Pointless
1293 Words
Bradley reached for a string overhead to light the abyss with a little click. Without hesitation, he began to descend into the darkness.
Cara paused for a moment, wishing she could just go back into the dining room to have a pleasant evening of conversation with a charming old man.
No such luck.
The doctor paused when he noticed that Cara hadn't moved. "What's the matter?" He said sternly, "Afraid of the dark?"
She let out a little groan, unable to tell whether or not he was joking. "No, I'm afraid of going into a dark basement with a stranger... alone..." She snapped.
He shook his head and turned back around. "If you'd like to take your chances outside... with the Herd... go right ahead, Miss James. But please, decide quickly. We have work to do. People are dying." He ran his fingers through his wavy hair in frustration, and Cara couldn't help but notice the way his biceps were flexing. He shook his head, then turned back around and continued on his way down the stairs.
Cara paused for a moment longer, then scurried after him hesitantly.
At the bottom of the staircase Bradley flipped another switch. Dozens of fluorescent lights flickered on, filling the room with an eerie blue light and a low buzzing noise.
The cement walls of the room were lined with chalkboards filled with equations and notes. There was also an assortment of maps covered with red thumbtacks and string. Cutouts of newspaper articles with ominous headlines were plastered on another wall. In the center of the room were long tables covered with stacks of papers and folders. At the far end was the hub. A black metal desk with six computer monitors, all flashing with activity. Sticky notes were plastered on the wall, and papers strewn about the desk.
As she surveyed the room, the fluorescent lights flickered loudly overhead.
Yeah, she thought, definitely a serial killer's lair.
"Well," Bradley said with a proud, grand gesture, "This is where the magic happens. What do you think?"
A laugh nearly exploded from Cara's lips, but she just barely managed to hold it in. "You're very... thorough," She said.
He furrowed his brow again at her. "I have to be, Miss James."
"Stop calling me that," She said tersely.
He opened his mouth, about to make a biting retort, but thought better of it. He snapped his lips shut quickly. "Fine," He answered back. "Come look at the data I have compiled... Cara."
She wasn't sure why, but her heart fluttered a little when she heard her name on his lips.
He led her over to the table in the center of the room and pulled a large binder from the stack of papers. It was work and nearly falling apart, rumpled papers spilling out from all sides. He opened the binder and began reading pages and pages of data to her. Then he turned to the charts, each of which he had to explain in detail. Chart after chart... after chart.
Cara's eyes were growing heavy. Her head was bobbing forward sleepily as she struggled to keep her eyes open. By the time he finished, she'd only absorbed a fraction of what he'd said.
This was going to be torture, she could tell.
"So as you can see," He continued, "self-reporting would be the best way to curb the spread of this virus. The more customers we can get to report their symptoms, their locations, who they have been in contact with... the better this program will work."
"I get what you're saying," Cara answered, "But you have to understand how much people value their privacy. It's going to be nearly impossible to get them to buy into something like this."
Bradley frowned and ran his hand through his hair again, making Cara gulp as she looked away. "But in my observations I have found that when people use social media, they practically brag about their locations, their contacts, even what they eat."
"That's true," Cara said, "But they have to think it will make them... cooler."
"Which is why I've hired you," he explained. "To make this program popular... cool."
"So you want to invent a completely new social media platform that convinces people to give away personal information, and make it seem cool? And somehow get enough people to download this app to make it effective?"
"Yes." Bradley said matter-of-factly.
"You're quite the optimist," She scoffed.
"Well, I have you," He said with a shrug.
She knew he intended those words as a statement of fact, but it was still nice to finally hear appreciation from the handsome doctor's mouth. She smiled a bit despite herself.
"It must be nice to know that you're finally putting such a pointless career to good use," He said.
And there's the real Bradley, she thought. This man seemed to know exactly how to push Cara's buttons.
"Pointless?" She asked, putting her clenched fists on her hips.
He didn't even seem to notice her annoyance. He continued to look down at his infinite binders of charts and numbers. "Yes," He said absently.
"POINTLESS?" She said a little louder.
The tension in her voice finally caught his attention. His eyes trailed up to hers curiously. "Yes," he said. "You've even said how much you resent your career. It's a useless profession that I will never understand."
"Through this entire pandemic, people have felt lost and hopeless. They have been disconnected from everyone and everything that they love,” she shouted, “Heaven forbid I do something to bring a moment of happiness to their lives."
She was seething now, but Bradley just stared at her in confusion, like she was a math problem he was trying to compute in his head.
"I have lost and sacrificed so much more than you could ever imagine, you selfish prick!” She snapped, “I came here to help you, and all you have done is insult me from the very beginning. I'm done."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed back up the staircase.
She slammed the basement door behind her and turned to run up the staircase to grab her things. She didn’t know how she was going to escape this creepy manor, but she couldn't bear to spend another second in this place with that haughty bastard.
She only got about halfway up when she heard a voice behind her.
"Going somewhere?" It called out.
Cara turned around to see Gus standing in the center of the foyer. He was leaning on a cane now, hobbling toward the staircase. Her eyes darted to it nervously.
"I just get a little tired by the end of the day," he explained, giving the cane a good tap on the old wood floor. "Don't you worry about me. So are you leaving already, my dear? I was looking forward to getting to know you a little better. I don't get much lighthearted conversation anymore."
Cara took a breath, then slowly nodded. "I'm sorry, Gus. I just... I can't stand him anymore."
"Neither can I sometimes," Gus said with a sigh. "But he is a genius."
Cara rolled her eyes again. It was becoming too much of a habit around here.
"Cara, listen," He said seriously, hobbling toward her "There is not much hope left in this dark world. But when Brady told me about his idea, about you and your popularity, I felt something I haven't even dreamed of for a very long time. It was like daylight had finally come and was casting light on this abyss for the first time in ages."
She bit her lip at his words.
"Please," he begged, "Don't close the curtains so quickly."
- Writer
