The Unknowns: Character Perspectives

Perspectives from: Bedlam, Ataxia

AMERICAN

Name: Alex Chesier

Age: 17

I don't like him. I'm going to admit that much, right off. Jason Argyle, is his name. He seems so void of happiness and life... He's way too much like me, for me to actually like him. He seems worse than me, though. He won't even pretend to be nice to Aaron as he explains everything that's been going on, and explains all of our party of six, now.

Myself, Aaron, Jessa -who has only spoken to me once-, Colton, Krissy, and Jason, travel through the forest for a while, I don't know exactly the amount of days, but roughly, four? Five? In these few days, I've been attacked by a monsterous creature and my brain feels poisoned, now... I don't want to think about it. I just know that I feel as if I've passed out or knocked myself out more often than I've actually fallen asleep on my own free will. I've also tried to kill people in my sleep, and Jason has saved my life. My acquaintences are beginning to hate me, I'm sure. Everyone is scared of me, I know for a fact. Well, all except Jason. He's probably the only one who can handle me it seems.

All in all, when we get to a lady's house (yeah, a house in the middle of a non-stop forest of carnivorous, monstrous creatures. Weird, right?) and Jason holds me down to let a crazy woman suck poison from my blood, I'm feeling the slightest bit worried that my life is soon going to be about as good as Hell, itself.

***

AMERICAN

Name: Jason Argyle

Age: 18

She's at it again. I try to be quick and pin her down, but her knives. She reached them this time. As Alex is awake, but not fully conscious, she slashes what is probably her smallest knife, and she's screaming. It's disturbing.

"Alex!" Krissy yells, which was a mistake.

Alex took that as come kill me, and she's leapimg to Krissy, knife in position to kill... And since I'm not fast enough, I get to watch it all happen in a matter of about five seconds... I knew I shouldn't have walked so far off, this time. Colton lurches unsteadily in front of Krissy to push her away, because she's so stunned and stupid, and he manages to get Alex to stop for a split second, then she sclices sideways with her knife at something that isn't there, and the knife touches Colton's throat.

"Alex!" I yell as loudly as I can, to turn her possessed attention to myself. I can handle her, and I'd like to say it's because I'm stronger, wiser, intelligent, a survivor...and all those things may be true, but I couldn't say, just yet... But those are not reasons why I can handle her. It's as if I'm the last person she wants to turn to, to hate and kill.

"What!"

Her answer was harsh, but wasn't her, I could just hear the possession in it... It's so wrong and off. And finally, she sprints to the side, dodging whatever I'm assuming she sees coming to attack her. She's screaming at the air around her, as she acts as if something is coming fast, but it's only me.

When I reach her, she shoves me, and I act as a really nice guy...and shove her back. Sorry to disappoint, I guess.

"Alex," I keep saying to her calmly, and I eventually have to bear half my weight on her, because she's pointing the knife at me now, and I kind of want to...not die. "Alex," I say again, and again, and again... And then I yell it. And when yelling proves to be seemingly working, I yell again, "Snap out of it!"

She opens her eyes, finally, and after a while of explaining what's just happened, and how she's been in and out of it for a couple of days, we continue to journey through the forest. A lit up area at night, that I can see from the tree tops, proves that someone lives out here... Jessa told me to look... it's the only time she's ever said a word to me, other than when she asked for everyone's names, again, just to clarify that she had it right. Asked me if I remembered anything, too.

We make it to a woman's house, and she explains almost everything about her entire life here, which is pretty interesting, but Alex obviously finds boring. What she doesn't find as boring, but more like excruciating, and is hard for me to witness, is the moment when she's screamed herself unconscious as I hold her down to let Ramona drain her blood of the poison that a bird pecked into Alex's skin.

Any thoughts Alex might have had that were partially nice, towards me, I'm sure have been erased. Not quite sure yet, whether or not that's supposed to be upsetting to me.

I left the group with Jessa, whom also seems unwanted by the whole group as a travel buddy to Ataxia, through some weird elevator, thing. We're silent, all the way to the city. We're assigned to the same lady as everyone else in our arriving-to-new-country party, to get new names and a hometown, I guess you might say, but we're basically citizens, now. The final step will be made by a woman named Teema, after I'm re-named or whatever.

I get to spend a night alone, next to the room Jessa stays in -by herself, as well- and then, I'll meet the others in the center of the city. I'm assuming Ataxia is a country or a state, because we're in a city, but another place as well.

Jessa spoke to me again, and said she had to find someone, and then she didn't say a word more. I'm assuming she's leaving us tomorrow. I might, too. I'll get "written in" and leave. Get a job, start a new life... I'll find someone to tell me why I'm here, though, and why I'm not scared to have been taken from my home. And why there's a hole in my brain, every time I think about Alex...maybe Aaron, too. They're so...familiar, I guess.

But then again, they're not. I gotta forget about it, because I remember my previous life just fine. A week ago, I lived in a small town, near woods, I hunted for food, I finished school, I lived with my uncle. And that was it.

***

ATAXIAN

Name: Jessa

Age: 20

Every time I speak, it's as if a foreigner has inherited a new language in a matter of moments, because I don't speak often. I don't want to speak, though, in fear that I may give something away. I've done half my job, I just have to get help to figure out the rest. I don't really know the risks from here... I'm new to this assignment. So, given the chance now, I'm leaving.

I've been compared to look like Alex, and I've been given the same last name as her. I carry the same name as my boyfriend now, too. Of course, a lot of people carry the same names in certain cities of Ataxia... Crawgern, specifically, since the traitor group was originally formed there. Crawgern is mainly a building, but the area around it, inside and out of the fence, is considered a city. A city called Crawgern.

My job is incomplete until each subject is in the possession of my "boss..." Mayor of my hometown. But for now, it must be delayed. I have to let my boyfriend do his part and get the subjects where they need to be, before I'm seen. He has to unknowingly get them to the safe place, before I can fly them out of this place.

I can't let myself be seen by the A.T.G, but not because of the reasons I've led my boyfriend to believe. It isn't my fault that our relationship is a lie...sort of. I have good reasons, though. I was born into the hands of authority that rules over me, and my call in life is to comply with the requests (requirements) of the sovereignty.

So, either (a.) I'm unloyal to those commands and I'm condemned, but I can be truthful...and possibly die. Or (b.) I'm loyal, I serve, and I'm safe and treated fairly well. But when it all boils down to the main points, at the end of the assignment, I'll be hated by most, disliked by all, at least. And I'll be miserable... Either way, I'm screwed,

***

ATAXIAN

Name: Krissy Fitterling

Age: 17

I'm roomed with Alex, but technically, we're all roomed together. All five of us... Jessa is gone, but no one cares. She was never of any use or good to anybody. I didn't have a problem with her, I guess, but something was off about her, and it made me uneasy. I'm kind of glad she left.

Today, we were assigned different surnames, and we were all told to get jobs, that way we could pay for living, I guess. Yesterday when Alex and I arrived to Bedlam, a city of this place called Ataxia, apparently, we were told to find Teema, who I think is supposed to be some kind of secret assistant to the government to get new Ataxians "written in" to the population.
Something is wrong, here. I know Colton, and it feels like more than a week. More than a month or a year, even. That is what makes it so difficult to sleep at night. So I have to fake it.