Purgatory

Chapter 5

All our personal belongings were confiscated when we were taken except for one item.  The item, we were told, was personal to us and should remain sacred to remind us each day what we fight for.  I didn’t care what my item was, I was only fighting for myself to get out of this place, and while we were allowed to go back to our personal quarters to retrieve said item, I did not, and instead made my way to the cafeteria.

Tone of B flat, two iterations in .1 and .2 second at 68 decibels.  I stopped at the entrance to the grand cafeteria, my eyes wide at the number of people filing through lines and sitting at tables.  “We’re sorry,” the virtual voice chimed in my vicinity, “you are registered as eidolon class.  Please wait for your designated guardian before entering the cafeteria.”  I wanted to move and defy the cheerful voice that told me to wait, but instead I stood still.

What was happening to me?  It felt like I was making my own decisions, but I still wanted to do other things.  I began to wonder how much of a computer I was turned into.  Computers are programmed and told what to do by the user.  What if I was programmed to want to follow this order?  The thought of it made me shutter, and every time I would tell myself to move into the cafeteria, I would not.  I could look around, go backwards, and hop sideways.  I could go anywhere and do anything, it seemed, but enter the cafeteria without my guardian.  Where was Cole?  My stomach grumbled fiercely, turning into a churning cramp.  I felt sick and dizzy.

Tone of B flat in two parts, one in .1 second and the other in .2 second, both at 68 decibels.  The voice chimed gleefully, telling the new arrivals they could not enter the cafeteria.  Turning, I met the hollow stares of my new comrades who had just returned from their quarters.  Juels smirked at me, nodding her head towards me with her chin.

“Guess Cole’s left us to rot,” she said to lighten the situation.  No one smiled, and I looked at her curiously.  She held her composure well and looked the least worried or sick out of the lot of us.  The sides of her purple hair were shorter than everyone else’s, suggesting that once she adorned a thick mohawk.  Her scars were more noticeable.  27 sutures.  I could see in the way her brow slightly furrowed that she realized the same thing I did; that we might not have as much freedom as we’re supposed to think.

“Alright, meal time,” Cole called to us as he approached.  Without stopping, he entered the cafeteria, and I felt my legs finally move forward with a release.  Like a herd of timid cattle, we followed behind Cole slowly as we made our way to a line of people.  There were so many just like us, only they did not look so new.  Their hair had grown in, their scars healed and less prominent as they happily talked amongst themselves as if this all were commonplace.  Some tables quietly ate their meal and looked on at us with pity.  I looked away with mixed emotions of anger and embarrassment.  Stupid kidnappings.  Stupid solitude.  Stupid me.  I should have punched those masked men instead of flailed like an idiot.  I could punch a guy, right?

Juels stood behind Cole in the line, and we organized ourselves in single file behind her.  She turned to face us, her smirk still apparent with her beaming confidence.  “I spy with my little eye,” she began playfully, “something HEX# ffffff RGB 255-255-255.”  I eyed her thoughtfully as she spread her arms.  Everything in Purgatory was white, it seemed, aside from the auditorium.  Even the attire we wore was white.  I pinched my shirt and held it away from my body as I observed my clothing.  Synthetic cotton, size small in both shirt and pants.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Abena chided.  I turned to look at the dark woman, her curvy frame at a fierce contrapposto to reflect her attitude.  Her brow held sternly to her narrowing eyes as she waited for Juels to respond.

It was then I noticed everyone’s eyes.  Our eyes were removed and replaced with cameras, but I was not expecting to see what I saw.  Since I was so focused on myself, I had missed that our eyes still resembled eyes, but the irises were a vibrant orange that had a faint glow to it.  I looked around at my surroundings, but noted no orange tinge or slight glow.