Transparent Pt. II

Follow Nile as she tries to discover what is real, and what is fake. If you haven't read part one, please read that before reading this!

Transparent Pt. II

    I am drifting through a black void. Here but not here, outside of reality, outside of existence. It’s like I am between life and death, not needing to breath, or blink an eye. I just continue floating along, feeling nothing. Wanting nothing. In the distance there is light. I do not yearn for it. I just watch it get closer and closer until I become the light.

***

    I wake up in a panic, trying to sit up, but I can’t. I immediately realize I have leather straps around my waist, wrists, and ankles. The trees that once surrounded me had turned into steel walls, and I lay motionless on a bed in the middle of the room. This nightmare just keeps going. I go from fighting off swarms of crows, and sneaking past frozen foxes, to being strapped down like I’m a mental patient. Hell, after today I might as well be one. And to top it all off, I have no clue where my family is. What happened back there? Everything was just disappearing. Surely I disappeared too, but where am I now?

My neck breaks as the door about 10 feet away from me swings open. My eyes open wide in fear as I see a tall white man walk into the room. But then they muddle in confusion as I realize this white man is….my father.

“D-Dad?” I squeak out, through all my fear and anxiety. “What’s going on?”

My father doesn’t respond. Just looks at me. And looks at me, until finally he says, “Nile, I am not your father.” The words confuse me even more. This is definitely my father. We share the same green eyes, and dark brown hair. It sure looks like my father, but in light of recent events, I’m not too sure what to believe. Plus, that’s not what I asked.

    “Why am I strapped up here?” I ask. “Please, I just want to know what’s going on!” My not-father turns his back on me, seemingly staring in the distance.

    “Nile, you might not like what I’m about to tell you. You’re strapped down for yours and my protection,” he said.

    Protection? Dad needs to be protected from me?

    “I know you made it out the woods safe and sound,” he continues. “That’s good. I was watching the whole thing. I must say, I wasn’t too optimistic for you when the crows came out, but you persevered! Oh, and how can I forget about the fox!? Still see him when you blink don’t ya? The fact of the matter here Nile, is that none of it was real. It was all me and my colleagues creation. Just like your entire life.”

    He was speaking in some weird british accent that I’ve never heard him use before. Maybe this isn’t my dad. He says the woods were his ‘creation’. And I have no idea what he meant about that last part.

    “What do you mean, ‘just like my entire life’? W-who are you!? Where’s my real father? My real family!?” I shout at him.

    “Foolish girl,” the man said with a smirk. “I am not who you led me to believe. My name is Ryan Medley. And I am your father, but only for work. You see Nile, it’s impossible for you to know the reality of your situation. What I say will crush you.”

    Ryan Medley? But my fathers name is Danny Lewis. I look at this “Ryan”, the man who stole my father's appearance. The same crooked nose. The same five o’clock shadow. I look at him with hatred and disgust, fear and confusion as to what he’s doing to me.

    “I don’t need to hear your stories! Just shut up, or tell me where my family is!” I shout at him once more. I’ve had enough of this. I want the truth. Facts!

    “Your ignorance will get you nowhere. I knew I should’ve gotten a strap for the mouth,” said Ryan smartly. “If you must know, your real father and mother were chronic drug addicts. In and out of facilities. The bottom of the barrel. It was a miracle they even had you. Of course, they were no fit to raise you, so they gave you a name, and gave you away to the foster system. You were still a baby when me and your “mother” adopted you. But our intentions were far more sinister Nile. We didn’t adopt you to raise a daughter. You were specially selected to live in a new world. A world of selectively bred humans, the most intelligent, most aware. Utopia. You may wonder why you were in the woods one minute, and here the next. Believe it or not (very funny) you actually broke the simulation when you smashed the main source of power! A very bad oversight on my part, but nevertheless that was all just a test to see how you would react to survival situations. Selective breeding for humans is a tricky process you see. If your not up to par, well…”

    He didn’t say anything after that. Just looked at me and my priceless shocked face. Obviously I don’t want to believe him. Utopia? Selective breeding? Just take me back to the woods… It doesn’t even make any sense. If I was a baby how would he know how intelligent or aware I am? How does he even know my “real” parents, or so he says?  I don’t understand. I loved my mom and dad. None of it was real? Is my sister fake too?

“What about Emily? Is that even her real name?” I ask.

“Oh yes, Emily! We found her shortly after adopting you. I still remember her dirt covered face. Five years old, completely abandoned, living all by herself. She demonstrated excellent problem solving skills, and had a great knack for survival. An excellent candidate for the new world,” said Ryan.

So I do have something to hang onto. My pregnant sister never told me her backstory, and I had just assumed she was my biological sibling. Never would I have thought we were both “candidates” for a “new world”.

“Why are you doing this? What is this “new world”? What are you, the Alumni guys?”

“Hahaha, I see you still have some jokes left in you. No dear, the “Illuminati” isn’t real. We are. All over the world we take foster children, and orphan babies, and raise them under special conditions. Since your first steps we monitor you, put you in various scenarios and difficult situations. Fortunately, technology has gotten so advanced we can bring those scenarios to the next level. Real world simulation is the final, deciding test. You have actually passed, and are cleared for the new world. As for your sister…”

“As for my sister what!?” I lurch at him, but I forgot I was strapped down. Still enough to make him jump.

“Your sister failed Nile. She has no spot in the new world. So promising too.”

The words hit me like a smack in the face. Not only was my entire life some type of experiment, the last real thing I could hold onto was also taken away from me. And for what? Not being good enough!? I hate him. I hate him with every fiber of my being. This man smiled in my face, threw me birthday parties, hugged me when I was sad, laughed with me when I was happy…. and it was all fake. Just to test me. If only I could meet my not-mother…

“Just how many lives have you ruined Ryan?” I ask the man who ruined mine.

“Nile, we’re not ruining lives. We’re saving them! Giving these kids a home! This is a noble cause! When the Cleansing happens, and you’re safe and sound in your new world apartment, you’ll thank me,” answered Ryan.

“Cleansing?”

“Yes my dear, The Cleansing. We plan to release lethal poison in different areas across the world. We’ll try to get rid of as many pests as we can, and use “sweeper” teams to clean up the rest. Of course, we injected you with a serum while you were in the simulation, that makes you immune to the poison. No need to worry.”

“So you just plan to kill everyone that doesn’t meet the guidelines? Billions of people!? Mass genocide!? How do you plan to even get away with this, let alone succeed?”

“The world leaders know all about our plan, silly sheep. They will give their assistance in exchange for a spot of high power in the new world. We plan to keep one billion people and live under one world leader, Ryan Medley!”

“You’re a monster. Killing millions of kids, planning to kill billions more… and this is a noble cause?”

“Listen, you’re the one strapped down! I don’t have to answer to you. I’ve actually had enough talking to you. You will be transported to a holding room until things are set are motion.”

“You’re going to unstrap me? Either incredibly brave, or indescribably stupid.”

“No matter. Even if you escape from me, you wont go far. You don’t know you’re way in, or out of this building.”

With no further words, Ryan, the pending world leader, began to unstrap me, starting at my ankles and working his way up. I wait until I hear the pop of the the last strap on my chest to take a swing at him. My right hand connects straight into his jaw. While he winces in pain, I dash out the door.

I don’t know how long I was in the simulation, but my legs are considerably weak. After breaking out the room, I jog-run down a long, narrow hallway, with doors on either side. Other victims rooms. There’s a window on each door, and everyone is strapped down just like I was, probably living out their worst nightmare. What I see in one room makes me stop completely.

Pressing my face against the window, I see my sister, Emily, strapped down on the bed like the other victims. I bust through the door and scream her name, “Emily! Emily!!” but she doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are open, but she isn't looking at anything. Just staring straight up at the ceiling. I walk closer to her and realize that Ryan wasn’t lying. My sister’s cold, stiff body is enough to make me start weeping. Weeping for her baby that will never see the light of day. I rub her belly bump, smell her hair, trying to hold on to anything I can before I have to let go. With trembling hands, I close my sisters warm, dark brown eyes, hoping that wherever she is, her and her baby are happy, away from this hell here on Earth. Emily’s dead pregnant body is the last thing I see before Ryan bursts in and a guard hits me over the head with the butt of his gun.

The Dreaded To Be Continued….

Author's Note

I know this took a whole 4 months, but I was occupied with many other things
( I know, I know, no excuses! ) P.S. If you haven't read part 1, what are you doing!? P.S.S.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated

Reviews

[Zoya]

It's going well! The tension increases as the story proceeds, and it only gets more interesting. There weren't many grammatical errors so that was a big plus point, and the storytelling was smooth. I enjoyed!