Controller



Chapter Six

Edriss 562

Screams. That was the last thing I heard. The last thing I heard before my mind, my heart, my soul all faded into blackness beyond the one I already knew...

And it wasn't until long after that that I came back again.

" Edriss? Wake up, Edriss!"

I opened my eyes, hoping for the best...

And saw nothing.

" Who is there?" I asked, frustrated.

" It's me," said the same soft voice. " Orifix."

" Orifix?" I asked, " But... Where are we?"

Orifix was silent for a moment.

" We are... In a sort of strange room..." he finally said. " The floor is polished, a green color. There is a computer here. A couple of chairs and about twenty floating tables and shelves. There are things on the shelves. Papers and stuff. I don't know exactly what they are, since I've been busy this whole time trying to unlock the God darn door! And the walls... The walls are blue a light blue. Strange color..."

" Blue?" I asked, confused. Then, I added quietly: " I've never seen the color blue."

Orifix was quiet for a moment. So was I. And then, I heard him move, standing up. He walked towards who-knows-where and then stopped. I heard ruffling.

" If you're confused, I'm trying to figure out what's on these papers," said Orifix. " There must be a clue somewhere."

I stood up and tried to find him. Walked around the room, happy to be able to stretch my legs. I felt around for a wall or something to hang on to...

- PAK!

... And stumbled over a low-floating table. This blindness was starting to seriously get on my nerves!

" Aaaargh!" I yelled.

I heard Orifix laughing.

" This is not funny..." I assured him.

He picked me up and set me on the ground in front of him.

" I know," he said. " When my first host got taken away from me and I had to be blind again I was devastated. I know how you feel."

I smiled. And then, suddenly, I had that devastating feeling. You know, that feeling you get when you just know something is missing?

And I think I knew what was missing...

" Orifix?" I asked, " Where's Tehlit?"

" Tehlit?" repeated Orifix, " I wondered when you'd realize he wasn't here... Okay, Edriss. You must not be angry..."

" Where is he?!" I almost yelled.

" I... I told him to stay behind," Orifix finished. " I thought it would be better for all of us if one of us stayed and figured out how to get the other two out. Tehlit decided to stay, and --"

" Are you crazy?" I shrieked, " Sub-Visser Nine will find him! He'll Dracon Beam him to death in his sleep!!"

Orifix grasped my shoulders in his strong Hork-Bajir hands. Firmly, but softly.

" You must understand." he whispered, " Tehlit's choice was to stay there. Before I was taken, he promised me that someday, he'd come to find us. And I trust him to do so. He chose to stay. He could have chosen to try and save us and get himself killed. Is that what you want?"

Of course not! How could Orifix think that I wanted Tehlit dead? Who was he to think that? Tehlit was my best friend!

I was overwhelmed with all this. My life was slowly, but surely, spiraling downward. It was all too frustrating!

" No!" I replied to Orifix, offended, " I do not wish for my best friend to die, you idiot!"

I pulled away roughly from his grip. Turned and ran. And banged into a wall.

My wrist blade pierced the wall's material. The impact sent me crashing to the ground. I screamed. And then, before I could stop myself, I started crying.

It is definitely not in my nature to cry. Before this moment, I never had more than a few quiet, hidden tears. But now I was sobbing more than even I could control. Crying uncontrollably, devastatingly. And even blind as I was, I knew that fear had by now inhabited Orifix's soul.

A fear of me. A fear of what I could pull off if I had to.

Now it wasn't only my eyes who were blind. My mind was also blind. Blinded by the pain, the misery I held inside.

Nothing was clear anymore. The only thought running through my mind was: Destroy! Make them fear me!

I wanted revenge. I hated the world for what it had done to me. I wanted Orifix to fear me. I wanted Sub-Visser Nine to quake in his Hork-Bajir body at the simple sight of me.

I wanted everyone to fear me! Everyone!

I screamed. Screamed as loud as I could for all to hear.

I cannot describe the anger, the misery I felt. It was beyond words. Beyond action.

But I thought action would help. I thought that if everyone feared me they would all just go away and leave me alone...

I wanted this to be a nightmare. I wanted to just wake up and be back at home, in Sulp Niar, lining up to get my SEEING host.

But I knew this was no dream. It was real. It was all real!

I ran. I just ran, not knowing where I was going. Slammed violently into a window.

- CRASH!

The glass shattered. I heard a shriek behind me.

It was Orifix.

" Edriss!" he yelled, " Edriss, have you gone mad?!"

I didn't answer. Just kept running. Destroyed everything I could find. I ripped up every single paper I could get my hands on. Let my blades scrape the tables and shelves.

" Edriss, stop!" Orifix. " STOP!"

Suddenly, I heard a loud bell go off. Then, voices! The voices were coming nearer, nearer...

Until suddenly they were here! They were in the room. And even as I continued my destructive rampage, I heard everything they said.

" What?!" shrieked a voice I recognized as Sub-Visser Nine, " What is going on in this room?"

" Oh God!" yelled Sub-Visser Thirty-Eight, " Sub-Visser Nine, the window! That Yeerk has gone absolutely mad! She broke the window!"

" That explains the crash we heard a while ago..." said Eidan.

" I will not have this!" Sub-Visser Nine roared.

His footsteps accelerated. I shot down to the ground, fearing he was coming for me. I screamed and pounded the slick floor with my fists, scratching it with my blades.

But it wasn't me Sub-Visser Nine wanted...

It was Orifix.

" Hey!" he yelled, " Let me go! You can't do this! Edriss! Edriss!"

Suddenly, I stopped pounding. I was breathing fast. The world, the voices and the noises around me seemed to slowly make sense again.

" Orifix?" I said softly.

" No!"

Orifix was sobbing now. His voice was far off. He was being taken away!

" We can't have her killing you," Sub-Visser Nine said coldly. " You are male. You will serve one day. But Edriss Five-Six-Two will only be a nuisance. Eidan. Sub-Visser Thirty-Eight. Lock her up in that room! She will learn to behave or else she will have to be terminated."

Orifix shrieked.

" No! Edriss! Edriss!" he yelled. " Let me go back. Let me stay with her!"

" It is Sub-Visser Nine's orders that you stay away from her," said a voice I didn't recognize.

" Orifix!" I yelled.

I was scared. Scared to death of being alone. Alone in the darkness that was my life.

" Edriss!" he yelled back, " I will return! Trust me! AAH! Let me go! Let me go! Edriss..."

He sobbed. Eventually, his sobs got weaker, dimmer, until they completely vanished.

We were on different roads now, I realized. We were all alone to continue in our own directions.

Tehlit. Orifix and I. We were separated on our roads.

And even then, I knew our paths would cross again.

One week passed. One excruciatingly long week. Nine days (Nine days is a week for us Yeerks) of being gunpointed to the Yeerk pool with shackles on my wrists, a tail restraint and indestructible cloths on all my blades. Nine days of hearing the crowd of Controllers at the pool saying things like: " Hey, what's with that Yeerk?" or " Probably some delinquent kid who got into some serious trouble." or even, the most hurtful of them all: " Tsk tsk... That's what you get for being a traitor."

I spent the previous week in confinement, alone. Everyone was too afraid of me to even come within a mile of my room except for feeding days.

I guess I got what I wanted...

Today, I was doing what I usually did since I got here. Sitting on the floating chair in the middle of the room and rocking it back and forth. It was relaxing. It was the only relaxing thing in my life.

Anyhow, I was sitting there, when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

" Who is it?" I snapped.

" Eum... I'll tell you if you let me come in," said a voice. " I've unlocked the door, but I need you to open it. You've got the remote."

I rolled my eyes and blindly reached on the floating table beside me for my remote. The floating table I had was the only one I hadn't destroyed yet.

My fingers closed on the remote and I pressed the largest button. The largest button right in the center was "Door", as Orifix had told me before he was taken away.

I listened as the door slid open.

My ears picked up the sound of footsteps. I did not yet trust this Controller. I stood up. Started walking cautiously towards the sound. Strode over to meet the new arrival.

Oh no! I had forgotten to close the door! I grasped the remote, still in my hand, pushed the button, and the door slid closed.

" So," I said, " Tell me now who you are."

" My name is --"

- DRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNG!!!

" INTRUDER!" yelled a voice far away, " Catch him!"

Suddenly, I felt two hands grasp mine.

" We must run." said the intruder softly, " I will tell you all soon."

" Oh, no." I tried to object. " Wait just one second... I can't leave without -- Whoa!"

I was being lifted! My feet were no longer on the ground. I was scared. I wrapped my arms around the intruder's shoulders for support. He was holding me tightly enough for me to feel safe, but come on! I had never even previously met this Yeerk!

The intruder ran with me in his arms, spun to the side and crashed right through the newly restored window!

And then, he lost his balance and fell on the ground outside.

" Aaaaah!" I shrieked.

The intruder gasped, trying his best to catch me. His efforts were in vain. I fell right on top of him, my wrist blade inches from his throat.

" Well," he choked, " That was a nice way to start a conversation!"

" Essam!" yelled a voice I didn't recognize, " What the hell are you doing over there?! Get back here, and quick! We don't have all day, you know!"

And then... Sub-Visser Nine came in. Quite startingly.

" There he... Eidan, where is he?" asked the Sub-Visser. " And where the hell did Edriss Five-Six-Two run off to?!"

" Why, I don't know, sir..." said Eidan.

" Well, FIND THEM, you idiot!!" roared Sub-Visser Nine.

" Yes sir!"

" Run..." whispered the Yeerk named Essam.

And that's what we did. Well, he ran, I was being carried. And unluckily for Eidan, by the time he got to the window, we were already far off...

But luckily for him, not far enough!

" Edriss!" this was... Tehlit!

" Tehlit?!" I yelled.

When we got close to Tehlit, Essam set me down inches from him, and I ran to hug my best friend.

Tehlit cried of happiness. I didn't, of course. As I said, crying is not my kind.

But I smiled. Yes, smiled. In fact, I smiled for the whole time I was happy.

Which, unfortunately, didn't last long.

" There they are!" yelled Sub-Visser Nine. " Catch them! Catch them all!"

We could have run away. Ran as fast as we could. But we wouldn't have made it very far anyway. They were too close. Too near to escape.

And they caught us again.

Only this time, they caught all of us.

Now what chance did we have to be free?

I didn't know. But I hoped to God somebody else did.

PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE!