The World's End | ONC 2024 ✔

ੈ✩‧₊˚ |𝟭𝟬| 𝗔𝘅𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁

"𝚅𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝟸.𝟷 - 𝙰𝚡𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎'𝚜 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝"

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

The mental institutions in the North were always something that intrigued me. It was one of those places parents told horror stories about. The institutions were the nightmares of my childhood, illustrating the unavoidable dangers of going outside.

Keira was our only hope and chance. Neither Wylan nor I had any connections to the institutions. After all, Mama was the leader of the Verids. There was no way I could have any connection to them.

We delved deeper into the files, checking for anything important that could help us figure out the significance of the institutions. Anything. We needed as much information as possible before we sneaked into the North. Their operations, their staff, their patients, their security...But first, I wanted to know why the Dominion Council got rid of the previous treatment hospitals in favor of the institutions. It almost seemed like this was the Council's way of orchestrating their suspicious schemes, but I couldn't be so sure before I got some real proof.

The clock struck nine and Mama would be here tonight. I needed to be out of here soon and get back before she noticed. Or...that would be the ideal situation. It was risky, and I knew that it would be perilous, maybe even dangerous. But I was prepared to find out what happened.

Perhaps, I could figure out what happened to Papa on the way.

As I flicked through the files again, I searched for any clues. It struck me that all the parents of the Death March candidates were killed afterward. Keira and Wylan had ignored that part of it, or they already knew that. They already spotted that it wasn't a coincidence. With every one of the candidates in the institution...I wondered why the Council didn't order their death instead.

"Any fate, even death is better than the institutions," Mama said when the news initially broke out. I used to think it was to scare me into never doing stupid things, but it seemed like she was right. There was something more eerily dangerous about them.

"We need a plan," Wylan said, his voice low. Even though there wasn't anyone else in this room, he was still wary of something – like something or someone was going to pop out of mid-air. "We can't just waltz into the institutions blindfolded. We were in a market, doing nothing wrong when we nearly got arrested. If anyone finds out we're at the institutions, we could be in huge trouble."

The already dim light was getting slightly lighter as if it were forced. The light barely penetrated the space; there simply wasn't enough to go around.

Keira nodded, her eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight in shades of dark amber. "Yes. But this is also urgent. I don't think anyone expects us to be at the institutions anyway. I mean, we aren't like solvin' a murder, are we? There's way too much going on, but we don't what the hell it even is!"

I agreed, my mind racing. "We need to be careful. I don't want Mama to be mad at me."

At that, Wylan and Keira glanced at each other and then stared at me. Their eyes bore into mine, and for a second, I was incredibly confused. "Um, what?"

"There's literally a huge conspiracy. This government could be institutionalizing people for knowing something, and you're worried about what your mother could say to you?" Wylan groaned; disappointment evident in his voice.

His words hit me like a slap in the face, jolting me out of my hesitation. Wylan was right. I knew that this wasn't just about Mama's disapproval anymore. Lives were at stake, and innocent people were suffering. We needed to know why.