Grounded | The Trapped Trilogy

Three (Part 4)

Three (Part 4)

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I stand in a yellow desert. In a circle around me, maybe fifteen feet from my toes, there is something that reminds me of a moat, purple water shaped like a perfectly circular river about seven feet across, and who knows how deep down.

A burning in my throat tells me I'm thirsty, so I walk over to the water and bend down to take a sip, but when I put my hand in, the solution is thicker than water should be. It's the serum. The serum that turned me. That turned everyone.

I back up a bit, looking down at the water. I see a darkfigure floating to the surface. It's not moving.

When it breaks the surface, I see that it's one of the boys that I had handed over to be Upgraded. The one with the freckles and light hair. He doesn't move, doesn't breathe... He just floats there on top of the liquid as if he had drowned.

A pang of sadness sends tears up into my eyes. I stand up and breathe. I don't cry. I never cry. Why would I be crying? I don't even know this guy. He's a complete stranger. All I did was exchange a few words with him, yelled at him, threatened him. I don't know him. I don't know him.

Another sound makes me spin around.

Breaking the surface of the water on the other side is the other boy, the one with the dark hair. He doesn't stir either, face up towards the purple sky.

I walk over to him, and a tear drips onto my cheek.

I wipe it away and look at it on my hand.

Purple. My tears are purple like the serum.

Another sound of something breaking the surface.

I turn to my right to see the brunette girl break the surface, her eyes closed and her body stiff like the others. Water moving to my left. The Reuther that had gone with them. All four of them do not stir, and I spin in a circle slowly to see them all.

"It hurts..." I hear behind me.

I turn to see a little boy with a purple spot on his arm on the other side of the moat.

"Help me," He whispers.

Suddenly, all four floating figures open their eyes and sit up in the water, their eyes glazed over as they look at me. They each make their way out of the purple liquid and stand at the waters edge, looking at me intensely. Their bodies are soaked to the bone with the serum, but it falls off them easily, slowly, leaving dryness behind, as if they hadn't been in the liquid at all.

They don't move for a good while, but they just stare at me. I'm not even sure they're breathing...

"...I'm drowning... I'm drowning and I'm not even swimming yet..."

I look around to see who said that, but none of the people around me have moved a muscle. The voice seemed to have come from all around me, like it had been shouted over a loud speaker.

Then everyone starts moving at once.

The freckled boy takes a step.

"Thank you, Thank you for caring."

The dark haired boy thrusts out his hand.

"Don't freak out. You can trust me."

The girl cups her hands, holding something out to me.

"So we match."

The alien steps forward.

"I was afraid..."