The Dark Side of Science

Chapter Two

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As I walked through the gates I felt an icy shiver run through my body. I felt ill. I was breathing heavily and quite rapidly. I was almost certain that at any moment I could pass out. I carried on down the stairs into the school. I made my way down to the basketball courts and sat down with Tia and Tiarna. My closest friends. I was on edge and I was quite sure that they noticed something was wrong. But still, they didn’t say a word.

The sound I had been dreading for several hours rang shrill in my ear. I went unwillingly to assembly. It took all my mental energy to put one front in the other. My brain was not functioning properly. I couldn’t understand a word the principal spoke. I left in an almost robotic fashion towards my first class. Which ironically was science with Mr Carrigan. The man who involved me in all this shit.

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I arrived at my science class. The empty feeling had now been replaced with a fiery anger. I strode into the room attempting to look confident. I looked Mr Carrigan in the eyes.

“Hello sir.” I said in venomous tone.

“Good morning Jessica” Mr Carrigan retaliated in an equally toxic voice.

I glared at him. Acting like it was a perfectly normal day.

He knew I was breaking inside. He knew there was nothing ‘good’ about this morning.  My seat next to Tia was taken by one of her fuckboy love intrests. I looked around and saw a vacant seat over by Jack. I slunked down into the seat. Jack, sarcastic and moody but extremely funny and all and all a good friend of mine- most of the time. As I got my book and pen out to write notes I noticed Jack watching me with that stupid grin on his face. His brown eyes gazing down at me.

“What are you looking at!” I yelled. I sat up straight and shot daggers at him. I was absolutely not in the mood.

He laughed.

“Look at your hands shaking. You worried about something dopey?”

“Fuck up.” I glanced at my hands. I was shaking like a leaf.

The rest of the lesson I realised Jack was acting like he was hiding something, annoying in its self, but mixed with his personality. God help me! He kept making peculiar remarks or asking random questions. He needed a slap in the face. With a chair. I hurried out towards the door when I felt a hand on my left shoulder. I reluctantly turned to see. I looked up at the face. Brown eyes and hair decorating his squarish head. His heavy stubble framing his thin mouth and the nose with a slight point to it.

“Jess would you care to follow me?” Mr Carrigan said in his gruff voice.

Mr Carrigan took large steps. I could hear them. I’d been blindfolded as a ‘precaution’. I then heard an additional pair of feet join us. They weren’t taking large, manly steps but relatively small strides comparing to Mr Carrigan. I felt we had walked down endless flights of stairs before I was eventually instructed to sit. The blindfold was removed and I found myself situated in a dim lit room. A small man came towards me. As he came into better view, I saw that the small man was Josh! Blonde hair, blue eyed, young, innocent Josh Ryan.

Well at least I though he was innocent.

“Hey Jessica.” Josh said, his tone bright as always.

“Josh what the hell?” I said, still in slight shock.

“Jessica. Don't." Mr Carrigan warned.

Are you kidding me?

Ok, so now I wasn’t sure if I had passed out or what? What sort of twisted dream was this?  Josh a drug dealer? I started pinching my arm so hard it drew blood.

“It’s okay Aaron,” said Josh dismissively “She’s new around here, she’ll figure out how we work.”

“Of course Josh,” replied Mr Carrigan.

Josh began to ignore him and carried on talking to me.

“You have been recruited to my business. I hope you are grateful for this." Josh smiled smugly. "But first we need to go through a few things to know that you are trustworthy.” He drawled.

"What am I supposed to be greatful exactly." I snapped.

Josh looked at me, his expression looming unimpressed at my response.

Just then Samuel walked in. Big, burly hands behind his back. I could see terror in his eyes. He turned his head to face me and looked at me pleadingly.

Josh spoke.

“Good ol' Sam here,” he paused to glower at Samuel. “Has been talking about the business to others and basically talking shit about me.”

I was perplexed. Why would he be down here then?

My question was answered when Josh pulled out a menacing gun. He raised it to Samuel’s head. Finger on the trigger. Samuel’s eyes met my own as we exchanged a last glance. He and I both knew if I stopped Josh I would die. And it wouldn’t save him either. Samuel’s expression hardened as he accepted that this was his last moment of life. The shot was fired. Right before my eyes I saw Samuel’s limp body lifeless on the ground, with the bullet wound excessively bleeding on the left side of his head. Just below his temple.

“Let this be an example to you.” Josh said, flashing a dangerous smile.

I was trembling all over. But I managed to stutter the word ok. Mr Carrigan was listing all the things I can or can’t do. I was so shaken up I couldn’t comprehend a single word. I was blindfolded once again and left the dimly lit room and came back to my distorted reality.

The rest of the day was long, dreary and uneventful. I walked home in the freezing rain. As the rain ran down my face, so did tears. I couldn’t take this shit. I felt everything was on my shoulders. I was done. This is all so fucked up. It's not believable.

That night at dinner I heard a headline on the news that almost made me throw up my entire meal.

"Reports of a 16 year old boy from NSW has committed suicide in his home late this evening. The boys father claims his hunting guns were locked up securely an shouldn't have been attainable by the boy. The death is still under investigation."

Samuel. The story was about Samuel. And the media, his family and the public were none the wiser as to what really happened. How did they even cover it up.

I slipped into my bed I took a handful of pills containing god knows what and as I drifted off into sleep. Honestly hoping I wouldn’t wake up. 

Already.

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