Across Dimensions (ONC 2020)

Chapter Seven:The Truth Behind It All

"I will send you refreshments momentarily. Until the spirits calm, stay in this room. I don't want you to see what has to be done." Maximus declares firmly.

He shoves me forward through the door, causing me to stumble and fall to my knees from the pain the jolt causes my body.

"No, no, no! Maximus! Let me out!" Kai cries pounding on the sealed door.

"Get up. Walk until I tell you otherwise." Maximus commands, pressing the gun against my spine.

I use the wall to help find my balance. The longer I stand, the dizzier I feel. If this is a result of blood loss, I would have likely passed out awhile ago and never have woken up again. Which means if I do have internal bleeding, it isn't that severe. At this point, I just think I'm tired, hungry, and very dehydrated. Oh, water sounds amazing right now. If this fellow didn't have a gun to my back, I'd ask him for some.

"Why do you think I made these people you mentioned disappear?" I ask, hoping that perhaps engaging in conversation might calm the guy who wants to blow my innards all over the floor.

Silence.

"I guess you're not much of a talker huh? That's okay, but it would be nice if I knew why you want to kill me. Will you at least tell me that?" I ask, though I do not expect an answer.

"Until I am sure Kai cannot hear us, I will not say anything. She's been through enough. I don't think she can handle more." Maximus states quietly. "Enter the open room on your left."

I obey, stepping into a room similar to the other we were in earlier. It is decorated with the same glowing tiles. The difference, this one is furnished, with tools and chairs with metal clasps.

"None of these fancy things are necessary Mr.Maximus, I plan on being truthful. Lying at gunpoint would be foolish." I declare, with my heart pounding when I scan over the variety of things that I would rather not become acquainted with.

Rolling wheels grab my attention, I glance to the side seeing a regular business-like chair coming to a stop beside me. "Take a seat. Let just talk for now. I only use those things as needed. Don't paint me for a moron, but I do like to give you the benefit of a doubt before diving into less than pleasant questioning techniques."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I am holding, and carefully sit down.

"Just so you are aware, there is a gun system in this room that can kill you at my voice command. Do not try to attack me, or escape." Maximus warns taking a seat across from me.

"Two people dear to me and Kai disappeared the year you entered Edipeis. How do I know about your entry? Because you were Kyle's best friends child. Martha kept him updated on how you were doing, and all the accomplishments you made. Against my wishes, and his wife Vidya's, he was planning on taking you out of your dimension the day before you turned sixteen, to assure your name never got displayed on the execution board."

"I have a feeling that somehow the governing authorities learned of this, and purposefully took you into Edipeis to make you inaccessible to him. Why? To set a trap and capture him. I know your parents died so long ago, it's doubtful you remember much about them. Your father and Kyle fought during the civil war with me, and were the only two left alive after things went awry."

Maximus pauses, his eyes become vacant momentarily, as if lost in another time.

"My father fought in that? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy? He always bashed on those foolish enough to rebel against our strong government. Even though, doing just that was what got him killed... His moral standing was placed above the law." I say, twiddling my fingers nervously. "This friend of his, Kyle, why didn't he just take me out of the world when my parents died?"

"He had more important things to think about, like a wife and daughter. Those people who disappeared, are Kai's parents. I need you to tell me what you remember once you walked through those gates." Maximus declares, setting his gun on the metallic counter to his left.

My pounding head does not help my focus, I close my eyes and attempt to pull out things that simply aren't available. "Absolutely nothing. I woke up just hours ago stuck beneath a metal beam in the facility you and a lady named Vidya visited in the video Kai played."

I jump when Maximus stands up kicking the table, "Dammit! I was worried this would be the case. Those bastards always wipe their messes clean, even from the minds of living beings. Bright side is you won't remember whatever torture they subjected you to in that facility. Unless..."

Running across the room, the distinguished man grabs a locked metal box. He looked a lot smaller than I thought he would, and older. "The authorities that used you as bait found a way to send pictures and threatening letters to Kyle. I still have not figured out who their delivery man happened to be,  but he managed to stop by once a month after your imprisonment. Frankly, I don't know you well enough to pity you. Take a look at the things in this box and see if any of it jogs your memory. If it doesn't, there's a few less than desirable methods we can try."

"Kai was a wreck when she first showed up at my door step. I know she still cries in secret, it's unfair that she's forced to live with a someone she barely knows. You are the last link we have to them. I've been searching ever since they disappeared, and have not found even a trace of where they went." Maximus states, opening the box and handing it to me.

Something deep in my mind cries out desperately, to warn me against looking at the contents of this box. I have a feeling that is an attempt to protect me from things that are better left forgotten. "What if I do remember, and these horrors cause trauma that makes me of no use to you?"

"Then I'll put you out of your misery." He replies without a pause for thought.

I stare blankly at the letters in the box, aware that each one will contain some sort of horror I'll never be able to forget. But if he simply wants me to remember? Does that mean he no longer wants me dead?

"Does this mean you are not going to kill me?" I ask, with my eyes focused downward.

Silence is reply I receive.

I look up to see the door closing, and Maximus no longer present.

Maybe that's a good sign? I have no idea.

If the contents of this box can fill in that large gap in my memory, perhaps the accompanying trauma will be worth it.

My pounding head screams when I pick up the first envelope addressed to Kyle Barivian. Bile rises up my throat, as if I have already absorbed whatever contents are hidden behind the thin layer of paper. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath to prepare myself. Whatever these have in them will haunt me forever, especially if the memories from the times forgotten flood in.

I open the first envelope, taking out a crudely written letter that has a photo attached.

"The longer you take, the worse this becomes. Do you care little for your god sons suffering Kyle? I thought you were the man with a heart of gold, the rebel who wanted what was best for others. Then you ran like the coward you are, and left us all behind to suffer the wrath of the government you sought to overthrow!

-The Voice of The People"

My eyes reread the words, which seem oddly familiar. I've heard someone talk like this before, not out of anger, but in an attempt to start another rebellion. It failed miserably. Why can't I remember the name?

Just a glance at the photo made me feel sick. Fear seeps from the eyes of the mutilated child in the photograph, the one who fought hard enough to make sure I'd know how to escape before I died. He felt like another person, distant and forgotten.

I set down the box, and rub my eyes with the palm of my hand in an effort the erase the image from my mind. But I know the attempt is fruitless, I have a box full left to go through.

If my memory comes back, I do not know if I'll be able to sleep again.