Justice Is Not My Name

Chapter 7

My hands started shaking, and my heart raced.

Without thinking, the mug slipped from my hand and crashed. The sound of the shattering ceramic seemed to echo through the room, matching the chaos swirling inside me.

How is that possible? I stood there, frozen in place, staring at the broken pieces on the floor as the news shock washed over me.

Suddenly I felt a sharp snap next to my ear and jumped, turning to see Mandy leaning over next to me with a concerned look on his face.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. "I need you to stay alert for me, and I have yet to break the rest of the news."

I shook my head with an annoyed expression. "Rest of the news?" I repeated as I watched Mandy sit back down. "How else do you want me to react? What else is there?" I stood up. "Do you mean to tell me that we aren't human?"

Mandy nodded. "Yep."

"How is that possible?" I inquired. "I have been human the entire time I remember being alive. Except for bits and parts of these supernatural occurrences." I paced. "You are not making any sense of this. At all!"

Mandy calmly looked at me and let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, let me explain this to you. It's like this:" He got up and pointed toward the window. "Imagine that you are driving down the highway, right? And you see a car on the road with its hazard lights on. Do you keep driving, or do you stop and help?"

I blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What does this-"

"Answer the question, dear." Mandy interrupted.

I shrugged. "I guess, yeah?"

"Wrong! That is a lie." He replied as I rolled my eyes. "That is something most people would say they'd stop and help, right?"

"Then why ask the question if you already know the answer?" I sat at the corner of the bed. "What is the point?"

Mandy waved his hand as the shattered pieces of the mug formed back into one and gently floated around on top of the coffee table. "The point is:" He turned to look at me. "It is easy to keep driving, especially when you are actually in that situation. It's easy to ignore the fact that someone might need your help. But that's not the right thing to do."

I gave a puzzled look as Mandy raised a single finger. "Let me finish. It will all make sense."

I watched Mandy as he calmly sat back in his armchair, reached for his mug, and took a sip.

"See, we all have a choice in life. We can either choose to be a bystander, or we can choose to do something about it. The people who do something about it are the ones who don't just drive by when they see someone in need. They are the ones who stop, who get out of their car, and who offer a helping hand."

Mandy pointed at me. "You are the person whose car is in flashing lights. Except for the bystander who tried to offer a helping hand, you turned them away. Yelling, kicking, and screaming." He let out a small chuckle. "But yet, you still have those flashing lights on, stranded by that highway."

"So, you are saying-"

"What I am saying is this:" He immediately interjected, and I rolled my eyes again. "It is not easy, let alone for a bystander trying to help you, trying to make a difference, only for the person who got themselves into that sticky situation to make things difficult for themselves and others. Making the situation worse than it is. Only for the victim to continue to play the victim by stubbornly leaving those lights on and refusing any, and if all, help that is offered."