Hurters and Healers

13

"Well?" The doctor asked when neither of us had responded.

Alex and I continued to look at each other and silently figure out who would talk. Eventually, Alex won and I started explaining everything to the doctor.

"Some of those injuries are from my 5 or 6 years of abuse from my parents, but trust me, my injuries are nothing compared to what most of my siblings had to go through. I don't think there are any broken bones, just scars. My sister and I were sent to the compound instead of the foster home we were supposed to go to. They trained us to be fighters for the leaders that can't settle their own fights. I was a fighter for about five years and treated most of my own injuries since I knew how. The new year's after I turned 12, I was allowed to become a nurse. At 16 I became head nurse which is why I was with the person who almost killed me."

"And being the head nurse makes you important enough to get special care?" the doctor asked.

"No, that's because I'm your leader's daughter."

"Do you have any way to prove yourself? Because frankly, I don't believe a word you're saying."

"Alex can give you the address of the compound and you can check it out yourself if our security doesn't kill you first. And everyone in the compound has a DNA sample in a database in case someone who we think is supposed to be there ends up somewhere else."

"Why is he so important?" The doctor gestured to Alex.

"I'm the compound leader's son. Actually, when I turned 16, I became co-leader, but we don't know why I was told to stay with her. There's no way her dad knew about anything that happened between us," Alex told him which made me blush.

"I still don't believe either of you," the doctor said.

"What do you need for proof?" Alex asked.

"A unicorn shitting rainbows and polka dots in the sky."

"We had something planned for next week before someone snitched. We were going to make our existence known because I guarantee you that there's no record that I'm even alive. And I know that there's a death record for Cee saying she died when she was seven."

"There was one actually, but that's not uncommon when all we have to go off of is a name."

"Does that help you believe us?"

"No. You two are just two kids who have coincidental evidence. There's proof that you were abused, and that's terrible and no one should go through that, but you two could very well be trying to cover for someone. Cecelia, who tried to kill you?"

"Alan Finden."

"Let me guess, there's a death record for him too saying that he died years ago?"

"No, but there are documents about the foster family he was supposedly put with. If you ask them if he's still there they would tell you that he was taken from them because of false accusations that they were never given the chance to prove," Alex said.

"It's common for that to happen in the compound. People are taken from their families or foster families on false accusations and some people were never taken to their foster families. Everyone in the compound knows that what the government is doing in the compounds is wrong. We were about to show everyone who we are and what we were put through," Alex finished.

"Do you have anything to prove yourself?" the doctor asked again.

"A while ago there was a report released by a government reporter who found out that some people weren't being put with their foster families and he found out about the compounds. It wasn't circulated much but you can still access it. I could probably find it on one of your computers if you'd let me," Alex told him.