“Let’s get Melissa to see him. She needs to decide what we’re doing with him next.” There was a moment of silence. “I know he is, but we didn’t really have a choice. Fine. I’ll report back after I’m done.” I couldn’t hear the second person in the conversation, so whoever was talking was probably on the phone. I opened my eyes. A bright line was shining on my face. I raised a hand to cover my eyes, only to find it tied down. I tried my other hand, with the same results. My ankles were tied down too. Where was I? The walls of the room were a dark grey, except for one that was covered with a yellowy-white curtain. I was tied down to a metal table. “Hello?” I called out, my voice rough. The curtain was thrown open, and one person walked in, stuffing a phone into her pocket. She was wearing a grey sweater and blue jeans. “Maggie?”
“Hello, Elias. How are you feeling?” she asked, picking up a clipboard with a few papers on it. I looked down at my hands. “I’ve been better. Where am I, and why am I here?” She sighed and set down the clipboard. “I can’t tell you that, unfortunately. We found evidence that the Elite were tracking you, and were connected to your mind. It was irresponsible enough to bring you here, it would be outright stupid for me to give you any information that could be relayed back to them. All I can tell you is that you are safe, and you are lucky to be alive. This will all be over soon.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” I shot back.
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Maggie smiled sadly and grabbed the clipboard again. “I have no doubt.” With that, she left. “Come back!” I shouted after her. “Don’t leave me here! Your ‘rebellion’ isn’t going to work! Come back! They’re tricking you into hurting your friends! They’re going to kill me! And you’ll be to blame. Get back here!” I didn’t know if that was me talking or Eliet. I hoped it was him. Then, I started fighting against the restraints. “I need someone down here, with a tranq serum,” I heard Maggie say. Running footsteps approached me. A doctor in a white coat burst into my area, carrying a syringe. I tried pulling my hand to my chest, hoping that if I had a free hand, I could fight the doctor. Why couldn’t I break it? I was Reaper, this should be easy. Then, I realised I wasn’t Reaper. I wasn’t wearing my robes. My dagger and knives were gone. I was… normal. The doctor pushed the needle into my neck, and I instantly lost my will to keep fighting. My muscles relaxed, and I closed my eyes in defeat.
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I didn’t realise that I had fallen asleep until a sharp beep woke me up. I sat up, only for my bound hands to keep me down. Right. I’d forgotten about that. I felt something tap my foot. I looked down and saw a person dressed completely in black crouched down on the floor. She held a finger to her mouth and showed me a key card with a magnet inside. She waved it over the cuffs on my ankles. They beeped and unlocked. I watched this stranger calmly as she unlocked the wrist cuffs. I sat up, rubbing my wrists. “Thank you,” I said quietly. She nodded and placed a folded piece of paper on the table near the curtain. Then, she ran past the curtain and was gone.
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I swung my legs off the table, stretching my tired body. I needed to get to that paper. I walked towards the table. And promptly fell over. I rolled over onto my back, my legs as useful as jelly. Great. I was finally able to move, but my legs didn't work. Just great. I sat up and pulled myself back onto the table. My legs still hung over the side. I could feel them, but they didn’t hold me up when I tried to stand. Maybe I just wasn’t used to walking in my normal form yet, since I’d gotten used to moving around as Reper. I just needed some time. I stood up again, this time supporting most of my weight with my arms and the table. I stayed standing. I took a deep breath and took a step forward, still leaning on the table heavily. As I took slow steps, I slowly started to take my weight off the table. There were three full steps between me and the table. I was almost there. I almost had it. I took my hands off the table and took another step. I stayed standing.
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Another step, and- “What do you think you’re doing?” a voice asked. My concentration was immediately broken, and I tumbled to the floor. “I was almost there! Can’t you just leave me alone?” I shouted, looking up at the person who’d walked in. It was Melissa. “What do you want?” I asked her. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I heard someone moving around in here, and wanted to check it out. We can’t have you getting hurt, and you are in a… less than preferable position in terms of control over yourself. So why don’t you lay back down on the table? It would be a lot safer, for all of us.” I sighed and took Melissa’s hand when she offered it to me. She helped me back to the table, then stepped back. “Do you want me to bring the paper to you?” she asked. I wanted to shake my head. I wanted to say that I didn’t need help. I wanted to say I could get it myself. But, I knew that I did need help. I knew I couldn’t get it myself. So, I nodded. Melissa grabbed the paper and handed it to me. “Enjoy. I’ll come back in a little while. I’ve been talking to some of the other leaders, and we’re developing a plan for what to do with you.” I decided not to be worried about that statement, and instead, unfold the piece of paper.
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Don’t trust anyone, especially her. Your only ally here is yourself. They will try to break you. You must remain strong. For all of us. You are going to go into the hallway at 8:34 tonight. Melissa will be waiting for you. You are going to go with her, and do whatever she asks. Don’t make anything harder for yourself, or for her. It will be easier that way.
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I put down the paper. Wow. If I couldn’t trust anyone, why should I trust whoever left me this? Who was the person who freed me, and why did she want me to know this? And why 8:34? “What time is it?” I asked Melissa. She checked her watch. “7:30. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” Melissa was going to be outside at 8:34, but that didn’t mean that I should tell her about the note. Don’t trust her. Why? All of my questions would be answered in a little more than an hour. I asked Melissa for a clock, and within minutes, a clock was mounted on the wall. No one tied me back down. Either they didn’t care, or it didn’t matter anymore. I waited as the minutes painfully ticked by. Finally, it was time to go. I grabbed the note and tucked it into the pocket of the grey sweatpants I’d been wearing for as long as I’d been here, wherever that was. I climbed off the table and carefully walked towards the curtain. I pulled back the edge to get my first glimpse of the place I was being held in. I saw Melissa. Then, an armed guard grabbed my wrists and forced my arms behind my back. She locked handcuffs on. “I have so many questions right now,” I said, not putting up a fight as the guard tied a blindfold around my eyes. “I’m sure you do, Elias,” Melissa said. “I’m sure you do.” I was forced forward by someone. I stumbled slightly but kept most of my footing. I walked blindly in silence, the footsteps of two people accompanying me being the only thing that made me sure I wasn’t alone. Well, that, and the hand on my shoulder pushing me along.
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I walked in darkness until a hand pulled me back. I stopped and heard Melissa say, “Bella, you can take off his blindfold.” My blindfold was ripped off, and cool light flooded my eyes. Melissa was standing to my right, and Bella was standing to my left. I was facing a long hallway. The walls were made of jagged rock. It seemed to be carved into a mountain. “Where are we?” I asked. “Well, you are looking at the end of the tunnel we just came out of. If you turn around, you will see the rest of the rebel base. It’s completely underground, to avoid detection. We created it underneath Bayforte Mountain, by the eastern edge of the fence.” I turned and saw a metal railing. Walking up to it, I looked down. There was a hole in the ground, reaching down hundreds of metres. Wrapping around the outside of the hole was a walkway, reaching up even higher than when I was. On the sides of the walkway, there were many doors, all leading to various locations with various purposes. I could see the bottom of the hole, where people were milling around. “What is this place?”
“Welcome, Elias, to the home of the rebellion against the Elite. We call ourselves, The Rebels Inside Bayforte And Under the Mountain. Or, T.R.I.B.A.U.M. I know that name means something to you, as well as the Elite. Our leaders decided that using a name that hit the Elite close to home could have… interesting effects.”
“Who are these leaders?” I asked. “Mariah and I are the main two. We have about a half-dozen more in specific areas.”
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Mariah was leading a rebellion? How had I never known about that before? Mariah told me everything, she trusted me. But maybe she had been given the same instructions as me. Maybe I only thought she trusted me. “Why didn’t she tell me?” I asked, gripping the railing tightly. “You were not accessible when T.R.I.B.A.U.M. got up and running. It would have been an unnecessary risk to try to get a message to you.” I nodded numbly. “Can I talk to her? Please?” I begged. Melissa pulled her lips into a tight line and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Elias. Not yet,” she said quietly. “Fine. That’s fine,” I responded, defeated. “Do you want me to show you around T.R.I.B.A.U.M. base some more?” I shook my head. “I just want to go home with my family and friends.” 219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGAEj4VRfM
“Elias, you of all people should know that that is impossible. Come with me, let’s find you a real room now that you are going to be staying with us for a while. We can get you one near your friends. Sammy and Maggie, correct?” I nodded, following Melissa down the path. “Do you have Logan, too?” I asked. “No, we do not. We were not looking for any of the demons. Only Reaper. Only you. Last I heard, after you were brought here and slipped back into human form, the demons changed back as well and all went to the Brick. The Elite probably called them back. The Elite make you think you have control over the demons, Elias, but it was always them. The Elite always have the final say. None of the demons can do anything that the Elite doesn’t want them to. If we could have brought him with you, we would have.” I didn’t care. I just wanted to know where my brother was. I didn’t want him to be here, actually. I was scared that I might kill him. I don’t know where the hatred for him came from, but it was filling every single memory I had of him. I hated that he helped me hurt people. I wanted him dead. I wanted all of the demons dead.
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Melissa brought me into a room close to the bottom of the base. It looked very different from my room on floor fifty. There was a white couch right after I walked in, with bookshelves and a rug. There were colourful pillows, and there were large windows looking out of the room. They were one-way windows. I could tell because I hadn’t seen them when I was walking down the path, but now, it was hard to miss them. Melissa led me to another room, accessible through a sliding door. There was a large bed, with grey sheets and crisp pillows. A lamp was in the corner, casting a warm glow on the entire room. “What do you think?” Melissa asked with her hands clasped behind her back. “It’s… nice, I guess,” I said, looking around the room, inspecting every single part of it. “Wonderful. I’ll leave you to get settled, and I’ll have someone come over later to give you some more information about life with T.R.I.B.A.U.M.” She walked away, out of the room. I sighed and climbed onto the bed. It was impossible for me to feel any more out of place with T.R.I.B.A.U.M. I shouldn’t be here. Yes, you should be, I thought. You have fought hard for your place, and are finally being recognised. You deserve this. Don’t lose your chance. I got up and left my room. I was right. I deserved this. And now that I was here, there was no stopping me. I tapped my left ear as I was walking. “Eliet, are you there?” I heard a quiet laugh. “I’m here, listening and ready, Reaper.” I smiled. “I’m in. You’re not going to want to miss this. Activate cameras two and five.” There were two small beeps, and two tiny red dots appeared, one on my right shoulder, and the other on my left hip. Cameras, so the Elite could have a full view of the events that took place in T.R.I.B.A.U.M.’s base. I clapped my hands above my head. My robes fell around me, and my body heated up. I ran forward. Melissa would regret bringing Reaper into the one place she was safe.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKrKqXKx7I
