The World is After Us

Chapter 4

After about an hour of sitting and talking, and Ander forcing us to eat and drink, we got down to the point of the entire conversation. My biggest fear was that when Jexton and I were caught, we'd have been shot down. However, because Ander is still alive, there is alternatives. The camps. 

"Do you remember the chamber, Farrah?" Ander asks with that sly smile of his. It takes a lot for me to not lunge at him, and I can only wonder why he is obsessed with torture. I stare at him blankly, remembering when I was shoved into the chamber after I had been abducted.

"Over there!" Jexton yells and I realize he's pointing to the building we were supposed to go to. He runs to the side of the building and ducks under a window. I stay standing and look around. I was in a trance again. All voices around me were muffled and I can only see the beauty that surrounds me. I'm snapped back into reality once again when I feel a pinch on my right forearm.

"In here!" he yells and opens the door for me to enter. As I begin to turn around, I hear the door slam behind me. "Jexton?" I ask in the mild darkness. The small window on the door slid open and Jexton's face appeared through it. "What are you doing out there? They'll kill you!" I yelled, running to the door. Jexton shakes his head and smiles. He grabs ahold of my mask and yanks it off of my face; then shoves me back. "We don't have room in this world for people like you."

I shake my head as the tears begin to flow, and I cannot control them. I try to look up at the ceiling to cease them, but nothing works. They just keep coming and coming. 

Ander shifts his position and sighs. "Farrah, do you? You can't ignore me."Ander says, and I nod. 

I look around the dimly lit room. The only light source coming from the small window to the left of the room, and find a rusty ladder in the corner. I jog as quietly as possible to the ladder and pull on both sides and the bars in between to make sure they're strong enough to hold me.

I had always wondered who the man was that was deceased in that little room up there. I felt bad for taking his stuff, but he had no use for it anymore. I always wondered if he died up there from starvation or if he was killed. 

I got caught trying to escape, and then Jexton ended up letting me out. I always questioned trusting him too early, but I don't really regret it. I mean, I had almost been killed on his watch a handful of times, but if it weren't for him, I probably would have died up in that room with that man.

"You're not going back there, so don't cry. You're going somewhere much more. . . sanitary." Ander says, and I look up at him with nothing but anger in my eyes. The tears continue flowing, but not of fear. I no longer care what I look like in front of these people. All along, I had been the target, and that is what I will always be. 

"What, are you gonna put me in those sick camps of yours?" I ask quietly, not taking my eyes off of this supposed leader. Some leader he is, imprisoning innocent people. Some leader he is, telling scientists to create a disease to kill people who don't want to join this community. 

Ander shakes his head and presses his lips into a straight line. He leans back in his seat and places his left ankle on his right knee. He takes a sip of his tea, then sets the mug back onto the table. 

"See, Farrah, that's your problem. Jumping to conclusions all the time," Ander says in a calm, moderate tone. His eyes scatter the room, then lock on Jexton, and I follow. "Jexton, would you like to tell your friend what happens when we capture escapees?" he asks in a childish tone. "German escapees?"

Jexton shakes his head and stares at the wall on the opposite side of him; the one that is not behind his brother. It hurts my heart that Ander is defining me by my ethnicity. 

"Fuck you, Ander." Jexton mumbles, and Ander leaps forward, slamming his hands on the table. Everyone jumps, and Miss Stephan's tea cup spills over. Ander apologizes, then sits back in his seat. 

"Jexton, you need to watch your mouth. If you didn't want to share, you could have just simply said 'no thank you.'" Ander says softly. He helps Miss Stephan clean up the table, and then orders Jexton and I to stand up. 

"We're going to go to the courthouse. There are people waiting to see you." Ander says before thanking Miss Stephan and leading us out the front door we had come in. 

The sun is starting to go down, and I begin to wonder what is going to happen to Jexton and I by the end of the night. I think about what we are going to be told at the courthouse, and just who could be waiting for us there. 

When we arrive at the courthouse, Ander holds the door open for Jexton and I, and we obediently enter before him. And when he enters, he brings himself to the front once again, and leads us through the wide, and neatly decorated hallway. The floors are lined with wood that is painted gold, and the chandeliers are obviously made of real gold and diamonds. The richness of this community is unreal. 

Ander stops walking suddenly and knocks on a closed door on the left side of the hallway. The door opens after a few minutes, and when the man on the other side sees who it is, he welcomes us in immediately. 

Inside the room, there are a number of chairs and a beautifully polished wooden desk. There are hand-drawn portraits hanging all over the walls, and one of them looks strangely familiar. 

We are ordered to be seated as soon as the man takes his seat behind his desk, and Jexton and I do so. Ander nods at the man before exiting the room, and my eyebrows furrow at the confusion. 

"We agreed that it would be more comforting to talk if he wasn't here," the man says. "It seems as if you are precisely fearful of him." he finishes, looking at me specifically. 

When neither Jexton nor I say anything, the man sighs and scoots his chair forward. He begins speaking, but I tune out. I stare at the shiny white tile floor that is so polished that it looks fake. Everything in this room is rich, and it makes me think about how low my mother and I had it back at our house. 

This room has a small refrigerator and a shelving unit with miniature golden statues and plaques. There is another chandelier, and other lights surrounding it. 

"Farrah?" the man asks, pulling my attention from the room back to him. The golden bar on his desk reads Kristoph Phillips. "Are you up for it?" he asks, and I peer at Jexton questioningly.

"We're gonna be questioned and if we're proven guilty, I'm gonna be punished, and you're gonna be placed in the camps." Jexton says, staring at Kristoph expressionless. I look around nervously, then stare at my feet on the milky white floor. I nod slowly, then follow as Jexton stands and walks toward the door. 

When Jexton opens the door, Ander stumbles backwards, indicating that he had been eavesdropping. Jexton rolls his eyes, sighing, then walks past his brother with my arm in his hand. He leads me directly to the courtroom, not waiting for Ander. 

There is nobody in the room besides the judge, and we are told to wait in the booths on either side of her until the officers and lawyers arrive. We do so, and stay silent as people begin to flood the room.