The Orbist

Chapter 38

    "Oh god." Levi cried out, tears spilling from her eyes and snot dripping from her nose. "He killed Ralph. He kill-"

 The rest just became a bunch of blubbering, Elian's face was in his hands so he would sob without noise. I ran my fingers through my hair. No. No. No.

    "I know...I know, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry, oh god, I'm sorry." I squeaked out. "I can't help but feel this is all my fault-"

    "It is your fault." She shouted angrily. "You should have just left!"

    "I didn't know..." I slumped down. "I'm sorry."

    "It's in the past." Elian spoke up, his eyes watery. "And we can't change the past. But if you want to point fingers, Levi, blame Mr. Mac."

 We were silent. All three of us, silent, sitting on a bench of some park.

    "We have to save Barry and Bryan." I stated. "They both looked up to Ralph. So we need to focus on saving them. For....for Ralph."

 Levi wiped a tear off her cheek. She watched as a little brown-haired girl played with her large Doberman, giggling as she chased him.

    "Why can't my life be like that little girl's?" She wondered. "I want to have a normal life, I want to have a family and I want to have a dog and I want to be loved."

    "Those are wishes we all share." I affirmed.

    "I'm more of a cat person." Elian shrugged.

 We didn't even try to laugh in response. We just watched the children hug and play and talk and kiss their daddies and mommies. We watched them laugh when their fathers pulled them up over their shoulders, cry when their mommies didn't let them have that extra pack of M&M's, and talk passionately about what was on their tiny and fragile minds. Barbies, Hot Wheels, the new kid at school. Such ordinary yet perfect lives. They didn't know how screwed up life truly was for others.

 I stood up, and turned to Levi and Elian. I held up the DVD case in my right hand.

    "We're going to make one final trip to that library." I half-smiled. "We're going to find out exactly where we've come from."

 They didn't respond, but they stood up and waited for me to lead the way. And so we took a trip back. Two hours ago-Two hours ago Ralph, Barry, and Bryan were still with us. We had knots in our stomachs, and we still thought Mr. Mac was a twenty year old who liked Rubik's cubes. It's amazing how much could change in such a short time.

 We finally made it to the library. Our shoes smacked against the familiar concrete as we made our way to the entrance. As soon as we got into the building, the sound of our steps were muffled by the purple rug.

 We invited ourselves towards the room in the back where they kept the unplugged TV. As soon as we located the plug, we inserted it into the outlet a few feet away and let the TV screen light up.

 We all pulled ourselves a chair in preparation.

 I carefully opened the DVD case, and found one final note from Mr. Mac written in marker on the DVD. I got benefits. was all he wrote. I didn't understand it at the moment, but I would later. I took out the DVD and inserted it inside the TV. The television made some strange noises but finally began to play the video. The footage was clearer than I thought it would be, however the audio was slightly muffled.

    "Here it is." I sighed. "Here's the final clue."

 There was a room. It had white walls, and a surgical bed, with a certain shirtless someone was lying in it. I couldn't make out who since he or she's back was facing the camera. The floor was tile. Orange tile. This was it. This was what I kept on remembering. I leaned in, maybe a bit too enthusiastic to learn about my past, because Elian and Levi gave me a strange look.