The Trial

Chapter 11 - Edited

The frozen moment of madness has returned and the gray thickens and swirls all about me. All I can see are her dark eyes glaring back at me and must wait out this horror of being without being. The gray swirls obscure my vision as I attempt to look around for some sign of my captors. They're hiding, but have to show themselves at some point.

Now it happens! You just had to wait until after I felt the blade, didn't you. I demand you show yourselves and answer my questions. Where are you? I know you're out there watching.

Gray mist starts to fade and find myself sitting in a car staring at a woman's face I know well. There are more lines on her bronzed face and her hair's more gray than brown, but her smile's still one designed to bring down internal guards of anyone within her vicinity. The Propagandist for the State has aged well.

I hear the door close, but my younger self doesn't look in the direction of the noise. His eyes are focused on hers, and we're alone as the car pulls away. There's a thick silence in the air even as the car swerves hard to avoid a pothole, and I've no idea where her husband is, or even if he's still alive. This is far preferable, since the scent of state dispatcher three doesn't invade my senses and my shoulder isn't being forced against the side.

Her lips part as her eyes stare warmly into mine. "My husband is sorry he couldn't be here. He had a meeting with the Controller of the State and just couldn't get away."

Everything about her brings an odd sense of comfort, which includes the scents of cleanliness. It's as if the world outside doesn't exist and struggle to keep my guard up against someone so prepared to remove them. I'm wrong about the world not existing, but truth of what lies outside almost becomes lost.

I smile warmly to hide my guard a little better as I feel a few bumps on the road, but most are missed by her driver. She has a new one and wonder what happened to the old, but won't bring it up. There's certain things no one discusses and replacing one driver with another is one of those that will remain a secret.

As the events of this moment roll back in my mind, I know there's no need to encourage my younger self to do anything. I can simply sit back and enjoy the ride through my past, but that would require giving in to my captors and I won't do it under any circumstances. My mind's my own and won't give in to the cowards who keep me prisoner within my unalterable past.

There's no waiting for me to speak as her perfect tone calls for my walls to falter. "There's no need to discuss anything like that. You want to know why you're here and where we're going."

My tone can't match hers, but it comes close. "I won't deny my curiosity."

Her laughs cuts me off from saying anything further and sounds like an odd mixture between whisper and howl. "I'm here to repay you for your kindness to our son. He still speaks quite highly of you and do wish he would let go of his obsession with the school. We've told him he's free to join you any time he wishes, but won't give it up. Children don't know what's best for them."