The Purity Project

Chapter 24

Jada opened her eyes, blinking in the sunlight. She sat up in her bed, and scanned the room. Panic flooded through her as she remembered what had happened. She sprinted over to the door and tried to pull it open, but it was locked. She ran to the windows, but they were locked as well. Feeling defeated, she stumbled over to a full-sized mirror in the corner of the room. The girl that stared back at her was a stranger. The band-aid on her cheek. The way her shoulders sagged. The glassy look in her eyes. This was not the Jada who had straight A's and dreamed of being a volleyball captain. 

Jada wandered around the room. It didn't seem like a prison cell. The walls were beige with a golden tint, and the king-size bed that she had woken up in was probably the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in. 

"Mom would have loved this room," Jada whispered to herself, crouching down onto the fluffy rug. She held back tears as she imagined her mother all alone in their house, not knowing where her two children had gone to.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and two guards carrying large guns stalked into the room. They glanced down at Jada, and motioned for her to stand.

"Where am I? What are you going to do to me?" Jada asked, but the guards grabbed her arms and forced her toward the door.

"No questions. Just keep walking," one of the guards replied, pointing the gun at Jada's back.

"Fine," Jada mumbled, exiting the room and making her way down the hall. On the walls were large paintings of Marolo's past leaders. They all had the same intimidating look, and it made Jada shudder. She reminded herself that this was why she had to keep fighting. To stop another power-hungry dictator from controlling her country.

They reached a large metal door, and one of the guards blocked Jada's sight while the other guard punched in a code. The door swung open, and the guard pushed Jada inside.

"In you go," one of the guard's said, and they shut the door behind her.

Jada sighed and walked further into the room. The room was lined with bookshelves that were filled with hundreds of folders. A long desk stood in the center of the room, and sitting in a chair behind it was a tall man with slick blond hair and icy blue eyes.

"Hello Jada Stone," the man said, his voice cold.

"President Rowan." Jada nodded, and she clenched her fists, trying to stop her legs from shaking.

"You've caused quite a problem, haven't you?" President Rowan stood and made his way over to Jada.

"I like to think that I helped fix a problem." Jada forced herself to stare directly into his eyes.

President Rowan frowned. "Fifty years ago, a small group of people rallied up our country, and they started a revolution. It resulted in a massive amount of death, and it could have led to the downfall of Marolo. But our brave leaders stepped up and helped rebuild our country."

"I know this story already. We were taught that the revolutionaries were the ones in the wrong, but all that death happened because of the government!" Jada snapped.

"They stepped out of line! Our democracy would have collapsed if we didn't do what we did!" President Rowan boomed.

"What democracy? We never elected you, or the past presidents! You're a dictator! The people should be running this country, not you!" Jada retaliated.

"The people do not know how to run a country. That is why I proposed the Purity Project."

"You were trying to control people!"

"I was trying to save them!" President Rowan screamed. "I wanted to protect them from having ridiculous ideas of forming rebellions."

"You killed innocent people! I watched a girl lose her mother!"