Chapter 41

White room

I know that the world we live is much cruel as it seems but I don't think my mind is giving up to it. I still know the differences between what's happening and what's just on my head. I couldn't just believe how in the world it would happen. I wouldn't let this world take over what we deserve, and what we needed to learn from the truth.

I open up my eyes with a fuzzy memory but all I could remember was the explosions, screams, cry and multiple rounds of gunshots. I immediately shake out my head and get it out from thinking too deep with it. And as I rise up from the bed, I hold the sides of the bed and look around where I was held.

"No, no, no," I mumbled and step my feet on the cold floor, it gives me a sudden shiver and I don't like it. As I keep observing the room, I have no idea where am I. My surroundings were just filled with a white aura. The walls are white, ceiling, bed, my clothes also and there aren't any door to every side.

Where am I? I asked myself but absolutely no one would answer that, not even myself.

As I take a few steps around, from my peripheral vision I saw something—someone. I step backward and move back to the beginning position. I took a deep breath, clearing out my head. I am not hallucinating again. I'm not seeing and hearing things. What happened to me screw that up and that's fucked up. When everything's clear, I step forward and stop when again, I saw a vision of a man not far from me.

"Who are you?!" I exclaimed, not looking at the person. Though answered didn't come. The silence was killing me. "What did you do to me?!" I burst out, as the time I looked at the person who's at the right side of me, I stopped when I realize it was just a reflection of myself. "Fuck." I hissed, learning that I'm the only one who's in the room. And a mirror that I didn't even notice earlier because it was also reflecting the white walls and guise with it.

I'm not imagining things. Those are the words when I'm heading into the mirror. I just couldn't believe how my mind thinks nowadays. I just don't get it.

Seeing first myself in the mirror was like nothing back from the Waste Land. I've come so much and all of it was made me who I am now. The person who's weak, always leaning to his brother and had lost hope. But those things vanished when I'm gone through the process of rebirth. It made me stronger, it made me think nothing like a normal person does. And I have come so many decisions that I wished I never did.

But one thing I have noticed. A bandage on my neck. I slowly slanted my position to give it the best view on the mirror. The gauze was like the size of my palm and its resting on my therefore tracker. And that already give a hint on me.

I immediately reach for it, and when I touch the bondage. It gives me a little pain but I resist and tempted to see what happened there. I slowly remove the bondage from tampering my skin, by peeling it off it also comes with the dry blood from it that's why it was a little painful. And when the bondage is off of my skin, I throw it away and lean closer to the mirror to get a better view.

"Oh shit, what have they done to me?" I said upon examining the scar left on my neck. It has some mini holes in it and it's disgusting as it was fresh cloth with blood. They took away the tracker on my neck and what does it take for them to do that? The process of my rebirth isn't done yet. And I hope this wouldn't be the reason I wouldn't get the life I wanted.

After realizing what happened to me, my tracker was lost and I don't know what's gonna happen next to the person who's sending messages from it to me. There's a lot of insignificances roaming around but one thing I need to focus was to find out and escape where the hell is this place.

What happened to the process now?

For the past few years, there has been some difficulties and trouble arises from the process of rebirth but nothing like this. It was much worse than we're experiencing now. And where are all the others? Why am I the only one in captive in this bland, boring room? Where's Cha, Al and the other members of the movement? If this is High Council's doing, they've gotten far this time.

Staring at myself in front of the mirror trigger something inside of me. I punched the mirror and shattered to a broken mirror. My fist was bleeding and it's not that painful at all. I let the blood leaked and watched it drip on the clean white floor.

But on the other hand, a wiring mechanism loaded up the room and suddenly, an opening widen up and an image of a person step inside the room. As he enters the room with his head bowed down, and the time he lifts it up. I freeze. The opening size-like door behind him closed and when I put my attention to him, I still couldn't believe what I'm seeing.

I shook my head, scratch my eyes to give back my senses that I'm just hallucinating once again but then when I look in the same direction. He didn't vanish, he's still there standing up wearing his white polo shirt tucked on his black slack pants and his blank shoes says it all. I looked into his face, to check if it was really him and I'm saying numerous it in my head that I'm imagining things again.

I know it was always like this.

I'm seeing my brother because it's what I wanted and my head was doing that for me. And now again, it's happening.

"Dylan." He spoke, calling out my process name. He's walking so fast approaching me, he wide up his arms and as he comes closer, his arms hugged me tightly. I was still shocked. He patted my back. "Oh, goddamn buddy, I miss you..." I remember his voice, I remember his physique, his annoying smell, and his smirk. It must be really him. When I slowly landed my hands on his back, I hug him back and patted it.

"Is it really you, my brother or I'm just hallucinating?" I asked obviously out of curiosity, 'cause in this world deception is one of the top acclaimed that started chaos to everybody.

"I am, buddy." He smirked, that's annoying too.

When we lose our arms on each other. I was about to hit him on his face when he immediately dodges it up and stopped me from doing it as he pointed my first bleeding. I forgot about it anyway. That pain doesn't hurt me physically anymore—but of course, that's was a joke.

"Are you gonna punch me?" Conrad asked laughing, stepping backward. "That's not the 'nice to see you brother' welcoming intro I expected. And how did you get that fist bled?" he asked, and when he noticed the broken mirror on the wall. He chuckles and shook his head, "you're frustrated are you?"

"How in the would you could ask that on your own brother?" I asked and the anger inside of me rise up and subside the misery in my chest. "What have you done to me, brother? What mess did you do? And—and how in the world we talked like this?"

Before he speaks, he laughs, the usual attitude of my brother. It doesn't bother me before but now I'm cringing hearing it. I don't like the way he does it. I'm not into the mood of having some light up vibes. I just wanted answers. And all he does to get me here.

"I saved you, buddy."

I smirked, "you save me, is that a joke?"

"No." he timidly answered with a straight face. He's serious. "I saved you from the ambush made by the High Council."

"Wow—as in, wow. I know you're a part of High Council and what do I know, maybe you're just conspiring to everything and make me talk 'cause you know, we're brothers and they send you here to do that! I won't fall for it, brother. You are on the wrong side."

He walks to the bed and sits on it, "that's when you are wrong, brother." He said, my forehead creased. I don't think he's saying his truth. All are a deceiver. Even to this moment, I couldn't trust my own brother, my own blood.

"Then how did I end up here? High Council can only do that and you are part of it."

"I am a part of it but I'm not the High Council." He explained, "I'm one of the Programmer and Technology supervisor on the High Council and all the modified techs are coming through my supervision. That's my job over there, Dylan. I'm not part of the circle of High Council and that's you should know. You must be grateful that I have saved you from the last minute of your death."

"And why would I?"

"Because I have been watching you from the start of your process, buddy."

"You're deceiving. I don't wanna hear anymore."

"I'm not deceiving you. I'm not feeding you lies. I'm trying to imply what I'm doing to save you and our family. You know that has been our goal since I enter the process, right."

"Yes, I did. Our Mother remembered that. But you forget us, brother. We haven't heard anything from you anymore that's why we also forget that you exist."

"But when you enter the process, you're thinking of wanting to see, right?"

"No."

"And now that's the lie, buddy." Conrad remarks. "I'm not the one who's denying, lying here. You are afraid to take all the truths because it hurts you. And now stop believing all that you learned from the field and listen to your own brother." He stood up, walk to my direction.

"How could I listen to my own brother when I don't even know what he's up to now, huh? Now tell me, that!"

"We're gonna have a long talk for that, buddy. But I need you to know that you are safe here. You're-we are gonna take what's we rightfully deserve and we can be with our Mother once again. She would never be alone in the Waste Land again." He said. I'm still trying to understand his side but that's not going anywhere. I'm still in the middle of believing it or not. His truths or all that I have known in the field?

"I don't know brother... I'm trying to understand."

"I will make you understand it, buddy." He said, reach for my shoulder and patted it. "I want you to listen to every word I said, I don't care if you believe it right away because I want you to know what's happening... why did I saved you and why you're tracker pulled out from you."

I'm gonna try, brother.

"High Council will do something big to this year process and it will take a lot of lives at cost for it to happen and I don't wanna risk you being one of the many dead young people. The ambush on the building where the movement held up was the first path to take down all the participants. And it's my fault they found the movement is holding up. That's why I didn't lose the chance to get on board and save you on the field. You could've been killed there, a buddy and you would see no light tomorrow. But I'm glad I saved you and we could do this together..."

"Wait... wait, what are you talking about?"

"This might be confusing, buddy but I'm part of the movement and I'm their boss."

And when he said those words, I pushed him away. "You're kidding me right?"

He shook his head, "I'm not, buddy. And also, I'm the one who's sending messages to you on the tracker—" he was interrupted when his watch rings. He answered the call from it and staff from the High Council summoned him. "Affirmative. I'm gonna be right there." He responded to the person from the other line and he canceled the call. "I need to go, buddy, I'll be back and once I did, I will tell you everything I know... and to the beginning why I joined the movement, okay?"

I'm out of words. I stared at him, not giving any responses. I watched him opened the door and once again I'm alone in this room.

What the hell just happened?