Veritas (Truth)
Mind Destroyer: Veritas (Truth)
Then he released me from his tight grip and stepped back, gesturing for me to follow. Now’s your chance to run, I thought nervously. I quickly stamped down the idea at the sight of his hand reaching for my sleeve.
The boy approached an old, metal door in between a case and the wall, and jerked down on the handle. He leaned back until it screeched open.
His response at first was nothing more than an angry grunt, but after a moment, he mumbled something to himself and replied, “My name is Bryan, and both of us are going to be in a lot of trouble if you don’t keep quiet.” The boy, Bryan, groaned softly. “Midge is going to kill me.”
“I live with her. And I’ll tell you now, after that stunt you pulled, she isn’t going to be very happy with you, either.” I couldn’t think of anything to say in response. Relief was beginning to overpower my fear. He knows Midge. He lives with her. So he’s safe, right? I asked myself.
“You’re lucky I stopped you,” Bryan said coldly. I cringed with embarrassment as we headed down the cold, smooth steps.
I wondered what was behind the door. Would we emerge into a crowded place somewhere far away, or enter an empty room? Would Midge be there, waiting for us?
“What do you want?” she muttered. “I thought I told you all to leave me alone today.” She yawned softly and stretched her arms. Then she opened her eyes and instantly pulled the door open the rest of the way. She reached into the hallway and grabbed each of us by our sleeves.
“I got out of my room. Then Bryan–then Bryan found me and he took me here, to this place,” I stammered.
Midge’s eyes bulged. “You did what? What were you thinking, you could have been caught! Did the letter I wrote mean nothing to you?” I felt a stab of guilt, but it was quickly overthrown by the need to defend myself.
“You think it’s any easier for me? I am putting both of our lives at risk by trying to help you! I’ve spent months trying to find a solution, and when I finally come up with one, you wash it down the drain,” she spat, jabbing her index finger at my face. I tried to back away but there was nowhere to go.
“You know what, I’d say this isn’t about you, but it is. It’s all about you. I put myself in great danger by trying to protect you, and this is how you repay me?” she yelled through gritted teeth, leaning forward and holding her hands back as if to restrain herself.
“That’s it, I’ve had it! Go ahead and leave. I don’t care what happens, just leave me out of it. Clearly, you don’t need my help!”
“Midge, it was an accident,” I protested.
“So, you just happened to trip and stumble out the doorway, is that it? Is that what happened?” The rage that had been growing inside of me finally ignited. She had gone too far. I drew back my arm, imagining my fist slamming into her nose.
“Sorry, Bryan. You’re right,” she murmured. Then she turned to me.
“Then why did you do–whatever it is you did, in the first place?” I responded solemnly. Midge looked hurt. As my anger faded, I began to feel ashamed of myself, and sorry for her. Tears were beginning to well in her eyes.
“I did it for you. I disobeyed them for you. When I realized what was really going on here, I wanted to save you. There are others like you. And they might not be so lucky.”
I took a moment to consider what she was saying. It was touching to know that she was doing this to protect me; I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt for ruining her plans, even if I hadn’t intended to do so. But if that wasn’t the case, then what had I wanted?
“Really?” I felt a surge of excitement and took a step toward her, staring up expectantly like a small child. “Right now?”
Midge opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it with a frown. “I think I’ll make breakfast first. I’ll bet you and Bryan are very hungry right now,” she said. I smiled a little.
“That sounds good.”
Over the sizzle of the frying pan, Midge called back to us. “Eggs or pancakes?”
Bryan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t care,” he replied.
“Pancakes,” I decided aloud without thinking. I had other things on my mind, waiting anxiously to hear the truth, as if knowing would make everything better.
Midge’s home wasn’t nearly large enough to be considered a home. It was barely large enough to be considered an apartment. Beside the door sat a couch and a lamp, and in front of them, a “TV”. At the back of the room, divided by a thin wall, were the kitchen area and a wooden chair and table barely large enough for one person. Near the front door was the bathroom, and near the kitchen was the bedroom. Both were cramped and tight. I suddenly realized that I was being treated better than the doctors themselves, and that wasn’t right.
Now that I could see him in the light, he looked much younger. His tousled, light blonde hair looked as if it hadn’t been brushed in a long time. His black pajamas, unlike mine, were wrinkled and stained in some places, like he hadn’t changed them within the last week or so. He took enormous bites of his food and gulped them down without bothering to keep his mouth closed as he chewed or wipe up the syrup that had dripped onto his chin.
“As I’ve told you before, you are not like normal girls, or humans, for that matter. You’re special.”
“So you’re saying that I’m brain damaged? That I’m–”
“Not brain damaged,” Midge interrupted. “You’re actually at an advantage to regular people, I suppose.”
“So what?” I said, trying without success to sound nonchalant and unperturbed. “His brain was a little different. Why do they have to imprison us?”
“Because you’re dangerous.” Midge’s voice had turned suddenly cold. “This will sound ridiculous, but Lacey, you have–abilities. Powers.” I felt a combination of relief and annoyance.
“Powers?” I said skeptically.
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure I understand… This–this is too much. It’s too confusing.”
“Yeah, but… I thought that stuff was… fake. Fiction.”
“Welcome to reality,” Bryan responded bitterly.
“So… If you have them too,” I said to Bryan. “Then–what is your power?”
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t discovered it.”
“Sometimes it takes years after the mutation begins for people to discover their abilities,” Midge explained. “Part of that is because of the drugs they put in your food.”
“The whole purpose of this program was to find a cure for the mutations and stop them from occurring. But even after years and years of research, all we’ve managed to do is create anti-depressants that somewhat neutralize your emotions and cause your memories to fade.”
“That’s why I can’t remember anything…” I muttered, letting the words sink in.
“Hey, I was kind of stupid for awhile, until the drugs wore off. Just telling her the truth.”
“Knock it off, Bryan. Please,” Midge said firmly. We all stared at each other awkward silence, anxiously searching our minds for something to say. I bit my lip as a question came to mind.
“About seven years ago, a group of doctors and psychiatrists were accepted and employed to work here. I was one of them. In the beginning, I thought we were working for a wonderful cause. Later on, I began to realize that this wasn’t a place to cure those who had the mutation; it was a way of imprisoning them. As soon as I realized what they were up to, I took Bryan, who I had been counseling at the time, and staged his death so that he could live with me.”
“Even at the age of nine, Bryan knew something was wrong. He used to argue with me about leaving all the time. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a terrible counselor.” Midge chuckled at her own joke, but her laughter quickly faded to a deep, heavy sigh. “Finally, after I got past the fact that he was not a normal child and that this was an emergency, I decided that I would one day send him away to seek help. But I realized that he would not be able to handle it on his own, and found another child to accompany him; you.”
“The two of you are invisible. Almost all of your records have been kept hidden in a safe place. It would take a very long time for anyone who isn’t a part of our organization to recognize you. I would do this myself if it weren’t for the fact that I am trapped here and completely under their control. I’m lucky they haven’t put cameras in every room.”
“You’re still going to send us away. That’s what the message was all about. You were going to have him find me and tell me everything…”
“Which was exactly what I was coming to do. I had temporarily disabled the security cameras. Had you waited just a few seconds, there wouldn’t have been a problem,” he said, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Look, I didn’t know what I was doing, all right?” I argued.
“Sure. I believe you.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I have been living in the same place for several years. More than you, actually.”
“At least you weren’t afraid and confused!”
“You were never afraid. The drugs won’t allow you to feel any intense emotions.” Midge placed her hands firmly on our shoulders.
“Please, you two. Settle down.”
“What’s going on, what is that?” I demanded. Midge held up her index finger. She pulled out a small electronic device, pressed a button on the front, and held it up to her ear.
“Well. My boss just called me and told me all about your crazy escape. I have to go to a meeting,” she said.
Wordlessly, Midge turned away, entered her bedroom, and came out in her usual green uniform a minute later. She hurriedly walked out the front door without bothering to say goodbye.
“What is that?” I asked him. He smirked.
“It’s a TV,” he replied, as if the answer should have been an obvious one.
“What does it do?”
“It shows different scenes and pictures that all form together into what’s called a ‘show’ or a ‘movie’.” I frowned. I didn’t quite understand his definition.
“Can you?make it work?”
“Magic,” he said sarcastically.
“How strange…” I murmured. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bryan rolling his eyes at me. I finally gave into the flicker of frustration, turning to face him.
He wouldn’t answer me. Instead, he turned his attention back to the TV and watched the screen without interest. I punched the seat next to him to get his attention. “I’m jealous, okay?” His answer took me by surprise. I considered that for a few seconds, then shook my head.
“What is there to be jealous of?” I muttered in confusion.
“Oh…” I said softly. I looked down at my feet. Bryan had been so rude, because he was jealous… It didn’t seem right of him to say so, and if it was true, it didn’t seem fair.
“She still cares about you, I’m sure.”
“You don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
“Things changed. She cares way more about you than she does about… anything, really. But then again… Oh, never mind.” Unable to come up with anything good to say, I turned my attention back to the TV.
The cat and the mouse were gone now, replaced by three idiotically-dressed teenage boys. The style of drawing, I noticed, was also very different. One of them was holding a black object in his had. Four digits glowed green on the front of it, decreasing quickly; it was a clock, I realized. All four digits changed to zero. There was a sudden flash on the screen, and splashes of color exploded from the object.
“What was that?” I asked, slightly confused.
“And a time bomb is…?”
“An explosive device that goes off after a certain period of time.” I tapped my chin with my index finger.
“So it’s like a… Clock, sort of.”
“Yeah.” The teenagers now stood covered in black marks and dust. One of them walked over to a vehicle on the side of the road they had been standing by and climbed onto it. It made a loud buzzing sound and zoomed off. The others watched him with black expressions.
“What was that thing?” I asked Bryan curiously.
“A motorcycle?”
“Of course I know what some things are,” I fumed. Bryan rose from the couch and led me to the kitchen area. He gestured to the counter with his hands.
“What’s that thing in the counter?” he asked. This time, I raised my brows. “It’s a sink. You turn the faucet, and water pours out,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I know about basic things. Everything else, though… Like “motorcycles” and “time bombs”… well, I forgot about them, because I never used them. Bryan nodded.
“Makes sense,” he said to himself. He tapped his foot for a few seconds. “Do you know what this is?” he asked. He reached into a drawer on one of the counters and pulled out an oddly shaped tool, with gears at the top and two plastic handles. I laughed a little.
“Not really.”
Though I was fairly entertained by this little game he had invented, I couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t doing it out of friendliness, or because he wanted to entertain me. At times, he seemed very annoyed by my lack of knowledge, though I explained several times to him that I could only remember things that I had read about in books, and things from my own room. Running away with him will be so much fun, I thought sarcastically. After having debated the subject with myself for awhile, I finally decided to let it go and be grateful for having someone to talk to.
We entered the room silently, as if not to disturb a sleeping person. Bryan walked over to a square, digital clock-like object sitting atop a small wooden table. He placed his hand firmly on top of it, and carried on with the routine.
“What is this?” he asked. I frowned and took a moment to study it. It reminded me a lot of the bomb from the TV show.
“I don’t know,” I admitted sheepishly with a giggle. “A time bomb?” This time, Bryan actually chuckled. He normally just smirked and explained, but he just started to laugh and didn’t stop for a few seconds.
All of a sudden, as if it had been hiding and waiting for the right moment to come out, reality struck me; Bryan and I were freaks, and because of it, we were being held in captivity. I leaned back against the door and the side of a bookshelf; it felt as if gravity were trying to pull me down.
“What’s wrong?” Bryan asked. “Are you all right?” Apparently, he had noticed. He approached me slowly and stared into my eyes as if there were something he could see in them, something that concerned him. I drew back toward Midge’s bed and sank to the floor. He sat down in front of the book case.
Bryan gulped, clearly taken by surprise and unsure of how to answer me.
“It’s so hard to believe that everything I ever knew was taken away from me, and now, now it’s happening again. It isn’t fair.”
I felt stupid for ranting to Bryan, but his sudden sympathy only made me want to say more.
“I know what you mean. And you’re right, it isn’t fair. But there’s nothing we can do to change the past… All we can do is try to change the future. Which is why we’re running away.”
“How are we going to do this?” I asked. My voice was beginning to falter. “How are we going to make it out of here, and save everyone, and not get caught? How can we do any of this?”
“Maybe when we discover our powers people will be afraid of us and leave us alone,” I said.
“I’ll tell you this right now; when we discover them, we can’t ever use them. Not unless our lives depend on it. Yes, normal citizens will be afraid. But the authorities aren’t going to hold back once we discover them. They won’t hesitate to have us locked away forever… Or worse yet–killed.”
Midge entered the meeting room swiftly, combing her fingers through her hair as she walked. James had sounded very serious; any delay might make him suspicious. When she stepped through the doorway, she was surprised to see not only James at the table, but another man that she recognized instantly. It was the way he kept his medium brown hair tied back and his dark blue suit that gave it away; this was Andrew Gerdman.
“Andrew Gerdman, it’s a pleasure to see you here,” Midge said politely, sounding very surprised. He smiled pleasantly.
“This is an urgent situation; I come when I am needed,” he replied. Though his lips were curved up into a smile, his voice was solemn, which made it clear to her that he was serious about this. Her muscles tightened.
“Yes, she did. We’re not sure where she possibly could have gone off to,” Midge replied calmly, hoping that her voice wouldn’t break and give her away.
“No need to trouble yourself, Ms. Lattering, these things happen on occasion. And when they do happen, it’s not difficult at all for us to settle things. I just need you to answer a few questions.”
“No,” Midge lied. “She was always calm, always quiet, obedient.” Andrew frowned. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, and Midge wondered if she had taken it too far.
“At least with you, she was,” James interrupted half-jokingly. Midge silently begged him to close his mouth and keep it shut for the rest of the meeting.
“I counseled her for a little while when she first arrived. For the first month or so of being her, she would overload me with questions when I came to speak with her, as if it were her job and not mine.” James chuckled and Andrew joined in, but only for a second. Then he became serious again.
“I don’t know,” Midge replied, realizing that by lying, she had walked herself into a trap. How could I have ruined this so quickly? she thought.
“I believe that was Mike’s fault. He’s a newbie, isn’t he? And was it not your job to go through the rules with him?”
James looked startled. He was about to answer when Andrew turned back to Midge suddenly.
“Which reminds me,” he continued. “Mike said that Lacey complained that her shower was broken. As he was trying to repair it, he decided to clean the drain, and found several large clumps of wet newspaper inside of it. Have you any idea how she obtained this paper?”
“No, sir.”
Andrew had the inexplicable ability to ease tension in any conversation. Midge knew that he used this strategy to catch people off guard. Like a predator, he would sit back in the shadows and watch calmly from a distance, waiting for the right moment to jump out and strike his prey. Worse yet, there was no telling when he would decide to strike. Midge took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now she had been cornered, and this was her last chance to run. But Andrew was too quick; he would catch her if she did.
A cold, cruel smile formed on his thin lips. “It would certainly seem that way, Ms. Lattering,” he replied. Searching desperately for words to defend herself, Midge blurted the first words that came to mind. It was useless to turn back now.
“But we have proof, Midge. It’s written all over your face. And the results from the lie detectors that we use during monthly interviews.”
Midge’s shouts resonated against the walls. A hollow, empty feeling settled over them. Midge slowly lowered herself into her seat, expecting Andrew to leap onto her. But he remained calm, sitting with his hands on his lap and his head held high.
“On the contrary,” he objected, shattering the quiet atmosphere. “We can stop you.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“You see, Ms. Lattering; things can get very ugly in this sort of situation. That is why I always come prepared.”
“So, the only thing people really care about is money?” I asked in astonishment. For the last thirty minutes, Bryan had been explaining the different attributes of society to me, specifically, business and economics.
Bryan started to answer. Suddenly, there was the sound of something pounding up against the front door. I jumped, startled. Bryan jerked his head toward the bedroom door and listened intently. Someone was shouting from the hallway. Even through two sets of doors, Bryan and I both could guess that it wasn’t Midge.
“Shit. They’re here,” he hissed under his breath. He swiftly scrambled to his feet, gave me his hand, and pulled me up. “We have to get out of here, to the bathroom,” he instructed. To our advantage, there was a bathroom door right between Midge’s book case and drawer.
“We’re going to have to stand, back-to-back, and get as close together as possible, okay?” he instructed. I nodded and followed his instructions. I was too afraid to do anything else.
“Come out now! I know you’re in here!” a man grunted. I stiffened and tried not to breath as they marched into Midge’s bedroom, then proceeded into the bathroom.
“There’s no where for them to hide in here,” one of them muttered. The other made a snapping sound in response. “They can’t be anywhere else.” A hush fell over the room. No one spoke. No one breathed.
I opened my eyes. The moment I did, pain shot through my head. I shut them quickly, waiting for the pain to dissipate. I noticed that the surface beneath me was not soft and smooth like my bed, but hard, rough, cold, and uncomfortable like stone. “Where am I?” I murmured weakly.
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