Ch 3….. long chapter sigh
A staggering silence filled the room. It was interrupted, however, by Gabe's monstrous giggle at the expressions on Jonas and Rosemary's face. Rosemary had her face contorted in surprise, wonder, and confusion. Jonas had an exasperated guilty one on his face. Both looked ridiculous. Gabe was hysterical.
"Y-y-you too?" Rosemary managed to verbalize.
Jonas nodded solemnly as Gabe's giggling continued. "I ran away. I took Gabe with me," at hearing his name Gabe calmed down. "That's why I cannot go back under any circumstances."
"I ran away to release the memories of old into the community. I was hunted for weeks afterwards. I knew if I could just reach"Jonas stopped. Where was he? He was in Elsewhere, yes… But where was 'Elsewhere'?
"if I could just reach here that I would be safe," Jonas explained. "What do I call this place Rosemary?"
"You ran away? Like I did? How did you escape?" Rosemary quizzed. "Call it Verita." She added, like it was an intrusion on the real conversation.
Jonas told her the long story of his escape with Gabe. He told her about how he used memories of cold to keep them hidden from the airplanes. He told her about his father and how awful it was to see him murder a newborn child. They relived his tragic experience until Jonas stopped abruptly.
"How did you escape? I was told you applied for release and that you injected yourself," Jonas remarked awkwardly.
Rosemary nodded. "Yes, to keep them from suspecting that I was alive, I applied for release. I didn't know how to avoid the search planes and the only other way to get out of the community was through release. As much as I loved my dad, I couldn't tell him of my plans because I knew he would object.
"Things had been that way for ages, back and back and back…" she quoted in a low resounding voice- an obvious imitation of her father's infamous line.
Jonas almost laughed, "Things have changed. He has finally seen the truth of things and actually helped me to escape. Speaking of escape, why did you want to go away? What made you see the conspiracy of the community?"
"Jonas I was lonely. No one knew what it felt like to be me. I was so alone. I started getting angry at society for not even knowing the depth of the own words that they spoke. Talk about precision of words!
"It happened on a special day. They were releasing a former elder that I had grown attached to. He wanted me to be there for his release. I was very happy for him. (I still had no idea that release was in fact a euphemism for murder.) I sat quietly through the ceremonies and toasted him after the life telling. He glowed with happiness. I could see that this was the closest thing to emotion that the community had. And then he was escorted into a room. I wanted to go in. I wanted to see where he was going. I promised him that I would see him off. As Receiver of memories, I had that right. I went in.
"I entered an immaculate white washed room. In it, there was a man dressed in a sterile uniform with a wide grin on his face. 'Time for your Release!' cried the man in a singsong voice. They took hold of the former Elder and sat him on the table.
"'Now take this injection,' they whispered to him, 'and you will be Elsewhere in no time!' He shrugged happily and waited for the injection. I became impatient. When was he going to be released? Shots weren't interesting in comparison to the mystery of what happened afterwards. I waited. It looked like the Elder was going to sleep; as they often tend to do. I shook him. I told him to wake up so that he could go to Elsewhere. He didn't move. He didn't breath. He did nothing. He was dead. When I asked what had happened they told me he was Elsewhere. From then on I saw the truth of Release," tears ran down Rosemary's face.
Jonas wept as well. He remembered the innocence of the little baby as his father poisoned it and tossed it in a trash bin. Tears of sadness and relief flooded down his face; relief that Gabe would not experience that dreadful fate. The two of them were comforted by each other's presence. Each knew what it was like to truly live, with the ups…. and the downs. Each knew what it was to lose and each felt emotion indescribable by mere words. So both were slightly eased as they drifted off to sleep that night into a world of dreams……….
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End of Ch 3! Hahaha! There's more coming don't worry. I just like to keep you hanging until my next chapter.
Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys rock!
Preview to next chapter…….
The question you've all been dying to know…..
How did Rosemary escape?