Purgatech: Aaron's Terrible Realization

Chapter 17

I couldn't believe what I was looking at. An exact recreation of the terrifying dream that I'd had when I'd first stayed the night in Mary's room.

Well, not exactly an exact recreation. The dream version of Jada in the closet had her eyes replaced with red light. This real world version of Jada in the closet had bright purple light where her eyes should have been.

I stood perfectly still, no idea what to do. My subconscious seemed to have the impression that movement was dangerous. Like Jada was a T-Rex, sensing her prey through motion.

The temperature of the closet was miserably cold and my breath spilled in a cloud. Jada (not that I really should be calling her Jada, she couldn't have been her, at least not only her) looked up when it floated above her head. Her hand came up and swirled around in the water vapor I was expelling. Then she rose up on her knees and sniffed at it.

Everything about her movements was primitive. Reptilian. She would be completely motionless and then move quickly in short bursts of calculated motion. It was incredibly unnerving to look at. It was not the way human locomotion worked.

"Jada..." I began. I hardly finished pronouncing her name before she jerked toward me. She stopped with her nose less than an inch from mine. I guess her eyes were locked onto mine, it was a little hard to tell without having pupils or irises for reference.

She sat still, staring at me for a few moments, shoulders rising and falling in time with her heavy breathing. Then she began to move around me rapidly, her face very near me at all times. I realized she was smelling me, like some giant rodent investigating a potential piece of food.

"Jada..." I said again. Quick as a flash, she was back in my face, breathing my air. She opened her mouth and began to scream. Her features were screwed up in anger and agony.

I backed away from her slowly. I was terrified but I knew that she had to calm down before she woke the house.

"Please..." I said, "Please. Just stop..."

She didn't. Instead, her mouth opened wider and she screamed louder. Suddenly, her mouth was open too wide. It was dropping farther and farther, as though she had unhinged her jaw somehow. Her teeth and gums were plainly visible as she continued to scream.

I then realized that Jada wasn't screaming alone. There were two voices, both coming from her. One was the Jada that I was familiar with, the girl I'd spoken to so much since coming to work at Purgatech.

The other voice was something entirely different. So deep and guttural that it hardly sounded human. It made me think of those super ugly bad guys from the Lord of the Rings.

I put my hands out and felt the floor. I hadn't realized it but I'd fallen down, fallen out of the closet and away from the terrifying thing that Jada had become.

The door of the closet slammed itself shut. Rather than tamping down the noise, however, it caused Jada to grow louder still. It sounded as if she were attempting to beat herself to death against the walls of the small room as she continued to wail in both her own voice and the second, scary one.

Suddenly, I heard something heavy slam into the door behind me, the one that opened to the staircase landing and the hallway. The noise in the closet abruptly stopped.

"What the hell is going on in there?" It was Turner. My heart sank. We were in trouble.

"Mary? I swear to God I will be obeyed." That was not Turner. My heart sank further as I recognized the voice of Henry Slade. We were in more trouble than I'd realized.

The closet door swung open in front of me and Jada came tumbling out. She fell in a heap near me and I scrambled toward her as the closet door closed itself again. There was a click from the doorknob.

There was another terrific slam into the main door of the bunkroom. I grabbed Jada and positioned her next to me, trying to make it look as though we'd been cuddling. Just as I got her arm tucked into place, the door gave and Turner came charging into the room with Slade on his heals.

"Explain yourselves. Now!" shouted Turner. Slade was eyeing the closet door, taking a mental stock its condition.

"We're sorry, Mr..." I began.

"Don't. Don't even dare. What are you doing here. Speak facts. Not apologies." There was a vein in Turners forehead that was throbbing so hard, it was difficult not to be distracted by it.

"We were just... Hanging out.."

"Hanging out?" asked Slade. It was very strange to see him as a ghost. In Mary's memories he had, of course, been a living person. Now that I could see the ghost version of him, he seemed even more menacing. Not least because of his eyes. They were the same vibrant red of Mary's orb. Very disconcerting. "What is hanging out? Were you trying to kill her?"

"No, old friend," said Turner, "Hanging out is what they call spending time together." Slade took in the information and said nothing more.

"I know we aren't supposed to be in here."

"Your damned right you aren't supposed to be in here," said Turner. "How the hell did you even get in?"

I pulled the keys from my pocket and jangled them with what I hoped was sheepish look on my face. I was aware of the fact that Jada had not stirred since coming from the closet. Was she herself again? Was she still somehow two?

Slade's eyes grew wide and Turners face turned into a mask of rage. "Where. Did. You. Get. Those?" It seemed to be a considerable effort for him to push each, individual word through clenched teeth.

"We found them."

"You found them?" Turner asked, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. I had to admit that it was ridiculous but it was the first thing that came out of my mouth so I was committed.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Um... On the stairs."

Turner put his hand to his forehead and rubbed. "I cannot keep doing this with you two. What were you even doing in here?"

"I already told you. We were hanging out."

"Yes, stupid boy, you have said that. What were you doing while you were hanging out?" I saw his eyes flick for just a moment to the door. He seemed to be hoping that I hadn't been messing around with it. I decided to skip the truth.

"Well... you know..." I said, feigning embarrassment.

"No. I do not know, Aaron." Turner was not amused.

"Like... you know... when a guy and a girl like each other... they might want to be alone for awhile...."

"Oh, dear god," said Slade. "This boy isn't a threat, he's an idiot." He turned those ruby eyes at me and I tried to hide my fear. "You expect me to believe that all of that screaming and slamming around was the result of a childish round of love making?"

Jada suddenly squirmed from beside me. "Don't let him fool you," she said to Slade. "He an absolute animal. I can't believe I've been missing out on that for my whole life." She reached up and stroked my cheek, smiling dreamily with slitted eyes. What an actress. I felt my ears burning in embarrassment, even if only because of public discussion of imaginary lovemaking. At the same time, I noted that Jada's eyes were her own, no purple light flooding them.

Slade seemed to be at a temporary loss for words. Turner shared no such problem.

"Whatever the reason for this particular incident, I am tired of it. I cannot continue to deal with your flagrant misbehavior. Your jobs are terminated, effective immediately. Give me your devices."

"But please, I need..." I began, but Slade cut me off.

"What you need to do is follow the directions given to you, boy." He almost spat that last word as he said it. "Isn't that what landed you in this situation in the first place?"

I decided that provoking Slade, especially now that I knew the things he'd been capable of in life, was not in my best interest. Instead, I took my phone from my pocket and held it out. Turner reached to take it.

"Wait," I said, and retracted my hand from Turner's reach. He scowled. "I need to text my friend. Tell him to pick me up here tomorrow." I had a feeling I was never getting my phone back once I gave it up. Turner thought about it for a moment.

"Fine. Quickly."

I sent off a text to Collin as quickly as I could, letting him know to come and get me as soon as possible. I didn't want to be here any longer than necessary, especially now that there was so much open hostility. Turner was intimidating but Slade was downright scary.

I locked my phone and then handed it to Turner.

"What about me?" Jada asked, passing over her glasses.

"What about you?" Slade asked. Jada's eyes narrowed at the sound of his voice directed at her.

"How am I supposed to get home?"

"None of our concern," said Turner.

"Of course it's your concern. You flew me here. You said all transportation would be covered."

"That was when you were an employee. Now you are nothing to us. You can find your own way."

"I don't have enough money for that!" she yelled. Turner actually chuckled a bit.

"Well, I supposed you should have thought about that before you got your employment terminated, shouldn't you?"

Jada did not reply. I could see her anger in the tiny quiver in her body.

Both my phone and Jada's Purgoggles disappeared into Turners Jacket and he reached out for the keys. I handed them over, wordlessly. There was really no point in arguing. He made an upward motion with his hands, signaling for us to stand up. We did.

"Come with me," Turner said. He began to lead us out of Mary's room. "You two are lucky that you will be allowed to stay the night here, as much trouble as you've caused."

"That's right," Slade said. He had fallen into line behind us, presumably making sure we didn't try to screw around anymore. "Were it up to me, you two would be outside of the city limits, in the cold already."

We didn't respond. What was there to say?

When we got to the door of our bunkroom, Turner pushed it open for us.

"Go on, have a nice evening. The morning will be here before you know it and then you will be on your way."

We walked in sat on the bunk. Looking back at the door, I could see Turner's smile. He was illuminated by the overhead fixture in the room. Over his shoulder lurked Slade. He too was smiling but it was not the fake, businessman smile that Turner affected so comfortably. Slade's smile was manic. Deranged.

Turner grabbed the doorknob in one hand and held up a key in the other.

"Just to ensure you guys sleep tight in your beds without any wandering. I'm sure you understand."

With that, he slammed the door shut. A second later, we herd the scratching of the skeleton key being pushed into the lock and the click as the bolt was slid home.

Jada and I sat quietly for a long time, going over everything that had just happened. The visions, the narrow escape from Slade and Turner knowing the real truth of our business in Mary's room.

"What are we going to do now? How are we going to find out what Mary was going to tell us?"

"We'll ask her, dummy," said Jada.

"They took my phone. We can't use the app anymore."

Jada smiled. "We don't need it." Then her eyes flashed with a bright purple light, just for a moment, flickering and dying as soon as it had come. "She's inside me."