Something Else

The Quiet Game

It's been what seems like hours, and my mind wavers as I walk side by side with danger. There are moments of resentment towards Via, or Kit, or whoever she is. How did I get involved with such a criminal? This girl is a violent and remorseless entity, who not only spared my life just to drag me around like a sheep dog, but has somehow maneuvered me into trusting her. I should leave. I should wait until she's not looking and-

Then I remember what she told me in the cave.

"I'm human."

Two words and my stomach churns. What if this girl is more than just malevolent? What if she's deranged? A Levorian, thinking she's another species, not to mention one we wiped out when we came to Earth. Calling herself a "human" is no different than calling herself a squirrel.

Or is it?

I must admit, I wonder sometimes. Why does no one talk about the invasion? Where did we come from before Earth? I remember once when I was just a child, I strayed from my class and somehow found myself in a library.

It was a small place, coated with dust and buried memories. It had but seventy books, all faded with time. I remember slowly sliding one off its shelf and pulling it open, curious.

If only I hadn't been.

Dust plumed out from its pages, a last attempt to deter my curiosity. The dust watched as I coughed and rubbed my eyes.

The dust watched as still, I opened them.

I saw a picture there, on the page I'd so innocently opened. It was a faded image, just like everything else in the room. My eyes locked on one being.

One face.

I was staring at a creature, a creature with tan skin and deep brown eyes. A creature like me, like us. So like us in fact that I thought it was just a deformed Levorian. An ugly one, but one nonetheless. It wasn't until I saw the caption "human" that I realized my mistake.

It wasn't like us at all.

In that moment, I looked at the picture with violent hate. Now that I knew, the differences between our species seemed to pop out, rolling over each other in a desperate battle to be seen. Of course it didn't look like us. Its skin was too smooth, with no defining ridges or ghostly sheen. It's eyes were rich and brown, not pale and yellow. The differences kept coming. Its lips, its nose, its arms. How had I not seen them before? I slammed the book shut, shaking thoughts like dust from my mind.

Deranged.

When the doorknob turned once more and I could finally breathe again, I tried to question the girl. I wanted to know about this David. Who was he? Why did he call her Kit?

Via, being Via, silenced me with a look before I could even form the words.

"Walk with me," she said.

Now, when someone says "walk with me" you're expecting a deep, emotional conversation as you stroll side by side near a garden, or beach, or anything but a cold prison, really. However, apparently Via didn't get the memo, because she just kept walking, out of the room, out of EK-12 entirely. I didn't speak. I didn't stop her. I just followed, as usual. With our new fake collars, we got no strange looks as we marched silently through the streets of Euphoria.

It never occurred to me how barren paths are during most hours. We were in a class one part of town, meaning most citizens were working to keep themselves in the good graces of everyone else. Via could have taken me anywhere, and no one would've been the wiser.

Now, Via and I continue along the same desolate road. Her red hair swings behind her, shifting with each step, and her shoes tap sharply on the pavement. We've been silent for so long, too long. I want to say something, but we've reached a steady state of quiet. Now, it seems a thousand times harder to open my lips, as if the air itself is reluctant to move. I'm sure this is what she's wanted this whole time. Me, quiet, questionless.

We've been walking for maybe half an hour when suddenly Via pauses.

"We're almost there."

Almost there? I can't take it anymore.

"Where, Via? Where are we going?"

To my ever-increasing annoyance, she ignores my question.

"I have something for you."

Helplessly, I watch as she takes a small bag out of her backpack and hands it to me. Inside, there's a pair of grey metal headphones, a green, scrub-like uniform, and a thin metal sheet with two loops on the sides. Fascinated, I tilt the fabric- for now i'm sure it is fabric- back and forth, mesmerized by the glistening sunlight reflected off it.

"Put them on," Via says.

"The clothes?" I'm surprised. What do I need a costume change for?

She nods and I put the rest of the stuff down. The clothes feel dense with hidden machinery. I wonder what treasures lie in wait. Impatiently, Via stares at me.

Uhh...

I expect her to walk away, at least turn around, but she doesn't. I raise an eyebrow, gripping the bottom of my shirt tentatively.

"Can you give me some privacy or..." I trail off.

Her face flushes and a look of disgust passes over her. "What? No! Have you never used auto-scrubs before? You put them on over your clothes!" She curses under her breath. "Idiot."

"Riiight," I say, embarssed. Maybe I am an idiot, but I'm glad of the mistake. Somehow, it's comforting to know she can be rattled. Maybe she's not completely made of stone after all. Quickly, I pull the uniform on over my head. In a second, it tightens, fitting automatically to my size. She looks away, grabbing her own out of the bag. On the front of my shirt, a nametag reads "Dr. Carl Haze."

"They're our new identities for the time being," she says at my look. I know better than to ask where she got them. Her uniform tightens like mine and she fidgets with her nametag. It reads, "Dr. Dawn Banks."

"You're in Shae's uniform now," she adds.

"Shae?"

"Like David. She's just a friend who believes in my cause."

I shiver. What kind of cause is she talking about?

As expected, Via continues before I can ask. "Put on the mask. The loops go around your ears. Like the clothes, it will automatically fit to your face. Unlike the clothes, it will project the still image of your closed lips onto it's outer wall. This way, you can speak without looking like it."

I'm impressed. Can it really do that? Carefully we put on our masks and headphones. I stare at Via's face, eyes wide. It's as if the fabric disappears the moment she puts it on. In front of me is a strikingly realistic view of her closed mouth.

"Now say something." Via whispers.

I'm shocked. I can hear her voice through my headphones, but her mouth remains motionless.

"Woah," I reply, awestruck. She gives me a nod of approval.

"Alright. I think we're ready to go in. Just remember, never, never take the mask off, and always, always, follow my lead."

Follow my lead. Sounds do-able. I raise an eyebrow once again. "In? In where?" I look around, searching for some kind of-

Oh.

In there.