𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧

Chapter 15: Violet

I drank my water thirstily. In our rush back home, we hadn't had the chance to stop for a break. Now we were finally home and my lungs were recovering.

I knew that Alan was going to yell at me. He was going to shout at me for killing a man when we didn't need to and he would be mad at me for a long time. 

He didn't do any of those things though. He quietly asked, "How does it feel?"

I hadn't been expecting that question at all. It bugged me that I didn't know what to say. "What?"

"How does it feel to have killed someone?"

I pursed my lips, letting out a sigh. Why was my brother being so difficult? "I felt that it was our only choice. I know we could have run away but then he would have followed us. And he was armed! He would've outrun us for sure, and I didn't think my powers were strong enough to control him for the entire journey home." Yet, I thought in my mind. One day I would have to test the limits of my powers. 

"You know that they never put crime-watching cameras in the West Quarter," I added, trying to comfort my brother's worries. "They only use Guards because their pay is cheaper. I don't think anyone saw us. I would have heard their thoughts."

My brother stood up. "That's not the point. Sometimes, you don't know how to empathise at all. I'm surprised that you don't even feel anything, after that. The man must've had a family. What if he had children? Our age-"

"Stop," I said, standing up to look my brother in the eye. "I think you're forgetting the part where we were in danger. Remember the people? Why did they all return to their seats like that? That was creepy as hell. The Chief was obviously very dangerous."

"You've got a point there," Alan relented. "But..just don't do it again, okay? I don't want you to put yourself in danger."

"Okay."

As unfeeling as I came across as, I knew what Alan meant. It was immoral to kill a man. And I wouldn't have done it if I felt that we had no other choice. I did feel sorry for the Chief, but only slightly However, it was a sign of weakness to dwell upon these things, especially when more important things were at stake. Alan had to learn that if you really wanted to survive, you'd have to do some things that you didn't want to. 

_______________________

That night, I watched my brother carefully. I could tell that he was not only disappointed in me but also disappointed that we hadn't learnt much by going to the meeting. "That was a waste of time," Alan sighed. "We should have--"

I stood up, interrupting my brother. "Okay, but we have to talk about what happened when the lights switched back on, in the community hall. That was so creepy. Did you see how everyone returned to their seats, except for us? They were all so still. Like...robots. Why were we the only ones still standing?"

My brother did not have an answer for me. "I-I don't know what that was."

I tried to brainstorm the possibilities. "Mind-control? Automatons or robots? A prank? Fake people, no, that doesn't sound right-"

"Stop," my brother said. "Let's just forget it."

I rolled my eyes. How could I just forget? Oh well, he could forget it if he wanted to. I would investigate it for sure. Then I remembered that I had spoken to one of the families attending the meeting. When the lights switched on, they had been returned to their seats too, staring forward at the stage. "I still haven't told you what that family told me," I said to Alan. 

"Oh," my brother realised. "Tell me what they said." He seemed eager to find out what the man had been saying. More like... eager to change the subject of the conversation.

"Okay," I started. "Well, to start off, I asked them where they were from. They're one suburb away from us, so they live quite close. Then they told me that on their street, strange things have been happening. First, their neighbours have started to disappear. Then, they saw one of their neighbours sick, taken away by Guards. Their doors are now marked with a big red X. The family have been too scared to leave home. They just wanted to come to the meeting to get some information like us, I guess."

I took a deep breath and continued. "They mustered the courage to come to the Community Centre when they noticed that there were less Guards coming over to their street. They don't have many neighbours left, after all."

The last sentence creeped Alan out. It was very obvious, and I understood why. Not many neighbours left. That was seriously disturbing. I didn't display emotion for that, of course, but I felt the same.

That night, I pondered the reasons for the disappearance of the family's neighbours. Could they have died? I shuddered at the thought and dismissed it. They could have been taken by the Government. It definitely seemed plausible to me. But what for? 

It was as if Alan knew what I was thinking. "That's the question," he spoke his thoughts aloud. "They have the manpower to take people, but why? Are we useful to them? Or are they trying to silence us?"

"Maybe we should find out. Go investigate." 

As soon as I said the words, Alan immediately frowned. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "No, Violet. That's too dangerous. What if we get caught?"

I silently hated him for sounding so annoying and brotherly. Why did he always sound so patronising? "We won't get caught."

My brother didn't look too sure about that as he muttered goodnight and went to his makeshift bed. 

I watched him until his breathing told me that he'd fallen asleep. 

Then, I got out of bed. I crept outside, into the night.