The Inadequate Experiments: 1. White Noise [Rough Draft]

Epilogue - The Result

The wind whipped around me harshly, and I pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders. It had been about a week since we had escaped the Scientists’ grasp, and it was the first time I would see Oliver since I helped David, Calliope and Matt drag him up the very same stairs I was walking up. I didn’t even get the chance to knock on the door before it was wrenched open and shut almost instantly. In the small time frame between the opening and closing of the door, Calliope slipped out.

“You’re early.” She commented.

I looked at my feet, shuffling them on the deck. “Am I?”

“About five minutes, yeah.” She told me.

I met her eyes. “How is he?”

She placed her hand on my shoulder. “He’s fine, Sera, I promise.”

The sentence didn’t quite seem finished. “But…?”

The younger girl’s hand disappeared from my coat, slipping behind her back as her head fell down, her hair hiding her face but revealing the scar that travelled down her right arm. “I fixed him as much as I could, Sera. I can’t do any more.”

My heart thudded louder in my chest. “What’s wrong with him?”

She looked up, tears in her green eyes. “I got rid of most of the hypnotism. And I tried to get rid of the rest – I really did. But it’s like they glued down a seed of it in his mind. I can’t move it. I can’t shape it.” Her eyes came to rest on the ground again. “I can’t get rid of it. At least, not without causing some major brain damage.”

I pulled her into my arms, and she gripped me tightly. “It’s okay.” I promised her. “It’s gonna be alright. He’s gonna be alright.”

She nodded and pulled back, wiping the tears from her face. “He’s pretty much the same.” She told me. “But because of the seed, no matter if he ever gets over his Depression, he’ll still have some heightened suicidal tendencies. You have to look after him for me, Sera. If you really are his Soul Mate, you have to.”

“Well I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” I said lightly, smiling for her sake.

“I guess we will,” she wiped the last few tears from her face. “I’ll go and get him for you.”

She disappeared into the house for a minute before returning with Oliver.

“Are you ready for this?”

Despite the situation we were about to walk into, Oliver twined his fingers through mine and pulled me close to him.

“Ready for what?” I asked, pulling him down the front steps of his house and on to the pathway. “Ready to find out the truth, or ready to find out if they’ll kill us as soon as we step foot in there?”

His brow furrowed. “Both, I guess.” He said. “But mainly to find out the truth.”

“I… I’m not sure.” I admitted. “After all we’ve been through with school, and Calliope, and paparazzi, and my Mum, and the Compound…” I looked at the ground as we walked, making a point of not meeting his eyes. “It’s just… if this is a mistake, I’m not sure I’d want to let you leave.”

Oliver stopped walking, and turned to face me. He placed his hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “What are you saying?”

“I…” I trained my eyes on my shoes. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, I want to say something,” He admitted. “I may never get the chance to say it again.”

“Go on,” I said, perplexed.