Sinister Ego : Dangerous Minds

21. Unlocked

"It was a very successful first Elimination night," Father said to the worship hall. "We killed ten. And while that may not feel like a lot, every death really, really matters in the long run. Every death contributes to our future reign..."

Father continued with his little speech, but I payed no attention to him. Ten people dead. And I killed two of them. I, Ricky Alexander, killed two people. I am a murderer. I am a selfish, vile person. I did what was easy. I killed to save myself from whatever father would have done to me. Rin did the same. We all did the same.

I was disgusted.

But I didn't cry. I didn't break down on my knees and bawl. I just did it, then I did it again. I just stood over them and did it. The first one was an old lady. Short, black, skinny. Carrying four heavy bags of groceries with no help. While I normally would have offered her assistance, this time I took her life. The second was probably about twenty years old, maybe one hundred fifty pounds. Waiting for the bus, probably on his way to work. Because of me, he would never get there.

All I felt was cold. I felt cold and raw and devoid of anything. I had taken two peoples' lives. I didn't feel human. I wasn't human anymore. I was no more than a weapon, a chip of destruction in Father's strict grasp, a loaded pistol I had no control over. My flesh was steel and my blood was gun powder. I was nothing more than an explosive object.

".... will continue tomorrow. Let's aim for fifteen! But now, you should be returning to your cells.  Greatness has been started today! Let's finish it!"

The cult cheered, then followed the guards back to their cells.

********

I heard the familiar sound of the guards locking up the cells one by one. Clink. Clink. Clink. They were on the cell directly to our right. Clink.

And they stopped in front of our cell. They looked at us for a second.

They looked at the lock.

And back to us again.

Then they were gone.

I turned to Rin. "That was on purpose."

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. "Did you not see? They left the door unlocked! And they knew it! It was on purpose!"

Rin took on a serious facial expression. "Why the fuck did the guards not lock our door? I mean..."

I shook my head. "Who the hell knows. But I do know this: they fucking looked at us then walked away. Maybe it's some sort of call for us to do something!"

"But the guards are on Father's side."

"Hell, for all we know, they're not. For all we know, they're scared of his ass."

"Hell, 'for all we know,' this shit is a trap."

"Trap or no trap, it could be a chance. Look, you know we have to take every opportunity we can to take down Father. Why do you think I ran down the street like a damn maniac? We can't let him keep killing. We can't let him let us keep killing. And if it is a trap.... we're most likely going to die here anyways. So....maybe we should take a risk."

If we acted now, it would be a huge risk. The biggest risk. But if I was right, and the guards actually did want us to do something, we had to take this opportunity. I mean, our fucking cell was actually unlocked. This was a golden chance. But if Rin was right....fuck. As I started to consider the situation more, it made more and more sense. Why would the guards, as loyal to Father as they were, just suddenly change and want us to beat him. Why would they do that?

They wouldn't. They just wouldn't. It made no sense.

"Rin... maybe you're r-"

"No."

My eyes widened. His voice was so firm. For someone who had always been so terrified, reserved and quite, this one simple syllable carried so much authority as it flew out of his mouth.

"No. You're right, Ricky. We have to do something. We have to get out of here. I want to draw again, Ricky. I want to play my guitar again. I want to be out of here. My dream was always to be a musician and an artist.... if I stay here forever, I can't have that. If there's one thing I've learned here, it's that I'm not fit to be a prisoner. I need my art, I need the sun. I don't need constant terror. And neither do you. You don't deserve this.  None of us do. Even if it does turn out to be a trap...it's still a chance. A chance that we just can't afford to not take."

As he spoke, I felt confidence boil up inside of me. There was still a huge deal of doubt, but Rin had demolished quite a bit of it. I shook my head in astonishment. "Damn. Rin, you're hella good at that speech shit."

Rin chuckled. "If you say so. Now come on. Let's see what we can do."

****

We didn't know what we were in for. When that door creeped open, when we stepped into the room, we couldn't have had any idea. It was the same little office that Catherine had taken me into when I first arrived here, the beginning of it all, when I first met Father. It was that same little white office with the stone gray walls and the Father's perfect little desk.

It was empty.

Father wasn't there, so where was he? Was this the trap? Did he and the guards suspect we would look here, then trap us here before we could get out? Was this the true time we would parish? Would we die heroes, fighting them against all the dreadful odds to save the innocent and brain warped cult members? Or would we just be two more victims, chopped to shreds by magnificent blades in less than a second? I did not know. But I would find out soon enough, as unpleasant as the lesson would be. All I knew was this: we were hero enough to try.

Next to me, Run's eyes were narrowed and he stood straight and still, like he was trying to hear or see something. I opened my mouth to whisper to him, but he hastily put his palm over it. He cupped a hand around his ear, beckoning me to try and hear what he was.

A light chuckling. The lightest. The most chilling, the most eerie.
Rin pointed to a slightly ajar door that I had not noticed.

"The power of all the kings and gods, ha ha! Immortality flowing in my blood!"

That was followed by a hysterical cackle, no doubt belonging to father.

I gestured to the door. In the lowest whisper possible, I said to Rin, "There is no way in hell I am opening that shit. Or going first."

Rin gave me an annoyed look. "Fine. We open it together, we walk in together."

I nodded my agreement.

We stepped forward, but were quickly interrupted by a voice.

"Visitors?" Said Father, from inside the door. "Rin and Ricky? I was expecting you! Do come in!"

The door was pushed open from the inside.

We should not have trusted the guards.