The Clean Ones

CHAPTER 2

"But... Liam-"

"Maybe he was just hit with a tranquilizer. Or maybe he fell and hit his head-"

"Lilliana!" I snapped. My voice came out a sharp, piercing shrill. "Are you delusional?"

Her eyes became wide and soft at the understanding of my words. "No, I'm just trying to make sense of how he was injured..."

Ever so slowly I approached Liam's body and circled my arms around it. "Liam," I whispered, half in disbelief. What was wrong with him? I tried to think back to my history lessons from long ago, from what normal people would do in a situation like this. Panic? Well, maybe. But there had to be a more logical solution than that.

"What's wrong with him?" Lilliana asked, meekly. She stood peeking out from the door behind the chamber

"You think I know?"

"Well clearly you must! Surely someone as knowledgable as you-"

"I don't have time for your sarcasm. It's not wanted." I huffed without taking my eyes off of Liam.

"Perri!" She gasped. "I can assure you that I'm not being sarcastic. You seem to have acquired a wide database of knowledge that I'm sure will be helpful in this situation."

My insides felt as if they would burst through the seam of my skin. If it had been any other day, there was a small chance I could put up with these robotic antics. But, given the day and the situation, I could not just sit and take it. I took a long breath- in through my nose, out through my mouth- but I was past the state of consolation. "Lilliana..." I whispered, "leave."

Her face scrunched together in scrutiny, "Perri, I haven't the slightest clue what you mean-"

"Leave, get out, go somewhere else! Do I need to spell it out for you?" I demanded. I kept one hand firmly on Liam as I used the other to shoo her away.

She didn't move, nor did she get the message, I think. "Go where? What good is me leaving going to do?"

That was it for me. Why was I so stupid as to even attempt to argue with her? The Cleanse was too deeply rooted into her mind for her to escape from it. It seemed as if the Cleanse was getting stronger and stronger every few months, making it that much harder to even poke at the surface of one's true persona. It wasn't necessarily Lilliana's fault that she was being so dense. Yet, I could not convince myself to look beyond her ______. "Are you truly that stupid?" I screeched. "What, now you don't understand the meaning of the word go? Lilliana, get out of here. Go to work or back to your place- anywhere that isn't right in front of my face, okay?"

Her face remained scrunched together. Her pale, pouty lips pursed together as she stared- wether it was at me or right through me wasn't clear. Her feet still did not move from the spot where they were firmly planted amongst the ground. "No." She whispered and shook her head. "Don't you understand? I can't just leave him. I know he's okay. He has to be okay. But I can't leave him in his time of need. What would that speak of my person, if I decided to just abandon him right now?"

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. I had to go along with this act. Yet another problem with the Cleanse was that there was no way to work around it. It was an unstoppable, un-negotiable force, like the atmosphere upon the earth. There was no way to reign it in or try to break its boundaries. If an uncleansed person, like myself, were to argue with a cleansed person, the latter would prevail, always, without fail.

"Alright," I said, finally. "If you're so keen on helping, what do you suppose we do?"

She came over towards me and sat herself down amongst the dirt and rubble covered ground. The tips of her plain, white, cotton dress became streaked with dirt, turning it the same muddy-brown color as the freckles on her cheeks were. Her dainty hands hovered above Liam, but refrained from touching him in any way. It was as if she couldn't bear to see him in such a disorderly state. Her eyes scanned up and down his body, stopping momentarily on each and every cut and bruise that camouflaged the canvas of his skin. "I don't know." She whispered. "Perri, I don't-"