Chapter 17 Tracker

The elevator landed smoothly and the door made a hissing sound the moment the air escaped from it when the glass door slid open.
The cool temperature of the place was the first thing that welcomed me after we all stepped out of the elevator. In my head, I imagined the place as a run-down, rusty old bunker but it was all the opposite of what I had thought because the place looked as if you'd stepped inside the corridor of a well-maintained spaceship. The hall of this floor level was all white! The tiled floor, the solid walls, the high ceiling lights. Plus the room temperature was nicely cold. It made me feel like I could live here the rest of my life rather than suffer the unpredictable weather outside, especially the scorching heat of the sun during the daytime.
People were walking around in tracksuits, all were in uniform. All girls my age who had long hair were tied into a ponytail and adult women's hair was pulled neatly into a bun. Men have their hair cut too. All looked prim and proper as if I was transported into another kind of a world.
Even Jayson and the others were amazed by how wonderful the place was. The people were well taken care of, the place was so clean and bright and it seemed like everyone was also well-fed.
"Please proceed to the Identity Scan Sector so we could add you to the Statistic of this Bunker." Commander Leo said as he started walking again, both of his hands were at his back while he raised his chin arrogantly. Timothy followed him with the same aura of being a VIP and Jayson, Li, Mona, and I followed anxiously, feeling less important because Timothy suddenly changed the moment he was recognized by the soldier.
While we were at the back of Timothy and the Officer, Jayson and I looked at each other, his face was pale and vexed. He gave me a worried smile and I think it must be because he was anxious that we may not fit in this area with all these high-profiled people who apparently belonged to the first class.
I wonder why the Commander led us here. Could it be because of Timothy? Did he request for us to stay here as a reward for saving him?
It made me sad because he felt indebted when we would actually still save him even if he was not a son of a CEO billionaire.
When we reached the area, a female attendant in a white coat welcomed us inside the room with glass walls. The machine types of equipment gave me a fidgety feeling as we all waited for our turn to get inspected.
"We have seen these kids outside the subway. They must have heard this location from the Ambassador's radio broadcast." Commander Leo explained to the attendant who was wearing a glass that almost covered half of her face. She looked at us with curiosity and then she waved at Li to get inside the room.
Li obliged, looking scared and uncertain of what would happen to him inside. But the attendant gently led him to sit on a cozy chair and used a scanner that she pointed behind Li's right ear.
Then I realized that the identity check they were talking about was the microchip that was implanted behind the right ear of every citizen in Arcania when they turned twelve years old. The children under that age wore bracelets from the time they were born.
A hologram appeared, revealing Li's personal information. Together with his photo, the hologram showed his whole name, birthdate, name of his parents, and the place he was born. It also read some status backgrounds of what places he had been, his educational attainment, skills, intelligence level, and his criminal record.
My eyes widened with fear when I realized about the criminal record status. I quickly turned my head towards Jayson whose jaws were tightened upon seeing the hologram.
"Jayson—"
He glanced at me and he gave me a helpless smile. I shook my head. Is there something else we could do?
The attendant took the microchip under Li's skin and replaced it with another one. When we saw it, our faces turned to Commander Leo, expecting an explanation from him. His one brow raised and then he spoke without looking at our faces as if we were like some annoying teenagers in front of him.
"It's actually a new ID microchip, designed to track every citizen that is inside every bunker. Each of you has a personal code ID. It lights green, indicating you're from Zone four, and it will all appear on the monitoring screen of the Central Intelligence of the Arcanian Republic. It will glow red when you become a Creeper."
When Li finished the process, Mona stepped into the room and went under the same thing that the attendant did to Li. Li was led to a different door that was across the room. We didn't see him after he went out that door.
I feel so nervous. What about Jayson? Based on what he told us, it would be clear that he has several records he was hiding. What will happen to him if they find out he"s a criminal on the loose?
I turned to Timothy, hoping he could help Jayson but he was so focused on what the attendant was working on Mona. Should I tell him? Could he help him?
My heart started to beat so fast. I glanced at Jayson when it was my turn and he just smiled at me encouragingly. Both he and Timothy were left outside together with Commander Leo.
"It's ok dear. This won't hurt too much." The attendant said with a gentle smile and made me sit on the chair. I rested my hands on my sides and inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself as the lady typed something on her keyboard and prepared her stuff. Her hands were quick and sure of what she was doing.
"Do you know a man named Charlie Fontaine? I think he"s been led here from the airport. He"s with a five-year-old boy named Carl." I asked the lady in hope that she might have remembered those names but she acted as if she didn't hear me and just went on with what she was doing.
I suddenly felt as if something wasn't right and frowned. I made a peek at what she was doing and before I made a clear view of it, she surprisingly turned towards me, holding her equipment, and gave me a smile that I knew she was faking.
"Do you know a man named Carl Fontaine?" I repeated at her, I was a bit upset this time as she cleared the hair off the back of my right ear.
"I'm sorry, dear. But we work shifting here and this bunker holds almost six hundred thousand people. This bunker is the largest one here in Arcania. Maybe we can check their name on the data list but it's at the administrative sector of this facility." She explained to me and started scanning the microchip inside my skin.
My information floated on the hologram and I suddenly felt embarrassed because I knew Timothy and Jayson had seen it. It felt like revealing myself naked in front of someone.
"Ohh... so you're from Coleshire. Unfortunately, the attack started the day you came here. Poor girl. I'm sorry that you have witnessed such terrible things in that place. It was a miracle you and your friends survived that catastrophe." She sympathetically spoke in a low tone.
I felt a prickling pain where the microchip was and then I knew she cut that part of the skin and took the thing out. I felt she dabbed the wound with the wet cotton to wipe the blood and then another pain made me almost stand in surprise. The equipment she used sounded like she stapled something underneath the skin behind my ear.
"Ouch!" I complained and I grimaced as I rubbed the part after she put a bandage to it.
"I'm sorry dear. It will heal in no time, don't you worry." She gave me a reassuring smile and gave me two tablets of medicine.
"What's this for?"
"It's a painkiller dear. Go on and take it. There's a bottle of water near you." She said waving her hand while preparing for her next one. I took the medicine and drank the water. I didn't notice how dry my throat was until the water reached it. I felt the refreshing feeling as it went down my throat through my empty stomach.
I stepped towards the exit but before I left the room, I made a last glimpse and it was Jayson's turn.
Before I closed the door, a feeling of dizziness overwhelmed me. I almost knocked myself on the floor but two men approached me as I shook the blurriness of my eyes away. My body suddenly felt heavy and I couldn't think straight.
What's happening? Was that medicine...