Muted

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"You know there is more out there than this," Miss Tanaka sneered as you tended to the healing wound on her back. "The Regime wants you to believe that the entire world is like this—unfeeling and cold—but it is not."

You kept your hands steady as she spoke, face neutral. Her words, however, stirred something within you.

"Beyond the walls of the District, they say there is freedom," Miss Tanaka continued.

Dr. Eteri tsked dismissively, a habitual gesture from a man who had heard such "nonsense" before. "Delusions are a sign that your Daily Supplement needs to be adjusted, again," he muttered, not even bothering to look up from his clipboard.

Miss Tanaka's sneer deepened as she spoke, her eyes alight with defiance. "I've seen it. I've seen where the wall meets the bordering land," she declared, her voice filled with conviction. "Behind those walls are cities that feel."

You glanced at Dr. Eteri and noticed something unusual—a flicker of something in his usually placid demeanor. If you didn't know any better, you would have sworn it was anger. That would have been impossible, though, as he was the epitome of the Daily Supplements' success, his emotions seemingly dulled to nothingness.

"There is no wall," Dr. Eteri muttered, looking up at Miss Tanaka with narrowed eyes. "Just like there is no bordering land. After the war, the world became desolate. We are all that is left." He spoke with the authority of someone who had long ago accepted the regime's narrative as absolute truth.

All of a sudden, the room felt charged with tension, the air heavy with unspoken truths and buried doubts. Miss Tanaka held her ground, her defiance a silent challenge to the oppressive certainty that Dr. Eteri tried to impose.  

A knot of anxiety tightened in your stomach as you hurriedly finished tending to Miss Tanaka's wound. You were acutely aware that with each passing moment, the risk of exposing your newfound dissent grew. With your awakened feelings and shifting perspective, this conversation was the last one you wanted to have if you hoped to keep your burgeoning doubts hidden.

So as soon as you were done tending to the wound, you gathered your supplies and made your way to leave. 

"Don't you agree, Dr. Lawson?  We are the only ones that exist, right?" Dr. Eteri stopped you as you opened the door. There was something in his tone that had you pausing in your steps.  It was almost like he was challenging you, testing you.

You cast a glance at Miss Tanaka, who met your gaze with an enigmatic smirk. Her eyes were intently fixed on you, as if daring you to defy Dr. Eteri—like she could sense the rebellion brewing within you.

And she was right.

Lately, the world around you felt like it was unraveling, revealing new layers of truth and deception. And with that deception came a growing surge of defiance, a fierce urge to confront the world, including Dr. Eteri, and challenge their authority. Right now, the desire to unleash a torrent of truth—to disrupt Dr. Eteri's complacency—was overwhelming.

But, there was no way you could act on it. Not if you wanted to avoid becoming a patient in this very place.

Your fist clenched around your supplies.

"Of course. The regime and its citizens are all that exist," you forced the words out, even as they rang hollow in your ears.

The words you had once blindly accepted as fact, were sounding more and more like a lie, and that realization was both terrifying and liberating.