Sinister Ego : Dangerous Minds

22. Toxic Green

Father didn't stand straight.

His back was arched so that his stomach jutted out towards us, but his neck seemed unearthly as it too reached as far out as it could, allowing us to see in perfect detail his warped face; mouth and nose twisted together in an unsettling contortion, eyes only white as his pupils rested inside his head, rolled back past the line of vision of any spectacle.

He creeped forward like living dead.

I turned to Rin as we both took a large step backwards.

"What the fuck is he on?"

I don't know if it was a whisper or a yell. My mind refused to perceive anything other than fear. It could have been either. But if I did speak loudly, Father took no notice.

He just beckoned us into the room.

I was tempted to run back to my cell and away from the whole scene. But I remembered: this was a rare chance. We had to take risks.

As Rin and I stepped forward, a voice we hadn't heard before sounded from within the darkness of the room.

"No! Love, don't come back! Please, you're drunk!"

It was a frail voice, a woman's. It was laced with a fear and panic that almost seemed as strong as my own.

"Quiet!"

We followed him into the dark space. There sat a woman in a simple wooden chair.

She was an old, almost ancient lady. Her eyes were two piercing black coals.

"You...you're," I started. I knew I recognized her from somewhere...but where?"

"The lady from the bargain store."

She smiled sadly. "Hey, kid."

I didn't respond. I looked beyond her, around the room. It was lit only by a series of dim green lights around the edge of the left side of the ceiling. They were just bright enough to allow me to see clutter all over the floor, little devices, most likely tortuous ones. Also lining the floors were rather large glass bottles, which could probably hold about two gallons of liquid. Larger devices that I did not recognize lined the walls: huge, ancient machines. Against a back wall were three large circular glass tanks full of a bright green bubbling substance that leaked onto the floor, steaming and boiling. On the wall closest to Rin and I was a high shelf, full of rows and rows of dusty, decaying books. On several of the books was that green liquid, hissing as it burned holes into their spines.

Behind us, a guard appeared, shutting the door and firmly stranding in front of us.

"Please excuse my love," Father said. "She really probably doesn't mean any harm. I let her have a normal life working at some little store, but she always comes back to me by dawn. You had me worried, love."

"I was just thirty minutes late!"

"Quiet!" Father yelled again.

One of the bottles, this one full of the green liquid, came flying from a dark corner, bursting into shards of glass as it hit the old lady's legs and seeped into her skin. I looked to the corner. Was someone there? I couldn't see anyone, but they could have easily hidden. Or perhaps, Father did it.

The woman screamed violently, grabbing her shin and doubling over in pain. She fell out of the chair and curled up into a ball, sobbing.

I stared at her, and I remembered something about that night at the 24 hour bargain store.

Those sad eyes, a far off yet devastated look.

She had known. She had known about Father's plans this whole time. Rather it was a strange coincidence or by fate that I met her, it didn't matter. Someone in the outside world had known about Father's plans for me and hadn't wished for me to die, but they didn't warn or help me. It could have all been prevented if she had just done something. But she didn't. How many other people were out there that knew, but just sat around and watched as it happened? How many other people could have stopped all of this? Could have saved everyone here?

I glared down at her, not knowing what to think.

She started coughing and hacking.

I couldn't stay angry.

What I saw was suffering. Suffering in the strongest sense of the word. What I saw was everything Father created: the  suffering, terror, weakness, and hatred to the innocent. What I saw was everything I already had and more. All the torment Father caused.

"That'll shut her up for a while," Father said, accent lacing his voice even more than normal. His body was still in the exact same position as when he had opened the door. "Why don't you follow me, boys? We can have a snack while we discuss what you're here for."

He beckoned us to the back of the room, and we followed him. He stopped at a small blue metal table next to the tanks. On the table sat the standard cult dinner, plus another bottle of the strange green substance. The three of us sat down, Rin and I completely ignoring the food and Father snapping the bottle open, hastily drinking the contents with no negative effects.

"Good drink. Nice form of toxic waste. Poison to humans, but good for gods. Reincarnations of ancient kings, I don't know. So if you want to be safe, I wouldn't try it, Ricky."

I narrowed my eyes, but I was too confused for it to look dangerous. "Did you just call me a 'reincarnation of ancient kings'?"

Father laughed. "Well, you would be a reincarnation of an ancient  king. There's only one of you. Well, two. If you count the king."

Father giggled like this was the most hilarious thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes. I knew this was all just insanity.

"What are we here for?" Rin asked quietly.

Father laughed again. "You two boys have been thinking about overthrowing me, haven't you? I feel that you have."

Rin and I exchanged a quick glance. I opened my mouth to answer him, but I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Not that it isn't to be expected, from stubborn people like you. Ricky, don't listen. This is for Rin. I'll talk to you in a minute."

I paused, wondering if that was some kind of joke or if he was really that naive. 

"Ok."

"Good," he nodded. "Now Rin, you're my son and this has got to sto-"

A sharp pinching erupted in my ears. Just like the old lady, I doubled over in pain, nearly falling out of my chair. I yelled, but couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything.

Even with the huge distraction, I could still think straight. Father was doing it.

I sat back up and looked at him. His mouth moved as if speaking, and Rin was nodding. After minutes of grueling pinching, of watching them and wanting to know what was happening, the pinching stopped, and I could hear.

"What the fuck was that!"

Father glared at me, and I glared straight back.

"That was none of your business, Ricky Alexander. That was for Rin. It's your turn now, ok."

Before I knew it, Rin was on the floor clutching his ears.

"Now, Ricky. Let's just make this short and to the point. When I lived in India, my tribe believed that the supreme maker of the land would be reincarnated into a man, who would bring peace to all. I am that man. When I ran away from my tribe, I...met some people. It doesn't matter. How I got here, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm here now. In a place more fit to raise my family. There is much more to tell you, Ricky, but I don't think you'll understand. So I'm going to give you something. I think it will help you."

Father reached down under the table and picked something up that had been on the floor. It was a small book. A journal.

"Read it. At least read what you can. I want you to at least know what's happening before it does. But do that a little later. Right now, let's get Rin for the show."

Before I knew it, Rin was sitting up again, and  three dead bodies were right in front of us.