Social Experiment

Traitor (Shawn)

I stand outside a door marked "W". Zeke has gone to check on everyone, while I am left here, fighting in vain to break in to the locked room. Sounds let me know that things are breaking in there: both bones and materials.

I pound on the door. "Open up! What's going on in there? Open up!"

The door opens and I stumble
forward, a bit shocked. I've been knocking and shouting for ten minutes without results.

A brown-haired dude with blonde highlights opens the door. I size him up, noticing a black bruise around one of his hazel eyes. "What can I do for you?"

I clear my throat. "I'm Shawn. A couple of us heard some noise, very loud noises actually..."

"Terrance."

"What?"

"My name, it's Terrance."

"Right. I came down here to-"

"Are you Scottish?"

I sigh inwardly. "We don't have memories, so-"

"You certainly sound Scottish."

I grin, "You sound particularly German."

"German? Man, am I the lucky one!"

"How would you know if we don't remember anything?"

"Good point."

My brain scolds me to stay on track. "Anyways, I couldn't help but notice that you are not Westin."

"Oh, no! My cover is blown!" Terrance says sarcastically.

"Ha. Well, he lives here."

"None of us really belong here, so-"

"I'm serious. Where is he?"

"Right here." Terrance steps aside and reveals Westin, unconsciously covered in blood and bruises.

"Come on! You're going to chain me up?"

"You just admitted to beating a man up!" I defend, pacing his left hand and bedpost tightly in a pair of handcuffs, "That's shady. And right now, shady isn't good. There was a cave-in, multiple actually, all the unexplored tunnels have been sealed off. We found a button-"

"Yeah, a big red one in the corner of the Matrix. That's where I found your buddy West."

I freeze. There's no way of provinng that. "He's not my buddy. You found him there?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? Look, I didn't just attack him out of nowhere. I was a witness to him pushing the button, so he gave me this." Terrance motions to his eye.

"But why would he? Or even if he did, whose to say that he didn't know what it did?"

"I told you, it's labeled." I turn around to see Zeke.

"I'd like to see it." I order, "Now."

"Where's Westin?"

"Still in his room. I didn't want to move him, in case it hurt him more."
Zeke nods. "Good thinking. We need a doctor."

"Even if one of us were, that was before. They wouldn't remember it."
"Not necessarily. We still remember how to talk, we remember what certain accents sound like, we recall what a room is, and a bed and water. Isn't it within the realm of possibility that one of us could know how to treat him?"

I open my mouth, but Terrance cuts me off. "He's the traitor! He's the one who pressed the button! We should just let him die! You asked me why Westin would do something like that? Maybe he's one of Them!"