Free Minds

Chapter 119.

   It had been a month, but that was still not enough time to quell the worldwide buzz surrounding the news about the mind-controlled Zavlonians, the Yunies and Speck since the key parts of the police statements Rav, Camila and I gave from our homes a week after everything occurred had leaked the very next day.

   Pressure from world leaders, influencers and the masses forced the government to be sincere and transparent in how it would deal with the matter.

   Because of that, not even Speck's billions could save him from the heaps of criminal charges and lawsuits from Zavolonian parents, human rights organisations and other international bodies. His money, however, played the role of sponsoring the surgical procedure and treatment process on the brains of every mind-controlled person in the Tunnel to remove the remnants of the mind-controlled devices Dorian destroyed as well as the heavily sedated teachers.

   The driver in the vehicle I'd ordered pulled to a stop at my destination. I stepped out just in time to see Camila leaving the building with her parents.

"Hey, Cami!" I waved, running toward her. "Wait!"

"Hi, Beth!" She greeted me when I reached her.

"How are you?" I couldn't hide my surprise.

   I hadn't seen her in person since that night. Unlike Dorian, she hadn't suffered any major injuries. After she was discharged from the hospital, we would have met if not for her... restrictions.

   Due to Camila being a minor, her turning on Speck, contributing to ending his plans and cooperating with the police in every way, she was not punished for being Speck's accomplice.

   This didn't mean, however, that the authorities let her go without any consequences. Based on what her parents told me, she was under three-month house arrest, with the exception that she goes into the streets for community service (hence my shock that she was here) and therapy. She had no access to any forms of devices capable of communication, which included her phone, laptop and any of her other devices that could make talking with her possible.

"Good, good." She beamed once her parents gave us space. "You?"

"Yeah, me too."

   Then as if Cami was in my head a few seconds ago, she said, "My parents were able to pull some strings to get me out of the house once they heard he'd woken up."

   Huh. That made sense.

   Once she brought me to the reason I was here, I couldn't resist asking, "So, how is he?"

"He's... good," Her gaze dropped to the ground as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Not a scratch on him."

   I nodded, my eyes clearly urging her to go on.

   But when Camila looked back up, I was disappointed when she just stared down and muttered, "I don't want to keep my parents waiting so I'm gonna go."

   She strode off before I could say goodbye

   That was weird.

   But then again, who was I to judge? All I needed was a week for my minute social skills to be out the window if I was cooped up in my house with no one to talk to but Mum like Camila was with her parents.

   Shrugging that moment off, I turned to the Hooda residence, taking a deep breath as my fingers reached for the doorbell. Before they made contact though, the gate in front of me began to slide open, revealing the magnificent 50,000 square foot estate belonging to Rav's family.

   This scenery was not new to me, since I'd come here many times in the past month, but it always left me gaping in awe.

   I was drawn back to earth when I saw the main house from a distance, which itself constituted over 30,000 square feet of space with the many spacious rooms and facilities that always make me question how in the hell Dorian and Rav survived in our motel rooms that were pretty much microorganisms in comparison to this.