Michael sat right stoically, gazing into the detectives eyes. “The forensic evidence heavily implies that your brother had inflicted these wounds on your wife.”
Silence. Michael felt his heart beat faster and faster. He had no idea that his brother had gone to the house during the game.
“Now, what we are looking at is the why. What do you think could’ve motivated your brother to kill your wife?”
The detective examined Michaels eyes. The rapidly blinking eyelids, the irises void of sorrow. The nervous hands that didn’t know how to settle.
Michael, of course knew. His wife.. was something else. He coughed.
“Some water ? Coffee perhaps?” The detective asked.
Michael shook his head. He knew. He knew too much. But he had no idea his brother would go this far. Now, Michael was free. But.. what about Aaron. Was he free? His lips were pursed together, trying to make a sound. Eventually his head fell on his hands. Perhaps it looked like sadness. But it was frustration.
“Perhaps, we will give you a moment.. we’ll be back in 15.” The detectives collected their things and left the room.
Michael was sobbing.
I don’t know.
The treehouse was oddly quiet. It was many years ago since I last spent some time here. The wind blew through the cracks as the sun was going down. I sighed and climbed in. The wood was sturdy but worn by weather.
I caressed the cracks in the wood and whispered his name. “Tommy.” It was cold. I closed my jacket and fixed my hat. It looked like it would rain.
And there it was. Few drops of rain on the roof. Up and down. I closed my eyes and thought of Tommy. How he always took me here. He was such a bully but in his heart so so kind.
I placed a candle in front of me and tried to lit it. “You can’t do that here,” I heard a whisper in my ear.
“Tommy ?” I asked.
The candle broke in half.
“No.”
We looked at each other in horror. The teacher has lost her mind. “What do you mean?” Ricardo asked her. She snapped her fingers at him. “Quiet.” She kept looking at us like prey. “ You all know the story of a man who kept his children in a box under his bed. They say his house is right there, at the end of this street.”
“And you want all of us to go there.” My friend Tora said. “Is this a joke?” Student in the back row asked.
“Children have been disappearing in this town. It’s time for us to find out what is going on. Your parents will never let you come back to school if the disappearings won’t stop.. do you want to stay inside? Never see your friends?”
“What if it’s dangerous,” Ricardo shook his head. She walked in front of him and smiled. “We’ll all stay together. It’ll be fine.”
We walked in a row keeping our heads down. It was raining and it was cold. Miss Nancy walked in the front with Stacy and Cohen. They were talking about the house. “We heard that the house used to belong to a witch, but she was imprisoned in the basement for the rest of her life.. and she died in hunger.”
Ms Nancy smiled “Another case of terrible misunderstanding. Perhaps she was just a regular woman. Now we are all haunted by her fate. History never forgets.”
I whispered to Tora, “Don’t you think Ms Nancy is acting odd?” Tora looked at her and shook her shoulders. “I’m not sure. Something feels off, but she’s always been impulsive.”
I decided to slow down my pace. My instincts were telling me not to follow this woman. Perhaps she had innocent motivation. Perhaps this was all part of some lesson in history class.
But I saw how she kept smiling to Stacy and Cohen. Something inside me kept telling me that I’m not dealing with a human anymore.
I’m going to call this the day 1. I’ve no recollection when I came here or how long I’ve been held as a captive. If anyone will read my story, please assume that it started from this moment. It is not what everyone assumed. The aliens. They are far more advanced than we could have even comprehended. They were waiting until we can advance to a certain point technologically, and then it was their plan to come here. They don’t communicate with words, but with telepathic images. They’re not really mass or even biological. It’s hard to describe.. something I’ve never seen before.
Day 2
I had to stop yesterday because they came for me. There are others here, not just me. I’m not sure what they’re doing to us but for now it seems like they are curious about our thoughts.. as if they’re curious what lead our species to the point of our demise. It’s too early to say do they have malicious intent or not.
Day 3
Looks like one of them specializes on me. They’re able to access on my memories. I think they’re testing if I’m able to hurt my friend. Not sure why they’re interested in that. They’re showing me all kinds of images of him. As if he was wrong and had to be punished.
Day 4
I’ve seen my friends starting to lose it. They’re becoming drooling idiots who obey every order. I’m starting to worry about my safety. My alien contact is changing his approach. I can tell he’s now more curious about me than before. I had to tell him we’re not like that, some of us have a sense of identity that leans to some .. principles.
Day 5
I was separated from my friends. Now I do not know where I am. It’s a new ship, new entities around me. They’re using me again in their experiments. Seems like this time they’re more curious about my physics. I think they’re doing something to my brain. I’ve been contained multiple times now and I can hear how they open up my skull or rib cage.
Day 6
I don’t think I can take these experiments for much longer. They’re messing up with my brains too much. It’s hard to remember what was.. before all this. What I had done.. before all this. I’m not sure if they’re changing my memories.. or are they showing me something I did not want to remember. A dark cold October night. When I had to sing for the celebration and my voice echoed in the steel building. How I had to look at someone in the eyes as we initiated the launch together. The alien wants to know why.. what why? Who why? We? Did I.. was I part of that?
Day 7
This is the story of, a person. This is no longer part of that
“Oh I see,” I heard her voice from the other side. I was in horror. This had never happened before. It was always the whole room that froze, this time I wasn’t alone.
“So, you’re like me.” The girl walked towards me with a grin on her wide face. “I don’t know about that,” I squeezed my voice. “We’ll I’m glad I’m not the only girl here who can do this..stuff.” She poked one of the people on the forehead and watched them fall.
“Why did you do that,” I was shocked. She smiled. “So I wonder if we were out here for a reason. To meet up or something?”
“Put together by why?” I coughed. My body was aching and my head spinning. “By the key keeper who else.” She looked at me like I was the crazy one.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here just to party.”
She sized me down and started nodding to herself with an arrogant look on her face. On that round annoying face. “I see.. so I was meant to find you.”
I shook my head. “Look I don’t think so. I want nothing to do with you,” my voice was shaking.
“You’re scared?” She smiled and walked towards me. “We’ll aren’t you a mouse. You should be though, you’ve got no idea what you’re in for.”
I walked away from her. “I honestly want nothing to do with you.”
“You have no choice, they key keeper is waiting for us.”
“The bee keeper?” I held my laughter. She looked dead serious.
The girl walked towards me faster and grabbed my hand.
“Let’s go then you bitch. We’ll see how funny it is. Laugh. Come one, LAUGH!!”
Her voice was distorting around me, I lost the sense of my body, the place even the sense of time was gone. I was trapped in a wind tunnel that never ended. The girl’s screams were echoing in my mind.
Tonight was one of those nights when josh has just came home from his work at the bar. It was late. He turned on his light, and dimmed it down. Just enough so he could watch his re-run of Stargate.
As he had comfortably watched first 3min of an episode he got up to get some snacks. He was hungry as hell after the long shift.
The hallway was dark but there was light in the kitchen. Josh stopped. He had goosebumps. He tried to see but it was dark. The far corner. Shape of a woman with long black hair. Leaning against the wall. He felt like he wanted to throw up. He ran to the kitchen and managed to turn on the lights on the hallway too.
A small hand touched his fingers. He freaked out.
They were always there. Josh had no idea how long they had followed him but it sure was a long time by now.
The faceless woman and the little girl, kept visiting him ever so often - even 30 years later.
The world will burn.
War. The planet will be brushed thoroughly with flames of war. It was official now.
I nearly tripped over my coffee table. It was a weird feeling. Like a tunnel with no light, no spirit, nothing I can comprehend. A bird in my window probably was thinking about the same thing. Or perhaps nothing.
Most likely nothing.
Sound came strong through my computer. “We’re coming for you,” that’s all I heard. Suddenly I realized I was trapped in an ant colony, never even thought about being enslaved. I did everything as I was told to, I approached the goals given any different day as it was my passion to complete them. The almighty was always pleased with me. I got my rewards weekly.
I lived my life in comfort, kept saying the same things. I smiled when greeting people, I took the side of the downtrodden. None of it mattered. I was part of the machine. I had became a cell of the almighty. My tasks were insignificant, none of them mattered in the grand scheme. I was nothing.
My life has been a lie. My words were all lies.
Today I finally realized it. And all I had to do was to break a taboo to do that. No wonder they control this.
So, they’re coming for me. I sat down and stared at my screen. The very same one that gave me in. Listened and recorded me for years. I did give my consent to it. That was back then.
A new email. I clicked it open. “Are you ready? Follow me and they won’t get you.” It said. There was a link. I opened the website and saw what it was called.
The world will burn.
“You can remove the bindings,” I whispered as my voice pushed down my sensitive throat.
The doctor stood beside me with a calm face. “There are no bindings.”
I looked down and saw my body. I couldn’t see my legs. “What did you do to me.”
The doctor started pacing around my bed. “Well, I didn’t.” He stopped. “You were chosen. I didn’t want to do this.” He looked around as he was being listened to.
“What. The. Hell. Are you talking bout. I have no legs!! What the fuck did you do?!!!”
“You were chosen..” he looked guilty.
“Chosen!!! For what!!” I was screaming and crying. I felt the panic race around my heart.
“.. part of a new program. Operation no-man’s land.”
“Program.. by who” I was panting. I could not believe what I just heard.
“You need to calm down, you’re having a panic attack.” The doctor came closer.
“BY WHO” I screamed. And cried. I spat on his face.
“It.. the orders came from the top.”
Tears rolled down on my face. “Th… this was supposed to be.. a paradise. They told me no one would ever be hurt.. or left behind.. this would be the new world..”
The doctor turned around and injected something into me. “You need to sleep now. They’re coming.”
“Who…” “The representatives, shhh.”
The door slammed open.
It was a total neon jungle, surrounded by depravity and insanity. I had no longer thought what my life could look like after I got back. I was in the moment, tormented by the choices I had made.
My hand was on the switch. Mr. Blue had his wide grin on. He did everything he could to make me uncomfortable.
“Think about it sir.. all those lives. For what? For your freedom! Is that it? The selfish “individualist” chooses himself! Is that the kind of legacy you want to leave? Sir.”
I looked at my finger holding on to the switch. “The game will not end unless I do this.” I grind my teeth in anger.
“Oh what is it? You don’t enjoy our little simulation?”
I took a deep breath. “ I have played. I have lost. I have won. I want this to end until I lose everything in me.”
“You realise.. once you do this you can never go back, do you understand?” His big sapphire eyes came closer and closer. His velvet hat was touching my hair. His skin was painted white. In the dark he looked like a ghost. A mad ghost.
“I know.” I looked into his eyes. I was not afraid. I knew there were many layers to his question. But I knew.
“They’re all going to die sir.”
I pushed the switch.
