Doctor Harley stands right beside the entrance door from across the room and gapes at me. She starts taking steps toward me after a long while of staring. The sound of her shoes anytime she took a step distracted me from having my usual daydreams of myself and her all alone on a beach. We'd hold hands and lock eyes the whole time, trying to get lost in each other's eyes.
"Doctor Harley..."
"Doctor Marilyn Harley."
The woman is more than twice my age, but that doesn't discourage me at all. As a matter of fact, it doubles my vehemence. Micah thinks my feelings for the doctor are only a mere phase that would evaporate in no time. She said so over two years ago, around our first times in the facility; but the feeling has kept growing and evolving.
I doubt if she still thinks it's just a phase.
I vividly remember the very first time I met Doctor Harley.
All of us group two members had been called from sleep in the middle of the night, when sleep matters, and made to line up. Each one of us was in a foul mood, but we dared not complain, or else our mouths might end up at a different location. It was Lieutenant Bosch after all. We knew better than that. The facility we were held in was run by the military and a bunch of doctors, and yes, of course, you guessed right; It's a literal hell. We were being treated like soldiers in training, and I wouldn't have complained about it if we asked for this, but we didn't. Either of us in the facility; "the candidates", was brought here against their will, after our parents had kicked the bucket mysteriously. Micah and I were in our room when we heard the shattering sound of the broken jar from downstairs. We turned our eyes to each other for a while but didn't think much of it. Breaking jars and glasses was a simple hobby for the household. We were serial killers when it came to breaking jars and glasses, and we worked individually. We thought it was just a normal day at the office until we heard Dad's voice.
"Martha...!"
We both sped out of the room hastily... our hearts beating violently and our breaths shortening by the second hand of the clock. We got there as soon as we possibly could, and there they were - lying flat on the ground, beside each other. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of the scene... I froze at the bottom of the stairs and stared with my eyes wide.
"Mom -- Dad!" Micah yelled and ran past me.
She stepped around the area of the shattered glass, and it didn't spare her.
She fell to the ground as she couldn't hold the pain.
All the while I stood there and gazed at the scene without a word. I don't know what or how I felt, but I just froze up. Who could blame me? The scene wasn't something I had ever expected or even thought of. I don't know how long I had spaced out, but when Micah called me out, her blood had covered a large area of the floor.
"Micah...!" I rushed to her and almost slipped over on her blood.
"Don't come any closer stupid. I just Hurt myself over the broken glass." She mouthed frustratingly.
I rushed upstairs to wear my slippers and then headed into mom and dad's room to grab the first aid kit from the bathroom. I caught my reflection in the mirror; I didn't even know when the tears rolled down my face. I keep looking at myself, and, more tears roll down, even taking a different path from the first.
I cleaned the cut wound under Micah's foot and tied the bandage around it. We both sat at our places and grieved individually. We understood the situation; as young as we were, and even though it hurt... even though our hearts had shattered, we didn't make a noisy scene. We dealt with it individually. Just like that, they were gone... Just like that, we'd become orphans. Our parents were dead, and we knew they were, but how they died... we didn't know - And we never found out; the military swept us out of the house just after a few hours. Well, I think it's appropriate to say we were kidnapped, right? I should think so.
I thought it puzzling that the military knew about our parents' death even when we hadn't called it in yet. We'd planned to call 911 but as far as I could tell, we hadn't called anyone yet... not even aunt Emily. But at the time we didn't think much of it. Not until we heard the stories of the other candidates. And it was too similar to ours. Maybe not the same, with regards to the style of death, but the military's response time and actions were the same.
"My dad and I always played "FIFA soccer" on my PlayStation 3 after I came home from school; that day wasn't any different. I'd won the first two games, and was winning the third before the doorbell rang. I rushed to the door to check who was trying to disturb our time. I was excited because I was winning the bet we'd made. We'd have my favorite dish for dinner if I won, and we'd have his favorite if he won, but that wasn't happening because I was winning; Though I think he made me win on purpose. I pull the door open hastily, but then, no one was there. I didn't care though... All I cared about was the time I was having with Dad. I rushed back to sit beside him on the couch, ready to resume from where we'd left. He had rested the back of his head on the high edge of the couch with his face and eyes locked upwards, and the controller still in his grip. I know he was gone after he'd ignored me multiple times, and his eyes hadn't blinked for a while. You can guess what happened next. The military men barged in forcefully and took me in. I wasn't even given the chance to mourn him properly." described Daniel, as we were reflecting on our previous lives.
Each one of us had our own stories, but we all ended up here the same way... and we don't know why; except that something is coming, and we need to be ready - at least, that's what our kidnappers make us believe.
So, there she was, descending the stairs slowly, to meet us for the first time. We'd heard already a few days ago that each of the groups had been assigned a doctor, and we were yet to meet them. That scared us... a lot!
"Why do we need a doctor...?"
"What are they planning on doing to us?"
Doctor Harley started walking towards me the moment she hopped over the last step on the stairs. She locked eyes with me as she approached, without breaking the contact.
I didn't either...
I wouldn't!
That was the first time a beautiful creature had locked eyes with me, and I cherished it. I don't know for the rest of my group members, but seeing Doctor Harley briskly vanquished the fear I had piled up inside me.
I gaped closely at her without blinking, and I could swear that the duration from where she was until she reached me took more than five minutes instead of a few seconds. That's because I spent those minutes with her on the beach. She was wearing a white overall, but already I knew how she'd look in red lingerie. I'd like to say her massive black curly and bushy hair, in combination with her deep-colored blue eyes were the only factors that attracted me to her, but they weren't; not entirely anyway. The small depression in her cheeks that formed only when she spoke, was a contributing factor. The cute pointed nose, the neatly arranged teeth in her mouth, her thick black eyebrows, with a pinch of extra thickness all played a part; not to forget her angelic voice...
Ha, sigh...
-------------------
"How are you feeling, Leon...?" asked Doctor Harley as she closed in.
"Well, I'd say Sad... and heartbroken. Thank you for asking." I answered.
She chuckled slightly.
"That wasn't what I was asked by, okay? Why are you sad?"
"For starters, You just killed me... Well, almost. Let's say you almost murdered me."
She turned her face and eyes somewhere else, and then in the direction of the camera.
"You're right... I should apologize to you Leon, Kenji, and Alfred... I --"
"Oh don't worry about that prick... Just I and Kenji are fine."
"Oh--no... He lost his life because of me, I need to apologize to him as well."
"Well... alright. But no matter how what you say, I'd only forgive you when you make it up to me."
"Leon... isn't that harsh?"
I smirked devilishly.
"Okay, anything you want... consider it done!"
My heart began to beat, faster and faster by the second. I'd been fantasizing about this moment for the longest time. I didn't know the situation would be like this but it is what it is right? Nervousness set inside my stomach and I could feel the vibrations separately from the vibrations my heart gave my entire body. I knew it would be impossible for my fantasies with Doctor Harley to come true, so I concluded with an ultimatum.
AN UNEXPECTED KISS...
A brilliant idea if you ask me. Though it might get me killed if they find out, and they will find out because there's a camera in the room monitoring my every movement, but who gives a damn, right? And more importantly, I don't think I'd get killed anyways - besides, I'm the first success they've had out of the five groups in the entire facility, though not everyone has been tested.
"I'm not scared of them finding out about what I'm about to do, so why the hell are my hands shaking?" I asked myself.
Well, I was worried about what she might do... how she might react. I'm not sure she would slap my face, because that's not the kind of person she is anyway. But I feel like she's going to pull the shit out of my ears until they tear off... or maybe until I bleed out and die. But still, my eyes are set on the prize.
"Go hard, or go home!"
The guards wouldn't allow me to go home anytime soon, so I have no other choice but to go hard.
"Leon...?"
"Huh?"
"What are you spacing out for? Am I not supposed to make it up to you..."
"Oh yeah - right. Please come closer, I don't want anyone behind the camera hearing a word of it."
" Alright -- the camera isn't online right now, but..."
Doctor Harley came closer; even closer than I thought.
Her breath over my face rose the hairs on my arms and gave me goosebumps at the back of my neck.
"Ah -- here goes nothing."
I aimed at her lips and gave my head a little push. My heart still beating violently; I could still feel the vibrations.
Our lips touched... and right away, I knew I had made the best decision of my life.
I felt the softness and tenderness of her lips on mine. I didn't try to kiss yet, even when our lips had touched. My eyes were closed, but I felt hers open. She had frozen in shock. I tried to grab her lips with mine, and that's when she pulled back.
My eyes opened right away.
"Leo-- Leon, what are you... doing?"
I got on my feet and walked up to her. She raised her face upwards because of the height difference. That moment made me fall in love with her more because the beauty of her eyes was on a completely different level. I softly put my hands on both sides of her cheeks, waiting for her to bring them down... she didn't.
I went in a second time.
"Are you going to finish that...?""Hey -- Leon!""Huh?" I turned to Miche reluctantly."What is it?" I queried."Are you going to finish that?" he asked."Oh --- Uh, help yourself."He grins slightly and pulls out his right arm to grab the piece of bread in front of me, but Daniel beats him to it.A mockery of laughter followed as Daniel buried the whole thing in his mouth.I felt sorry for the guy, but it didn't stop me from laughing. We all knew how Miche was and that was the reason for our laughter. He had some kind of unique relationship with foo-- No, let me just be blunt. Miche was practically possessed by an evil spirit with a massive gluttony problem. The guy sometimes acted like a mad lion when it came to food sharing – the reason why our group members are given their pieces individually, but the other groups are made to share their own thing. A contributing fact to why our group was named the "inutile" group. And, honestly, we were all shocked that Miche didn't kill Daniel
I was made to sit alongside Lieutenant Ackermann and the doctors of each group, including Doctor Harley. I locked my fingers of both hands into each other and felt the coldness of each finger individually. I blew warm air from my mouth into it to help warm the temperature. The trembling though; I had no solution for that.A survival test was just about to commence, and I was as scared as a jack-rabbit that has heard the howl of a starving and angry wolf, and I wasn’t even participating in it. I was only a spectator, holding a seat among the top dogs in the showroom. I would have preferred to watch the show from somewhere else, or at least from the back, but the Lieutenant thought it best if I sat right beside him with the Doctors rather than at the back.I was practically safe; and I knew that particularly well, so why the hell was I shivering? Well, first off, Micah was participating in this test, with Daniel, Miche, and my other group members – the rest of the candidates, I gave zer
The test was just about to begin; the computerized arena had quickly been inspected by Lieutenant Ackermann's subordinates, and some other persons in white overalls, and I immediately concluded that they were the programmers of the arena. They each had this large all-screen tablet that they continued tapping on when they got to a checkpoint. The men in uniform followed behind them holding a camera and recording, then directly transmitting it to the showroom where we watched. It didn't take me too long to realize that the footage was actually happening live, as I saw the Lieutenant focusing and paying attention to detail.The voice of the director through the security camera resounded around the room and caught everyone's attention. Startled me a little bit."Ackermann… I understand the test is about to commence?"My eyes widened immediately… My jaw dropped.I sent my eyes to the corners, aiming to capture the Lieutenant's reaction. I was stunned. Never had I ever, heard someone call t
The test was just about to begin. The candidates had already been briefed on how to win, and their faces after that easily broadcasted their disbelief. It was already messed up that the Heads had decided to cut out the candidates who were going to flunk the test; but that wasn’t the case, not directly anyway. They thought it better if the candidates killed each other to survive.The guard in front of us used a remote on the large window-television screen, switching between cameras and whispering “online” to the person on the other end of the Mic. Before long, he’d already scanned through the thirty-five cameras in the entire arena. He pressed a key on the remote, and all the cameras displayed on the screen all out at once, with either of them in their own small cubicle. Not too small to make you strain your eyes though, just enough to make everything visible, maybe even suitable for a person with myopia.Every candidate was in their own corners in the arena, waiting, but praying not t
Alfred died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be too sure. To be honest, I don't give a crap when or where he died. No wait, I do know where, and I'm literally sitting on his death bed right now, or should I say death plate? That's not important. The only important thing I'm sure of is that the prick is dead, and he won't be bothering me or anyone else anymore. I really don't want to say he deserved it because, you know, no one deserves to die. Maybe except serial killers and the other guys who do bad things, but the guy really deserved to die. Ha--I genuinely don't need to be saying this, at least not at this time. Not while they are about to do to me the same thing they did to him, that I think made him die. The universe might make me suffer the same fate as he did. Wait, Why does that sound more like a memory than a random thought? Oh yeah, I think I heard it from someone…. I don't remember who that person was or is, but I remember something like this. "It's an interdiction
The test was just about to begin. The candidates had already been briefed on how to win, and their faces after that easily broadcasted their disbelief. It was already messed up that the Heads had decided to cut out the candidates who were going to flunk the test; but that wasn’t the case, not directly anyway. They thought it better if the candidates killed each other to survive.The guard in front of us used a remote on the large window-television screen, switching between cameras and whispering “online” to the person on the other end of the Mic. Before long, he’d already scanned through the thirty-five cameras in the entire arena. He pressed a key on the remote, and all the cameras displayed on the screen all out at once, with either of them in their own small cubicle. Not too small to make you strain your eyes though, just enough to make everything visible, maybe even suitable for a person with myopia.Every candidate was in their own corners in the arena, waiting, but praying not t
The test was just about to begin; the computerized arena had quickly been inspected by Lieutenant Ackermann's subordinates, and some other persons in white overalls, and I immediately concluded that they were the programmers of the arena. They each had this large all-screen tablet that they continued tapping on when they got to a checkpoint. The men in uniform followed behind them holding a camera and recording, then directly transmitting it to the showroom where we watched. It didn't take me too long to realize that the footage was actually happening live, as I saw the Lieutenant focusing and paying attention to detail.The voice of the director through the security camera resounded around the room and caught everyone's attention. Startled me a little bit."Ackermann… I understand the test is about to commence?"My eyes widened immediately… My jaw dropped.I sent my eyes to the corners, aiming to capture the Lieutenant's reaction. I was stunned. Never had I ever, heard someone call t
I was made to sit alongside Lieutenant Ackermann and the doctors of each group, including Doctor Harley. I locked my fingers of both hands into each other and felt the coldness of each finger individually. I blew warm air from my mouth into it to help warm the temperature. The trembling though; I had no solution for that.A survival test was just about to commence, and I was as scared as a jack-rabbit that has heard the howl of a starving and angry wolf, and I wasn’t even participating in it. I was only a spectator, holding a seat among the top dogs in the showroom. I would have preferred to watch the show from somewhere else, or at least from the back, but the Lieutenant thought it best if I sat right beside him with the Doctors rather than at the back.I was practically safe; and I knew that particularly well, so why the hell was I shivering? Well, first off, Micah was participating in this test, with Daniel, Miche, and my other group members – the rest of the candidates, I gave zer
"Are you going to finish that...?""Hey -- Leon!""Huh?" I turned to Miche reluctantly."What is it?" I queried."Are you going to finish that?" he asked."Oh --- Uh, help yourself."He grins slightly and pulls out his right arm to grab the piece of bread in front of me, but Daniel beats him to it.A mockery of laughter followed as Daniel buried the whole thing in his mouth.I felt sorry for the guy, but it didn't stop me from laughing. We all knew how Miche was and that was the reason for our laughter. He had some kind of unique relationship with foo-- No, let me just be blunt. Miche was practically possessed by an evil spirit with a massive gluttony problem. The guy sometimes acted like a mad lion when it came to food sharing – the reason why our group members are given their pieces individually, but the other groups are made to share their own thing. A contributing fact to why our group was named the "inutile" group. And, honestly, we were all shocked that Miche didn't kill Daniel
Doctor Harley stands right beside the entrance door from across the room and gapes at me. She starts taking steps toward me after a long while of staring. The sound of her shoes anytime she took a step distracted me from having my usual daydreams of myself and her all alone on a beach. We'd hold hands and lock eyes the whole time, trying to get lost in each other's eyes."Doctor Harley...""Doctor Marilyn Harley."The woman is more than twice my age, but that doesn't discourage me at all. As a matter of fact, it doubles my vehemence. Micah thinks my feelings for the doctor are only a mere phase that would evaporate in no time. She said so over two years ago, around our first times in the facility; but the feeling has kept growing and evolving.I doubt if she still thinks it's just a phase.I vividly remember the very first time I met Doctor Harley.All of us group two members had been called from sleep in the middle of the night, when sleep matters, and made to line up. Each one of us
Alfred died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be too sure. To be honest, I don't give a crap when or where he died. No wait, I do know where, and I'm literally sitting on his death bed right now, or should I say death plate? That's not important. The only important thing I'm sure of is that the prick is dead, and he won't be bothering me or anyone else anymore. I really don't want to say he deserved it because, you know, no one deserves to die. Maybe except serial killers and the other guys who do bad things, but the guy really deserved to die. Ha--I genuinely don't need to be saying this, at least not at this time. Not while they are about to do to me the same thing they did to him, that I think made him die. The universe might make me suffer the same fate as he did. Wait, Why does that sound more like a memory than a random thought? Oh yeah, I think I heard it from someone…. I don't remember who that person was or is, but I remember something like this. "It's an interdiction