Ends of the Earth [DNF]

Chapter 13: Arguing the truth

It seemed like time stood still. George knew that he'd just lost a big part of his leverage. He couldn't do much to help his current situation. The knife made it impossible to safely move away and the blonde's mind was now guarded because of his awaken state. He weighed his options: He could perhaps get away with his little sound-trick, but it would only work as a quick distraction and would ultimately lead to close combat, where George knew he was at a disadvantage.

His concluded that he had one option left. He closed his eyes. The cool metal was still resting against his throat, but he did his best at ignoring it. Darkness surrounded him until he felt the other one's closed mind. The word "Yes" appeared and he tried with every once of willpower get it to reach the closed mind. He didn't know if it would work, his experience with undergrounders were minimal. But because the sound had managed to affect the other, maybe words could too.

The answer came when the knife left his throat. He opened his eyes and faced the blonde who had now backed away. George decided to make the distance between them bigger, because it wasn't him holding the knife after all. It was now a good 10 meters between them. The entire situation made George feel vulnerable. They still had Dream's friend captured, as far as he knew. However, George couldn't decide on how impulsive his opponent was. The revelation could've been too much to handle. He held his gaze fixated on the other one, waiting for the next move.

"That's how you communicate." It was a statement, not a question. George furrowed his brows. Wasn't the reaction he'd expected. "And it was you who placed me on that imaginary fucking beach." The green eyes seemed to burn through his soul.

He once again cursed himself for the empathy he'd felt for the guy. George wasn't usually very emotional, but when the tormented memories had been thrown at him over and over, something had snapped. Although, they came from two completely different worlds, George had found himself relating, a little too much for his liking, to the other guy. That constant lounging: lounging for freedom, lounging for adventure, lounging to see what's out there.

George accepted defeat. "Yes." The green eyes kept analyzing him, like he was some sort of alien. "So what? You always know what I'm thinking?" George bit the inside of his cheek. Would it be wise to reveal all their secret? Maybe not, but it felt like it would reveal itself after a while anyways.

"No." The blonde raised an eyebrow. It seemed to be relieving to hear. "But you can infiltrate my mind whenever you feel like it?" George shook his head.

"Then how the fuck can you control my fucking dreams however you want?" That finally made George snap.

"Because your mind is like a goddamm open book when you sleep! I CAN'T block it out because trust me I would!" The response left the other speechless for a while, but George saw how his knuckles were white from squeezing the knife. "She was right, you're all freaks of nature." And the last remorse slipped away from George's conscious.

"We're not the once kidnapping innocent girls! She's twelve for fuck sake! Did the bunker really drain all of your empathy? What did we ever do to you? None of us have ever bothered you and if the choice was given, I would've never wanted to see any of you again." George spat

The blonde guy huffed condescendingly. "Trust me, the feeling is mutual. You think that my life is so easy, don't you? I'm nothing but a mere foot soldier. Don't you think I felt bad seeing that girl imprisoned? I didn't choose this life, I was born, given a schedule, put on a path with no right to questioning authorities. Too much rebellion and you're of no worth in the bunker anymore." A wave of guilt, sadness and anger hit George mind. He knew that the guy wasn't lying, but it didn't justify his actions.

"I don't have a choice; I do what I have to do to survive." The blonde uttered quietly. But George wouldn't cave that easily.

"Stop with your self-loading. There's always a choice. Humans possesses a free will. Always have and always will."

"Oh really? Do you believe that 100 000 years ago, when the Earth was on the brink of imploding on itself, that people had a choice, other than following authorities? That they fought back against the nuclear plants and overuse of recourses?"

"Yes." The guy raised an eyebrow at George's response. "You're so bloody brainwashed that you don't even seem to realize. History is always written by the "winners". You said it yourself, your leaders demand obedience. Why would they even suggest that people have ever question authorities?"

That finally put an end to their fight. George made a silent promise to never ever pity this man again.