Free Minds

Chapter 104.

   The next few seconds passed with no follow up from Speck. He was simply staring at us, as if he believed that maintaining eye contact with us would enable us to read his mind and find out the oh-so-shocking news he was being dramatic about.

"Well, what is it?!" Camila's snappish words and tone reflected our impatience.

"Contrary to Rav's... creative guess," he deadpanned, "the hologram above you is not Dorian's tattoo. What you're currently looking at is a live 3d scan of his brain. The tattoo is just a drawing of the organ that is in him. The tattoo on Dorian is not Sacury's cure. Dorian is."

   At that moment, my suit felt more like a claustrophobic constraint than the outfit I'd chosen to wear. The heat that accompanied this out of the blue tightness made my discomfort a thousand times worse. I began wishing I was somewhere private, so that I could get this body armour off me and breathe like I wasn't being choked again.

   My mind took me back to our time in the basement days ago, when he first showed me the tattoo. I remember he mentioned that the people in the institution told him that the tattoo was a reflection of him. Neither of us could figure out what they meant then, and now we were made aware in the worst way possible.

"You're lying," I broke out of my tortuous trance to hear Rav whisper to Speck. Every inch of his drenched face was ashen.

"I'm sorry, what?" Speck held a hand to his ear. "I didn't quite catch tha–"

"I SAID YOU'RE LYING!"

   I wanted to stand by Rav on this one, really, but I'm certain even he didn't believe his own words. I struggled to think of any reason why Mr. Speck would lie to us about this. He already had us where he wanted us. The only reason we weren't on the receiving end of those placements guns by the Yunies was because he wanted us to know about Dorian.

   Looking at it now though, how could some ink be the cure to mind control? It was starting to make less sense when looked at in light of Dorian's brain–which, mind you, was obviously nothing like ours.

"Like i said," Our principal replied. "I prefer to show, not tell."

   And with that, his other hand not holding the phone, the hand which was free just a second ago, was holding a placement gun. A gun whose end he jammed to Dorian's temple and pulled the trigger.

   The instinct to move rushed within my legs and I would have taken to the stage but for the change in the holographic scan above. Floating toward Dorian's brain was a black, pea-sized and shaped holographic object.

"What you're seeing is one of my masterpieces," Speck said.

   He didn't elaborate on that statement. Not that he had to. Everyone knew that this was one of the countless mind control devices that were embedded in the brains of all Zavolonians and everyone else if we were unsuccessful in stopping him.

   My breath got caught in my throat as the device got closer to Dorian's brain. My eyes were already starting to betray me in staying open. The device coming into contact with his brain was not something I could ever prepare for.

   And, as it turned out, I didn't have to.

   The device never made it into Dorian's brain. It did not even so much as brush against it. The shock on Rav and Camila's faces was what I needed to ensure I wasn't crazy. That i wasn't the only one who saw the holographic version of the mind control device freeze beside his brain for some beats before splitting into two smaller halves.

   As if that wasn't enough, Dorian's eyes fluttered shut right after. Our constant screams of his name didn't revive him.

   The tattoo being the cure didn't sound so bad now. I preferred that to Dorian's brain. At least for the tattoo, I was optimistic enough to hope that Speck would find a way to deal with the tattoo instead of Dorian. But now that it was clear what–who– the solution was, i couldn't think of Mr. Speck dealing with Dorian in a way that didn't involve killing him.

"Oh, don't worry, he'll wake up eventually. Do you need another demonstration?" Mr. Speck questioned Rav.

   The weak-willed 'No' that came from him only made me feel worse.

"Good," The placement gun in his hand was no longer there and he used it to grab a fistful of Dorian. "because I personally believe he's had enough."

   Speck jerked Dorian's head to the side, causing his hair there to shift and unveil dried blood surrounding marks that looked so much like products of the ends of the placement gun he'd just been holding.

   Hearing a subtle, but audible sniff, I looked to my side to find Rav giving the floor a hard stare. The tears that were drowning his eyes were heartbreaking to see.

"What are you going to do to him?" Camila queried in a small voice.

"What would you do?"

   The room lapsed into sombre silence after that question Speck threw back at Camila. In my desperate bid to not cry or consider the inevitably messed up things that were going to happen next, I looked away from the stage, my peripheral vision catching a view of the Yunies' placement guns until my eyes hit the floor.

   I'm not sure how long I stayed this way, but when I heard the distant call of my name more than once, I concluded it was long enough for my mind to start messing with me.

"Beth!"

    Or not.

   This call was clear, definite and recognizable this time. I glanced up the stage, my sanity confirmed by Speck's outstretched arm toward me.

"I thought we lost you there." he chuckled. "Now don't make me repeat myself."

"Huh?" was the only word that came to mind. 

He sighed. "I said, join me. Join me here. On stage."

A/N: Thanks so much for much reading! Please don't forget to vote and comment ❤!

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