The Reduction

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Zara

      Zara snapped out of her daydream as the air conditioning rapidly kicked in. It was too loud, the government was sure to find her. Laying on the bed of a worn-down motel, totally exposed. Chills crept up her arms as the vent released a snowstorm of cold air above the bed which she lay motionless. She became aware of her breathing and tried to slow it down as her mind lingered toward anxious thoughts. She no longer had a place to call home. The Operator was dead. She was completely exposed to the government now.

A sigh from the other side of the room caught her attention and she rolled over to lock eyes with a not-so-friendly face. She wasn't threatened. James wouldn't hurt her even if he had a reason. She could tell that about him. She found James really easy to read.

"Take a picture it'll last longer." James broke the silence and blew a stray hair out of his face. It fell right back in place causing Zara to let out a small exhale. James' eyes darted away to look at something else as if trying to seem unthreatened. He was shackled at the arms and feet with zip-ties. Zara could tell that his back was killing him from the way he would try and straighten it every five minutes. It was probably from being hunched over to prevent getting scars on his wrists.

Zara knew he was exhausted. His under eyes were dark and would shut lightly for a split second before snapping open. It was evident that he hadn't gotten any sleep since the raid. The raid. The thing that didn't make sense about this whole mess. Why would the government attack the Operator and not herself? If they were so sure that she was there, why didn't they just sneak in and get her without affecting anyone else? Why did other people have to get hurt because of her? Why did John have to die, leaving her completely alone?

Memories of her and John danced in her head. She only ever felt safe with him. All the times he would try and teach her ukulele late at night, past her bedtime. When he would come in every night just to say he loved her before he went to sleep, even after they had a big argument that day. Then she realized that he had said that the night he died. Guilt overwhelmed her body as she regretted not taking it seriously. She wished she could redo that moment completely. Zara squeezed her eyes shut allowing tears to escape and roll down her cheek. When she opened her eyes, they meet James'. His brows furrowed in empathy but he quickly looked down and the ground and hung his head over his hands which rested on his ankles.

Embarrassed that James saw her weakness, Zara got up off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she placed her hands on either side of the counter and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The world seemed like too much. Everything seemed too much. Her heart was numb and she was scared of that. Scared to feel nothing. Scared to repress the pain. She had to let it all out in order to feel.

The reflection of her eyes in the mirror made her even more upset.

"It's all because of you. Your stupid eyes being gray and your stupid ability. You've done nothing but bad things to people. Maybe they should just reduce you. You deserve it. After all the pain you've caused you disgusting, selfish coward!" Zara banged on the counter with her fists as she shouted at herself. Her eyes were glossy and darker than normal. She couldn't bear to look at herself anymore so she turned away biting her lip to contain herself from screaming. She just wanted to make the world stop. Everything had been stripped from her. Her home. Her family. Her freedom. Her whole life. Just severed in an instant.

She spent the rest of the night crying into her knees on the bathroom floor, leaned up against the door wishing she was dead instead of John.