Thriving in The Dark [(TDM) ENG]

II

I had been waiting five minutes beside the car when I saw her walk out the door with my backpack in her hand. I forgot to take it.

Mom unlocked the car doors and I could finally get in, leaving the icy morning air. I realized that, the worse my anxiety, the stronger the vibration. But I would resist this time. Mom sat in the driver's seat and, after rubbing her red eyes, started the car.

We traveled for about twenty minutes from Salem to Roanoke before arriving at our destination. Once out of the car, I was surprised to see just a few parents and even fewer children in the yard. They all wore the same white shirt with their name embroidered on it, and all the parents, including Mom, had the same broken and worn look.

I tried to approach the other children in the schoolyard, but their parents waved me away. A woman asked my mother, "What color is she?" Color? What did she mean?

"I think she's a Yellow... but don't worry, she won't cause any problems." Mom replied. I turned and looked at her. Yellow. Which means...?

The woman grimaced and turned her son away from me, urging the other parents to do the same. I felt a hole in my chest, a shock under my skin. Why do they treat me like this? Do they know about the incident? Mom only said, "It's okay, Lily. It'll be over soon." and I felt slightly relieved.

A few minutes later, when some parents had already left, leaving their children alone, the gates opened. Several figures dressed in black from head to toe and with red embroidery on the right arm and on the upper left of their chest scattered among us and guided us into the school garden.

When one of them approached me, I realized he was armed. They all were, actually. Mom must have noticed, too, because she tried to take me away from that man. His grip was stronger, and I was pulled away from my mother, almost falling to the ground.

"No!" she yelled. "Please, I changed my mind! I want to bring her back home!" she tried to get close to me, but another man blocked her, holding her tightly with both of his arms.

"Enough! You're hurting me!" Mom complained, already crying. There seemed to be total silence around us.

"Did you really think we'd treat these monsters gently? They are broken and must be reformed, the good way or the bad way." said a third man. " Now, if you'll excuse us, get out of the way and let us do what we all came here for."

I felt a blind rage after those words. Nobody could insult my mom like that. My nerves were out of control, and the vibrations started kicking in, stronger and stronger, digging into my skull.

When the man who was holding her still tightened his grip, making her scream in pain, I could no longer stay silent.

"Leave her alone! You're hurting her!" I yelled, running at him, with electricity dancing beneath my skin. When I hit him, he let Mom go, and when I accidentally lost control, I saw little flashes of electricity bursting off the walkie-talkie in his belt. He started violently convulsing and rolled his eyes back, before falling to the ground, unconscious.

I was frozen in shock. I turned to my mother, and seeing her terrified face killed me. She was scared. Of me.

Her mouth opened wide when five of the men ran towards me, pointing their guns at my head. Mom screamed and I fell to my knees in fear. "Please, no!" I begged them.

A sixth man crouched next to the body of the one on the ground, pulled out his own walkie-talkie, and communicated to his colleagues what happened.

Around me, the other children were close to each other.

One of the men in front of me pulled a small orange machine out of his belt and pressed a button. After two seconds, the sound that came out literally smashed my eardrums. I screamed and brought my hands to my ears. I lost all control over my body and lay down on the grass, shaken by violent convulsions. That noise covered the screams of all the other children in the garden. I tasted something metallic in my mouth and I knew that I had bitten my tongue and I was bleeding, even from my nose and ears. I forced my eyes open, but my vision was so blurred that I didn't recognize any of the figures in front of me. I didn't have time to think about anything, Mom or anyone else.

When my body had enough, I felt my senses leave me and passed out on the lawn.