Dystopia

Chapter 20

"Do you promise to behave now?" Eric's mother demanded.

"Yes, mother I promise." Eric said. A part of him felt guilty as he would be abandoning his home in a matter of hours.

"Alright then, you may leave your room when you wish now. You will now be learning here though. The school has not allowed for your return."

"Thank you." Eric muttered.

His parents knew nothing about Eric's plan or where he would go. He was aware they would get worried, but would they search for him? A part of him wanted them to look for him, so he'd know they cared. But the other decided he and they would be safer if he wasn't found.

Eric left the living room to go to his room. He closed the door and sat down in front of his laptop on his desk. Eric exhaled carefully and started decoding the security walls of the Commoner Elite Web.

"179264765..." Eric muttered as he brought down the fire wall.

"Access granted." The computer pronounced.

Eric entered the archives that contained the maps of the Commoner Elite grounds. He typed into the search bar 'Underground System' and the screen zoomed into the underground plumbing system of the city. Underneath the blueprint of tubes and connections, there were faint white lines.

Eric squinted and typed into the keyboard and made the plumbing disappear. And there it was. A system of tunnels way underground that ran all along the south of the Commoner grounds, leading into the Undesired Elite.

"These tunnels must be connected to the one in the Undesired Elite." Eric muttered with a slight smile.

Eric spent the rest of the day collecting and packing essentials. In a backpack, he stuffed underwear, electronic equipment, items he thought he would need like a web connector, and enough food to get him through a few weeks. 

It was now that he began to realize from now on he would have to worry about when or what he would eat every day. Shelter was not too worrying since he would be staying at the underground tunnels of the Undesired. But Eric must now also worry about defending himself and taking care of his health alone.

Tough times were ahead for this fourteen-year-old, but if he succeeded in his cause, this would all be worth it in the end.

***

Night time came along and Eric hadn't left his room and computer all day long. His parents had gone to bed and Eric laid wide awake on his bed . . . waiting for Mathew. Every night, at 9:00 pm he would be taken away to some place and be returned at 12:00 am. It was twelve o'clock and there was no indication of his return.

Eric went to sit in front of the monitor and watched for minutes and minutes until the clock struck 12:30. He was beginning to worry, but soon enough, the chamber opened and Mathew was thrown inside. The door was slammed shut and Eric watched intensely at Mathew's body.

His usually perfect blond hair was messy and sticking in all directions. His skin had gone pale and was stained with purple and red bruises from the frequent beatings he had to endure. And his eyes . . . oh his eyes. Eric would never forget the way they looked the first time he saw them. Crystal blue, filled with pride and enthusiasm.

Now . . . those blue eyes were glassy, red, filled with desperation, and slowly losing all signs of sanity.

Eric observed as Mathew's quivering body lifted itself from the ground. He panted, and cried silently. Eric's heart sank and he just felt the need to comfort him. How he longed to be at his side and wipe away his tears and bring a smile to his lips.

Eric put on his headset and typed in his computer as he blocked all security and surveillance systems from Mathew's chamber. Once that was done, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat and turned on his microphone.

"M-Mathew?" Eric whispered timidly.

Mathew stopped moving for a while, but then continued to sob.

"Mathew." Eric spoke clearly and his voice echoed within the walls of the ivory prison.

This time, Mathew looked up with tears in his eyes. He sighed and said in an empty tone:

"You're not real . . . "

"Mathew I am real. It's me, Eric."

"If you are . . . then what was the first thing I said to you when we met?"

Eric paused, feeling a light heat in his cheeks as he remembered the words.

"Nice to meet you Eric. Pardon my assumption, but I thought you were a girl. A really . . . beautiful girl." Eric repeated from the memory.

"It is you. How are you doing this? How did you know I was here?" Mathew asked looking up to the camera in the top left corner.

"I managed to do some hacking. I've also met your brother."

Mathew tensed at the mention of his brother and whispered coldly with a tremble in his voice:

"He's not alive anymore."

"What do you mean, Mathew?"

"Do you know why I'm here?"

"No."

Mathew rose from the ground and turned around, facing away from Eric.

"I killed my brother." Mathew sobbed as he ran his hands through his hair.

"No. I saw him. The reason I know you're here is because I thought he was you, and I asked him for your Master Code and he gave it to me. I entered the code in my computer and it said your privileges were banned. I looked you up with the code and it said you were here. I . . . I found you here and only then did I realize I had met your brother."

"No, that can't be possible. I saw him dead in my mother's arms! Why would you want to torture me like this, Eric?" Mathew yelled.

"Mathew he's not--"

"What's going on in there?" A guard said as he opened the chamber. "Talking to yourself again, freak?"

Eric watched as Mathew received a blow on his stomach and fell to the ground. He had to stop himself from screaming for him to stop. He clasped a hand to his mouth and sobbed quietly. He wanted Mathew out of that hell. He couldn't stand to see him suffer. 

With his heavy heart, Eric packed his computer into his bag and hung it over his shoulder. He quietly sneaked out his room and closed the door. He put on his hood and looked at the figures of his parents as they slept one last time. Before his emotions caused him to retreat, Eric left his home and ventured into the darkness of the night.