This is Even Worse (G/t)

5

"Have you lost your mind!?" Ayana yelled, interrupting the titanic teen, grabbing his sight in an instant. She intimidatingly walked - or attempted to walk - to the breathing flesh wall in front of her and squatted slightly to look him in the eyes... one eye at a time. "Do you see me? Don't... don't you know me at all!?"

"I... uh..." He caught the loaded, leading question automatically, and since he knew all of his possible responses would be either super stereotypical or overly offensive to her eyes, he refrained from speaking. No risking anything. He'd already done enough. What she was trying to say, he didn't know. But, he did know something. "Well, y-you're mad at me... That's a... a th-thing..."

And there began Evan's stammers - the ones only to appear out of nervousness, and Ayana definitely noticed.

"And why do you think that is, Evan?"

"To be honest, I... I really don't kn-know. I... I was trying to... h-help."

"Help? Help!? How did you think you possibly helped? No, don't answer that. Please." She knew what he'd say, but it would all be vain. She growled at the list of reasons forming in her head.

Evan saw her growing displeasure, but he couldn't figure an adequate way of responding without making everything worse... except possible closure on her end.

"I get that you're u-upset and all... but.... but did you really have to th-throw the box at me?" he inquired. "Like... y-you saw what was in it..."

If Ayana's stare wasn't already hard and cold as ice, then it sure was now. 

"After a year of literally having and being nothing, do you think a... a 'gift' will make up of that? You think that after being used and abused, tossed and turned, transported, barraged, and stored with no ways out... a 'gift' will make up for that!?"

"A-Ayana, I called the cops to... to take care of y'all. See?" He rose a bit to use an arm to direct her attention to the room they were in, as a whole. "Y'all were brought here. This... this place is great. Cozy, fancy—" He stopped when he saw her emotion shift from boiling heat to... to a somber cold. "Wh-What?" "Uh-oh, what'd I say?"

"You... You just don't understand! I was referring to this place, Evan! Being brought here and crap!" "And that freaking box. Like, what's that supposed to do!?" "Do... Do you not know what they've done with us!?" There was just silence. "Nothing, Evan. Not a damn thing!"

The boyish man couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had all of his work crumbled in his hands, and he didn't even know? All of the months of sneaking away to friends' homes for researching, going behind his family's back, and just watching their playthings live their lives... if they even are called that, and it's all worthless? 

"No..." he responded, not wanting to believe her. "They... t-told me that they'd have everything under... under control, nothing like the past at all. You're... y-you're kidding, right?"

"You're only acting like that because you're being pampered," Ayana declared, not letting up at all. "At least back on your farms, there was legit space for us to kind of... live. They may not have treated us well, but at least they gave us options... except, of course when they... didn't." She paused for a while before shaking her head to clear her mind. "We used to be living dolls... or robots with a purpose. But here, what choices are there? We're more constrained than before! Almost literal pet status."

"Oh, come on," Evan interjected. "I know... I know this must be pretty new to them, but that's insane. What? They're 'puppy-ing' y'all or something?"

Ayana caught the word choice, and if it wasn't so valid, she would've snapped back. However, she knew that he wasn't stupid. He's just naive. Innocent. 

"Evan..." she started with a sigh, before walking over to the box, bringing it back to her previous position, and getting down on her knees to rest across it and explain. "I don't know what you did or what they made you do once you left questioning, but I stayed with everyone, hearing their stories for hours. When one finished, another came in to continue the tales. Gosh, I wish my family and I could've had it as easy as them. *sigh* 

"When it was all over, Nate carried me out to the others, where we found them dazed, confused, passed out in their own whatever fluids... It was bad. Plus, no one knew anything and didn't trust anyone, so no one did or could do anything for themselves. We weren't offered any kind of sustenance the whole time, so you could guess how we were feeling... and... and do you know how self-degrading it is to not be able to relieve yourself in private... in a place meant for that? It's. Dreadful."

Ayana continued saying things, and Evan listened, but with her last comments, he remembered his sight of the tinies before, especially those kids. 

"That's why they came to me? No food... or anything? Oh God..." The pity hit him hard. "Why the hell did I walk around instead of staying to help... or something? Damn it..."

"However, it was nice when I was given some freedom, after all," Ayana added. "Nate let me out in the garden. Though it was only for a short period, and I barely used it just for myself. I don't get why he left me alone, but I appreciated it. It gave me time to think. I mean, while living outside wasn't ideal, it's what we're used to now, and I don't know, it felt nice? But, I swear that only I could feel that way about anything. I just went around, grabbing whatever I could and felt was necessary, and I'm glad I did, too, seeing how our nightlife turned out."

The blank, patient expression on Evan's face shifted to worry as Ayana's veins were barely visible on her skin - their pulses bothering the larger human. He figured she probably wouldn't say more unless she was egged on. Based on how she reacted from his surface-scratching questions, he didn't want to ponder what an inner core query of his would do to her. Still, he wanted to know. He had to. 

Building up confidence from within, he asked, "S-So, how was... or should I say 'is' it, then?"

"Why did he have to ask that?" she thought to herself, unsure of how to respond. "Although, that reason, built on everything else, is why I came to see him in the first place. Damn it." 

Soon understanding what she had to do, she changed her position to in front of the box, now on the plushy bed itself sitting with her back against the box side and looked slightly up into the dark orbs capturing her image. Crossing her arms in willing defeat and disgust, she started again. 

"Well, the set up for the ride here doesn't differ much from our current set-up. They put us in what looks like a huge warehouse where all the containers that carried us here were placed. They, other than a laptop for some reason on top of a skyscraper of a table and some candles, are all that we have to deal with. So far, we've made do, putting them together for warmth, closeness, etc. It's definitely nothing special, compared to your place here."

"I wouldn't call it 'special,'" Evan tried. "I mean... it's just a room. None of my stuff is here or anything."

"Not special? Are you stupid? Look at this place!" Ayana bit back. "You're in a first-class penthouse suite!" 

Normally, Ayana would've been pleased with herself, being able to shut someone else down to prove a point. Yet, she only made the situation worse for herself, and she knew it, too. What did stating that fact do? 

"You... You have all of this..." she emphasized, waving her arms around, "...and for what? Being a 'hero' in their eyes? Saving an entire population from despair and pain? Yeah, right. All you did was make a freaking call to the authorities that led to this, and this, compared to the past... *sniffle* This is even worse." 

Ayana hadn't come in there to get his sympathy. She just wanted to speak her mind... and now, she was tired of all of that and just wanted to forget everything that just happened. She was so done.