Indifference

Chapter 2-Alex

"Carter," I pant, hands on knees, "don't walk so fast!" Carter glares back at me.

"Alex, if you haven't noticed, we're running late. Because of you and your...." she looks me up and down. I cross my arms over my chest in slight insecurity. She shakes her head as if to dismiss the thought, "Alex, don't walk so slow." She flicks her strawberry blonde hair and continues along the path at the same speed.

"What time is our appointment?" I ask to pass the time.

"5:40 and it's already 5:45, so hurry up." She doesn't look back as she talks.

"5:45! What kind of person has appointments at this time any way?"

"This person? The placement manager? Does it matter?" Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. Carter is the most stubborn person that I have ever met and the fact that she was chosen to be my island partner bugs the hell out of me. 'The island' is where we live. Don't ask me where it is on a map, I failed geography and cartography. Plus, there are rumors that we are not even on a map. That's ridiculous though. 'The island' is my home. I've never lived anywhere else. The placement manager decides where we live. I'm pretty happy to live here though. There is no land around 'the Island that the eye can see. It's peaceful here. That's what I love about it. One man moved here from the foreign land once. He told us of the chaos and violent world outside of our waters. I was only five. Carter was six. He told us of dangerous people and vicious beasts. Carter told me they were just made up stories. It still scared the crap out of me. I didn't sleep for weeks. In the end, he got moved by the placement manager again. One second here, the next gone.

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The tall grey tower looms above our heads. It is the only building on the island. We all live in tents.

"Come on Alex." Carter nudges me through the tall steel doors. "If we get in trouble, I'm not going to hesitate to say it was your fault." Carter is probably the biggest pain in the bum ever to set foot on Earth. I just elbow her ribs in response. She doesn't even flinch. A lady with tall purple hair greets us at the reception desk with her eyes glittering.

"Hi there Alex and Carter, my name is Harriet Harper. How has your day been?" Woah. Boy can this lady smile. She seems way too happy to be up at this time.

"Actually..." I begin but Harriet cuts me off with her bouncy chatter.

"I'm sure it's been wonderful. My day has been wonderful. I have..." A deep, sly voice cuts her off. It sends shivers down my spine. I see that it does the same to Harriet as her face has completely lost all colour and expression.

"Harriet, I'm ready for them." I glance at Carter. She is nervously biting her nails, a bad habit that she's had since she was a kid. Harriet looks up at us. Her eyes have lost their sparkle.

"Come this way girls." She grabs my wrist and Carter's and gently pulls us toward a large, steel door. My stomach feels as if it has dropped down to my toes. This is way too weird for me. Why did I give into Carter. I should have stayed in bed. Safe from...well, whatever is in store.

When we reach the door Harriet lets go of my wrist and puts her palm on my shoulder. I look into her dull eyes.

"Harriet, what's going...."   

"Shhhhh Alex. You'll be fine." Harriet opens the door. A tall man sits in a white chair the the center of the room. Apart from the chair that he is sitting on, nothing else appears to be in the room. The walls are a deep crimson red and the carpet in black. When the man hears us enter, he turns around and faces us. He has jet black hair like mine and dull grey eyes, unlike my brown ones. He has a sharp jaw bone and a spotless face. He wears a suit with his hair jelled. To me he looks exactly how I imagined the bad guys out of the stories I read as a child. His eyes dart to Harriet.

"Harriet, you may leave." Harriet nods, gives my shoulder a squeeze, and leaves. He looks back to us. His eyes stare directly into mine. He almost reminds me of a cat. "Well girls, you should be proud of yourselves."

"Um, what?" Carter looks him right in the eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he smirks at the floor as if recalling a funny personal memory. "I should explain myself. My name is Mr Roth, Vineus Roth, and you are Carter and Alex." He waves his hand towards us. Ummmm, this guys a creep and he doesn't make sense. I raise one eyebrow and cross my arms, trying to hide the welling fear inside my gut. "You have been successful in your stay on the island. You have been chosen for 'Indifference.'".

"What?" I ask, utterly confused.

"No questions. Stay still." He turns away from us. I glance at Carter. I expect her to be crossing her arms in defiance. I find her playing with her hair and looking as if she is about to crap herself. She does not look at me. As Mr Roth is turning back around, something flies by my ear and slams into his face. "Ahhhh!" He throws his arms over his nose. Blood escapes through his fingers and drips onto the black carpet. I turn around to find the source of the object and find Harriet standing there.

"Vineus, this has gone far enough." She places her hands on her hips. A sinister, hysterical sound that I define as some form of a laugh escapes from Mr Roth's mouth. Her pulls a pistol from the pocket of his jacket.

"Oh Harriet dear, it's only begun. Don't make me shoot dear. You're a nice girl." He points the pistol in Harriet's direction.

"But they're only children Vineus."

"I said don't test me Harriet!" Spit flies from Mr Roth's lip.

"I would rather die a thousand deaths than see thousands of innocent people, children suffer a sentence worse than death itself!" Harriet's eyes are wild. They sparkle now. Not with joy but with vengeance.

"Oh Harriet, don't say things that you don't mean." Mr Roth looks Harriet up and down and shakes his head.

"Oh, but I do mean it Vineus!" After saying that, she lunges at Mr Roth, clawing at his face with her long, fake nails. They too are purple I notice now. As Harriet throws herself at Mr Roth, he quickly raises the pistol and shoots. BANG! My ear drums ring from the thunderous sound. Mr Roth doesn't even flinch. Harriet jolts her head back a grunts. Her legs slowly give way. It is as if she does not have the ability to hold herself up. She looks up at Mr Roth and smiles. " Burn in hell you bastard." With that she slumps to the ground. Mr Roth Roth puts the gun away and turns to us.

"I'm sorry. Where was I? Oh yes. Bye Bye." With that he sinks a long needle into my arm and Carter's too. I didn't even see him pick it up. At first nothing happens. After a few seconds, my vision blurs as if I have tears in my eyes. Mr Roth turns away. As he walks off, I swear I hear him laughing. Within another few seconds I drift away completely. Blackness.