Speechless

Chapter Sixteen

I walk through the halls having no general idea where I'm headed. I don't want to deal with Jason, or Libby, or Dr.Reynolds, or death alone. All I could ever want at this moment is to be in my warm bed with my parents downstairs laughing and loving one another while preparing breakfast. All I want is to go down my very own steps at home and run to hug my parents. All I want is to go to school and have lunch in the cafeteria again. All I want is my old life. But I suppose that's too much to ask.

But then I hear footsteps behind me followed by a familiar voice, "Aubrey! I've been looking all over for you! I have your breakfast here, if you'd like it now," says Dr.Reynolds while chasing after me. I stop and turn to face him to see Dr.Reynolds walking with a plate of eggs in one hand and a big glass of orange juice in the other. He finally gets close enough to me to hand me the plate and glass as I reach out for it.

"Thanks," I say while I hold the food and drink.

"Of course," Dr.Reynolds starts. "Why don't I take you to our eating area. It will be much more pleasant than eating in this lone hallway, I would think," he says.

"Lead the way," I say with a fake smile covering my face. He smiles and turns to go toward the eating area and I follow him. We walk a little ways with few turns until he opens some double doors and I see a room filled with picnic tables and many, many shelves of food smothering the walls with labels above each one. Labels such as breakfast: eggs and lunch: soups. I look around and see people eating and laughing together. This does somewhat remind me of my cafeteria at school, except the fact that you must make your own food here. Unless, of course, you're me and Jason, we won't have to make our own meals. You have to give your victims the luxury before you execute them. It's only fair to us. Yeah, only fair they say. I look in the middle of the room and see various cooking devices forming a square with a plant in the middle of the square. A plant very big in size, must I add. I see a few people cooking eggs and using the toaster to make bagels and toast and things. But then I see Jason and Libby sitting next to and speaking to each other at a table. "Thanks again," I say to Dr.Reynolds as I march over to Jason and Libby.

"Of course, Aubrey," he says while I walk off. I get to their table and Jason looks up to me before Libby. But soon she follows Jason and stares at me with a blank expression on her face. But only I can see the suspicious grin she is tempted to put on her face from the sparkle in her eyes. I sit across from the two of them and they just look at me, and I to them.

"How's your breakfast?" Libby asks, as if she's interested.

"Fine," I say. "And yours?" I ask.

"Fine," she says.

"Aubrey," Jason starts. I look over to him and wait for him to speak.

"Libby has told me of the discussions you two have been having," he finally spurts out.

"What?" I ask.

"You blame me for this, for that recording device, but Libby told me everything. She told me how she told you what to say and when to say it. You planned our conversations and you think it's my fault!" He says, slowly raising his voice.

"That's not true, Jason, you know I love you. I meant every word of what I said," I try to assure him.

"I want to believe you, Aubrey, that's all I want," he says as he gets up and walks out of the eating area, leaving his plate and glass at the table. I take a quick bite of my eggs and don't even think of the fact of how pleasant they are in my mouth, all I think of is how to earn Jason's trust back.

"That was close," Libby says. I almost forgot she was there. I wish she wasn't here, but I have some things to say to her.

"You're crazy," I say. "You lied to him! You didn't tell me what to say to him, none of that was true. You lied to Jason right to his face!" I say assertively but not loudly; the last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself.

"I also lied to you," she says. I feel my eyes grow bigger at this.

"When?" I ask.

"He had no idea about the recording device. I placed it there while he was asleep, while you were knocked out from running into the wall. It worked quite well, too," she says calmly.

"Why?" I ask, breathless.

"You two need to grow apart, in case of the fact of your death. You could easily die here, Aubrey. Your only hope to live is my cure I'm working on. Every other outcome results in your death. It's inevitable at that point. If you die I'm trying to make it so it won't be so hard on him or on you. This is no fairy tale, odds are you will die in the Sanctuary," she says, point blank.

"Did you love him?" I ask.

"Love who?" She retorts.

"Love Jim. He was roughly thirty and you are how old?" I ask.

"Twenty-eight," she responds lightly.

"Did you love him?" I ask once more. She nods ever so slightly and swallows hard.

"I did," she says. "But when he left because of the virus we made and how the cure didn't work, I was heart broken. That's why I was so focused on my finding that cure. I was going to work with the rest of the group, but then they told me what their cure would require. They needed a person like you, someone who could speak with The Different, or The Gone, and take their blood and kill them. I knew the chances of finding you were so slim. Even if we did find you, I didn't want anyone else to die. I need my cure to work just as much as you do, Aubrey," she says.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask her.

"What?" She asks back.

"You're mentally unstable, Libby. You seem like an innocent girl one moment and a menace the next. I can't trust you," I explain.

"Yes, you can. If you help me with this cure and keep it on the low key, we can make a great team," she urges me.

"No, Libby. Even if I'm wrong and I can trust you, I won't. I refuse to trust you, Libby. Goodbye. Please, leave me alone," I say as I get up and begin leaving the room. I leave and hear her say one more thing,

"You will regret this, Aubrey. You will regret this! I promise you! You will! This is the wrong choice!" She screams. I know people are staring at her, so I leave all the more quickly. I head back to the room Jason and I have been staying in. I need to explain this to Jason, to clear things up.

Because if Libby is right, and I do die here, I will die loving him.

And him loving me.