Finding Purpose

Chapter XIII

Oh my, it's been a year and a half. Anyone able to spot the hint?

-Ayme-

Crying yourself to sleep is not one of the good experiences. It makes you restless, and in the morning, you forget where you are, or what you feel, until it all comes crashing down again, twice as hard, because you didn't remember it before. I've experienced it multiple times. 

The day my father came back, and I was shocked all over when I saw him the next morning. Or the day when my mom told me she was pregnant, and it wasn't until after I woke up, that I realized, that we could become family. For decades, it had only been my mom and me. I knew there was little to no possibility that my dad would come back. And to finally have a family, to start living the way we were supposed to do, it was terrifying that I could lose it all.

Seeing my little brother like that, with almost no energy in his body left, I was starting to think that by the time we made it home, and that was assuming we found the cure and got away with it, we'd be too late. An image of Benjamin being buried while covered in a shroud made especially for him made my mind go numb. To think that hearing his laughter, or just the feeling of hugging him, would be gone, was something that I simply couldn't accept.

I tried to get the thought out of my head, but considering the circumstances, it was hard to do so. With every passing hour, our chances of escaping were getting smaller. Until there might not be a chance left.

Ann hadn't really said anything since she promised me her help to fight to get the future I'm trying to accomplish, but I could see she was brewing on something. Given the number of options we had, which was practically zero, it was frustrating not to be able to come up with a plan. Since I couldn't come up with something, the job was left for Ann, and being the daughter of my mother, who herself always designs the plans for going into battle, giving this out of hands was a pretty frustrating thing to do.

"Okay, hit me. What's the plan we're going to execute?" I asked Ann as I sat down next to her. Ann bit her lip as she turned her head a little.
"There's not much I can think of, but we need to look further than only getting the serum." I frowned.
I felt the frown appear on my face. "What?"

Ann held up her hands in a defensive manner. "Hear me out. What happens if we actually get out of here? We manage to walk out and grab the serum. Then what? We need to find a way to get out of this place unnoticed, and a way to get back to our own world, or even Universa."
"How can you skip the part where we actually escape?"
Ann closed her eyes and said, "Because unlike you, I do trust Eve."

I felt a spike of anger in the back of my mind. "Really, and you know him so well, don't you?"
"Like I told you before Ayme, I don't. But you shouldn't forget that I've lived on my own for years. I know how to make myself blend in, and to observe human behaviour. I know when someone is lying to me. And what Eve did there, was one stunning piece of performing."
"You're saying it was fake?"
"I'm saying, that because of his lineage, it's easier to think that he was telling the truth."
"Okay. Let's assume that what Eve showed us, was one Hell of an acting skill. What is he going to do next?"
"As long as Eve is holding that position, he gets to wield a lot of power. With that, he might get to clear a safe path from this cell, to the room which is holding the serum, and to the exit."
"So, this big plan of yours?"
Ann stared at the grey wall in front of her. "It's to wait. Wait until Eve comes and gets us out."

As it turned out, we had to wait for a little over a day. We were brought one meal, to 'keep us from complaining' as the Cyclops that guarded us told us. If we did voice our complaints towards them, the Cyclops could get a special meal himself, and then there were nog longer prisoners to be occupied with. Ann and I wisely kept our mouths shut. It was early in the morning when another guard came to retrieve us from our cell, forcing us through dozens of hallways, and every time it felt as if we were going lower underground.

We ended up in a humongous study, where the desk was stacked with different files, papers flying all over it. In front of it where two empty chairs, clearly reserved to be occupied soon. Behind the desk was a big lounging chair, of which Eve clearly enjoyed being seated in it. He had his legs crossed and a book in his hands, in which he appeared to be quite intrigued in. He slowly turned the page, not lifting his eyes when he heard us come in and kept reading. Ann was pushed down on one of the chairs in front of the desk, and the guard did the same to me.

No words were spoken, until Eve had finished reading another page. He marked the page and closed setting it carefully down on the desk, in comparison to the mess. He lifted his eyes to meet ours, and an icy chill spread over my back. The sinister laugh and the cruel eyes reminded me too much of his uncle, who had done terrible things in the past.
"What's that?" Eve said cheeky. "No remarks? No ugly words coming my way?"
If looks could hurt, Eve would have been clutching a broken arm by now.
"No that's right, because if you say anything without permission, there won't be a possibility for you to say anything at all. After all, I'm the one who's wielding the power here."
Scratch that. If looks could kill, Eve would have been six feet under as of this instant.

Eve must have sensed my hated glare directed at him, because he turned his eyes to meet mine. "Of course," he said. "there are no options for you to escape this facility. I would know the second you try anything. And as for the serum..."
He grinned when he saw me clenching my teeth in anger. "Please enlighten me on what you have to say. I would love to hear it."
Ann glanced my way and I noticed the concern hidden in her eyes. Did she think I would try to talk him to death?
"What did you do to it?" I grit out, almost snarling in the process.
"Oh, it's still here, if that's what you're wondering. I was going to destroy it, you know. But what was the fun in doing it, when you weren't there to watch?"
"That's what this is about? For you to see the despair on our faces when we realise we have failed?"
Eve clapped his hands together and smiled. "Yes! Isn't it wonderful? To see everything you've been trying to work so hard for blow up in pieces in a matter of seconds? And besides, this will be your way out, because there's nothing left for you to actually stay here."
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you." Ann said softly.
Eve leaned towards her, the gleam in his eyes visible. "Trust me. It will."
He lingered there for a second, and then straightened. "Now come along! This is going to be a glorious moment!"