Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Author Bio
Consigned to Oblivion
Emilee Breanne Ward
First Edition: July 2024
Owensboro, KY
CONSIGNED TO OBLIVION
Copyright © 2024 by Emilee Breanne Ward
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact :
http://www.emileebreanneward.com
Front Cover Art by Maja K. @_m_design3 (Instagram)
Author Photo by Trick Card Productions (Kevin Brown Media)
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
ISBN 979-8-9904274-0-2 (Paperback)
ISBN 979-8-9904274-2-6 (Hardback)
ISBN 979-8-9904274-1-9 (Ebook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2024908224
First Edition: July 2024
For Uncle Mike—
You were one of my biggest fans and knew I would write a book one day. I wish you were here to see it finally come to fruition.
“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.”
- Romans 11:32 (ESV)
PROLOGUE
PAT DID NOT believe in magic but he did believe in monsters. This fear of monsters started at a young age. His father Owen Sherwood would find him rocking back and forth in his bed, shaking uncontrollably because of a nightmare he could not wake from. This pained Owen, who had spent his life creating technology to make peoples’ lives better. The summer before Pat’s 12th birthday, his father had begun experimenting with a new technology meant to free his son from his mental suffering.
He had always been obsessive, but when it came to his son he was maniacal. Pat was Owen’s world after his wife died. When Pat turned 13, his father was ready to try out what he had created. Money was no object and resources were not hard to come by in the city of Kimber, which contained over 300,000 people and 10 different hospitals. Owen selected Mercy Research Hospital because it was smaller and designed in such a way that it was easier to keep the procedure private from the public. He also took great pains to secure Dr. Everett Winston to perform the surgery on Pat. He was known for his steady hands and the ability to successfully implement experimental treatments.
The surgery was completed with no complications and Pat awoke to his father standing over him with a slightly crazed smile. His eyes danced as if watching his child walk for the first time, except that Pat’s father had never been present for that particular milestone.
“Hey there, Jobs.” Owen said huskily, using the nickname he had chosen for his son when he first showed an aptitude for technology. “How do you feel?” Instead of reaching for his son’s hand as most parents would, Owen wrung his hands in slow motion as if to distract himself from his intrusive thoughts.
Pat did not speak immediately, but instead looked around the room. He took in the pale peach walls, picture windows looking out onto a sleepless city, and the beeping machines that proved he was alive. Then his eyes fell back on his nervous father. “I am not sure.” He paused. “I am thirsty.”
Owen was not deterred by this uncertainty. His son had been mentally ill for so long that it made sense that he was still unsure. The operations of the technology were rather clunky at first. Pat had to use his phone’s Internet browser to run the program, but soon enough an app was developed. The microchip implanted directly on the surface of Pat’s brain was able to eliminate any electrical impulses that were “wrong” or negatively affecting his quality of life. All he had to do was click “resolve” on his app and the Thought Conductor microchip would do its job. Six months passed and it became apparent that the technology was working. An entire year passed and Pat was using the new technology proficiently and starting high school feeling like a new kid. This was a glowing time in Pat’s life because after the surgery he finally was able to tell the difference between reality and nightmares. He basked in the feeling of being a “normal” teen at last.
Instead of living in his imagination, high school became a time when he was consumed with thoughts about girls, cliques, and finding himself. Shortly into his sophomore year, a new girl started in his grade and seemed to take a shine to him. This sent his thoughts spiraling. He could think only of her. She mothered him and seemed to understand his spirit more than his father who had been tracking his moods and thoughts for two years. Pat could not deny that he liked being cared for by her and felt a sense of wholeness with her.
When they both graduated high school, they got married and moved into a home that Owen had bought for them as a wedding present. This was around the same time when Owen’s technology truly began to take off when he designed a portal that he believed would allow people to interact with the human mind as if it were a physical place. Owen wanted to test this advancement on his son since he was the first patient to use the Thought Conductor to manage his mental illness.
A huge party was planned to showcase this new technology. Company stakeholders, friends, and family all gathered at the young Pat Sherwood’s estate for cocktails, shrimp, low-fat pretzels, and chocolate. It was the first big event the young couple had hosted and Pat’s wife was beside herself with pride in her husband and excitement at her home being full of important people.
After Owen had shared his crazed excitement with all the guests, it was time to show off what the Sherwood family was capable of. They all gathered around a stainless steel triangle standing upright at about 7 feet tall and glowing with golden light. Nothing was behind it except the glass windows looking out onto Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood’s rolling green pastures in the backyard. Once Pat’s microchip was connected to the system and the portal turned on, the guests waited with bated breath as an image began to flicker in the opening. Owen asked Pat to step inside but before he could something went very wrong. Like feedback from a microphone too close to a speaker, Pat’s brain buzzed. It felt as though the microchip in his brain was burning a hole through his head and he wailed in agony. Barely being able to see through tears, he realized an unknown monster had come through the portal. Chaos reigned at the party and the last image Pat had was of his father being torn to pieces and a woman with bright red hair disappearing into the blackness beyond the portal.
