Amidst Our Broken World

Chapter 11 - Consequences

This morning, I was once again assigned to herd the subjects to the Test Room, though this time, Peter was not present.

"Good morning, children."

"Good morning, Papa," the subjects replied to their abusive father figure.

"Today's lesson is going to be about rules." Brenner paced the room. "Ah, for some of you, this may seem redundant. For others, it appears a refresher is required."

Eleven was called to step forward. "Last night, your sister Eleven suffered a concussion during her alone time in the Rainbow Room."

I was taken aback. Did this have something to do with witnessing Peter's electrocution? Before I could get angry at the notion of punishment for such a minor incident, he continued.

"Now, she claims to have no memory of what happened, but injuries of this nature don't simply happen. Someone did this."

He looked around. "Someone in this room."

This was ridiculous. I hadn't been here for a month, and even I knew that there were security cameras everywhere in this building, including the Rainbow Room. If Brenner wanted to find who was guilty of Eleven's concussion, he would simply check the tapes. 

No, he knew who it was. And then it dawned on me. This is a demonstration. Just a performance.

"Now, who's going to tell me what happened?"

"She must've... fallen." I flicked my gaze to Two, my brow creasing with both worry for his boldness and disgust for practically gloating about being the culprit.

"Fallen?" Brenner asked in mock bewilderment.

"You've seen her, Papa." He smirked scornfully. "She's clumsy."

"Stupid," he added. The older subjects snickered beside him.

Eleven was granted permission to step back. Instead, Two was called up.

"Collar him." 

The orderly who had come in Peter's place clasped the shock collar shut around the boy's neck.

Brenner thanked him. "You think because you demonstrate some talent that you're somehow immune to the rules, is that it?"

"No, Papa." Fear began to surface in the formerly confident boy's voice.

"That the rules don't apply to you in the same way that they apply to your brothers and sisters?"

"No, Papa." The same answer but with a completely different level of fear.

"Then why did you attack Eleven?" My suspicions were right. Way before Two further condemned himself to this moment of truth, Brenner had known.

"Did she tell you that--" His Papa cut him off.

"Are you asking the questions or am I?"

Definitely regretting his arrogance from only a few seconds ago, he held on to his act. "If she told you that, then she's lying."

Beep. "Papa, please, you have to believe me." 

A cold look. "Papa, please."

Desperation growing in his voice. "She's lying--"

This time, it was the electricity that cut him off.

At that moment, I wished I could somehow interrupt every sensory signal that arrived at my brain. I wished I was unable to process any of it. The sounds of Two's pained wails as the electricity coursed through his body, searing every atom in every cell of his existence. The agony that ripped across his normally prideful face. His body crumpling onto the ground after dropping onto his knees from the overwhelming pain.

It was all so demeaning. So shameful. Trampling on his dignity in front of all these younger subjects. His friends. His peers. His so-called "brothers" and "sisters".

Did Peter feel like this too? When Brenner called upon his colleagues to punish him this way as well? Was his pride completely dissolved? Was that the reason why he couldn't bring himself to care when I couldn't possibly understand what it was like to be tortured in this way?

Tears threatened to spill over, but I didn't dare move a muscle. Who knows what would befall me if I showed any sign of how this wasn't normal in front of these children? I couldn't walk out of there either, for that would convey the exact same message. All I could do was watch. Keep my eyes straight. 

And don't blink.