District - 17: Reunification

Complications

He wiped the tears away. More fell. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't sleep. I can't escape it. Everytime I close my eyes I'm back there. Back in that place, fighting for my life. All over again. Never-ending." He looked at her. "It's hell everyday. Not once have I been able to escape it, and I'm terrified that I never will. I'm so scared Ms. Geet. I don't know what to do."

She held him. Let him sob into her white coat. She stroked his sandy brown hair and felt his chest rise and fall in rapid succession. "It's OK. You can cry. Let it all out, Ryder. There. There, it is. Let it out. You can cry."

He broke down. Let all of it come rushing out. Overloading and flooding his senses. The pain was too much. The memories, worse.

"Post-trauma," she said, gently. "There's no shame in it, but I believe it's safe to say that is what you are currently suffering from." She lifted his chin. "And it is something you will continue to suffer from and go through. There's no estimate as to when it will end, but I promise, so long as you keep coming to me, Ressie, and talk to your peers, you will get through it and come out that much stronger. I'm sure Malik would even love to talk to you. We're not directors, Ryder, but we are here for you, all the same."

There was something else, something she wanted to say to him.

He sniffled. "Ms. Geet?"

She released him and clasped her hands. Pursed her lips. Looked away then back at him. "I want to tell you something, Ryder. But I need you to take what I say into serious consideration, because what I'm about to say may cause you to feel a form of extreme uneasiness. I want you to remain calm, OK? Can you do that for me?"

He swallowed then licked his lips. He fidgeted, then said, "Yes. Yeah, OK."

It took her a while. She breathed and took a deep breath. "I believe without a doubt that Director Tara Dang is going to betray you. She's going to betray every one of you in her cube. Possibly others too, if they get in the way."

He looked at her dubiously while wiping his eyes. There was a feeling of mistrust the more she spoke about his director. She went on. "I spoke with Alessia a few months ago when I first was getting the feeling something was off. All of this is wrong. It's a setup for something bigger. The long game. The big picture that Dang is trying to paint. She's dangerous and I should have known her intentions were unacceptable when she coerced me into injecting you all in the beginning."

The pain of betrayal cut her deep.

"Bloodtech; the abstract solution; that night of pure pandemonium. All of it. She's planning something. She has been from the start."

To his surprise it all seemed to click into place. He thought about her strange behavior revolving around their progress as a cube for the past two years. He thought it was odd that only Cube Nox was placed into a blood-related curriculum. Cube Beltane were the upperclassmen and the heavy hitters, led by the second strongest director, Annagrazia Lanzone. But they had never been exposed to their field of study. Why, he wondered.

Ryder stared at her. He was focused. He believed her. "What's her endgame?"

"That I still don't know. But it has to do with the five of you. My advice: stick together, stay together. I'm going to keep doing the best I can but I don't want to alert any of the higher-ups. No other faculty know aside from me. The only registrants I've told are you and Alessia. You're the leaders of your cube. The others will listen to the both of you especially if your statements are backed up by each other."

She doubled down. Grasped his hand. Looked into his eyes, a sea of cool blue.

"Tara Dang is lying to you. To all of you. Don't believe a word she says from here on out. Continue to play the part of the committed registrant, but remember what I said. I'll keep the two of you informed and updated. I have a sinking feeling she's going to make her move before summer if not by the end of it."