Chapter 3
"Perri, you need to get out of here." Were the first words my mind truly processed. My world felt as if it were spinning in reverse. Liam was not okay. I couldn't think of a single word to describe what he was except... Absent, maybe. It was as if he wasn't there, in his body, where he should be. He should be laughing and cracking some joke about how he wouldn't be surprised that I managed to break every bottle in the entire store.
But he wasn't cracking jokes or even smiling. No, his mouth was pressed into a firm line, with his lips as still as could possibly be. I took a step closer to view them more closely; cracked, bruised, and purple, were they.
"Perri?" Subconsciously, I knew I needed to answer. Her voice sounded of great affliction. But, as I parted my lips ever so slightly, I was unable to muster the strength to force any words through my lips. Instead, I broke my gaze from Liam and turned my head towards Lilliana.
"Perri," she whispered again with her eyes fixated on mine. "You need to listen to me. Every single word I say- please, even if you won't say anything, just promise me you'll listen?"
I nodded in response.
"Over the years, there's been a lot I have kept from you. It wasn't because I wanted to, it was more that I had to. Does that make sense?"
I shook my head.
"Well, okay." She huffed. "What I'm trying to say is, that I know what's wrong with Liam, and I'm trying my best to prepare you for it. It's a concept far beyond anything you've been exposed to in your lifetime. They teach you here that life is perfect but I can guarantee that that is so far from the truth. You think you know everything but, let me tell you, you don't. I don't mean that in a crude way- I'm just being honest. There's a vast world outside of our own that hold so many things, both good and terrible, that they keep from you inside the community, and-"
"How do you know all this? What good things? Terrible things? What's going on, what's-" the words came bubbling out of my mouth so fast that I didn't have time it stop and catch myself.
"As far as you or anyone else was concerned, I work at the bakery during the day, and then I get the afternoon off. Is that not correct?"
"It is."
"Those afternoons off were spent working at the town hall. I worked alongside Mayor Johnson. I'm sorry, Perri. I know your distaste for him, and I'm so sorry I've had to keep it from you."
"What," I whispered, "did you do for him."
"I'm sorry." Tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."
"What did you do for him?" My voice grew louder with each syllable. My fists were clenched so tightly at my sides that I could feel my nails break the skin of my palms.
"I..." She stuttered and hiccuped. "He sent me on errands outside of the community. Gathering DNA samples was the bulk of the work I did."
"So that means you're partially Cleansed?" I asked. Though it was off topic slightly, it would clarify that she truly was working for the Mayor.
"Yes, I am." She said. That sealed the deal. Everyone that worked closely to the Mayor did not have to go through as strong of a Cleanse treatment as everyone else. They could keep all their memories and knowledge, while their new thoughts were the only factor that was effected. For everyone else, however, we only got to keep a select handful of memories.
I shook my head. "Why are you telling me all of this now? What does this have to do with anything?"
"For years, I pretended to be stupid and ignorant so you all wouldn't get any insight into what I did. My job broke the mold they had worked so hard to create within the community. I have knowledge of things you all aren't supposed to know about. I was sworn to secrecy, but with what happened to Liam... I can't keep that promise anymore."
"Lilliana, what are you even talking about?" I demanded.
She took a deep breathe and shut her eyes momentarily. When she exhaled, her brown eyes sprang open, alert and intent. "There's something that happens when a person's body is broken down beyond repair. I'm sure you've had done knowledge regarding anatomy, so you're aware that the heart pumps blood through the body. Well, when... This occurs, a person's heart shuts down and no longer pumps blood, causing all other organs it shut down as well. The body becomes completely inactive and unresponsive. It's a phenomenon that happens every day outside the community. It's called death, Perri. Liam is dead."
It took my brain a minute to process the information she had told me. Dead? What an absurd concept, in my opinion. It couldn't possibly make sense that our bodies would just shut off completely one day. "But what does that even mean?"
"It's like..." She started, "it's like you're asleep, but permanently. And you never wake up; you stay sleeping while everyone around you tries to learn to live without you. Does that make a little more sense?"
"Kind of..." I admitted. "But, I still don't understand why they keep that from us."
"It's a traumatizing subject. It inflicts a lot of pain on people, and they want to keep you hidden from that pain. It's difficult to come to terms with death."
"But, who would death Liam?" I asked quietly.
She snorted, loud and brash. "Sweetie, you can't death someone. However, you can kill someone, which means that you inflict death upon them. I don't know who would kill Liam, but our options are slim. It has to be someone that works in the Town Hall and has knowledge of death, so, it must be someone who's been outside the community."
"And how many people have done that?"
"Quite a few. You'd be surprised."
Except, I didn't have time to be surprised. Before I could utter a single word, a large crash sounded throughout the shop.
"Oh shit," Lilliana muttered. "Shit, okay. Perri, grab that tarp from on top of that shelf and throw it over Liam. I'm going to go see if I can get a view of who's here." We ran in opposite directions. The shelf upon which the tarp lay was just barely out of my reach. I stretched up on the very tips of my toes and shot my arm out to yank it off the shelf. As I pulled it down, I felt my dress rise up ever so slightly, and whatever contents were inside the pocket slide out and hit the floor.
I took the tarp, which was rather bulky, and ran over to the metal table in which Liam's body lay. His dead body, I reminded myself. He looked as stiff as a board just laying there. I moved the tarp up, but immediately brought it back down. I couldn't let him go like this. I walked over to where his head lay and tousled his honey blonde hair one last time. For a moment, I half expected him to chuckle and flash his pearly white teeth in a grin; my heart sank as I realized this would not happen. His cheeks were drained of color and had already begun to sag down. His lips were no longer rosy, but as pale and drained as the rest of his flesh was. The only color left to his body was his eyes, his glowing blue orbs which were heavily glazed over and unfocused. Ever so gently I reached my finger tips out and shut his eyelids, one at a time. The gems were now concealed underneath a cover of pale, deceased skin, never to face the light of day again. I wrapped my arms around his frame and lay my head down on his chest. I let the tears fall freely from my eyes and further stain his blood soaked shirt. Liam, the boy who had spent every day with me from the time I was in primary school, would no longer be with me. He wouldn't randomly hang from my apple tree or come to my home to read my books and rant about his model trains. He would not hold my hand before we got Cleansed, or call me "kiddo" just to get under my skin. Everything I had grown accustomed to in my sixteen years of living was gone in one quaking breath. I closed my eyes and inhaled Liam's scent for what would be the last time.
"Jesus, Perri, what are you doing?" Lilliana screeched. She ripped my body off of Liam and pushed me aside, throwing the tarp over him herself. "Look, I get you're distraught, but there will be time to mourn later. The Mayor is outside demanding a way in. Apparently someone heard our screams earlier and reported it to the Town Hall. He's here to check out what's going on. We need to get you- oh!" She gasped. She darted past me and gathered something off the floor. She came back to me and held it in front of me face. "What's this?" She demanded.
It was the shiny, black box from earlier. I had forgotten that I put it in the pocket of my dress earlier. "I don't know." I admitted sheepishly.
More banging sounded throughout the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that some Peace Guards had managed to get into the room. one of the guards, the same one that noticed me in line for the Cleanse, raise her tranquilizer in attempt to shoot. I jumped to the ground just as I heard the pang of the gun go off.
"What did I tell you about not shooting unless absolutely necessary?" A cold voice growled. I peered up from my tucked position on the ground. A thick shadow loomed over me. I watched as the shadow grabbed my shoulder and yanked me up from the ground so that I faced the guard straight in the eye. Her lips puckered as her eyes began to roam my stature.
"See," the voice belonging to whomever pulled me up said, a bit softer now, "it's just a little girl. You'll wouldn't want to shoot her."
"I am most certainly not a little girl!" I retorted. I heard footsteps approach me from behind. I spun around just in time for Mayor Johnson to pull me into a bone-shattering hug. Even though he was much older than I, he stood about the same height as me. His short, plump stature made it almost comical for how much the people in our town feared him. His long, greasy grey mustache and receding hairline only added to the unintentional comedic effect.
"Yes you are, little girl." He whispered as he pulled away. His stone-cold glare locked with my eyes. "Now, do tell why you are here."
"Um..."
"She was helping me run an errand, sir. I can assure you everything is fine here." Lilliana said with a smile. She stood beside me with her hands clenching the black box behind her back.
"If that is so, then why were there reports of screams coming from this building approximately an hour ago, Miss Willows and Miss Bennett?"
"Screaming?" I asked. I tried my best to play-off a perplexed persona. "What screaming?"
The mayor took several steps closer towards me. "You mean to say there was a false accusation made against you two young ladies?"
"Well,-"
"No sir." Lilliana finished for me. "What Miss Bennett is trying to say is that maybe the person mistook the source of the screams. Perhaps try the metallurgy shop down the road. It might have come from there."
"Very well." The Mayor announced. "Sorry to bother you ladies. But, ah, Miss Willows, do remember the deal we made."
"What deal-" I started but was cut off by Lilliana clamping her hand down over my mouth.
"Yes sir." She said though gritted teeth. I didn't bother her about it after that, for whatever it was, she clearly wanted no association with it.
After she walked the Mayor and his compadres to the door, Lilliana spun on her heels and sauntered towards me. "Alright, where did you get this?" She demanded, holding the black box out in front of me.
"I found it while I was going through the shelves. Why?"
"Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?"
"No, what are you even talking about? What is it?"
"This, my dear, is a Retrograde. I assume you haven't heard of one?" She asked. I shook my head. It didn't look more than just an ordinary, black cube to me. It shared resemblance with a child's building block, but it didn't appear special in any way. She continued, "It can't believe you found one. I would've thought it was checked twice over that none if these existed anymore-"
"What is the point of this?" I blurted.
"Perri, hush. Listen, you need to get out of her. I understand that with Liam's... Unprecedented departure-" she gulped and stumbled over the proper way to phrase her question. "In regards to Liam, I understand how you feel-"
"Don't you dare," I whispered as tears stung the back of my eyes. "Don't say you know how I feel. You couldn't possibly begin to understand. You didn't even come close to knowing him how I did and you and I both know that is a fact." I chocked as tears erupted from my eyes. Lilliana just stared at me and waited for me to calm down.
"Are you done now?" She asked. Her coldness felt strange, as I was not used to it. I nodded and allowed her to continue with what she was going to say. "Now, I need you to listen. What I meant to say, was that I know you're deeply saddened by what occurred today. A lot has been thrown at you at once, and you don't know how to cope with it. That's understandable. But, I'm going to help you find out what happened to him. Well, not directly. I'm going to give you resources that are unavailable to the rest of the community. There's a bit of a catch, though. Once I hand this off to you, you must promise me that you'll get out of here. As soon as I'm done take it and run. And, by all circumstances, do not come back here." She concluded.
"But...why? Why will running away from my problems help anyone? I should face them head-on, not cower away from them by running..." I protested, though she ignored them. I opened my palm and stared a the tiny contraption she placed inside. Its sleek, black exterior shone as the sunrise peeked in through the plexiglass windows and reflected off of it. I turned it over in my hand several times. "I don't understand," I said. "How will this... Device help me with anything?"
"That's what I'm getting to." she said slowly. "I know it doesn't look like anything special but the things it's capable of... Well, you'll just have to see for yourself." She exhaled sharply and flipped open the lid. Inside the top was a switch, closely resembling that of a common household light fixture. Next to it, a coded keypad. "I know this may sound crazy, but this Retrograde allows you to go to any time period, wether it be past or present, of your choosing by simply typing in a specific date."
"So essentially, it's a time travel machine? Lilliana, are you sure you're okay? You know those don't exist-' I rolled my eyes. This became quite ridiculous. With all that had happened in the past few hours, I was sure it had gotten to her head. A time travel machine? She has to be kidding.
"It's not a matter of my mental health, Perri. Yes, it is exactly like a time machine. I need you to take it and use it to your advantage."
"I still don't understand," I sighed, "How the hell will this help me in any way?"
"This, the Retrograde, is extremely powerful. I know it doesn't look like much, but it is. People are dying to get their hands on one. That's part of the reason why you can't let anyone know you have it. If... If Mayor Johnson found out he'd most likely... Well, I'm not even sure what he would do to you. Now, back to how this will help you. Something's terribly wrong, as I'm sure you've noticed. Liam's death was not an accident. There are too many precautions set in place for this to be a mere accident. That's the problem. Who planned this? Why would they plan this, or is it just that the Cleanse is beginning to fail us? I'm honestly not sure. Perri, you're the only one that can go and get these answers for us. I'll make something up for when you're gone, but I suggest you leave now. You know too much information that you shouldn't know. If anyone else finds out you know more than you should, you could be next."
"So, hold on a second. You want me to tamper with the future?" All of this was flying so fast at me that I could barely keep up. "Slow down, please."
Voices could be heard outside the shop door. It was faint, but my ears were able to make out the acute mumble of the Mayor, along with the gruffness of his female guard. "Dammit, they're back. Okay, no more time for questions. We need to move fast," she whispered. "I can explain everything later. Just please, go. Follow the code and go. You want to face the situation head on- well here's your chance."
"The Cleansing started to create peace and harmony in this world, didn't it? I still don't understand how it could be causing this much trouble." Silly girl, you really believe that? Death is the fate that awaits the ill and the unstable, not the cleansed.
"Perri, you and I both know there's more to it than that. Now go fast, before anyone finds us up here. You're a strong girl, I know you can do it." She said. And, with that, she gave me a quick hug and slipped out of the room.
Now I was left alone with the Retrograde. I examined the coding and contemplated what date to go back to. Closing my eyes, I tried desperately to recall any information from the history classes I took as a child. It had been years since I had heard a proper educational lecture. Everyone that lived within the harsh borders of the city were required to quit schooling at the age of sixteen and peruse job opportunities- a method of ensuring that everyone did their part to contribute to the economy. Unless you were somehow able to escape the community, which was nearly impossible, and relocate to an area far away from here, receiving a further education was out of question. Despite numerous protests, this wasn't likely to change.
Suddenly I jumped up; the date stood out as clear as day. 2181, the year of the uprising. Mayor Johnson... Elected 2182.... Created the community and brought the idea in of the Cleansing to create a safe sanctuary to preserve happiness in the midst of war... I clapped my hands together and began to eagerly punch the numbers into key pad. The inside of the Retrograde lit up as soon asI had finished, and erupted into a soundless, purple vortex. Without much thought, I arbitrarily stuck my hand in and allowed the rest of my body to follow. Bile rose to the back of my throat as my body began to be jerked around in all directions, contorting in ways I didn't believe possible. My bones popped and cracked, my limbs bent out in awkward shapes. The Retrograde was proving to be too much for my body to handle. Black specks clouded my vision, slowly causing her to black out. Despite the trauma being inflicted on my body, I felt strangely feather-light, almost as if I was floating.
Liam. I am coming.
A/N: I apologize for not updating last Friday! Between finals and gearing up for the holiday season, life has been crazy! But, fear not- if this chapter gets three reviews and three votes by tomorrow, I will post the next chapter tomorrow evening! I thank you all for taking a chance on this story so far. We're just getting started, and I've got so many little tricks and twists up my sleeve for this story 😁 if you like what you've read so far, leave me a comment! Spread the word! Shout out my story and I'll shout out yours back! Or, if you don't like what you've read, let me know what I can do to make this story better!
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