Once Lost, Now Found

Chapter 4: Orientation games

"Ok, so you're telling me these people aren't really people?" Elyssa clarified for the umpteenth time. The government had kept many things from its denizens, burying its secrets in the deepest crevices and darkest chambers, places where no one bothered to look, places that had yet to be uncovered. Elyssa seemed disturbed and unhinged by the dissemination of supposedly classified information. A typical citizen would have guffawed, okay, that would be exaggerating, let's put it this way, a normal citizen would hardly pay any attention to you, thinking that what you had said was simply preposterous and crazy. Reason being was not because they weren't as open- minded but because (my guess was)   they had been programmed since birth to be subservient to the corrupt and unreliable government. 

Elyssa was unsure of who to side with- the people she'd known her whole life, or rather, she thought she'd known, or the new kids who had swooped into the scene just moments ago, saving her life in the process. Eventually, she, rather unwillingly, chose the latter over the former and decided, in the meanwhile to agree with Timothy on the idea of zombified people. Dave, on the other hand, was more easy- going and took in the information like it didn't matter to him in the least bit. It was as if he'd known all along that the people he loved and cared about were unlike zombies. I finally stood up and said, " Alright, let's check out the main hall. Who knows, there may be orientation games installed for us. Oh, and it's possible that Merrith and Sarah are wandering around that area. What do you say?" "I say, let's follow you. Besides, you're right; what's an orientation without orientation games?" Timothy huffed. 

So, Timothy and I led the way to the main hall. Towers and pillars loomed over us threateningly, almost as if they were encapsulating creatures within the ominous shadows that stretched from their bases. The gargantuan hall made me seem tiny, minuscule. I took in a sharp intake of breath and stumbled backwards. Timothy's arms reached for me and steadied me, as if I weighed nothing . It was just the four of us against the evil that lurked within. This place was seeming more and more like prison, maybe worse. Just then, clicking sounds reverberated off the four walls of the great hall. My sensitive ears caught the vibrations even before the others had detected the sound. Instinct told me that this could not have come from a human. Shuddering a little, I leaned closer towards Timothy, who was on high- alert. Just then, a voice came from the speakers above. And it was clear as day that a human had not produced that. Although our minds did register 'human language', the person speaking, if it was a person at all, did not sound human. Its voice was cold, measured and metallic. It sounded as if metal was striking metal and incoherent words had somehow formed and had been captured in the process. These words were then edited to sound understandable. At least that was the only thing I could think off that contributed to this poorly laced together announcement. It was a poor, very poor imitation of the English language. To my peers, it probably sounded something like, "hae-g ein tzer keedz, reeghz now awl yoo hav too zoe is paz tzee tez. yoo weel come ein veh heande ein doo tem." To me,it sounded more intelligible. " Hang in there kids,right now all you have to do is pass the test. You will come in very handy in due time." 

First word that came to my mind.

Creepy.

Fingering around in my haversack for a weapon of some sort, I came across something sharp. It turned out that it was my brother's poniard. He'd received it from a relative the previous year on his birthday and had treasured it since. I never thought I'd actually come into contact with a remnant of my past, not to mention, my brother's keepsake, yet here it was now sitting in the palm of my hand. Had Glen known about such a thing as zombified people? Was that why he had willingly sneaked his precius dagger into my backpack? Troubling thoughts filled my mind because there was a possibility that my brother was now an enemy of the government, someone to be dealt with. Severely. Because like us, he knew the truth and yet he was not a lost one. This could only mean one thing. My brother was part of the Resistance. If there even was one anymore. I'd heard stories about them yes, and how they'd been savagely beaten up or slaughtered, sent to the gallows without being able to bade farewell to their families. Shoving that thought to the back of my already crammed mind, I strained my ears to listen, once again, to the disturbing voice coming from the speakers overhead. NO, I would not balk from this challenge. No matter what, I had to pass these silly tests and escape; I had to make sure that my brother was still safe. He was another person I could not bear to lose.