Chapter 22
Haunted Memories
The gentle drops of the water rays dance on my skin with its subtle waves. My strands dance in the subtle waves of the water’s breeze. I reel in each warm, transparent drizzle, knowing it is erasing every stain of last night’s pain, and that of hiding in The Commons for so long.
I release a deep breath and spurt out a ripple of dancing bubbles, like rainbows to my promise of freedom and happiness.
I am glad to be away from The Commons, to feel like myself again.
At The Commons, I had to take a shower in five minutes.
But now, I can be free to do my hair as I please.
I press my hair to release the water bubbles from the depths of its thickness, separating my strands as they melt into my palms, reeling in their newfound freedom.
I can’t help but smile. I take a deep breath, then step out of the shower with the pastel and peach-colored towel Pesh left for me.
I spot piles of assorted battle suits laid out for us.
I also notice that he has returned his golden-camel sweater to me with a note that says: You have my heart.
Of course you owe me, and I will forever be indebted to you, should you ever give it back.
Moreover, this is the cheapest thing I will give you.
Please get used to this. Thank you for your consideration in this matter – P.
A smile escapes my eyes, warmth sinking into my skin. I can’t believe he’s giving me this. I smile and touch its cloud-soft wool, feeling its warmth under my hands, inhaling his intoxicating scent. I missed this—I can’t lie.
I go to the bedroom and look at myself in the mirror, but I am not the same girl anymore.
The things I have seen, the places I have been, the pain and loss I have felt, the people I have met, they have drawn out another side of me, the side of me that is a woman—a strong woman, who is ready to do whatever it takes to save those who cannot save themselves.
I begin to brush my hair, but before I can take another stroke into my carefree curls, I see my sister behind me. Levon takes the brush from my hands.
She squirts some strawberry and floral scented product into her hands and dresses each one of my strands with a gentle touch. She grabs some argon oil and gives each strand a healing bath. She always used to do this for me, back when she was home.
She looks at me and smiles. “You’re so beautiful.”
I thank her, then look into the depths of her gaze, hoping that she will extend the transparency she had begun a little more. So I say to her, fingers crossed, “Now’s a pretty good time to talk.”
She looks at me with a flicker of a smile that makes me think she’s about to tell me something. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything!”
“That’s a lot!”
“How did you survive in the experiment part of The Seventh Zone? Did they do anything to you that changed you?”
She takes a deep breath, then looks down and begins to speak, “The first evening I was sent there, I met a guy, his name was Gihard. I went to the hospital room, and I asked what experiment they were going to perform on me. He said it was a mystery and he forced an injection into my neck. Next thing I knew, I was asleep. I woke up in a room, half naked with Gihard. That’s when I realized what had happened to me.
I woke up to see myself on the floor beside the bed, legs crossed underneath me. ”
She continues to explain to me what happened with Gihard, the man Pesh and I saw holding her when we first went to the E Zone to save her.
Hands tied and afraid, she shivers in the dark in her nightgown as Gihard puts on his shirt, next to her. He takes a knife and approaches her, cutting open the tie on her hands and removing the tie on her mouth.
She gasps, shaking. “What did you do to me?”
“Just an experiment. And I liked it. So, I’ll be seeing you on a regular basis!”
“You raped me!”
“A sexual experiment. I pay hard cash for it.”
“To whom?”
“The Commons, duh! Well, not directly to them, but the women workers and the guards in the Seventh Zone have an arrangement. And they provide quality property. And if you keep on performing, my money will stay with them. But if you don’t, then you may actually experience a real experiment, you know, with an untested drug where you can lose your mind, or even worse, your life.
Your choice, Curly!” Gihard says. He walks out the door and locks it.
A taste of dread fills my chest as I listen to her, gut-wrenched, holding back my tears.
“That’s um… that’s what happened to me. And um, during the day, Gihard wanted me working at the clinic that he monitored.
He put me there to help save dying students who survived experiments.
Some were going crazy, others lost body parts.
And he would just put them with me and ask me to keep them in a room.
I tried. I tried, Shantavia! I tried saving them, treating their wounds, doing anything, but I couldn’t.
I wasn’t a doctor! I wasn’t an effin’ doctor or even a science major!
I went to study politics. They put me in nursing and made me do it.
I didn’t have a choice but to learn to be a nurse.
I tried to learn, but I had no resources and so many people died in my hands, and I was killing them all this time!
I was killing them! I didn’t even have the Internet.
They took my phone away, everything. I didn’t text you, or call, because I could not.
How would I not talk to my baby sister for a whole year!
?” She pants through tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
I hold her tightly, comforting her with my entire soul. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”
“All I did was watch people die and watch Gihard break me every day for the past year. It was stupid of me to think that The Commons was a reputable organization, that I could become the first female president through enrolling in this school. It was my biggest mistake! It was my biggest mistake leaving you. I should have listened to you. I should have listened! It was my fault! If I had just listened to you. Always acting like I know everything. I brought this on myself!”
I look her straight in the eye, and with every ounce of blood in my soul, I exclaim, “No, no, no! Levon! That’s a lie!
You went to school, and you deserved to grow up like a normal college student, like every child should!
Being free and having fun. The Commons, it’s their fault.
It’s Gihard’s fault for what he did to you.
And I swear I will make sure that as long as I live, everyone who hurt you pays for it! I swear!”
Tears run down her cheeks, and she stares at me. “Thank you for coming for me. I can’t believe it. You saved me.”
Tears swelling in my eyes, I grab my sister’s face, and our heads collide in mourning.
Tears stream down our faces, and we close our eyes, holding tightly onto each other’s faces.
I wrap my body around her shivering hands.
“I just did what you’ve done for me all my life. You are my life! I love you!”
“I love you!”
We spend two hours catching up and talking. Behind us, I see Swin. I know he wants to give us a message.
“I need to tell him to go.” I rise up to do so.
Her hands stop me, wiping her tears instantly. “No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s go. It’s okay.” Her hands hold my cheeks.
“No, that can wait—”
“No. It can’t. The faster we fight, the faster we can spend forever together, you and me. Okay?”
“Okay…” Our foreheads merge. “But at least, shower first. I’ll go see what’s going on for the both of us.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in a sec. Thanks.”
“Of course.” I hold back my emotions.
I enter the computer room and look up at the screen to see that the faculty members and Aristocrats at The Commons are now standing.
Wait, they’re still here? It seems their meeting lasted through the entire night.
They are all departing, and Beatrice is left alone with Patron De Londe.
She clears up the files and begins to leave.
“Beatrice. Stay,” Londe says.
She smiles, then turns to him with a straight face. “Of course, sir.”
“Beatrice, I need to know that I can rely on you.”
“With my life, sir.”
“Then you know that the contents of those files in The Begon will not just ruin the reputation of The Commons, but it will destroy me, and need I say, us.”
She whispers, “Yes, Patron De Londe.”
He smiles devilishly. “Just Londe. Just Londe.”
“Wow. Since when did he permit their relationship to move to a first name basis?” Levon comments from behind us, walking in.
Swin smiles at her humor, not turning back to see her yet. “The good news is, the troops were supposed to arrive in 2000 minutes. Right, Newton? I mean… Shantavia?”
“Yeah,” I respond in a scoff.
“Well, my peeps, they’ve given up looking underground, according to our underground cameras. So, Pesh, you were right about this ship. It really is a safe zone.”
“And the bad news?” Levon walks in front of him.
It seems Swin notices her wet hair. He is distracted and allured; then suddenly, he snaps out of it and continues talking, “Um, the… the um… the bad news is Patron De Londe is onto something here, let’s all watch!” He coughs.
“What are they saying?” Levon looks at the computer, leaning forward, close to Swin’s face.
His side eye catches Levon’s face, somewhat rigid. Robotic, he turns away at the sound of Patron De Londe’s voice on the computer screen.
“Then we must self-destruct The Begon before whatever virus is trying to hack it overtakes it!” Patron De Londe says to Beatrice.
“Crap, they’re trying to destroy it!” Swin jumps up from his chair.
“Can they do that?” I ask.
“They can program the sensor to destroy The Begon, and it will blow up both the sensor and The Begon,” Swin responds, typing on the keyboard some code words that I do not understand.
“No, no, no, we can’t let that happen!” Levon exclaims.
“No, but it will in 15 hours, and we can’t do anything to stop it!” Swin blurts.