Serenity and Valeria are deemed psychopaths in the mandatory survey and are now being shipped off to a whole city of them. What will happen there you ask (well maybe you don't ask but whatever)? You need to read the book to find out!
The man, still looking down at his clipboard, asks the people on the list to line up and I saunter onto the stage as the others follow suit. I stand where the old bore tells me to and I lean forward to see the girl from earlier. She holds a scared face, her obvious last escape effort. She seems to beg with her eyes to be let free although no one looks at her for long.
They treat us like some kind of a contagious disease, and they believe that if they look too long at us they'll be whisked along with us to the "Forsaken" city.
"You may now leave. If you are a parent of one of the "crazies" you may stay to give parting words." The man says, finally looking up. People begin rushing out, flowing around the few frozen parents like a rock in a stream.
I'm surprised to see my own parents among the mix. They walk up the steps with stiff backs and arms locked together. They stop in front of me and sigh, disappointed.
"Valeria, I don't know where we went wrong. We always tried to keep you happy and..." My father starts his speech but I stop him abruptly. His words make me angry, they want to pretend they were perfect parents but they never gave a damn.
"Ok, stop. You hired a random woman to oversee me and you made sure I was taught that I had to be perfect. I had to reach your standards and be obedient. Don't be all high and mighty. Maybe I went insane from the abandonment or maybe you, not giving a shit about your child at all, messed me up! But you sure as hell are not free from the blame." Snarling and glaring, I feel as if I could burn this place down with my rage.
I yell and as if a thread keeping me grounded snaps I find myself running at my parents with a blood-curdling scream. A savage smile splatters on my face as I grab my mother's brooch from her white blouse. The pointy end of the brooch stabs into my mother's chest right over her heart and she drops, twitching.
My father rushes towards me and I grab his arm, shoving it down on my knee. His arm bends and a satisfying crack echoes in the room along with his shrieking scream. Two men grab my arms and try to pull me away but I kick one in the groin and then head butt the other, probably breaking his nose.
I reach into the shorter one's holster and grab the gun, aiming it at my father's forehead. Squeezing the trigger, I watch as the bullet pierces his forehead and blood spatters all over me. He drops to the ground like a ragdoll and I turn to my mother.
Her breathing is shallow, meaning she's still alive. I point the gun at her and shoot her as well, leaving her dead at last. Her blood spatters on my black slacks and overwhelming joy takes over. I let out a cackling laugh as I tuck the gun into my pants
-~-
Serenity
I stand, unmoving, as her shocking laughter fills the space. No one moves as they stare at the blood pooling on the ground. I'm not like the others when I stare at Valerie. That must have been one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.
Not the killing, of course, but the calm quick movement and the freedom to do what she wants without fear. I wish I had that kind of bravery, but instead, like the coward I am, fake tears roll down my cheeks and I bury my face into my mother's shirt. I hear a scoff and footsteps, I turn around to see Valerie stomping over.
"They're not going to let you back so you might as well drop the act." She barks as she comes to a stop. I stiffen at her words. Could she really see through my act?
"Honey, what's she talking about?" my mother whispers,
"Do you really want your parents to think their sweet child is stuck in "the city"? Wouldn't you rather give them peace of mind? I could kill them if you want." Her voice turns sweet as she pulls out her gun and points it at my father's head. My mother shrieks and I hear gasps from several parents in the room.
"No!" I shouted, making almost everyone except Valeria jump. "No. You don't need to do that." I make my back pin straight, wiping the fake tears from my eyes. I put a cold, hard expression on my face, and staredf right into Valeria's eyes. She nods, slightly.
Turning around, I face my parents, taking a deep breath.
"I'm not really as sweet as you think, I will thrive in the city and I bet I could even be happy." my Father stares at me dumbfounded and my mother's face screams heartbroken as a single tear rolls down her face. "Also, I like women" I add as an afterthought and my father stumbles back in his shock while my mother look genuinely shocked for the first time this evening. Before I can read too much into it I turn back to Valerie who has lowered the gun and she smiles at me as if to say "good girl". I jump when a droning voice pierces the stifling silence that follows.
"Please proceed to the side doors to cross the bridge. No family's allowed." a voice says on the intercom. Valorie trots back to her place and grabs her mother's brooch. I walk off the stage and Valerie skips past me and through the door. Right before I go through the doorway I look back to see the two men from before dragging away the bodies.
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