2022-06-30 04:06:28When Cameron woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring, he groaned and dragged himself out of bed. Hey, how is everything going? He shot to Justin. Carly and Justin never left his mind.
Hey, you up? He saw he had a text—not from Justin, but from Madison. Hmm, he thought to himself. That’s weird. He typed back; I am now. Sorry. I had a late night last night. She responded Yeah me too. Are you able to talk on the phone before school? Cameron didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he said he’d talk for a few minutes.
Pulling her up on videochat, he saw where she looked like she’d just woken up too. “Hey,” he said while yawning.
“Hi,” she said awkwardly.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he said, “Sooo, did you need something?”
“Uh,” she said, then threw her hand up like she was brushing it off, “You know what? Never mind. I shouldn’t have called. I’m sorry to bother you.”
“No, it’s okay. Really. What is it?” Cameron insisted.
“Well,” she said nervously, which Cameron found odd. Madison wasn’t really someone that Cameron would’ve pegged as getting nervous. “I was wondering if I could ask you something.”
“Sure,” Cameron said questioningly. He had a weird feeling about where this was going.
“It’s about your friend, Justin,” she said. When Cameron made a gesture for her to go on, she sighed and said, “Does he have a date to the fall homecoming dance?”
Cameron’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. “Uh, not-not that I know of, no,” he stammered out, “but he’s, uh, got a lot going on right now, so I don’t even know if he’s going.” Her face fell just slightly enough most people wouldn’t have noticed, but he did and continued, “but I can ask, if you want. I can find out and let you know in Lit, I guess.”
“You would do that for me?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Yeah. I can be a nice person, despite what most people might say about me,” he retorted.
“Oh, most people don’t think you’re not a nice person,” she joked. “It’s quite the opposite actually. Most people think you’re a pushover.”
“Really?” He teased, “and what do you think?”
She bit back, “Oh, you’re definitely a pushover. I’ve already got you doing my bidding.” Cameron laughed, and it was nice to find someone else he could laugh with.
His face fell when he remembered he had to get ready for school, “Hey, I’ve actually got to go now. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. I can pick on you more at school,” she joked, “and thank you,” she finished earnestly. He said it was no problem and bode his goodbyes, hanging his HoloComm back around his neck.
“Cameron! Breakfast!” One of the manor staff called up to his room. He sighed sadly and walked downstairs still in his Galactic Omega pajama shirt—his favorite video game from 2120—and flannel pants. He slogged down the stairs, planning to eat as fast he could. He didn’t want to go to school today; he was too worried about Justin and Carly, who he still hadn’t heard back from yet.
“What took you so long?” Shane said, already dressed. Even when they all wore uniforms, Shane still dressed like an asshole. “Up there watching porn, wishing it was Gabriella?” He made a smoochy face that Cameron mocked. Cameron didn’t know how Shane knew about Gabriella, but he also wasn’t surprised. Shane had connections that Cameron wouldn’t even begin to be able to understand at San Vanjay’s.
“No, actually, I was talking to a friend,” he answered smoothly. “I know you don’t really know what that means, considering all you do is screw people over—literally and figuratively.” Apparently, Shane didn’t have a comment since he just sneered and went back to his breakfast. Cameron smirked and sat down across from him.
His stepfather was in their dining room moments later, fully dressed in his suit, and said, “Good morning, Shane. I’m assuming you’re meeting friends after school?” Cameron was fine with not being addressed because he’d rather be ignored than have to deal with shit from him too.
“You know it, Dad,” he said, raising his fork as a strange sort of toast. “I’m meeting up with Cole and Nick. We’re going down to that new ice cream place opening up on the other side of town.” Cameron knew that was bullshit. Whenever Shane had a hookup planned, he always told the president he was meeting Cole and Nick to hit up some new place. His stepfather probably knew Shane was lying, but of course, he’d be able to get away with it.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Shane,” he replied, bringing some eggs up to his mouth.
“May I be dismissed?” Cameron quietly asked his stepfather. “I’m finished. I need to go get dressed.”
“No,” his stepfather snapped. “The rest of us aren’t finished eating yet, so why should you be allowed to leave? Why didn’t you get dressed before breakfast? I’m sure you had time.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” he said, clamming up. “I was checking in with my friend whose sister was admitted into the hospital last night.” He saw his stepfather take a deep sigh, then Cameron was dismissed from the table. “Thank you, sir,” he said, standing up and heading back up the stairs to his bedroom.
Seeing on his HoloComm that he had a reply from Justin, he opened the hologram. She’s about the same. We were finally able to get ahold of my mom. They let her off for a few days, and she was horrified she missed this. Cameron promptly responded, saying, At least you got in touch with her. I’m sure Carly appreciates finally seeing her. Justin said she did, so Cameron responded, Is Carly awake now? Justin answered, Yeah. They got some extra oxygen in her and were satisfied with her vitals after a while. She’s still not feeling like herself just yet, but she’s got some more color. Cameron audibly sighed in relief. His best friends were okay. That gave him some semblance of hope in a world that was chock full of despair. I’m glad to hear it—really. He replied, pulling on his uniform for San Vanjay’s and his HoloComm around his neck, shooting a see you later at Justin. He’d go see them after school.
*****
He must’ve been grinning or something because Madison asked, “What do you look so happy about?”
“Oh, it’s, uh, it’s nothing,” Cameron stammered out, trying his best to make his face resemble his usual look upon the school.
“Don’t lie to me, Cameron,” she joked. “I know you were thinking about something. Were you thinking about a girl you like? Who is it? Can I guess?”
“No, it wasn’t that,” He said, blushing. Now that Madison brought it up, he began thinking about Gabriella, which made him blush more. “I just, uh, stood up to my stepbrother.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“That’s it?” She asked.
“Yeah. We got into an argument on the way here. I’m just, uh, happy I won,” he faltered.
Madison just shrugged and replied, “Alrighty, then.” They walked beside each other in silence for a few minutes before she piped up and asked, “Have you gotten the chance yet to talk to Justin for me?”
“Well, no, not yet,” he answered. “You also did just ask me like two hours ago. He had a rough night last night, so I didn’t yet.” Madison had no idea that was the understatement of the century.
She looked a little letdown but said she understood. Then they parted ways since they had different first period classes, and Cameron was beginning to consider Madison a new friend.
*****
During lunchtime, Cameron was sitting at an end of the table by himself, so he got out his HoloComm and checked in with Justin. Hey, everything good? Within seconds, he had a reply. Yeah, she’s doing a lot better. How’s school today? Cameron just explained what happened with Nick and Cole, and Justin said, It’s kind of pathetic Shane has to get his friends to fight his battles for him. Cameron couldn’t agree more, but he said, Shane isn’t one who needs help with that sort of thing. I don’t know if he even knows they were over here talking to me. He could picture Justin laughing when he replied, You’re just falling apart over there without me, aren’t you?
Cameron chuckled and said, Yeah, dude. I can’t make it five minutes without a girl asking me if you’re going to the dance. He thought that was a smooth part of the conversation to bring up Madison, and Justin said, Really? Who was it? He answered quickly with, Madison van Buren. Cameron didn’t know if they knew each other very well, and he couldn’t tell any better when Justin said, Really? Madison van Buren has a crush on me? When he said yep, Justin replied, I honestly never thought about her that way. I don’t know her very well. I mean she’s a cool girl and all, but I never thought about her as anything more than a friend. Cameron was a little bummed himself because he wanted to see Justin and Madison together at the dance. He didn’t have the nerve to ask Gabriella. I think you’d be cool together—even for just one date, but it’s obviously up to you, bro. Justin just said, I’ll think about it before Cameron had to click off his HoloComm and head to his next class.
*****
Cameron asked Frank to drop him off at the hospital to go see Justin, his mom, and Carly—which he agreed to with a smile. It was a short ride with small talk the whole way there.
When they were pulling up to the parking lot in front of the hospital, Cameron shot a text to Justin saying he was there at the hospital. Oh, okay. I’m down in the cafeteria actually. Cameron replied, Okay. I’m gonna head on up to see Carly. Justin said, Okay, dude. Be up in a few.
“Mr. Richards,” the same nurse from the night before sat at the same desk in the same scrubs with donuts all over them. “Back so soon?” She asked sweetly.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied in kind. “I have a friend here in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. Cameron didn’t know why she was conversing with him like this—like they were friends. He’d never seen her before last night. “You can go on up.” He nodded a thank you and proceeded to the elevators.
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Invidia FOUR
He found Justin, holding a to-go box, just outside the elevators. “Come on. Let’s go see my sister.” Cameron followed Justin down the hallway. “Justin, why were you gone so long?” His mother scolded him. Cameron had always thought Justin and his mom looked just alike, but it was even more prominent today with them being dressed so similarly—from the gray t-shirts and jeans to the straight dark hair to the black Converse sneakers. “Because the cafeteria is on the other damn side of the hospital?” Justin sassily questioned. “And then I met Cameron on my way back up, so I walked back with him.” “You, sir,” she pointed at Cameron. “Yes, Ms. Nelson?” Cameron looked up at her innocently. “I missed you, kid,” she smiled, pulling him into a hug. He hugged her tightly and responded, “I missed you too, ma’am.” “Thank you for being here with us. Even though she’s still sleeping, I know Carly would be apprec
Invidia FIVE
The next morning, Cameron pulled out his HoloComm and shot a text to Justin: Hey, man. Can I ask a favor? If I ever start acting like my stepdad, will you promise to bust my ass? Then he hit send with no context whatsoever. He could already envision Justin’s brow crinkling with confusion. It’s a Saturday. It’ll be three hours before Justin even responds, he thought to himself. He probably went to stay with Carly all day. Cameron wished he could too, but his stepdad definitely wouldn’t let him after all the shit he’d pulled the night before. Figuring out how he was going to spend the day, he pried himself off the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Scuffing his feet all the way to the bathroom, he groaned. He’d decided to spend his Saturday cleaning. He kept the room quiet and smelling nice with the wax warmer he had by the window. It was his mother’s favorite scent—rosemary and frankincense. She always said those scents always helped clear her mind when she was
Invidia SIX
When he awoke the next morning, he groaned with a throbbing pain in his head, ribs, and stomach. He immediately regretted sitting up, but there wasn’t really any other option. He supposed he should go to school that day. He hadn’t coughed up any more blood, but he’d vomited during the night. “Oh, yay. Another lovely start to a gorgeous day,” he grumbled. You coming in today? Madison texted. Yeah, probably, he answered. I’m a little sore, but nothing like yesterday. I’ll see you in Lit class. Alright, cool, she replied, and Cameron got dressed as quickly as he could muster. ***** “Dude, where were you?” Madison asked when he came in late with a note. “I was late, and I had to talk to Mr. Leonard,” he whispered to her. “It’s fine. I’m not in trouble.” Madison looked incredulous, “You really got away with missing twenty minutes of class?” “Apparentl
Invidia SEVEN
Later that evening, Cameron, Justin, and Eli rode to the manor together. The tension in the car was high enough as is, but the silence they sat in made the hairs on Cameron's neck stand on end. It lasted for several minutes that felt like hours, each boy exchanging awkward glances with each other."Someone speak," Justin threw his hands up, and all three boys audibly sighed."Thank you for breaking the silence," Eli said. "Now, can we go over the plan one more time, or should we wait?" He cut a glance up towards Frank."No, we can trust him," Cameron caught his drift. "He's the closest thing to a father I've ever had.""If you say so," Eli sat back in the seat, clearly not trusting him just yet. Cameron sat back as well, reiterating the plan one last time, "So, we wait until my stepfather goes into his meeting, wait approximately ten minutes, then we sneak in. That should give us enough time to make sure the coast is clear." He took a deep breath and adjusted his seatbelt, "after we'
Invidia EIGHT
"Where is his meeting?" Eli asked."I don't know," Cameron dejectedly admitted. "They don't tell me things."Justin rolled his eyes, "Looks like it's time to hit up Shane again." Cameron sighed his agreement. "I can ask him if you want."Cameron shook his head, "He'll likely only talk to me if anyone. He doesn't like to think about the fact that he could be betraying his father.""Hendrickson deserves it," Justin grumbled."I know, but Shane won't see it the same way." He led them out of the office, back down the hallway and into his room to regroup. "Here, let me see if he's home." He pulled up his HoloComm, clicked on the display of the manor layout. Shane was pacing in his room. "He's pacing." "That's odd," Justin observed."Why?" Eli asked.Cameron kept forgetting all of the things Eli didn't know. "Here's the rundown of President Hendrickson and his darling son, Shane: Hendrickson abuses me; verbally and physically." He lifted up the edge of his shirt where the bruise showed. It
Invidia NINE
Sneaking up on Hendrickson was easier than they'd intended, and Cameron knew it had to be a trap. It was too easy. "This is a trap," Justin was voicing his thoughts. "This is definitely a trap.""I'm sure it is, but we don't really have a choice, do we?" Cameron pointed out."I guess not," he admittedly sadly.Eli was in the lead. He had an idea for the distraction, but he wouldn't tell either of them what it was. He just said, "It's going to be distracting, trust me."The basement was exactly how Cameron pictured it--a basement. It had concrete walls, nicks in the concrete, beige all around with storage boxes lying scattered throughout. The conference room, on the other hand, was magnificent. It had very high ceilings, Romanesque golden pillars that spindled into the clouds, with the men around the table being just as fascinating. They were all various races, arranged in a U around the table, with his stepfather sitting at what was clearly the head of the table.Eli smiled evilly, a
Invidia TEN
The door opened and the accumulation of years' worth of dust smacked the boys straight in the face. "Oh, God!" Eli choked and the other two were spitting the dust out."Well, let's see where this goes," Cameron said when he finally finished coughing. The hallway immediately turned to the right, and as soon as they'd passed the sooted up bricks, it was flawless. The bricks looked brand new, and the tile floor was spotless. "This is new," Cameron observed. "These tiles are new. The bricks are new. Hell, even the ceiling is new," he finished with a glance up."They're either new or someone wanted them to look that way," Justin thought."That's also a possibility," he noted. They walked down the bland but spotless hallway in silence, and with each step, Cameron's anxiety grew. His gut was telling him to turn back, but he couldn't do that until he'd found and saved Madison. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling. It was ever-present, similar to the fear of his stepfather.
Invidia ELEVEN
He didn't know which to save: Madison or Justin. He knew he needed to save both, but he had to pick a side, and he hated it. If he didn't, he'd lose both of them. Justin's been my best friend since we were, like, eight. But Madison's been a very friend to me, lately, and I can't lose her either. He glanced back and forth between the two of them, Madison swinging her katana down on Justin; Justin ducking out of the way, swearing up a storm. He didn't know what to do other than involve himself. He darted into the middle of the fight, shouting, "STOP!" at both of them, but they were both gone. They were lost in the ensemble, and there was no way to know how to get them out. He'd never been more scared in his life. "Seriously, stop!" He put his arm up to Madison's katana, trying to knock it out of his hand, but he miscalculated. She took his arm off. "Oh, shit!" He yelled as a geyser of blood erupted from the wound, soaking all three of them. Cameron's bloody stub of an arm fell to the g
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FIFTY-ONE
Her world was blurry, and she was finding it difficult to stay conscious. The harder she fought, the harder it became. She was going to have to let it happen. With as deep of an inhale as she could, she swallowed her breath and let herself fall into it.*****Everything was wavy; the beach, the sand, the clouds. Even the way Madison's hair whipped in the wind. Everything was also distorted, wrong, like she didn't belong there.Someone was out in front of her. They were tall, slender, and dark complected. As far as Madison could tell, the person had a kind face. They reached out a hand towards her, beckoning her to come closer. She took a step, but it was slow. The air was heavy, like she was standing on the moon. Everything was in slow motion, and she couldn't tell how far away the person was. Each step she took, the person always seemed the same distance away, but they weren't moving."Come, child," the person said. It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was nearly impossible to tel
FIFTY
“Whythe hell are you doing this?” Cameron mumbled. The gag dried out his mouth and made his tongue feel sandy, which made moving it to get the gag out all that more difficult. “You know why,” his stepfather answered, bent over the table Cameron was strapped to. The restraints sliced into his skin and bent his wrists at unnatural angles. “You’ve deceived me. You’ve lied. You’ve done everything in your power to overthrow me.” “Whatpower?” He finally spit the gag out. “You’re the freaking president. Ihaveno power. I d
FORTY-NINE
Justin forgot where they even were. He knew they were in the Keegan building, but between the ceiling falling, walking through a holographic wall, and having a mission of death assigned to them, he couldn't remember where in the building they were. The lack of labeling and entirely white walls all over the place didn't help ground him either. It was an endless maze, and the only way he knew to get out of it was to wait for himself to stop being able to breathe.Great,he thought. "Do you have any idea where we are?" He asked Carly, who shook her head no.They had just turned a corner and finally saw something different.Stairs. Justin ran to them and although they were white like the rest of the building, at least he might have foreseen something changing in the near future. He never thought he'd be so happy to see stairs."Up or down?" He asked Carly, beaming."Justin, we're at the bottom. The only way we can go is up."
FORTY-EIGHT
"Kill my father? No way." Cameron said. "Not happening." "Cameron, it's the only way," Dr. Jackson defended. "Besides, that's the only thing now that would truly free him, wouldn't it?" "No!" Cameron argued. "Cam," Madison put a hand on his shoulder, "can you imagine what your father is like now? After being in captivity by the one man who has beaten you foryears? He's been jailed by the man forfifteen years.We have to set him free, in the most humane way possible." "But that doesn't mean we have to fucking murder him!" "Cameron, I know this must be hard to understand, and that's okay, but I need you to listen to me. Even if we do somehow free your father from the government's hands, don't you think he would still be plagued by those 15 years? Think a decade and a half of post-traumatic stress disorder, on top of the amount he already had in response to the oxygen shortage. Wouldn't you want to be truly set
FORTY-SEVEN
Rock, plaster, and dust covered everything in a thick layer of ick. Justin coughed and spit on the floor, and Carly snapped at him for being gross.During the ceiling falling, and their chests becoming engulfed in choking clouds of dust, neither of them noticed the giant man that fell with the ceiling. The man was gargantuan, with a hooked nose and a scruffy beard, no hair on his head, and his breath was the scent of spoiled milk. He landed softly on the ground, noiselessly, and stalked away down the corridor. The only thing he left behind were footprints settled on the sooty ground."God, what was up with that?" Justin finally finished coughing."I don't know, but look," Carly pointed to the footprints of what had to have been at least a size 14 foot."Geez, who is that? Bigfoot?" Justin followed them, walking carefully so his own footprints did not disturb them.It didn't take long for them to catch up with the beast. He was large, but what he made up for in size, he lacked in speed
FORTY-SIX
"Gross, Cameron," Madison jumped back."If you really believe that, does that mean you hate our government?" Cameron asked after wiping his mouth."I don't really feel comfortable answering that, considering who I'm speaking to," Dr. Jackson spoke carefully.Cameron stared, "Do you really think I'm a fan of my stepfather?" He chuckled. "The man beats me. I want to see him in the ground."Dr. Jackson's eyes widened. "Yes, I despise everything about them.""Good," Cameron's face sparkled. A new potential ally amongst all the other enemies in this wretched, fucked up world was exactly what they needed. "We may need your help.""How so?" Dr. Jackson asked hesitantly."I need you to befriend my stepfather," even Madison's head turned when Cameron said that."Why?" Dr. Jackson was infinitely more suspicious than he already was."Because we think he's up to something he shouldn't be, and we have reasonable evidence or whatever it is you say we need in class for a theory, but I can't tell you
FORTY-FIVE
"Wait, wait, wait." Madison said. "Hold on. How does he steal all of their oxygen? And how does he know that what he's doing works?""I don't know, but I have an idea who might." Cameron said."Who would that be?""My professor at San Vanjay's, the one who was writing about biomolecular physics.""And how do we know we can trust him?" Madison asked.Cameron gulped, "We don't, but what other choice do we have?"*****"How exactly did they wipe themselves out?" Carly asked the little girl."They made themselves known too quickly.""In what way?"Adalia gave a smile, "Have you ever heard of the Beginning?"Justin worked hard to keep his face as straight as possible. "I think I might have heard it somewhere. Why?""They were the ones who put me here, gave me a chance at becoming a part of the Project."Carly piped up this time, "And was that your choice, to leave?"She smiled sadly at the ground, "Not at first, no. I did not want to leave my mother and my father, but they understood. The
FORTY-FOUR
"What the hell makes you say that?" Madison asked."God, that's so like him," he muttered to himself. He walked over to a man. The man was strapped to a table with tubes attached to his chest. He also had a mask over his face, one that looked like an older mask, the kind they used to put over asthmatic patients when they needed help breathing."Cameron," Madison yanked his arm. "Look at me." He turned around slowly. "Why do you say that he's stealing their oxygen?"He gestured at the man's feet. "Do you see that giant metal tank? I can tell that the masks on their face are collecting it. Those tanks used to give oxygen, so what makes you think they can't take it as well?""Except for the fact those people aren't breathing out oxygen. They're breathing out carbon dioxide.""They're not though. I think he's stealing it from their lungs.""How?""Do you see these tubes here?" He pointed to the tubes suctioned onto the man's chest. "I think those are filtering out the stuff Hendrickson do
FORTY-THREE
"Madison! Please come back with me. They don't need Carly and Justin, which means we do." Cameron pointed out the obvious. "Clearly, them being here would mess up the project, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered. Would they? They'd have just killed them and gotten it over with."Madison turned around, eyes wider than he'd ever seen them. "They're needed for something else.""Is there something bigger than Project Invidia?" Cameron pinched his nose. "Damn," he muttered."There has to be, otherwise like you said, they'd have just killed them off already.""Shit, you're right. We need to find them." Cameron started backtracking."Cam, we fell through the floor. How exactly do you expect us to find them?" Madison put her hands on her hips."Good point. Madison van Buren," he put his hands on her shoulders, steadying them both at the same time, "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I want you to know that. I want you to know if it weren't for you, I probably woul
