Final Collection

by Jesse Goodrich

CHAPTER 13

  Adam was dreaming and remembering. In his dreams he was remembering how incredibly easy the last few days had been compared to what Eva had described as becoming incredibly difficult and painful. Of course the dreams changed minor details, such as giving opinions and harassing his punishers when in reality he had kept his mouth closed and put on a face of understanding and remorse when he was disciplined for not seeming ‘present’ when the videos played. The videos themselves were too easily seen through, probably because he wasn’t as malleable as was expected, but to believe the conspiracies presented before him was near infantile. So instead of speaking in the moment, Adam dreamt of the wonderful things he would say and a smile widened on his sleeping face. It didn’t entirely hurt his general happiness that his dreams had been splintered between his arrogance with respect to those who ‘tortured’ him and how wonderful the evening and morning had been beside Eva before he was to be ‘trained’. Adam’s smile broadened further in his sleep before it was momentarily wiped from his face as the man from the parking lot in front of Eva’s apartment used the back side of his hand to wake him up. Adam became awake but slightly in the grasp of his dreams which could be considered a mistake, Adam didn’t think so as the smile redeveloped between his ears as it felt it may have been the broadest smile he’d ever had. “Can I have toast with that,” Adam carelessly smirked, not entirely awake yet and starting to remember he should fall in line for the time being. His assaulter who looked even less intimidating than he had in their first interaction, pulled his arm back to deliver a blow to the right side of Adam’s face. There was enough time for Adam to contemplate accepting it, but in his good mood he decided that it would be more entertaining to adjust his head slightly to the side as he was chained by the arms against a cement wall. “Arrrggh,” the man wailed as a crunching sound came after his fist connected with the wall behind where Adam’s head had been. The sound was followed by a kick to Adam’s chin which brought him fully awake, realizing he had been slightly too careless with allowing his dreams to enter reality. The man stumbled back as Adam corrected his jaw with a side to side movement making sure nothing had been disconnected, the pain was near intolerable but against the reaction he caused it didn’t seem entirely a bad result. Another man, who Adam recognized as Mark, came in to the room and caught the attacker as he stumbled back into his last step, “Rick!” Mark scolded, “I’m sorry Adam, I’m sure there was a misunderstanding here that will be corrected,” he paused while Adam again adjusted his jaw to make it obvious where the pain was coming from, “I see,” he continued and dismissively turned to Rick, “Get some ice for Adam…and for yourself if you need it.’ Mark finished noticing Rick holding his hand in a protective manner. Adam was fully aware now and tried to play Mark, “Will I be given further education today,” he mustered with his best enthusiasm as he was still lingering on his dreams from the previous short night’s sleep. Mark was pleased that his insecurities about Adam’s willingness to be trained was accurate but was entirely upset that it was proving a challenge as his own position was at risk if he couldn’t ensure turning Adam’s thoughts to the greater value and cause of ‘City.’ He watched Adam hanging there, wishing he could have allowed Rick to continue punishing insolence. “Not today,” Mark gritted before allowing his frustration to pass, “Today, I thought you might enjoy having a day with my wife and I to see a little of what you have been missing.” Adam bent his wrists a little to alleviate the stress that had built up during his sleep knowing this was early, by Eva’s estimation, for a break in training. The walls were coated with dry dust and yet the floors were quite damp Adam surveyed the surroundings again, determining the change would be nice aside from the barrage of near worthless information Mark was going to give him. Adam made one last effort, and a significantly better one, to play the part he was supposed to, “But I need more information if I’m to correct the problems at hand…I mean, I’d appreciate being relieved of the chains and confinement, but if it’s necessary to learn, I’d rather endure it so I can know ‘our’ biggest threat and eliminate it.” Adam was satisfied, Mark was considering the idea that Adam was more malleable than suspected, and Rick was walking in mouth agape at what he was hearing. “Let me correct him,” Rick seethed as he marched toward Adam. Mark held out his arm to hold Rick back, then grabbed him and led him out of the room. Adam attempted to go through the events of the evening in Eva’s apartment once more before noticing the layers of dirt building on his arms, then feeling the general discomfort of not showering or bathing in the last few days. His back was sore, his jaw was sore, and despite his pride, his mind was beginning to wear, Adam recognized his general discomfort as the door clicked shut leaving him alone for the first time since his arrival. In the hallway outside the room, the lights were dim and Rick was trying to control his anger as he was being reprimanded by Mark, “Don’t touch him,” Mark’s temper flared as he spoke, “Not again. This one is different.” Mark was still trying to piece together exactly why the committee was insistent on turning Adam, especially in his condition, Adam was too stubborn and it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. “A collection should be ready to accept, completely free from restraint and willing to embrace the ideas set before him”, Mark remembered a glimpse of his own training before trying to shake it away. Rick leaned against the wall behind him trying to not look too relaxed, “Then why am I here?” Mark and Rick stared at each other, Mark thinking he should have an answer before the delay lasted too long and Rick thinking Mark was getting weak in his retirement from collections. Rick broke the silence as he pulled himself away from the wall, standing tall and attempting to look intimidating, “Eva should be doing this anyway, not me…she brought him in, and she should be adjusting his temperament.” Mark held the gaze for a few extra seconds, which caused Rick to lose confidence just enough for Mark to settle the matter, “You are here because it is what I desire, and now you will leave for the day.” Mark watched as Rick walked away and upstairs until he disappeared and the door was audibly shut behind him. Turning back to the room where Adam remained chained and slightly bruised, Mark contemplated his next action before the doorway Rick had just left through opened.

  A figure much smaller than Rick’s was coming down the stairs, but it was difficult for Mark to make out who it was, the lights needed to be changed in the basement. A second and much larger figure passed through the doorway before it closed and the two made their way down the steps. Mark considered this home, but really it was assigned to a pair of new collections who didn’t know each other. This was practice to prevent tracing anything back to the overseer of acquisitions, in this case and this region it was Mark. It had been Mark’s idea to use this method since he determined that in the unlikely event that something more would come of a disappearance there would be two people who didn’t know each other entirely well and would be more likely to break and blame one another under interrogation than about Mark and a massive operation of entire ‘development’ of culture. Mark prided himself in how his idea had been spread through ‘City’ and also at having lived in this place for some time, but he knew that what and who was coming downstairs, entering ‘his’ home, could be nothing good as he had always been left to his own oversight in the past. The smaller figure became clearer as she approached Mark; it was one of the committee, the eldest of the ladies. Mark smiled outwardly, but was becoming more nervous as the larger figure came into view with a look of determination. Mark tried to speak but the woman passed in front of him and reached for the door Adam was confined to. Mark stepped back and looked at the towering figure coming toward him with an item he recognized as a brick which he had been gifted, a token of appreciation from one of his first collections. Mark watched as the man raised the brick and remembered how he opened the box it was delivered in to find the polished stone cut down to the size one would use in creating a fireplace or edging for a garden, it had been on the mantle – resting as a trophy, with a no
te attached that read, “To the most important person in giving me direction, a gift of Erinstone.” The stone itself had apparently been custom cut to a manageable size and through the deepest of blues an engraving of the date Mark had finished conditioning this particular collection could be seen. Everything slowed as he watched the man’s arm come down…Mark was trying to remember the collection’s name.

  Adam saw Mark collapse and blood begin to creep outwardly from his head, surrounding his body while a physically frail looking woman entered the room, standing only a little taller than he was seated. Behind the woman Adam looked above Marks body to see a man with an object in his hand glancing into the room, inspecting Adam and the situation before he turned to walk away. “Hello Adam,” the woman smiled giving her face a much more youthful appearance as he measured her, trying to decide if this was going to be better or worse than spending a day with Mark and his wife; Eva hadn’t really explained circumstances he would be involved with in the event of Mark being killed. A slight panic rose in Adam’s chest and though he knew he was unable to hide the fright, he attempted to smile anyway. “Hello…” Adam’s voice trembled and he paused, waiting for a name or title. She did not oblige, “They haven’t been too rough I hope.” She didn’t wait for a reply nor did Adam wish to say anything, “I had anticipated being here when you were first taken in, but things came up.” Adam was realizing that his situation hadn’t been too bad up to this point if there were more important things for this woman than having a person of perceived authority executed, in…wherever he was, with as little concern as she had. “I think you’ll enjoy the ride ahead of you today, at the very least, you’ll be able to let your arms rest.” She smiled once again then walked away, the door opened and she disappeared around the corner as had Mark’s body and the blood that had flowed from him. The man that had been seen in the hallway earlier was coming in with a look of boredom, Adam’s body convulsed a little like a shiver.