EPISODE 17
1099 Words
" Mr. Peter," the girl who asked for my phone number said, bringing me back to the present.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I got distracted a little, but I'll ask the administrator to email you a copy of today's lecture," I respectfully replied, and I could see she wasn't happy with my response since she walked away without thanking me for my thoughtful effort.
"Thank you for yesterday," a lady remarked quickly as the girl walked away.
I saw Helen as I looked at the person.
"You're welcome," I said, smiling in a way that made you wonder if I was really smiling.
"Please, I'd like to treat you to lunch or dinner simply to show how much I appreciate you," she added quickly, as if the words might cling to her throat and refuse to come out if she paused for a second.
" Helen," Pauline said as she walked towards us, smiling.
"Oh, Mr. Peter, it's great to see you here," she said, attempting to sound as if they had met by chance.
" Yeah, do you two know yourselves?" I questioned foolishly, and it was already out before I realized my mistake.
" Yeah, she's my best friend," Pauline quickly said, and Helen forced a smile that left a crack in her lipstick.
"OK, expect me by 6 p.m. for dinner," I remarked as I walked out the door.
"Dinner? " Pauline inquired as to if hearing the word dinner was the first time she had heard it.
"Yeah, she invited me to dinner," I said Pauline, "hope to see you there."
I took out my phone and urged Helen to bring hers as well; she frantically searched her bag for it.
I requested that she turn on her Wi-Fi.
"Send the place to me on w******p," I told Helen as her phone beeped and my phone number was automatically stored on her phone.
As I made my way to the staff quarters, I left the two girls there.
I was smirking mischievously as my strategy went according to plan.
Something slammed into my head with such power that I blacked out.
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"Why do you suppose we maintain wearing this mask when we're all the same?" I asked Hannah one night or day after one of our brutal training sessions.
We don't know if it's day or night because we're cut off from the rest of the world.
I had the impression that we were trapped within a bunker buried below, with no access to the sun or fresh air from the outside world.
All we knew was that we were woken up, fed, bathed, and trained as if we were ready for World War IV and that some kid was killed at random, but the number of children killed has been reduced because we've all been stripped of the memories we carried in.
" I'm not sure, but I think it has to be for a good reason," she stated flatly.
"What's up with you today, you don't sound like your usual self," I inquired, concerned.
"I'm just tired, that's all," she said in a similar tone.
"You're weak, wow, you're weak," I mockingly said, and she tossed it off without responding.
" I think it's a positive sign, maybe we'll see the light soon," I added, but got no response from her.
She was awkwardly deafeningly quiet.
The room was dark because it was her regular ritual to turn out the light after we had our supper, which was served once a day and after training.
I begged her to keep it on, but she refused; I tried other methods, such as placing a bet on arm wrestling, but no matter what game I presented, she always won; even when I proposed a riddle, which I excelled at, she made me appear like a rookie.
I ultimately gave up trying to persuade her to change her mind and accepted my fate after many tribulations.
I'm no longer afraid of sleeping in the dark.
I got up and walked over to the switch that was hooked to the wall near the door.
Seeing in the dark was one ability I picked up from precious, but I wasn't quite as good at it as she was.
I taunt her by calling her bat on occasion.
The room was lit up after I flipped the switch.
Something was wrong, something was unusual when I saw her nestled up on her bed; this isn't the Hannah I know; real Hannah would have gotten out of bed and smacked me for turning on the light, complaining that I had just jinxed the wonderful dream she was enjoying.
I quickly approached her and turned her to face me, panicking as I realized she was the one, but she didn't seem to be breathing again.
I cried "help!" but received no response.
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I awoke with a cloudy eye and foggy vision, so I shook my head to clear my vision and see where I was.
The smell of cannabis was quite strong inside, with fumes rising from all directions. "I think perhaps this one is now awake," said someone whose voice I couldn't make out because my vision was still fuzzy.
I heard footsteps close by and tried to move, but realized I was tied to a chair, my arms looped around the chair's arm to the back and my legs bound to the chair's legs.
As the footsteps got closer, my vision became clearer.
My vision instantly grew clearer after receiving a stinging hit on the face.
I raised my head to look at the person who dared to do what had put so many people underground rotting, and I saw Simon with a lit hemp clasped between his two lips, beaming proudly at me.
When another slap hit on my face, my vision grew clearer than before.
I could see everything clearly; the room was packed with at least ten men, some of them held bottles of vodka and had m*******a or hemp on their lips as they stared at me.
They were all armed with knives or clubs.
None of them had a gun on them, so I assumed it was hidden.
"So you're powerless and have no choice but to challenge the lion in the wild," he remarked, eliciting a stream of laughter from his colleagues.
"Well, meet your fellow morons who dare to stand on the cobra's tail too," he remarked as he stepped back, and I noticed Pauline and Helen bound to two chairs.
They were still unconscious and sat on the chair, helpless.
- Writer
