The Encroacher's Trilogy: Dystopia (COMPLETED)

Chapter 13

I awoke in my bed to the sound of a voice I prayed I'd never hear again.
A voice whose owner I swore to that I would make them rue the day the Lab was created.
I attempted to leap vehemently out of bed to abolish him for what he had done to me; yet I found that I couldn't.
I was frozen.
I was most definitely awake listening to his awful, nasal voice, but I was frozen. Paralysed.
All I could feel was a sharp pain in my right arm.

I tried screaming for help but all that came out was a strangled cry even I could barely hear.
All I could do was listen to the conversation.
"Valerie, you know what this means don't you? Your daughter knows too much. She must come with me."
"No! Please. There has to be an another option." My mother pleaded as if she would trade her life instead.
"You know the rules, Valerie. You yourself made them up to keep our allies safe. Do you not recall that conversation?"
"Of course I remember, Brian. For goodness sake she is a child! You can't do this to her-you-"
"Yes I can. Your specific words were 'do not let anyone find out about the basement. Those that do must be punished.'"
"I KNOW WHAT I SAID." She chided, "I know what I said. But there must be an exception for my daughter. Please... I beg you."
"What is done is done Valerie. I cannot help you any more. I have come to take her away."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Please don't take me.

The door handle turned.
"Take me instead!" Mother cried, the pain evident in her voice. "I will never let you take her away from me again." The handle stopped moving and the door closed again.
"I really don't think that is possible..."
"Take. Me. Instead." She fought to keep her voice steady. I heard a small smirk from the bald man before he replied, "Very well. You will leave for work as usual. You will join the crowd of pedestrians but head towards the Lab instead of your client's house. Do you understand me?"
"Yes." She said.
"Oh, and Valerie? Do you recall what else you said?"
"What?" I heard her speak through gritted teeth.
"'Any leader who volunteers for a consequence to save their family or a friend must-"
"NO!"
"-be fired'. You have shown you have no supremacy and so you must be fired. And what does that mean?" Mother spat at his feet.
"It means that I am the new leader and I will be in charge." He waited for a pitiful response before adding, "I think it's time we make things a little more... intense; don't you think?"
I could just imagine him standing there with his head raised high and his greasy face beaming with sour pride. I could imagine him with one foot pressed down on my mother's back with his hands on hips looking victorious. Truth be told, I heard my mother fall to her knees outside of my door. The bald man simply muttered 'indeed' as he walked down the staircase- still managing to scuff his shoes as he walked.

I swear I'm going to kill that man. He will pay for what he has done.

"It's for the best Valerie. Someone has to accept Brian's demand or else we'll all be punished." Father said simplistically. I heard my mother sob harder and it made me so angry to hear that he felt no sympathy for her. She was sacrificing herself for me! For us.
How could he merely sit there presumably stroking her fine hair and tell her 'it's for the best'?
The coward.
"Remember what happens if anyone breaks curfew by not being in bed before the windows are pitch black?" I presumed my mother nodded.
"One member of the family is sent to the Lab to do what you are about to do. You must be strong like those courageous people. Be strong for we are all going to get through this."
That was the worst motivational speech I had ever heard. I could feel the anger surging inside of me like a tsunami. I could feel it waiting to be unleashed so it could cause destruction. I could feel the restless impatience.
"I'll go and reverse the injection, shall I?" He said, and I heard her give a very feeble reply of
"Yes... Tell her everything." So that was how father came to undo the paralysis: with an injection.

***

The injection held a luminous green liquid, which was then injected into my right arm.
It hurt as if a thousand bees coated in nettles were stinging me at the same. It felt like I had a thousand toes and stubbed them all at once. And I wasn't even over exaggerating.
When I was finally relieved of the paralysis I found myself punching father's arm.
I didn't know I was brave enough to do that, but all of the anger surged out of me on to its desired victim.
"What the hell did you paralyse me for?" Father seemed substantially shocked himself that I had hit him but he soon got his act together before replying,
"Firstly: Don't ever hit me again. Secondly: I was just about to tell you.
"Last night, your mother and I got home from work and found the basement unlocked. That only meant one thing: you had found the key. How you found the key is beyond our imagination-"
"I hid in the shadows and watched you."
"Okay. Don't ever do that again either."
"I was curious."
"Okay. Well.... anyway, we couldn't find you in the basement so we went upstairs to your room. Your mother saw you on the floor first, holding the book that was private-"
"It was in my room." I retorted.
"It was hidden." He said starting to get annoyed.
"So your mother put you in your bed and I injected you with paralysis this morning because we called Brian over to inform him what happened."
"Why? And where did you get the paralysis formula?"
"Brian is our boss. He is everyone's boss. Like I told you before, all children aged 6 years and over were sent to the Lab and therefore Brian was made 'Boss' for he had the custody of the children. We trusted him with our lives until now when he refused to accept your pardon."
"But you're the leaders of the war? Haven't you got greater authority than him?"
"That is what we thought, but he believed that if he had custody of the children then he was 'the Boss'. Besides, our real identities had to be hidden so the enemy couldn't find us."
"That makes sense. What about the formula?"
"Part of my job as a neuropsychologist is to invent injections to keep client's calm while I studied their mind. When your mother and I discussed calling Brian over, I had to quickly make a formula that paralysed you. Thank goodness it worked!"
"You didn't know if it would work or not?"
"Any other questions?" He said, ignoring the truth,
"Yes, what is going to happen to mother?" That was the most important question. I had to know if she was going to be hurt. Would she be killed?
"That... I can't tell you. I do not know myself, for they come up with new punishments every week."
"Will she be injured or killed?"
"I don't know."
"What comes... will come." My mother added. I had only then noticed she was standing at the door. She still had tears streaming down her face, but her body at least was able to stand. She stumbled over and clutched my hand.
"Whatever happens, you must not follow me. I will be okay. Don't worry about me." Tears blemished my face.
"Please, don't leave us." I faltered,
"I have to."
"When..." She looked at her watch: 8.50am.
"No..." I stammered. She stood up.
"No. Please! No!" She her way to the door.
"Mother!" She turned around and I vivaciously hugged her. She smelled of the lavender from the kitchen and her jumpsuit was rough like chord.
I wanted to go with her. I wanted to go instead of her. It wasn't fair. I wasn't offered.
"I love you." She whispered.
"Don't go."
"Stay in the school." She muttered,
"What?"
"Stay in the school and don't leave. Promise me. Don't ask any questions. Get to the school before 10.15. Promise me." She pleaded.
"I promise." I didn't understand why I had to stay in the school, but I wanted to make her happy one last time before she left.
"I must go now my beautiful Flora. I love you." She kissed my forehead and headed down the wooden staircase. Father followed her and I listened to their last conversation.
"Protect her Eric. Keep her safe."
"I will."
"Make sure she goes to the school."
"I will."
And then mother whispered something so quiet it was as if she was letting father in on a confidential secret,
"If anything happens... I love you. I will always love you no matter what. I am so thankful our family has been reunited. That is all I have ever wanted."
"I will love you and Flora to the end of time."He kissed her and held her for a few minutes with his hand stroking the top of her head; mother hidden in his warm embrace.
And then she left the safe house.
I watched her join the pedestrians to march towards the Lab, thinking:

What a cruel world I live in.