Unbrekable

12. Sacred Grounds

The air that leaves my body shakes me to my core. My mother is alive. But that's impossible. I'd watched her die. I saw her.

"My darling girls. How lovely it is to see you again. Come to your mother." She says as she opens her arms as if to hug us.

But I can't move. My legs won't carry me over to her, or back away from her. I just stand there. Because all I can do is watch my mother. Who had been died since Lily and I were 18.

"M-m-mom?" I stutter out. She smiles even wider, I'm afraid her face might crack. But it doesn't reach her eyes. She walks over to me and grabs Lily and I into a big hug.

Tears are already down my face. And Lily is too stunned to do anything. Bethany pulls back and puts a hand on our faces.

"Delilah darling, do not cry for your dearest mother. I know what you saw 5 years ago must have scarred you. But I am here. And I am real. There is no need to shed such tears for me" She whispers into my ear as she wipes my tears away. She turns and whispers into Lily's ear.

Whatever she had said causes Lily to cry out. She backed away from us and I grabbed Lily before she collapsed onto the floor, the waterfall of tears crashing down her cheeks. Aaron has already began to back away. But the white guards stop him in his tracks.

"Aaron Percival Armstrong. You have brought my children back to me. For this, you shall be rewarded. The chip in your neck will be removed within the next 2 hours. Guards, have this man prepped and ready for the procedure." My mother says as they grab Aaron by his arms.

"Be careful with him! Please don't hurt him!" I shout as he struggles in their grasp. I go to walk forward but my mother grabs my shirt and places her other hand around my throat.

"I will have them do whatever I damn well please little girl. Do not go against my word in this place. You will lose each and every time." Bethany growls as she releases my neck from her harsh grasp.

As I gasp for air and cough, my mother claps her hands together and smiles again. More guards come out of hidden places and grab hold of Lily and I.

"Now girls, I do not typically do this. Because people choose to use force when it is not needed. But considering the fact that you are my babies, I will have them treat you with the utmost respect that can be given." She says as they lead us into different rooms. The sounds of her heels reverberating off of the walls.

"What are you gonna do to us?" I ask as she appears in front of my door that is now closed and locked.

"Nothing I wasn't going to do to you when you watched me die. You know, Douglas hated what we did. But he was out first real guinea pig in this institution. If he hadn't put up a fight, we wouldn't have done such horrible things to him,"

"But he chose to defy the laws that he should not have defied. He broke rules. Disrespected our own soldiers. Things that mustn't be done, were being done. He was a tyrant so we sent him to his death. Made his parents watch and see that he was truly dead, made you two believe he was truly dead." She says as she paces between the cells.

"So when he came back from the dead and threatened us, was that part of your goddamn plan? When he throw me into a wall and bruised me, that was part of your plan?" I yell. She pauses her footsteps and looks back at me. Confusion and anger written in her face.

"He still lives? That bastard should have died in that fire 6 years ago!" She screams. I flinch back. She takes a deep calming breath and continues pacing.

"No matter. He'll be dead soon enough. But until then, we will enhance you to be able to defeat your new foe. Aaron has told us that you are already experienced in weapons. Things such as guns and knives. Is that correct my love?" She questions and I look up at her.

"Do not hurt him. I beg you. Don't hurt Aaron, please." I beg. She sighs and stops moving. She turns to face my door.

"Darling dearest. Mother has to do her job. Though it may hurt you, Aaron has to die sooner or later. We will do the best we can to get that chip detached from his body. But unfortunately we won't be able to keep him alive if he fails the enhancement surgery. If he succeeds, he'll become like Douglas,"

"More evolved in the human psyche and body. While we have done many a test to ensure that nobody dies. We cannot promise you this much. Do not look at me like that. Like I'm a monster. I merely do what is necessary for this world." She voices as she walks away.

My mind races faster than my heart. I turn to look at Lily through the caged door. She looks like she's seen a ghost.

"What did she tell you? Lily? What did she say to you at the entrance." I question.

"She said the one thing I thought I'd never hear," She rasps out. "She said my parents are alive, and they've been alive since I moved in with you guys."

The blood pounding in my ears turns into a roar. Lily thought her family was died. I thought my family was dead. Aaron will be dead if we don't save him. My world is spinning. And nothing is stopping the bile that rides up my throat.

Lily leans her whole body onto the wall. And so do I. The worlds that we had separate from each other, collide into an ugly array of colors.

I close my eyes and try to dream of happier times. When my mother wasn't a monster. Where Aaron and I were happy. Where Lily was happy. Where Marcus wasn't a part of this. Where life wasn't complicated. But I come up empty handed.