The Yellow Bottle Of Freedom

A Story by Adamya Mody

A supposed job assignment where a story was to be made up by the 5 given random words; Citadel, Metamorphosis, Insanity, Bureaucrats, Yellow bottle of freedom. Thought it was worth sharing.

STORY

WORDS TO BE USED: Citadel, Metamorphosis, Insanity, Bureaucrats, Yellow bottle of freedom.

Yellow Bottle of Freedom

Bella would often spend hours sitting at the window of her tower and staring at the horizon, wondering what lies beyond, wondering how air would smell like without these air filtration masks that were strapped to their faces from the day they were born. She would often ask her sister what the bottle shaped monument was that that stood tall across the black waters. Isa had no clue, She was just too taken back by the dark sea that surrounded them, horrified by its existence ever since she almost drowned as a kid, until one day a strong beam of yellow shot out of the tip of that bottle, she knew then what it was, she had read about it of course and seen pictures too in the old books.

“What is it?” asked Bella

“Its what they called a Lighthouse” Isa replied.

A house? So somebody lives there! I knew it! I told you there are people out there! See?

No that can’t be said Isa, there is nothing but the Citadel.

A hundred years had passed since the world went mad! Literally! An air pathogen, a virus of some sort came about the near extinction on the entire human race and everything that lived. The virus was known to drive people insane! Raging! Destroying, everything in their path along with themselves with their own bare hands, heads and teeth. The name was fitting, the Insanity Virus.

Every night at midnight, the yellow bottle would flicker for 30 seconds and then stop. It was almost instinctive to Bella that somebody was calling them, trying to communicate, that it was where they need to go, where they would find freedom because even though the sisters were born and brought up in this place, they knew they did not belong in there. In their hearts they knew that the world is meant to be much more. Bella was as smart as she was little, very! Convinced that there was somebody out there, trying to communicate, she found her own way to reply. She wrote a letter, asking for help, asking for rescue, asking for answers, rolled it up and put it in a bottle along with her pet fireflies. With her eyes fixed at the yellow bottle, she threw hers when it stopped flickering, then they waited..

In an attempt to save whatever was left of the human race, people were led to an island. An island big enough to be a city, with fortified walls and defences they offered them air filtration masks to avoid catching the infection. It was the last retreat of mankind, they called it The Citadel. It was home to the few hundred humans who thought of themselves to be the last of mankind, governed and administered by the one who was called the “President” and his staff, but it was far from any democracy. Little is known about the President. He is indeed a man of mystery. What is known is that he has a large almost un-ending army, the army of the Bureaucrats!.

The Bureaucrats weren’t human, not anymore . They were simply the infected insanes with their insanity removed, along with any emotions of fear, joy or empathy. This was achieved by surgically removing the cortex of the brain that controlled feelings and thought functioning. Hence they no longer behaved insane; they acted like mindless robots that seemed to only funtion at the command of one man, hence the name. It was the president who was responsible for this wicked metamorphosis of the human being into just beings.

There were no more signals from the lighthouse. Isa never had any hope to begin with, and Bella started to lose hers. When one night, at midnight, Isa heard a strange sound. It was almost like that of a bird, but sharper, piercing through the air. She peeped out of her window and saw a man! A man without an air filtration mask! Making strange bird like noises from his mouth! Standing on his raft he was holding something that seemed to be a yellow bottle. She could’ve woken up Bella but wasn’t sure of what was happening herself so she took it upon her to go and see.

Unlike her, the man wasn’t hesitant. He asked.

“Are you her? Is your name bella? Does this yellow bottle belong to you? Is it yours? The yellow bottle?

“No..yes..i mean its my sister’s, Bella.”

“Oh good you understand! Well get her too then. We need to go!”

“Go where?” She questioned.” There isn’t anything out there! And who are you! And where is your mask?”

The man smiled and said, “ You don’t need one. Now stop asking me questions and get your sister now! Before any of those bureaucrats spot us! Now Kid!”

Isa couldn’t possibly understand what was going on but she felt a strange good feeling, like the answers were finally coming. She ran as fast as she could, excited to tell Bella that she was right! She was right all along and that her stupid little yellow bottle worked! up the stairs and into her chamber she entered. She opens the door and finds Bella standing in a dark corner face against the wall. Her head titled a little to left and her shoulders almost hanging loose. Isa doesn’t say a word. Silence takes over followed by a thud as Bella slams her head into the wall! Isa is about to scream when a shadowy figure grabs her mouth from behind and whispers..

“Ssshhhhhh.....You don’t want your head split open and your eyes gauged out and eaten by your own sister now do you? Have a good look at her..

Little Bella continues to slam her bleeding head against the wall as tears roll down the cheeks of her helpless sister.

“This is what is gonna happen to you too. I give you a place in this dead world! A sanctuary! And you wish to escape! Why? If you wanted to be one of them you could’ve just asked. After all that is what I do for a living..”

The President, reaches into his pocket and removes a syringe filled with a red liquid.

“This, my child, is your bottle of freedom”

As he is about to inject her, Isa bites off one of his finger and makes a run for it. She encounters the Bureaucrats but manages to push through. She reaches the shore but there is nothing there, nowhere is there a boat to be found or a light to be followed. Surrounded by the Bureaucrats she is the most scared she has ever been in her entire life but at the same time she decides to do the bravest thing ever too. Isa jumps into the black waters and swims, swims with no heading and no sense of direction. Her tears are the freshest drops of water to assimilate in the dark sea for the longest of times. For almost an hour she swam and she is about to give up she sees it again, the light, the shinning light from the Yellow bottle of her freedom, right above her. A sense of calm fills her up as she looks straight into light. She is free. Life or death didn’t matter anymore to her. Even though her body shuts down and she is drowning, a sense of joy fills her up. She only wishes Bella could see how beautiful the yellow bottle looked from up close, it really was the most beautiful sight she had ever witnessed. A shade of black blocks her beautiful view of the light from underwater as they bring the raft on top of her, a hand reaches in and pulls her out.

“This yellow bottle is your freedom. All of you who wonder what lies beyond i invite you to come and see. There is a whole world out here waiting to be touched and to be explored. And it is as much yours as it is ours. All i ask is for you to be brave and for you to embrace the reality. There is no Insanity, not anymore. The world has found a way to live again, the only insanity left is within those walls! The president was never our saviour , we were doomed from the day we were born. Like crops , waiting to be cultivated, pigs nurtured to be slaughtered. You can choose to stay and become one of them, a mindless being or you can choose to follow the yellow bottles to your freedom! Swim and follow the trails we have made for you and you will at last, Be Free! - Isa”

And as hundreds of Yellow bottles of freedom light the way for those brave enough to realise the truth, there awaited a whole world to be explored.