Belle Croix: Tales From The Uprising

Chapter 4 (Simone)

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woman sobbing
"No!! She's my baby!! You can't take her!!"

man shouting
"It's for the greater good! Her life is meaningless in the grand scheme. Imagine the things we could do with this knowledge!"

baby screaming in distance
"No... no. You can't have her."

Thunk

high-pitched whine

The baby continues crying as the woman collapses. The white walls of the lab transform into the brick walls of a dark, rainy alley as a woman approaches. I can hear men mumbling in the background.

"Damn. She real cute."
"Hey man, whatcha say we go talk to her?"

high-pitched whine

"We don't want none of ya money, girl. We want that other thing ya got. Right tween them thighs," says a random man—

high-pitched whine

Spatters of blood adorn the brick walls. Bodies lie on the floor as a knife is snatched from the last body.

squelch

I hear a distant voice.
"Baba? Wha... where am... what the fuck happened?"

high-pitched whine sustains and grows in volume

What the fuck?

whine grows in volume and intensity

"GAAAHHH! It hurts!"

The baby continues crying. The woman begs for her child back. The attackers scream in agony as all the sounds overlap. That fucking whine sound is now deafeningly loud. What the fu—

Gasps
"Simi! Wake up!"

Fifi is standing next to me with a horrified look on her face.
"I don't know what the hell you're dreaming about, but you're throwing shit all over your room. You okay?"

Duh, of course not... but she's only asking because she cares. I can't take it out on her.
"I'm good, girl... just a nightmare... I can't stop seeing those men... I mean, they were attacking me... but... how is it even possible for me to be able to—"

high-pitched whine
"AAAAHH!"

"Simone! What the fuck is happening?!"

I look up, panting, trying to regain my bearings.
"There's this... sound... it's a whistle... a siren... a pain... and I don't know why it happens. The first time it happened was when I blacked out... and now it keeps happening. You don't hear it? Like... you really don't hear it?"

"Ion hear nothin' at all, mamas... but I'm here... I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna figure this out."

I love this girl. Since middle school, she's never left me hanging. Ever. She even helped me pick a birthday since my adoption agency or whatever had no record of my birth. And she remembers every year.

*phone ringing*

"It's another unknown number... they called like four times while you were asleep."

*phone continues ringing*
"Who is this and what do you want?"

I hear a man breathing heavily... almost rhythmically.
"0...5...19...11...0...9... deactivate."

"Uh... what? I don't understand what you're saying..."

"REPEAT COMMAND! 0...5...19...11...0...9! DEACTIVATE!"

The fuck?
"Cease operation! Test subject number 5—" click

"Why'd you hang up?" I asked her. A look of mixed concern, confusion, and anger spread across my face.

"Simi... that was weird... and you don't need to be putting yourself in danger by letting some random dude chant shit. You could be a sleeper agent or some shit."

She's right... maybe I am. I don't know. This shit is weird... and it doesn't seem to be getting any less weird any time soon.... wait...

"Wait. Fifi. What if I am..."

Fifi looks at me, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity. "You mean, what if you're a sleeper agent or something? That sounds crazy, but after everything that's happened... who knows?"

I sit down on the edge of my bed, trying to piece everything together. "The nightmare, the blackouts, the weird phone calls... it all feels connected. What if there's something in my past that I don't remember? Something that explains why I... why I killed those men?"

Fifi sits next to me, her hand on my shoulder. "Look, we need to figure this out. But first, you need to calm down. That high-pitched noise you keep hearing might be some kind of trigger or signal. We need to find out more about it."

I nod, grateful for her support. "Yeah, you're right. But where do we even start?"

She thinks for a moment, then says, "Let's start with that phone number. Maybe we can trace it or find out who it belongs to. And we should look into your past, see if there's any record of you before the adoption agency."

"That sounds like a plan. But I'm scared, Fi. What if we find out something terrible?"

Fifi squeezes my shoulder reassuringly. "Whatever we find, we'll face it together. You're not alone in this."

I take a deep breath, feeling a bit more grounded. "Okay. Let's do this. First thing in the morning, we'll start digging."

"Agreed. But for now, try to get some rest. You've been through a lot."

"Thanks, Fi. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hey, what are best friends for? Now, get some sleep."

I lay back down, trying to push the haunting images and sounds out of my mind. As I drift off, I can't help but wonder what secrets my past holds and what the future will bring.