Script

Chapter Twenty-One: Back Stories

            The hike back to the house was long for all of us. I used the crutches the entire way because the brush is too thick to use the wheelchair. Amy walked for about half of the mile, but then Mark carried her the rest of the way.

By the time we got home, Amy and I were exhausted, but the wheelchair and all of the shopping bags were still in the car. I offered to help Mark bring them back but he insisted I rest. Instead, he ran back and forth from the car and left them in the cave for Amy and I to bring down the stairs. When he came downstairs for the final time, Amy had fallen asleep on the couch and I was sitting at the kitchen table mixing a cup of tea between my hands. He grabbed himself a mug from the cabinet then flopped down across from me.

"If you're up for it, I'd still like to go to Italy." He said quietly. I thought about this for a minute and took a sip of my tea. It was still hot and burned my tongue.

"I'd be fine with that, considering I'm not at my best mobility, we might want to wait a week or so."

"Okay, I'm good with waiting a week. We have to plan it out anyway and I'd prefer you be able to move just in case we run into your Uncle again." He leaned back in his chair and looked at me, taking a sip of his tea.

"I'm not going to be able to run in a week. Take three months maybe?"

"I'll risk it. We can't let him get his hands on this script."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why can't he have it? I mean, other than the fact that it was written by Shakespeare, what's so important about it?"

"Other than the fact that the most famous playwright in history wrote this script and never showed it to the public, is the fact that it could be sold to any museum for millions of dollars, which could aid your uncle in what he wants to do."

"What does he want to do exactly? And please stop leaving me at these random points in conversation where you know I'm going to ask how, why or what. Just continue. No stopping."

"I like hearing you ask why though. It gives me a sense of power over you." He said with a smirk. It was a joking smirk, but he was definitely tired.

Ever since we were returned to him, it was one thing after another, never ending. Today he ran about seven miles after walking here one time. I'm still confused as to why he's not kicking us out; all we are doing is making his life hard.

"Your uncle wants to open a laboratory where orphanages or families can donate their children for a profit, so that he can use them as test subjects to test his products and observe their behavior when put into different situations. In other words, us them as human lab-rats. The Script would completely cover the cost of his facilities and materials." My jaw had dropped by now as I was trying to process the extent of the things my uncle could do to these children. Not only have they been abandoned, they've been turned into an experiment.

"That's horrible." Was all I could say.

"I know. Hence the reason we are going to find it first. I'm gonna hit the shower and go to bed. I'll see you in the morning. Night Allie." He stood up and emptied his mug into the sink.

"One last thing." I started.

"Ya?"

"Why are you keeping us here? All we're doing is causing you pain."

"Alexis, that is the last thing you are doing. Here, let me show you something." I stood up and he led me down the hallway to the door directly next to my parent's room. He opened the door and ushered me inside. It was the same layout as my parent's room, just mirrored, and a little more modern styled with more white than brown.