Mona quickly turned to stare at her father in shock.
Jacob was massaging his neck with one hand as he stared at the ground.
He could feel Mona's eyes on him.
He quickly rose and began to pace.
"What does that mean? I'm not a pretender it makes no difference….." Mona began.
"There are people who believe otherwise. There are things you don't know about. Things that you wouldn't understand!" Jacob insisted with his voice.
Mona rose in anger and glared at her father.
"WHAT WOULDN'T I UNDERSTAND? EXPLAIN IT TO ME!" Mona yelled back.
Jacob turned his gaze toward Catherine.
"DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?" Jacob said as he pointed to Mona with his outreached hand as he looked to Catherine.
"SHE STILL ACTS LIKE A CHILD!" Jacob yelled.
And as Catherine and Jacob looked back at her Mona noticed her pose.
Her arms were crossed and she was stiff as a board. The perfect imitation of a frustrated and angry child.
Mona shut her eyes tightly and scolded herself but then she shook herself out of it, coming back to the matter at hand.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHY?" Mona yelled as tears again began to fall.
"Why dad……….wwhhyy do they stop at nnnoottthing ………to keep us….(Mona closed her eyes)……to keep me and Jarod………..in that hell?" Mona asked as she opened her eyes.
"Oh Marmee…." Her mother sighed out in sadness.
Mona turned to look at her mother.
Catherine's hand was cupped over her mouth as her blue eyes were drowning in tears.
"There………..there are so many answers to that question." Catherine was able to stumble out.
Mona just shook her head and laughed a tearful laugh.
Mona then stopped and looked at her mother with a dead look.
"Then answer them for me." Mona urged.
"Now is not the time for that. Now is the time for you to tend to the children. All other problems aside. There are more important things that need to be done. The children must learn all that they can about surviving in the world." Jacob began his tirade.
"And they will! I just need…" Mona began.
"NO…NO YOU DON'T!"Jacob yelled at Mona.
Mona actually stepped back from the anger that radiated off of her father.
Jacob stared into her eyes for a good minute before he spoke again.
"You need to set yourself aside………….and think about them from now on." Jacob stated lowly.
Mona stared into her father's eyes. That's when something clicked in her brain.
"It's about them isn't it?" Mona asked softly.
Jacob stared into her eyes another minute before he turned and began to pace again.
Mona swiftly stepped toward him and grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled her father around to face her.
"It is isn't it!" she insisted as she stared down her father from just a few inches away.
Jacob just looked into her eyes with a blank stare. He slowly lowered his head not more than an inch and whispered to her.
"Would you like me to deny it? Would you like me to lie to you and tell you that it has always been about Jarod and you?" Jacob asked his little girl.
Mona just stared at her father in silent shock.
There are many things she wished her father would say. Many excuses that her heart begged for him to use.
She had hoped with all of her heart, that the one thing she feared the most…….would not be true.
Mona just stared at her father as his face showed all of the years worth of worrying and fear in that one instant.
"There are many reasons for me to answer all that you want to know Marmee……….but they are also the reasons for not telling you right now. All I can do is promise that I will tell you. But now…….is not the time." Jacob explained to his daughter.
Mona was angry with him. She was angry at everyone. A lifetime of lies and secrets…….and now when she could have all of her answers……..he would not give her one answer.
"Just tell me this…" Mona began in a calm voice.
Jacob waited for the question.
"Why were the created?" Mona questioned.
Jacob took in a deep breath. The subject obviously causing him stress.
She knew that he was about to change the subject so she continued.
"Why were my eggs used to breed Jarod's children? Why were Jarod and I so relevant to the big picture?"
Jacob shook his head.
"I can only tell you now……..why your children came to be……..and even that….I can not explain fully to you yet." Jacob said sadly.
Mona tried to retain her anger. But after a lifetime of using it to keep herself going, it was hard to do so.
It had been her only way of survival, by living life through anger. It had always left her weak inside though. And old habits died harder than she was willing to admit.
Jacob sat down on sofa chair behind him.
Mona stared at him as he sat down, and then slowly lowered herself to sit back on the couch beside her mother.
Broots had been on his computer for last hour and still could not believe what he had begun to uncover.
He found files pertaining to experiments run on Jamieson and Dar. The things he had read had revolted him. After all the things that he had discovered about what sick things had been done to the two……had made what Jarod suffered nothing in comparison.
He had managed to find other video files on Jamieson. Most of which he swore would haunt his nightmares forever.
It was in watching the last one that he discovered that they forced Jamieson to do Pretends………but reenactments as well.
But never in his life would he have expected that reenactment.
It had to have been recently, because Jamieson looked the same in the clip as she did now.
Broots had watched as Sweepers held Jamieson firmly in there grasp. She was already bloody and bruised. The camera had stayed on her for a good minute. He didn't know what was about to happen. But he had known to prepare himself.
But nothing…………….nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
He had watched as the sweepers hand chained her hands to a poll in the middle of a room. And that's when the camera panned away from Jamieson.
That's when Broots heart froze.
Two Sweepers that he had never seen before had whips in their hand. But not just any kind of whip.
These whips had blades on the ends and pieces of medal on the brades.
Then he heard the voice of a man he had never heard before, yell at the sweepers.
And that's when it happened.
Broots watched as they whipped her. And what once looked like Jamieson, soon became an unrecognizable figure……………covered in blood.
He would never forget the screams that came out of the girl as pieces of her flesh were ripped off.
And as he watched his stomach had revolted at the sight.
He had watched as she fell to the ground. And he had begun to pray that it was over.
But he watched in terror as Jamieson herself picked herself up again.
The Sweepers themselves had been shocked.
But then the strange voice had rung out again, and they had continued with the beating.
That's when he noticed that the voice had not rung out in English.
He had stopped the stream and played it back, though he kept his eyes away from the screen as he did so.
That's when something clicked in his head.
The layout of the room that Jamieson had been in, was nothing like Centre standard layouts.
This left only one possibility.
Jamieson was not in a Centre building.
As he continued to repeat the strip where the man had yelled out he determined that it was not a European language.
Frustrated he let the inevitable happen, and watched the remaining slip of film.
He had watched as Jamieson had been beaten to be less than an inch away from death.
Broots then understood that in was not a sim…….but a reenactment.
They had dragged her over to an object on the ground.
That was when Broots had begun to hold back the contents of his stomach……..and the tears had begun to flow down faster than a waterfall.
He watched as the sweepers positioned Jamieson……….
And Broots watched………….
As Jamieson was nailed…….to a cross.
The sons of bitches were making her reenact the crucifixion of Christ.
And as Broots listened to Jamieson scream, a figure emerged in front of Jamieson.
A white man, with blonde hair, blue eyes………and the most psychotic smile on his face, as he looked down at Jamieson.
Jamieson did not beg the man for mercy……….or had yelled at the man.
Broots could only assume it was because she knew he would show none.
He now understood why Jamieson had not screamed when Miss Green had whipped her.
Because of this man. This sick bastard.
Broots knew then……….that many of the secrets that needed to be unlocked……
This man………was the key.