the trip back to his room with Robin walking close by. When he got to his room, he noticed a security officer had set up a chair in the hallway. It looked like she was going to be staking out his floor. He spent the rest of his lazy Sunday worried about the new restrictions.
The next day did not do anything to make him feel better. As expected, Robin followed him as he walked throughout campus. However, she also entered class with him. She took a nearby seat in the room and sat silently as the lesson went on. She even sat at his table in the cafeteria. His friends didn’t know Robin, so it made for an awkward atmosphere. He truly was never left alone at any point when he was on campus.
When evening came around, he planned to head to the cafeteria for dinner, but he was stopped by the agent in the hallways. She said he needed to stay in his room. Apparently, they hadn’t been kidding about only leaving his room for classes. The agent said they would deliver anything he wanted for dinner, but it didn’t help get rid of the feeling that he was a prisoner. He texted his friends and simply told them he couldn’t join them for dinner.
The next day was much the same, only this time he knew the drill. He could tell his friends were curious about the agent following him around, but they didn’t say anything. It was late afternoon when Barry gave him a call. He asked if Evan wanted to join in on a trip to eat at a restaurant in town.
“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t think I can.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not allowed to leave my room after classes end for the day.”
“For real?” Barry said sounding shocked.
“Yeah. That’s why I couldn’t meet at the cafeteria last night.”
“Dude, that’s messed up.”
“Right!?”
“Is there any way you could sneak out?”
“I don’t think so. There’s someone keeping watch outside my door.”
“Whoa. Damn. Alright, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
Evan was miffed that he was missing out on a fun dinner with his friends, but he didn’t know what he could do about it. They were serious about limiting his activities, at least for a while. He knew it wasn’t supposed to stay like this forever, but it still felt like too much. He spent the rest of the night binge watching anime.
The next two days were much the same. He was beginning to feel isolated from the rest of his classmates, and it felt like he was taking a step back in his progress on being more sociable. At least it wasn’t because of his own doing, but that didn’t really matter if the end result was the same.
What Evan didn’t see during these days was that his friends had noticed his mood worsening. They saw the constant tail he had and how it was affecting him. That Wednesday evening, a group of them got together and started planning a surprise for him. Something they hoped would lift his spirits and get him through whatever ordeal he was going through.