Forlot: My Friend is a Human - Book Ten

Chapter Thirty-Nine

TRIS' P.O.V.

"Ah!" Wendy's and my ears would have bled if we did not cover them.

Instantly, both the light and hologram disappeared, and we were left with an alien whose colors were drained.

Cassidy's sharp cries came to a halt and were replaced with low groans. She collapsed to the ground and on her stomach. Her eyes were shut tight. She did not move. She was now in the same condition as our classmates. Unconscious.

Wendy and I were scared by what Pompus did to her and wanted to wake her up. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to move a muscle.

There was a knock on the other side of the door. The door that led to the very room that we were in. We jumped, and our legs quivered. My teeth chattered, and I had the urge to scream, but I had to hold it in.

Another knock occurred. Along with a deep, sinister voice.

"Attention, Cassidy. We are two of Pompus' guards and were summoned by him to pick you up and take you to him. Let us just say that...he is extremely disappointed in you."

Ah! Wendy and I had to hide. Or escape from the room.

Wendy kneeled down next to Cassidy. I turned my head in all directions, trying to find an excellent hiding spot. Alas, there was none...

...except for a spare door that was by the large computer.

I whispered as best as I could to Wendy. "Forget Cassidy. We need to hide." I pointed at the blue door. "We can hide in whatever is behind that door."

"Good eyes," Wendy complimented. "But we cannot leave Cassidy. She is Kara's sister and can hide with us. We just need to—"

The first door that we had noticed cracked open. I let out a small gasp before forcing Wendy to her feet and pulling her to the spare door. I opened it and did not give it much thought as to how big the room behind that door was or what was in it. Neither did Wendy.

We pushed ourselves into the dark room, and Wendy quietly closed the door. We stood in there for what felt like hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years! But you get my point.

Despite being terrified at what could have happened to us, Wendy and I were as quiet and still as tree branches that are not flowing in the wind. Wendy had her mouth covered, and her stomach was heaving up and down. I was biting the skin on my fingers. I was not biting off the skin. It is just a weird and unhealthy habit that I never knew that I had up until that time.

Probably because I had never felt so much anxiety!

And as if worrying about whether or not the alien guards would find us was not bad enough, we could listen to what they were saying. Their conversation was not disturbing. It is just that...well, I would not want what they were planning to do with Cassidy happen to me or Wendy.

"Ah. Good. Our master has pulled the plug on her," one of the guards said.

"I am surprised," the other guard said. "Cassidy is one of the few things that Pompus has left of Kara."

"It is not a loss. She was annoying anyway."

"Who? Kara?"

"What?! No, no, no. I mean Cassidy. Always grieving. Has nobody ever informed her that Kara is still alive?"

We heard a combination of sounds. Footsteps. Something being dragged across the floor. And the door slamming shut.

"I do believe that the coast is clear," Wendy said. "We can get out now."

"Right," I said. "By the way, what is this room that we are in? It is small enough to be a closet." I lifted up my arm and accidentally hit my elbow against a shelf. "Ow!"

"What happened, Tris? Did you hurt yourself?"

I hissed as I rubbed my elbow. "Yeah. I just banged my poor elbow against something hard."

"Tris...why are you glowing?"

"What?" I examined myself. "What do you mean by that? I am not glowing."

"Yeah...you are correct. But whatever it is that is behind you is definitely glowing."

I spun around and faced a shelf. Faced an object that was giving off white light. My mouth dropped when I came to the realization of what it was.

"It...is a hologram. A hologram of...Kara."

Did this mean...that she was still alive?

No. No, it did not.

Kara was in her human form. She looked to be in her regular clothes and standing up. A blank expression was on her face.

"This is a communication system," Kara explained to us. "How may I help you today?"

"Kara!" Wendy proclaimed. "Is...is it really you?"

"Yes. This is Kara."

Wendy and I teared up. We looked at each other and cheered.

"However..."

We stopped with our cheers and paid attention to the Kara hologram.

"...I am not the real Kara. Only a recording. I am programmed by a computer, and you can make me do whatever you desire." The hologram grew big and tall and was now the same size as us. "How may I help you?"

Wendy and I were saddened that this was not the real Kara. Our Kara that we had known for months.

"Why are you sad?" the hologram Kara asked us. "I was not programmed to make any being sad or mad."

"It is not your fault. You see, you look and sound exactly like our deceased friend," I explained as best as I could.

"I see. Shall I form into another shape?"

I did not know what to say and rubbed my arm.

"No. Do not," Wendy insisted. "Stay like that. Stay like Kara."

"Okay. Would you like me to download Kara's memories?"

Wendy and I looked at each other. "The heck with it."

Little did we realize what we were getting ourselves into.