The Apocalyptic Eye

Chapter Two

Lotus

            When the guards told me that I’m getting off at another destination, I freaked out. Bad. I froze and almost fainted. I have no idea where we’re going, and usually I know where I’m going, but now I don’t. And I hate the feeling of it.

            I step onto the train, feeling the difference from solid ground, to the subway floor. The subway rocks a little bit. People crowd the car, sitting, standing, kneeling, doing whatever to get out and make more space. I am shoved into the back corner with a seat—thank goodness—and a small coffee table with a lamp that help illuminate the room from the darkness of underground. I slide down into the seat, and sigh at my trembling fingers. My stomach is tied up in knots, and the butterflies add on just to make it worse. My heart pounds like crazy, and stars fill my vision. Garrett squeezes through the curtain of people, and plops down beside me in the empty chair—I’m actually really surprised no one took it.

            “Hey,” he says, lightly punching my shoulder. This is what I get for having a best friend that’s a guy.

            “Hey,” I reply, smirking a little bit. The smirk slowly curves into a smile, and I playfully glare at him to make him laugh, too. He eventually catches on, and we’re both laughing without words. “Are you going to that unknown stop, too?”

            “Yeah. They told me it was the Infirmary,” he replies looking out the window.

            The subway’s doors slide close, the bang of the doors closing makes me jump a little bit. Albeit slowly at first, it gets really fast, and soon we are zooming through the undergrounds of Sydney. “Why would they send us to an Infirmary?” I ask after a long break, longer than it should’ve been.

            “I don’t know,” he replies slowly, as if he’s lagging. Like he’s some sort of virus-filled computer. “That’s the only thing I heard from the soldiers. They shout really loud, you know.”

            I laugh at the last part. It’s so true, though. They do shout really loud. So, really, nothing is a secret, considering how loud they shout their secrets. “Year, I know how loud they speak,” I reply through my laughs. We both stop laughing at the same time, and all-of-a-sudden seriousness falls upon us. “How’s it going with the war, anything new?”

            He shakes his head. “No, same old, same old,” he says, pursing his lips.

            “That’s unfortunate,” I say, pushing my lips to the right side on my mouth. I look outside the windows. “A lot of secrets are in the government, as much as lies. You can never tell with them.”

            “I never believe what they tell me,” he replies, staring out the window with wide eyes—something that he does when he’s focused. “Even if it’s life-changing and so believable. I never believe them. Never.” He puts such emotions in his words that it gives me the urge to faint. But he potted a lot of his emotions into the last word. But it’s an inner beauty that only a few can master.

            I nod. I open my mouth to reply, but I find myself closing it right away. I don’t even know what to reply. Which is so unusual.

            He changes subjects almost immediately. “What do you think Blacks look like?”

            “Well, let’s say what the government and out parents say. ‘They look like aliens from another earth!’” I reply, quoting what I’ve heard from so many people.

            He laughs. “No, seriously. What do you think they look like?”

            “Us,” I reply. Looking away from the window and at his eyes, which are fixed on me. “Except… With black skin, obviously.”