"WELCOME TO PARADISE! PARADISE IS ACHIEVED WHEN EVIL IS ELIMINATED!" I could see the electric banner above us flashing sporadically nearly throwing me into a seizure.
"Don't look at it." The unknown man muttered. "It's another brainwashing tactic."
I shook my head. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No. What I want is for you to join paradise by my hands." He smiled. "Wouldn't that be so fun? The person who brought you to the RFA is the person who'll take you away, permanently."
"What…?" I looked at him seeing a dark glint in his eyes. "You're…" I wasn't even surprised anymore. This man—something came to mind. "So you're the one. But who are you? What do I even call you?"
"You don't need to know. There's no reason to learn my name."
"But I can't keep referring to you as 'that man'."
"Well then refer to me as your savior." With a grunt he readjusted his grip on my wrist trying to keep me from falling.
I felt a searing pain in my legs. "Ah wait." I gripped his black shirt. "Ow…I think…I can walk."
"Put your hands on the wall and stretch. Slowly, don't strain the muscles or else you could permanently damage yourself." He helped me lean against the wall. "Spread your legs a bit as if you're trying to do the splits. Slowly let your feet slide against the tile."
I did as he told feeling my muscles tighten. "Ow…"
"Just give yourself a minute to regain feeling."
With slow breathing and careful stretches I was able to bend my knees, roll my ankles, wiggle my toes, and turn my waist. I touched the sash on my waist and felt the silky material in my hands. ANTI SEX was written in gold colored thread on the end of the sash. I then noticed I was wearing a white dress, almost like the ones you would see goddesses wear in greek mythology. I was barefoot and it occurred to me just how cold the tile was.
"Sex," unknown spoke suddenly, "is an evil in itself. You should only feel pleasure when it comes to Mint Eye, Magenta, or Paradise, so the rule says." He scoffed.
"You don't believe that?" I took a step forward feeling elated that I could move on my own.
"Tch." He rolled his shoulders before pointing down the hallway. The building itself was a pure white. White walls, white tile, white ceilings, blinding white lights. The only color was coming from the red colored doors and the seizure inducing electrical banner with the blinding mint colored words "WELCOME TO PARADISE! PARADISE IS ACHIEVED WHEN EVIL IS ELIMINATED."
"How is evil eliminated?"
"You remove that urge from the brain. Well, that was one theory."
"R-remove? Like lobotomy?"
He winked as he motioned for me to follow me. "Like I said. That was just one theory."
"You mean…" I recalled when he lost it. 'I went through the exact same process. In fact I went through their trial faze. Think about that. Think about the defects those drugs had. E-e-each ONE WAS WORST THAN THE LAST! I WAS THEIR GUINEA PIG!' " Did they experiment on you?"
He stopped. His shoulders began to shake and his hands tensed as if they were strangling some invisible person. With a deep breath he dug his nails into his skin drawing blood before continuing down the hallway. "Hurry it up. The Arc Members will try to give you your medicine if you stand around here too long."
"Who are the Arc Members?"
"Paradise is divided into five sections. Priests, Arc Members, Paradisians, The Flock, and The Lambs. The Lambs is what you were. They're people who have sought paradise and are willing to undergo any necessary means to achieve that."
"Except I didn't willingly come here."
"No. You were invited." He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Anyways, then there's The Flock. Those are the children that live here. They grow up to be Paradisians which is basically the citizens of this place. Arc Members make sure that everything runs smoothly and enforce for there to be no evil here. The Priests…they're…" He visibly shuddered. "I don't want to talk about it. Maybe you'll run into one…" He looked back again, a look of sorrow in his eyes. "I hope not." He muttered.
Before I could say anything else he stopped in front a set of double doors with a silver plaque that read "GARDEN". With a smile he pushed it open. A gasp left my lips. Bright, wonderful, gentle colors; butterflies with vibrant blue wings; the sound of a gentle waterfall; the laughter of children; the smell of fresh, clean nature. This…This was what paradise was. But as beautiful as the garden was I was still surrounded by the tall, three stories at least, white walls of the Mint Eye building. The outside seemed smaller than compared to what it was inside. Plus I knew for a fact there was some underground prison.
I could see unknown smile as he breathed in. Without saying a word he stepped onto the plush grass and made a B-line for a deep red rose bush. I followed after him feeling a sense of tension leave my shoulders as my bare feet stepped onto the grass.
"It's so pretty." I mumbled as I walked towards him. He bent down to pick up a fallen rose. I noticed something. In his back pocket was a cellphone. I could see the outline. I touched my sash trying to see if I had mine. No. He must have grabbed it before we left the room. Not that my phone would do any good. But his… I bit my lip looking away as he straightened up.
"Here." He slowly brought the rose to my nose.
I took a sniff and smiled. It was so fresh, a rose that almost made you feel elegant just by being near it. "It smells so pretty."
"Roses," without hesitation he stuck the rose into my hair, "are my favorite. Don't worry there wasn't any thorns on the stem. Not that you would feel them anyways."
"Thanks." I said warily. What was his game? One minute he was violent and crazed and now he's helpful and gentle. I thought back to the times he lost his mind. …Yes it was the mention of the RFA and Seven. It seemed anything pertaining to them set him off, and then talking about the brainwashing tactics seemed to cause a reaction but he was able to control that. Peaceful things like this garden seemed to completely transform him.
"Brother Ji Sung." A girl wearing a white dress ran up to us. "Wow!" She looked at me. "Another person with the eyes of The Beloved." She had light brown eyes, they almost looked faded. Her face was round and her cheeks were a rosy pink. She had long blonde hair tied into a braid with little flower pins keeping stray hairs in place.
Unknown, or perhaps Ji Sung, looked at her with a pained expression. He stiffened as he awkwardly bent down to her level. "Yes?" he said stiffly.
"I can't believe it's you." She smiled. A smile of pure innocence. They didn't hurt her like they did to Irene and the others did they? The thought of it sent a curling sickness in my stomach.
"Yes. I've been on missions for quite some time."
"I'm so happy you're back! I wanted to make another flower crown with you!"
"Ah…" He looked away. "Sure we can do that. Let's use roses."
"We can't use roses silly." She giggled. "We have to use daisies!" She grabbed his hand pulling him with her. I followed looking around at the flower beds each one containing a certain breed of flowers. Ji Sung sat on the grass next to the girl near the daisy flower bed as they made flower crowns. The girl looked at me. "Sister, do you know how to make flower crowns?"
"I-I don't." I sat next to them.
"Brother Ji Sung can teach you!"
He nodded as he began to show me. He was careful and meticulous. If you made a mistake he would click his tongue, but compared to what I had seen him capable of, I could handle this. He smiled as he watched the girl run around in circles showing off her new crown to the other children. Soon they had gathered round wanting ones for themselves. Ji Sung looked a bit uncomfortable but he didn't turn down their offers.
I examined each child. Some had eye patches on a single eye, some wore black shades holding onto a friend to help guide them. Some had mint colored eyes and would smile and gawk at ours. "She's got Paradise in her too." "That's so cool!" "Well I have paradise in me!" "I don't…."They would mumble. In total I saw at least twenty children. Too many. That was more than there should be here. They were trapped like me and dubbed as The Flock. I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach. They were sweet children and they happily played amongst each other but something seemed off. Occasionally an adult would walk by and I could hear the word 'lamb' come from the children and immediately they would stop what they were doing and watch the adults. The adults would see them and a look of terror and fear would wash over them as they quickly made their way across the building. The Flock, domesticated sheep.
"I have to go." Ji Sung looked up at the sky. "You be good." He smiled at me.
"Bye Brother Ji Sung!" The girl waved.
"Goodbye." I waved.
He smiled at her before glancing at me moving like he wanted to say something. With hesitance he walked towards a black door to the far left of the garden and disappeared.
"I'm gonna play 'Catch the Descenders!" She ran off.
I picked up a few loose petals and suddenly gasped. Looking around making sure no one saw me I looked back at my finding. A sense of joy—no!—the signs of a miracle laid before my eyes.
The phone.
The phone must have fallen out of his pocket when he sat down.
I reached out and picked it up. The cold feeling. The smooth touch screen. Pressing the home button I almost let out a cry of joy. The messenger app. It was the only thing on the screen. I pressed it.
Unknown has entered the chatroom