Alex couldn’t move any part of his body. His breathing was shallow, and he had never felt this weak in his life. He could hear beeping and voices around him.
“I’m getting something over here.” The voice said as a hand grabbed his arm and moved something attached to him.
Nova’s voice said, “Is he awake?”
“Not exactly. His mind... it’s breaking through.”
The beeping grew more shallow and their voices faded until he couldn’t hear them any longer.
A moment later, the smiling face of Dr. Henderson looked down at him as she ran a scanner over his head. “Oh, nice to have you back with us.”
The blurriness in his eyes cleared up quickly to reveal the interior of the BADGE infirmary. “Nova...” he mumbled.
“What?” she asked.
He rolled his head to the right and left, looking around. “I heard Nova. Where is he?”
“You must have been dreaming. We still haven’t found the Director.”
He grasped at the memory of his dream, but it raced away from him again. He asked, “What happened to me?”
“You blacked out in Holland, Michigan. Some tourists called for help and we sent a shuttle down to get you.”
“Do you know what happened to me?”
She looked at her scanner and then flashed a light in each eye. “I can’t find anything wrong. You just went down. Not surprising. Everyone is so tired recently, I’m worried there is some kind of virus or condition that is spreading around the planet that we can’t see yet. Everyone I check seems so healthy, and yet everyone is reporting being tired all the time.”
“I’m hungry,” He said.
“That too. Hunger is a strange symptom. No one can seem to eat enough. Yet, for all my tests, your body looks as healthy as it should be. What were you doing before you blacked out?”
He sat up with her help, “Just looking for some flowers for... wait, no, I had a strange memory.”
“Memory?” She picked up a tablet to record his report. “What sort of memory?”
“I can’t say. Something about the flowers teased my memories, and I was on the cusp of remembering something and then I just blacked out.”
She typed, “Something about Nova?”
“I don’t think so.” He looked at her with fierce, yet terrified eyes. “Something is wrong here. Something is terribly wrong.”
She put the tablet down. “I think this tiredness and hunger problem is getting to you. But, I will check out my scans and tests I ran to be certain. For now, Justin and Gamer G want to see you in Operations.”
Alex bristled at the thought of reporting to Gamer G, but he withheld any commentary. “So, I’m cleared to get back to work?”
She shrugged. “Everything I see tells me you’re fine. But, since we can’t be certain why you blacked out, take things easy and get more rest than normal. I’ll keep checking your vitals and tests to see if I can find something I’m missing.”
“Thanks.” He slung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. There was a moment of wobbliness, but that passed and he headed out for the Operations center.
Alex walked through the quiet, empty station. Every corner and chair, every table and computer station left him with an uneasy feeling. Something ached in him, like he knew a secret that he had forgotten, something so important that he just had to remember it.
Upon exiting the lift to the Operations, he found the same trio working. Chase and Justin were in command while Gamer G looked over a computer tablet. Alex paused and looked down at the central floor where the command staff would always be. Nova often occupied this space as he kept a keen eye on the workings of BADGE across the world from here. Yet, something was missing.
“Alex, are you going to join us?” Chase asked.
He slowly walked down, his gaze fixed on the space they stood.
Justin asked, “Is something wrong?”
Alex gave Gamer G a snide glance and then asked, “Do you recall the compliment of the command staff of the station?”
Chase frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“We’re looking for Nova. He was our commander. But who else made up the command staff? I can only recall you, Justin, and Nova. That doesn’t seem right.”
Gamer G scoffed and said, “Sounds fine to me.”
“I wasn’t asking you.” Alex shot this comment like a bullet.
Chase said, “Funny, I seem to recall it being more than just the three of us. But I can’t remember who else.”
Gamer G said, “So many have quit now that we’re at peace. Who has time to remember everyone? Right now, we need to know if you found anything from Detroit? Any evidence of Xandraxi technology?”
Alex said, “No. Nothing. Everything is just fine. Almost creepy fine. Detroit is clean and crime free.”
Chase said, “Everywhere is crime free.”
Alex said, “We might look into this tired and hungry sickness that is spreading. I saw a group of kids just all take a nap in the middle of the street. And I can’t shake this terrible hunger.”
Justin said, “Dr. Henderson mentioned that to me as well. She is looking into it. Might get ahold of the World Health Organization and see if they are checking it out. Robot 10994, get me in touch with the W.H.O BADGE Liaison, please.”
The robot took a moment to compute that and was slowly accessing the database.
Justin said, “Never mind, I’ll do it.” His hand flew over the tablet, plugging in the information and accessing the comm channel.
Alex frowned as he watched this. Justin didn’t spend a moment looking up any of the info. He had it ready to go. “You seem to be on the ball today, Justin.”
“Filling Nova’s shoes is no small task. Guess I’m more ready for this than I thought.” He said as the screen activated with the woman who was liaison for BADGE.
“Agent Justin, how can I help you?”
“Has the W.H.O been looking into the strange tiredness and hunger that is affecting the world?”
She looked at her computer screen. “Yes. However, our examination is preliminary. We’re getting unusual reports of people unable to move, they are so tired. There are people who are eating almost constantly, but not gaining any weight, and they remain hungry. It was just a few cases at first, but we are concerned this might become an epidemic.”
“I’ll have Dr. Henderson coordinate her efforts with your people.”
Gamer G spoke up, “Excuse me. I would be glad to have a look at your computer system and see if I can help speed up analytics.”
She said, “That would be appreciated. I’ll get our computer people in touch with you.”
Justin said, “Keep us updated. Would hate to have a strange illness disrupt our newfound peace.”
“I agree. We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, BADGE out.”
Alex said, “Good. I would love to figure this out. I’m tired of being so hungry.”
“Speaking of which,” Chase said, “How about some lunch? I’m starving.”
Alex held up his hand. “Not for me right now. I’ll grab a quick bite and head back down. Going to get some extra rest, doctor’s orders.”
Justin said, “Why not stay on the station in your assigned quarters? Be closer to the doctor and not alone.”
“Oh, I think I’ll be okay in the cottage. I’ll keep my BADGE comm unit active in case something happens. I can have it send a constant vital signature to the doctor. If I black out again, she’ll know.”
“If that’s what you want. Get rest. We’ll monitor things.” Justin replied.
Alex summoned his portal back home. Just before he stepped in, he saw a strange disapproving look on Gamer G’s face.
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