Free Minds

Chapter 103.

   What was currently before us was nothing like the stage we were accustomed to as Zavolonians who'd sat in the assembly pod–the real one, I mean–in the past. The new, much bigger, way wider and dark-themed stage made it easy for any audience member to brace themselves for a horror movie.

   And the people on it didn't help.

   At the very centre, stood Speck, wearing the stupid smile he'd left us with before dropping this bomb. Positioned at the left and right ends of the stage was a Yunie each, armed with laser guns, whose demeanour indicated that all any of us had to do was blink too hard for them to pounce.

   How did I know that, you ask?

   Well, not to brag, but right now, I could see and feel the right alien's glare crawling through my bones as my eyelids kept fluttering to suppress the tears that wouldn't stop trying to come out of me.

   And no, that wasn't because of Speck. Or the Yunies.

   And it certainly wasn't because of the shameless smirk Landon, our most trusted traitor, who was a few feet behind our principal, directed toward us.

   The reason was right next to Landon.

   Arms and legs strapped to an uncomfortable looking seat and out of breath for what I could imagine were the worst reasons was Dorian.

   In addition to doing my best not to bawl, I had to keep gulping down the relentless ball that kept rising to my throat at intervals.

   The sweat on his glistening forehead caused most of his hair to cling to it, while the rest stuck out in all directions, an indication that his hair had gone through multiple merciless yanks. The zip of Dorian's upper armour was open all the way, putting the tattoo on his perspiring chest in full display and for anyone with eyes to see the dried grey coloured liquid– alien blood I'm assuming– that dripped from it at a moment in time. He was fully clothed in all other areas but that didn't hinder my belief that the glaring bruises on his torso and cheek weren't the only ones on his body.

   Not that I was counting the seconds or anything, but his current state was just too much for the brief time we'd been apart.

"Why are they still here, Speck?" Dorian's words came out slow, scratchy, and–by how he winced with each word–laced with pain.

"Dorian," I noticed how Rav's eyes shone as he whispered.

"Before you say anything," Speck walked from the stage's centre to stand beside Dorian. "I know that he asked for it. We had a deal. Isn't that right, Dorian?"

"And yet they're still here." Dorian shrugged off the hand Mr. Speck placed on his shoulder. "You said you were going to let them go if I let you do whatever you wanted with me to find out how exactly I was connected to Mr. Sacury's antidote."

   Speck clamped his hand over Dorian once more as he burst into laughter. "Your gullibility makes me find it very hard to recognise how Mr. Sacury thought you were the answer. It's not a deal if I could do whatever I wanted with you anyway, You were giving me what I already had! What made you think for a second that I was going to let them go?"

"So what exactly do you want from us at this point?!" I spat. "You've already gotten Mr. Sacury's hidden message. You have Dorian now. Or, let me guess, you brought us here to give us an in person monologue before getting rid of us."

"On the contrary, Beth," Speck said, "through your actions, you guys have proven to be more than worthy to be a part of this revolution."

"How many times do we have to drum it into your thick skull that we will never join you?" Rav seethed.

"Oh, you will," Our principal waved a dismissive hand. "You just need a little something to... change your minds."

   Clicking sounds came one after the other, from the two ends of the stage. I glanced over at the Yunies, my stomach lurching when I realised that in their free hands were two shiny metals that I remembered from not only a past event, but in the many nightmares I'd been traumatised with afterwards involving them.

   Placement guns.

   Judging by the paleness and terror that distorted Rav and Camila's features, it was obvious they also recalled my narration of the girl in the classroom on Liberation Week who'd had the placement guns used on her.

"Now for your friend here," Speck's hand sunk into Dorian's hair. "I got to discover why Sacury thought he was the key to ending all of this."

   On instinct, my body flinched when he suddenly grabbed a fistful of Dorian's locks. What scared me was how Dorian didn't even bat an eye to that violent act. I guess I was right about the constant hair yank. He'd been made numb now.

   Beside me was Rav shaking from what I first believed was horror for his brother. It was when he spoke that I found out how rage that could no longer stay pent up burst out.

"What did you do to him?!" a vein on his temple was dangerously prominent as he yelled. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER, ASSHOLE?"

   Rav would have gotten to the stage if Camila and I hadn't been quick enough to hold him back. I wasn't going to pretend to understand Rav's pain, but I knew Speck didn't bring us here to see Dorian like this for no reason. And I'm pretty sure that reason had to do with the Yunies holding the placement guns. We had to be on guard if we still wanted a chance to save Dorian.

"You're so lucky to have such smart friends, Rav," Speck grinned down at her and me. "To answer your question, I did absolutely nothing to Dorian, but believe me, I really tried."

   That set Rav in motion once more. Fortunately, Cami and I had not let go of him yet for him to actually go anywhere.

"What the hell does that mean?" Rav asked.

   Our principal's attention had drifted away from us to the phone screen in his hand that appeared out of nowhere. I was starting to think this psycho had forgotten he was the only one in this room until he looked up to say, "I prefer to show, not tell."

   And leaving it at that, a large holographic screen appeared from the phone to loom in the open area above us. Without meaning to, my feet took several steps back to get a better view of the enormous image that filled the room.

   Anticipation dissipated though, when I found myself staring at the holographic version of an image I already knew.

"Ohh...a three-dimensional version of Dorian's tattoo?" Rav ended that statement with claps so prolonged you could hear the sarcasm oozing from each one. "And here we were thinking mind controlling was your only special skill."

   That triggered a hearty laugh from Mr. Speck. "Your appreciation of my talent will not go unforgotten, Rav."

"Just tell us why you're showing us this," he scowled.

"Believing, just like you, that the tattoo was what made him immune, I tried everything to take it off, only to find out the thing is virtually unerasable," Speck said. "That only strengthened my will to get rid of what I thought was going to ruin all that I'd created. So I decided to try a different angle. I was going to attack the problem from within. But before I could do that, I needed prior insight into what I was about to do."

   I scoffed, "So that's your justification for cutting and making him bleed out? To get the insight you so craved?"

   He proceeded like I'd spoken to the wind. "During my insight, I discovered something that will blow your minds like it did mine."

A/N: What do you think Speck found out? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading! Please don't forget to vote!

@Wattpad @WattpadExplorer @WattpadOutreach @Ambassadors @TeenFiction @mystery  @ScienceFiction