Alyssa's Asylum

His Revelation

Chapter Four:

Today is another Torture Day. It is also the day of my Escape. On the walk down to the Center Room, I am only escorted by one Vigilant, the boy with long brown hair in waves and deep-set black eyes. My eyes flirt around the hallway, feigning fear, when instead I'm trying to stop the guard from moving so fast.

"I know what you're doing,"

My heart stops for the tiniest sliver of a second. I say nothing, for fear that I may scream in frustration.

"And I don't blame you. I'm trapped here, too," the boy says again in just a whisper.

"No, you're not. You're a Vigilant, and I'm a Peasant," I respond, my voice cracking a little from fear and wonder.

"Do you know where the Vigilants come from?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"Alyssa-" he says, but I cut him off.

"Why don't you just turn me in?"

"Because, Ally, I thought you would remember me. It's me, Jayk,"

*

Rain poured down from the sky in a soft rhythm. I sat under a tree, letting my dirty floral patterned shirt get wet. Jayk Oliver, with his sturdy shoulders even at age seven throws a football against a fence. I laugh as he misses and the pigskin goes over the top and into the next yard. He gives me a friendly glare and slips through a muddy hole near the bottom.

"Catch," Jayk yells from the other side, breaking the silence. He throws a wobbly ball to me, and I catch it, but not without stumbling backwards. I bite my lip and push it back to him.

I was never a social person, and Jayk would rather focus on sports than people, so we got along okay. We were normally paired up for partners, and once you got to know him, he was actually kind of funny.

People said Jayk liked me. I doubted it fully. In second grade, I didn't want a love, plus, I had a lot to do with working hard to feed my family, including newborn Adelie. And, Jayk was never the sort of person to be more than just friends with.

Jayk and I drifted away in third grade, when I met my best friend, Kiera. Jayk didn't really like Kiera, so I let him leave me. In fourth grade, he went missing. I was worried a little at first for my childhood friend, but I knew the Vigilants would take care of it. His parents said they weren't worried, so I thought nothing of it after that. I never saw him again.

*

As we stand in the hall, looking into each other's eyes, I realize how much he has changed. His tan is still there and his eyes are still dark and soft, but his rounded face has morphed into the chiseled profile of a young adult. He is growing a small beard. Jayk's arm brushes my hand, and I realize how hard his skin is, almost like metal. Scars run up and down his body, all over. I look at his hands closer. Instead of fingernails, there are little shards of iron.

"Are you really Jayk? What happened? Why weren't you in fourth grade?" I ask, curiosity overwhelming me.

"Ally, do you have time? Because I have a lot to explain,"

"I have a few minutes... I guess..,"

Jayk sighs. He takes a breath and begins his story. "In second grade, people complimented me on my strength and my sports abilities. Even the Vigilants took a special interest in me. They hung out in their cars around my small house, and I was constantly worried that my parents had done something wrong. That's why I hung out around you a lot. You had a calm head and could keep me sane. Something about those creepy Vigilants got me scared. One night, I was in my bedroom and the door opened. I heard my mother address the Vigilants and I heard them go into another room. I was scared to death, but I was also nosy. So I quietly opened the door to my bedroom and crept down the hallway... and I heard my mother.... Err... Sold me to them. For... Ten Thousand Xings,"

I gasp. Ten thousand xings was a lot of money for a Peasant family, but I would have thought Jayk was worth more than just that. "And they trained you as a Vigilant?"

"Do you think Vigilants are normal people, Ally?"

I nod.

"Well, you thought wrong. We had to undergo days of terrible, painful treatments- medicines and injections to enhance the mind and body. A Vigilant's reflexes are faster than anyone else's and their skin stronger. Our... our bodies have changed, and we think differently than normal people. Emotions like love and hate are dulled, while loyalty and dutifulness are sharpened. My DNA was enhanced to that of an animal's. I am not even human!"

At that moment, I honestly felt sorry for Jayk, who was never mean to anybody and would never hurt a fly. At least, the old Jayk wouldn't, the Jayk that I knew. This Jayk is a ruthless policeman, who guards the Asylum and watches torture unflinchingly. A terrible hate arises in my heart for our "supreme" rulers.

"Once you are a Vigilant, you must not go back to being a Peasant. But I went back to my street while I was off duty. I wanted to see you and Adelie and say that I was sorry for leaving and sorry for being so mean to you and sorry for not liking Kiera. I was sneaking around when they saw me there. They thought I wanted to go back, so... they trapped me here, in the Asylum, sentenced to watch over these prisoners. It was only luck that I was assigned to your cell. I am one of them, but I hate them as much as you do," he finishes.

"I'm sorry," I tell him softly, feeling very lame. "Well, I'm leaving today... so if you want to, um, come with me..."

He thinks about my offer, a look of contemplation on his sharp face. He bites his lip, which is cracked and pale. "Ally, I want to. I really do, in more ways than one. But if we get caught, you will be in even more trouble with me than without me. For your safety, I won't go,"

"Okay," I say sadly, because I really want him with me. I hug him, because I need a little comfort before I go.

BONG!

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Hey! OHMYBACON YOU FINISHED MY FOURTH CHAPTER! Yay! Thanks to all of you who stuck with this story. I love you. Please give feedback, and follow me for more stories, because I love to write and have some cool ideas! Keep reading! Any questions? Just ask! And, um, could you please vote for me? *puppy eyes* come on, it's just one click! Gracias! ~Phoenix

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