TW: Gore
Class finally ends. Home ec usually only last for around 20 minutes but with Chantel and Aimiah being there that 20 minutes felt like hours.
I sigh as I quickly pack up my stuff while Aimiah and Chantel argued for the 10th time this morning.
"I'm just saying, the broken heart near your eye is rather tacky."
Aimiah scoffed as she belittled Chantel. I took notice of how Chantel's patience was at its limit. Her face was scrunched up as she practically growls at Aimiah.
"My heart isn't tacky bitch! It is a meaningful symbol that YOU wouldn't understand. What would you know about getting your heart broken? All you do is sit around all day and abuse the power your bitch of a mom gave you."
My right eye twitched slightly as Aimiah let out a loud gasp. Her offended look encouraged me to pack my bag faster than before. Once I'm done I quickly stand up and bolt out of the door. Aimiah's distant yells of my name could be heard as I rush through the halls.
Once I feel that I am far enough from them I slow down and release a breath I didn't know I was holding in. As I walk down the hall I feel a hand wrap around my bicep, yanking me into a dark room.
The pull was enough to knock me on the ground as I hear the door lock. My breathing picks up as I panic and crawl to the nearest wall. Is this the person that was watching me? It can't be, I would have felt them watching me before getting yanked in here.
As my mind was sent into overdrive footsteps creaked closer toward me before-
"Y/n"
I jump as I recognize that voice.
"SHAE?! WHAT GIVES? YOU SCARE THE HELL OUT OF ME!"
I hear Shae let out a giggle as she turns the lights on. I look around with my hand against my racing heart. We are in a supply closet. Why would she bring me here? Why did she feel the need to yank me in rather than just asking to talk to me?
Shae's face shifted from amused to concern. Bending down to my level she looks at me worried.
"Sorry. I didn't know I would scare you this much but I really needed to talk to you."
My eyes narrow at her before I spoke.
"Why didn't you just ask? If you would have just told me you needed to talk to me I would have willingly come here with you. For elite's sake, you have my number. You could have just texted."
I went on an angry rant while Shae kept calling my name. Before I know it my head is snapped to the side. My jaw drops as I turn back to Shae, who looked as equally shocked as me.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. You were rambling and I didn't know how to stop you."
Shae kept apologizing for a little more until we both eventually calmed down.
"So what do you need to talk to me about?"
I said after catching my breath. I rub my cheek as Shae fully sat down from her squat position and scooted closer to me. She looked nervous.
"I-there-this town-ugh."
She struggled to get any of her words out. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Yesterday I went to take a walk by the bay when I notice a slight glow in the water. I decided to swim over to take a look next thing you know I'm swimming right into a wall. I think it was some sort of invisible barrier that had a slightly purplish hue to it."
I know what she's talking about. The shield that protects us from the world but also keeps us from leaving. I would know...I've tried leaving before.
"Turns out that glowing barrier thing goes around the whole damn town. When I went to go ask someone about it I was stopped by a guard. I thought you were messing around when you told me about a shield that won't let anyone in or out. But to see it in person is crazy."
Shae rubs her temple as she stands and begins to pace back in forth. Her frizzy blonde hair sticks out more than usual making her look slightly insane. It also doesn't help that light eye bags have begun to occupy her face.
"Then the guard that stopped me brought me to this weird building with a bunch of people wearing a full face masks and red robes. She kept referring to them as "the council". The council of what remains a mystery but trust me I WILL figure it out. I'll figure this whole town out. No brick will be left unturned."
She started to cackle and twitch. Has she lost it? Why was she brought to the council? No one is brought there unless they are losing faith in the elites or if their rank is being changed. That's it, maybe they was just giving her a rank.
Shae suddenly stops laughing to herself as her pacing comes to a halt. Her head snaps towards me, almost in an unnatural way.
"You believe me, don't you? You'll help me get out of here, right? I-I-I can bring you with me. We can leave together."
I stared at her confused and slightly terrified at that notion.
"If you didn't want to be here so bad then why did you come here? How did you get here in the first place? Besides, even if we were to escape where are we to go? What makes you think we would be able to get away from the elites? Much less survive to even make it past the vast body of water."
As I throw questions at Shae to try and sway any of her common sense she begins to roll both of her hands into a fist as she proceeds to hit herself in the head with them repeatedly.
"I don't know, I don't know, I DON'T KNOW!"
I shut my mouth quickly as Shea's voice booms through the small room. She leans against the door before sliding down onto the floor with a sob.
"I just don't know, okay? I don't even know how I got here. I just woke up and I was here. I don't know why or how or even where I originally came from. I know I should have told you before but I was scared of what you would think of me. All I know is I want out of this stupid weird town, island, wherever this is."
She continues to sob as she has a mini mid-life crisis. I watch her in silence as she continues to pound her fists against her head violently. Her body quaked under the stress.
I sigh slightly before scooting over towards her. Once I'm sitting in front of her I quickly catch both of her fists before they connect to her head again. Bringing her fist into my lap, I look her in the eyes.
Those beautiful hazel eyes that usually give me butterflies are now filled with dread. I wish I could say something, anything, to take this fear away. To take this pain away. But sadly, the only thing I can really do is just be there for her.
"Shae. As much as I would love to escape with you, we simply can't. We wouldn't even make it to the bay before the elites catch wind of what we're doing and have us sent to the slaughter house."
The tears continue to roll down Shae's flushed face. She sniffles as she nods her head. I lift one of my hands to dry her tears. As I wipe away her tears I feel her nuzzle her cheek deeper into my palm as the sniffling ceased.
"Trust me. I've tried escaping too many times to know that it doesn't work. It will never work. The sooner you accept it the better off your life will be."
I remove my hand from her face as she gives me a saddened look. We stare at each other for a few seconds until I notice this determination light up in her eyes.
"No."
I tilt my head confused with one brow in the air.
"No?"
She shakes her head.
"No. I refuse to give up. Don't you see what they are doing? I know men can be terrible but do they really deserve this?"
Shae leans towards me as her voice drops to a whisper.
"I know you feel guilty when you watch everything take place around you. We could end this guilt. We can be free y/n. Don't you want to be free?"
I bite my lip as I look away from Shae. She continues to pester me about freedom before I eventually snap.
"No Shae! You are right, I feel guilty but I am not willing to have my rank drop any lower to save another boy. If my rank goes any lower I can be stripped of my female attributes and be deemed a worthless male. I could be sent to the slaughterhouse. I COULD END UP AS THE ELITE'S NEXT MEAL! So no Shae, I'm sorry, but I am not helping you. Figure it out yourself."
In a fit of rage, I stand up with my satchel before shoving Shae out of the way of the door and storming out. I can't- I can't help another boy again. I just can't.
I feel hot tears pour down my face, leaving a burning trail in their wake. As I blindly storm off, I wipe the tears off my face before running into something. No, someone. The force knocked me to the ground.
"Oh no. My poor baby, are you alright?"
I look up with blurry vision. There Aimiah stands with a worried look in her eye. Although, I can see a slight hint of joy sparkling in those deep blue eyes. Why is she happy I'm crying? Is she really that evil?
Before I know it Aimiah scoops me up into her arms. Aimiah runs her fingers through my hair delicately as she whispered into my ear.
"Now, now, who would possibly make you cry? Was it Chantel again?"
Shaking my head, I sniffed as my mind began to churn. I don't know why but I don't want to tell Aimiah anything about my encounter with Shae. Aimiah looked at me expectingly as she continues to gently scratch my scalp.
I bite my lip as I decide to lie to Aimiah. I doubt any harm would come from it.
"It- it was just some boy. H-he just s-said some stuff that brought back some o-o-old memories."
I stuttered as I tried to think of the lie on the go. Aimiah pulls away from me slightly. Looking at me with a blank expression. For a moment I thought that maybe she could see right past my terrible lie until she spoke.
"His name."
"Wh-what."
"I want his name y/n. Now."
I shook slightly in fear as her voice filled with venom.
"I-I didn't c-catch hi-"
Aimiah grabs my chin and forces me to look up at her.
"I know you know his name. I won't ask again y/n. What is his name?"
The poison in her voice felt constricting. I began to sweat as her blue eyes stared into my soul. The grace she possesses is now being used as a weapon against me. Her calm attitude with the narrowing of her eyes gave her a deadly appearance. With a gulp, I made up a fake name.
"Um oh right h-his na-name. He-his name is, um, Hubert. Yes, Hubert, that's h-his name."
I mentally faced palm. Who the hell is Hubert? No matter. I haven't heard that name in town before so I doubt this person even exists. Aimiah continues to analyze me blankly before blinking a few times and giving me one of her award-winning smiles.
"See. Now was that so hard."
Aimiah coos at me as she holds me close again. Usually, I would try to get away from her but I'm mentally drained at this point. I let her hold me for a while longer til I am strong enough to push her away.
"T-thanks, I guess"
I mumbled as I walk away from her. She gives me a pleased smile before watching me walk down the hall.
The rest of the day moves on rather slowly. Lunch was also uneventful if I don't count Chantel and Aimiah's arguing alongside Shae's absence and Diara's nervousness.
Sighing as I trudge my way home, ignoring the construction sight and the slashing sound of a wipe hitting skin. I unlock the door as I continue to text Diara about an upcoming project. Once I enter the house I close the door behind me and walk to the living room before hitting against something.
Out of fear, I jumped back dropping my phone in the process. Looking up, I see a guy?! He is tan with dirty blonde hair. I'd never seen this guy before in my life but here he is.
His eyes were gouged out and his face was beaten to a bloody pulp. His jaw was completely removed leaving his tongue to hang out from the lack of support. 'Bully' and 'remember your place' was carved multiple times all over his body. Clear strings were attached to his arms, hands, and neck. Following the string I noticed that someone has placed hooks at the top of my roof and tied the strings to it, making the guy dangle in the air lifeless. Blood seeped from the strings and also trickled from his shirt. All of the blood dripped onto the bloody puddle building up on the floor indicating that this is a fresh kill.
I gasp as I shakily back up tripping over a loose floorboard behind me. I fell hitting my head against the metal door frame before sliding to the floor and blacking out immediately.