Wizards:
One Last Day
What does it mean to die? To be hated? My name is Alex Russo, and at the age of 17, I was imprisoned with my family for being wizards.
The government, in one of their ruthless attempts to control the people of the world, set out to capture all wizards. I don't know how they found out, who told them, or why. They were vicious, fueled by their own unprovoked hatred. Our sub shop was stormed in broad daylight: our tables were knocked over, our apartment was invaded and ransacked, The Layer was broken into, our books burnt before our eyes, our wands snapped in half and their emeralds taken for tests, and our portal was transformed into a bridge for the government into the Wizard World.
I screamed as the grown men and women hollered, knocked my parents and brothers onto the floor, handcuffed our hands behind our backs, and walked us out into the black vehicle out front. While we were paraded into the car leading to our prison, classmates and friends yelled at us, spit at us, and threw garbage at our faces. Dean was there, screaming "Wizard!" at me, and destroying any relationship we'd ever had.
After driving for three hours, we were pushed into an underground dungeon in an area I'd never been to before. Once we were on the bottom floor, which had a grimy stone floor crawling with rats and other insects, we were shoved into a dark, filthy prison cell. Professor Crumbs and Chancellor Tootietootie were waiting for us with chains holding their arms to the wall. The entire dungeon smelled of death and decay.
"Are you wizards?" asked a male government agent, his voice laced with a snarling hatred for everything we were.
None of us answered. We would never sell out to those animals.
"Answer me!" the man screamed, his face turning red as we "animals" refused to comply. "Are you wizards?"
We stared the man down, refusing to break.
"That's it," the man snarled under his breath as he grabbed me by the shoulder and hauled me into another room.
"Don't tell them anything, Alex!" my father called. "It'll all be okay!"
My shoulder was growing raw as the cruel man's tight grip refused to let up. Once we reached his designated room, he pushed the door open, and threw me hard on the floor like a pile of garbage.
"I'm gonna give you one last chance," the government agent said. "Are you a wizard?...You won't have to suffer if you just tell me the truth. Let me know the secrets of the Wizard World, and everything will be okay."
"No it won't," I replied, my voice remaining strong even though my sorrow and fear caused my throat to quiver. However, I wasn't going to act like a scared little girl. "You just want to keep us as slaves. Because we don't fit your ideas."
"That's a lie," the man responded, his voice growing soft and friendly. "I want to help the wizards...To learn from them...I know being a wizard is tough on you. Having to keep secrets from your friends...knowing you'll never have a normal life. But that can all end if you just tell me."
"...No," I replied. No one who wanted to help me would put me through all of this.
"...Suit yourself," the man said, shutting the door as he left me alone.
The sight that greeted me made my heart skip a beat: the room was filled with corpses. They were rotting and decomposing with looks of terror and pain scarred on their faces. The smell of dead flesh burned my nose, and bones covered most of the floor. I vomited. The sight was too much for me. Maybe these were other wizards who got caught...Maybe I'd be joining them in a couple of days...or hours. Finally, I crawled into a corner of the room where the floor was almost clear, and cried for hours.
"What did you do to her?" my father yelled at the agent, his voice exploding with rage.
"What I had to," the man answered, a hint of pleasure in his voice. "Anyone of you want to tell me what I want to hear?"
No one answered.
"What do you hope to gain from this?" Crumbs asked, his voice hoarse and tired.
"A better world," the agent angrily answered. "It's lights out time." The man walked away, and shut off the lights, drowning everyone in shadows.
The night dragged on for what felt like an eternity. Every breath I took burned my nose until it bled onto the cold stone floor. My family needed me: I couldn't break. The torches lit the room up a devastating red color. Why was this happening to us? What did we do to hurt anyone? I've never been perfect, but I've never put anyone through something like this. Soon, my eyes grew tired, and I fell asleep in the filthy ground.