He said to the figure I couldn’t see because of the smoke in the air, “Barney? How did you find us?”
The woman responded, “well, you sent a message for me, didn’t you?”
She had killed every person in Dunshop.
The terror I faced when I stood up, broke me the most. The idea that I could’ve been responsible for over several thousand deaths on KS with the Pod contraptions I had made for The Councilor, yet instead I was responsible for over 30 in Dunshop made me feel less human than ever before.
25
After Barney had saved us from the Devout trying to kill us so they could leave their lives for something more in eternity, she and Anthony carried Kolash back out of Dunshop to the car. Luckily it was still there.
Tommy was in so much pain, we were able to give him a dose of the leftover red pills we had from Mae. He felt almost no pain.
Anthony routed our car to Barney’s safe house located just outside the city near where my parents lived. I wondered how’d they been, but I knew that this was a problem that we needed to take care of now.
We walked down the alleyway after arriving at the safe house location, Barney said the name of the place was called House 42.
I think that it was how close to a solution we were that made me wonder what my real life was like. For instance, me wondering how my family was, or if Tommy was going to be okay we could still hang out, or if maybe Sam was actually still alive and it was just something I had imagined happening at Dunshop. It was all hard to picture.
The car was silent all the way to the safe house. Barney and Anthony looked at each other from time to time, and Tommy and I sat in the seats with our eyes closed almost the whole time. It was finally almost over.
The place was creepy. Barney made us wait in the car as she went out to go open the house and make sure that everything was alright and safe.
She came back out, and in the dim morning light said, “alright, just Anthony, you and I will carry Kolash into the house to restrain him, and then Luis you take care of Tommy.”
I nodded, and Anthony replied, “top or bottom?”
Barney laughed and said, “I always take the heavier end.”
They entered in through the house first, carefully lifting the heavy old body into the house. This was a revolutionary moment for me. This was the man that started it all. The man, who if not for his discovery wars and government unification would all cease to exist.
The house was also dark, but when Barney walked in, she swayed her hand in front of some sensor which turned on these white lights that lined the top and bottoms of the walls.
Everything was so bland and boring, silver and perfect. Odd for someone working for a dual agency.
Tommy laid down on the floor, and I ran to find paper towels and a suture kit for his arm.
Barney sat in a desk chair wiping off the sweat from her face. Her read short hair, and a soft and smooth face was then exposed to the freshly cooled air.
“Where might I be able to find a suture kit?” I asked.
She replied, “we have butterfly adhesives you can use for his wound. I think a future might be a bit too advanced for you, not to mention the risk of infection will be much lower. It is over in the kitchen under the sink. Should be rubbing alcohol and adhesives there. Just apply the strips over the wound gap, pull the plastic pieces outward which will bring the gap closer together, add antibacterial cream and then cover it with some of the gauze.”
I was irritated she had demurred me so fast.
“Do you even know what I have been through? Sutures are so complicated,” I said sarcastically as if it were something I hadn’t had to do to myself within the years’ time frame.
She rolled her eyes in a bitchy sense and swirled around to get up and approach Anthony.
“So, what are we going to do now?” she asked Anthony.
He replied, “well, I guess when he wakes up, we will have to use the honeysuckles we collected to make sure he stays calm, we don’t know how he will feel knowing he is away from Dunshop for good. Then I suppose, if he doesn’t cooperate, we will have to apply some force.”
She nodded as if this whole thing was a waste of time. Frankly, I thought she just wanted us to be gone.
I walked over to what appeared to be the “kitchen” sink and pulled out from under the cabinet a small silver canister filled with rubbing alcohol, or so I thought, and then the first aid kit.
I got over to Tommy, who still had tears in his eyes, but an optimistic look on his face.
Tommy said, “I can't believe we finally got him. That bastard. It wasn’t even all that hard to get him.”
I said, “well I guess Barney did kind of save the day, or the devotes would have killed us. I wish Sam just talked more instead of building all that anger inside. It is truly like she was confused. So confused and so young. What a horrible thing to do to a child I think, for them to manipulate her like that. She had options, for all she knew, they would never have done anything with her father. He was probably just a ploy and an excuse for her to go out and try to kill us like she tried to do.”
Tommy smiled, “remember how I told you girls just run from me? Well now you know, it’s just bad luck and us guys have to live with it. I guess it's in our blood. You’ll find a new cute girl, probably in a diner somewhere out this in the city when we get back to Earth. Even if that really happens.”
I looked at him tiredly, I didn’t even really care about all that had happened. I was glad that something finally come of it. I grabbed Tommy’s arm, and I unscrewed the silver cap, I poured it over his arm.
Frighteningly, he started to scream, his skin turned a bright purple, as if it were melting, his scream grew louder and louder, I didn’t even know what to do.
It was then, Barney stood up fast, grabbed her guns and turned toward Anthony.
Anthony said, “what is this, Barney?”
She held her gun in her hand fiercely, “you don’t understand Anthony. I have been here all along, I have been there for you no matter what, and after all the travel I did you still didn’t love me enough to tell me you wanted me to stay. Unity doesn’t just want you out, The Agency wants you gone. They want you erased. Kolash won't be of any help, because he’ll be dead before you die today. They told me we are all screwed. There is nothing we can do but stay here on KS, live in peace, take our vitamins to stay healthy, and prevent the exposure to the problem that will postulate in the year to come as all resources deplete on this planet. So, Anthony, you pick, who do you want to die first?”
Anthony grew antsy and uncomfortable, we are all so tired we could barely come to the conclusion of what we would do. As they were screaming at each other, I quickly ran back to the sink, grabbed a wet rag to put onto Tommy’s now acid burned arm. He still cried out in pain.
I quickly pulled out the ointment and applied five butterfly adhesives to his open wound, and pulled it shut, quickly covering it with the gauze that was left.
Anthony had raised his voice as Barney got closer and closer, “you do not know what you are doing! These are just kids, they don’t need to die, just kill me! Just kill me! Let them go.”
Barney grew tense with her arms budging, her veins popping.
I stood up fast and said, “Barney, how is it that Kolash can't do anything? We haven’t even been able to ask him yet.”
She smirked and said in a cynical tone, “well I don’t know the little boy, why don’t we wake the fucker up with some ammonia. If you are right, then we will see what I can do, if not, you’re toast. You’ll go first.”
I rushed back over to the first aid box and pulled out a small tube of the ammonia. I rushed over to Kolash, and fell down to the floor, quickly as I began to shake. I broke it under his nostrils until he flung up from the inhalation of the chemical. He was instantly red and sweating from the lack of honeysuckles. I grabbed a pile of the flowers, crushed up the petals and cut a piece of my shirt off to wrap around the petals as I waved it in fron
t of Kolash’s face.
I spoke fast, and Barney said, while pointing the gun to my head, “you have five minutes to get what you need out of him.”
I nodded my head, “Dr. Kolash. I am so sorry about all of this. This is New York City, but we are on Planet KS. How could that be?”
Kolash was barely conscious. I shook him quickly and waived more of the flower petals in front of his face, and I began to get angered. I pressed the cloth of petals in front of his nose, covered his mouth with my hand, and did so until he grabbed my arm to pull it down so he wouldn’t suffocate.
I asked him, “Dr. Kolash? How is it, the aliens were able to get their entire city to Earth, and then get all of one city here from Earth to Planet KS?”
He finally began to utter words, “well, you see. You did it. You Luis, you did it. They only were able to do it because you gave them the technology to do so.”
My heart dropped, “how though? I never gave the plans, the official working plans to The Councilor. The only reason I was brought to that world, was to design and carry it all out myself. It would never have worked, they were all set to self-inflate the anesthetic chemicals to kill every single one of the Pod occupants.”
Kolash replied, “you were in a coma for three years I heard. When you were separated from The Councilor, he sent an entirely separate fleet through space undetected while we were all in the Mothership in KS airspace with people. Hundreds of people from the CMO to Earth. That is how they did it. There was so much time that they were able to then in fact send, all of New York City overnight just as you woke up in your bed, your facade of a bed and family on Planet KS through the space waves they used to communicate with Earth in my research facility in Colorado.”
My heart seemed to beat quicker and quicker, as I came closer to the answer, “Dr. Kolash. How do we get back?”
Kolash didn’t reply for a minute.
Barney interjected, “you have a minute, or a bullet goes through his brain.”
“Okay, okay,” I said back and asked, “Dr. Kolash, is there a way we can go back?”
He replied, “son if there were a time machine, I would go back and ignore this speck of light in our bright night sky. We will never see that sky again, it is impossible.”
I shook my head over and over, “Dr. Kolash, there has to be a way.”
He shook his head no, “Luis, there is nothing we can do now but live. Live in the glory of the light of the All Mighty Dunshop. Just live.”
Within a second’s time, Barney pulled the trigger shooting Dr. Kolash right in the head. I screamed out crying. That was my last chance to go home.
Barney remarked, “see, I told you, child. It’s over. It's over. Anthony, I like you. I like you lots, and maybe, if you’d just come with me, I can take you home baby. Enough of all this. This is silly playing a game you can't win. You just can't. I'll let you live, both him and Tommy. I’ll let them live if you come back with me.”
Barney was seductive, and I had to give it to her that she was trying at least to play the game well.
I knew what she was trying to do.
Anthony replied, “Barney, I’ll do whatever I have to, to make sure that they stay alive. I will, I will. I swear.”
Barney lowered her gun as if she too had gone mad and lost her mind like the Joker. Almost like an insane love spell, it was then she dropped the gun to the floor, as she moved in to kiss Anthony.
Anthony grabbed her waist, as Tommy and I held on to the floor. A strange rumbling came from the level. Shattering sounds came from everywhere.
Glass shards flew through the air, and Anthony let his secret knife fall through his arm sleeve, as he whispered to himself, “My love.” And slipped the blade carefully into the neck of Barney.
All chaos had been committed, what seemed like an army had smashed through the windows. It was Unity. There to take us away, kill us, destroy us. Like many times, I knew I should brace to be thumped in the head by a gun, another bruise I am sure permanently damaging my head. Blackness, and I too like Tommy, like Anthony, fell to the floor, cuffed to be taken for examination.
I woke up disoriented inside of a similar room like the rest. I sat in a cold metal chair, my hands tied around my back. I felt restrained and helpless, just as they wanted me to handle.
Like something of a memory, it went like this, “we never thought you would wake up. It wasn’t a man, it was a woman. You need to start by telling us everything you have told anyone about this incident. This, this catastrophe, this event that could indefinitely, I couldn’t say. I can’t”.
It was like a memory had played over. It was like the first day I was back from Planet KS, on what I thought was Earth, I had been again interrogated by the same woman from before.
“So, tell me, what and who have you told?” she asked again demanding.
“I, I have no idea. I haven’t told anyone,” I replied unsurely.
She said, “yes you did. Yes, you did. I saw you, you told your friend. That girl. That female at The Diner. Her dad told us so. Tell me, did you tell her about the incident?”
I shook my head, “I have no idea what you are even talking about. Her dad should be dead, she’s dead. There's no one to tell about anything, just let me and my friends go.”
She smirked, “why would I do that?”
She then yelled, “Voltage!”
I was instantly electrocuted with a thousand volts of energy.
“Luis, dear, just say it. You told the whore, and you made a mistake. Just say it,” she demanded.
I was upset, “I will not say it because I did not tell her.”
The woman screamed, “Voltage!”
A massive zap was more substantial than the last shot up my spine.
The woman I had noticed was very tall, big of the sort. Long hair pinned back, decorated black uniform.
“Boy, just say it, and you can go home. Just say what you did and you will be on your way,” she reiterated.
I replied, “no, I didn’t because you can't prove that I did.”
The woman sighed, “my name is not important. My name in fact, if known would be so little and insignificant to you, that even I saying it would not prevent me from coming back to do this to you again. Every day, every morning until the end of your life. Voltage!”
She screamed again and continued to speak, “all your life, you wondered, what was it you did to end up where you are now. Who gave you the opportunity to live on Planet KS? Who took you from your family? You think Anthony! I think you should think again. Voltage!”
I shivered as the blows came forth down my spine.
Barney continued, “I think Luis. You should give up. Give up all you know, tell us what you did and go home. Live the rest of your life in peace as a normal child. Hangout with Tommy like a teenager does, forget the world you live in now is not the same as the last because you have endlessly destroyed thousands of people’s lives. Just tell us, what you did!”
I gave up. I couldn’t do it, and like Tommy had said, maybe it is time to give up and just live.
I said, “I told Samantha at Toodles after you told me the first time not to tell her or anyone anything.”
Barney stopped talking, smiled and walked out of the room quietly. I felt strange and awkward, cold from barely having any clothes on.
The door opened again, I sighed and filled with more anxiety.
A new person began to talk.
The doctor, “hello, Luis. It is nice to see you again. We are going to make sure today, you forget all that has happened. With a few shock therapy sessions, you’ll be all good to go in a few short hours, you’ll be living like there's no tomorrow, and as if you have lived the happiest five years of your life since being entered into the experiment.”
I was confused. I let it go until he began to wrap around my head with a rubber ball placed in my mouth as a gag.
I began to scream, “someone, please. Someone, please help me!”
I cried.
No one came, only a loud voice of that woman who was there before, “Luis, be patient. We only want the best for you.”
It was then the doctor successfully had gagged my mouth, restrained my arms and feet, and began to rub ointment on the temples of my head.
He yelled, “full strength. Pulse! Full strength. Recharging. Pulse! Full strength. Pulse! Full strength. Recharging. Pulse! Full strength. Pulse! Full strength. Recharging. Pulse! Full strength. Pulse! Full strength. Recharging. Pulse!”
He repeated these words, over and over, until it was all I could hear in my thoughts. A new world. A new person. Welcome to the world Luis, I thought. Welcome to the world a new person.
26
I opened my eyes. They felt glazed and stuck together, but I felt good for some reason.
I woke up feeling refreshed. The covers of my bed were warm and soft, the comforter; heavy yet breathable. My skin felt refreshed, and I had slight head pain that seemed to stay. I don’t know what it is from.
The sun was bright, and I didn’t let that keep me in bed. I got up feeling fine. Everything was fine. I’d be off to see Ms. Brakley in school, and I’d be back to studying my Battling Strategies Class.
I was happy. I smiled as I stretched, and quickly got up throwing the covers off of me to take a shower.
It was a Saturday.
The irony behind it all is that it seemed like ages since I had actually gotten a shower. I really felt the need to wash off.
My skin was dry, and my hands were shaky, I slowly spun the electronic dial to increase the water pressure as it sprayed on me.
After a few minutes of purity and cleansing, I stepped out, dried off and put on a pair of clothes, a set of shorts and a nice button-up shirt. I hurried to get ready.
I ran downstairs, and there my mother was, in her beautiful blue dress, her pretty shaped curled blonde hair, her smokers’ lines, and her smile.
“Good morning sweetie. How did you sleep?” she asked me.
The World of Hope Page 18