Chapter 6: Moby Dick

          “And then he just left?”

            Connor had been listening to Kye recount the story of his conversation with Brevyn. Kye had begun telling the story to Connor at dinner �" Kye was still proud of himself for keeping his promise of beating Connor to the Dining Hall �" and they had continued discussing it all throughout and afterwards. They now found themselves in the Lookout together, trying to find the motive behind Brevyn’s actions. Connor was sitting cross-legged atop the steps, watching Kye pace back and forth below him, stopping occasionally to stare out the window at the sunset.

            “That’s right,” Kye responded. “He just said: ‘see you later’ or something like that, and left.”

            “That is awfully strange.” Connor pondered for a moment. “Back to the book. Maybe that book �" Moby Dick, was it? �" is super special to him. It sounds like he wasn’t keen on having Shadow here use it as a chew toy.”

            Connor reached down and stroked the cat at his knees. Shadow purred.

            “Yeah…maybe,” Kye consented. “But it just seems so odd for someone I don’t even know to have an outburst like that around me.”

            “It happens though,” Connor shrugged. “One time, my Auntie was so moved by this book she read that she became obsessive over it. Then my mom decided to read it herself one day, and she accidentally got a drop of coffee on it from the breakfast table. My aunt went ballistic; it was as if the good name of the book had been tarnished forever.”

            Connor laughed quietly, and then Kye saw a shadow flash across his face.

“But that was a long time ago,” Connor finished.

For the first time, Kye realized that he did not know anything about Connor’s life before being brought to this facility; he knew nothing of his parents or his childhood. As far as Kye knew, he would be able to remember everything; he had not had a memory wipe like Kye had. Yet, the thought of it was obviously giving great pain to Connor, so Kye did not press the matter now.

“Yeah. I guess that could be it,” Kye said, attempting to fill the awkward space.

Connor looked back up at him, and smiled warmly, as if he was freshly snapped out of a trance. Kye smiled back, and then turned back to the windows and gazed out. Lovely colors were once more dancing around the room, casting a beautiful glow on the two boys and the feline. He noticed the same woman from the day before riding her bike past the courtyard, before he turned back around to face Connor.

“You’ve never seen Brevyn around before?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve never met him. So, if I have seen him, I would not know it,” Connor replied.

“You’re right,” Kye conceded.

Both boys accepted that they were getting nowhere with this discussion; they simply did not have enough information to make sense of it all. Perhaps it was, as Brevyn had said, a routine check. Perhaps they were reading too deeply into an awkward man’s actions. Whatever was going on, they silently agreed to drop the subject for now. Kye walked up the stairs and sat down next to Connor, pulling his knees into his chest.

They sat in silence for a while, Connor petting Shadow, and Kye zoning out with his mind elsewhere. All was extremely still and no sound could be heard except that of Shadow’s low purr. When the sun had gone down, and the entire Lookout was lit by only the soft glow of the moon and the stars, Kye finally spoke.

“What do you think will happen to us?” His voice was so quiet that Connor had almost missed what he said.

“What do you mean?” Connor asked.

“I mean…the experiments and all. They’re bound to happen again, right? What are we supposed to do about them?”

“I don’t suppose there’s anything we can do,” Connor said sadly.

“You can’t honestly tell me that you accept that answer,” Kye shot at Connor. “You’re okay with just sitting here and waiting to be tortured again? For…for me to forget you again?”

“Of course I’m not okay with it!” Connor said, looking Kye in the face. “But it’s the way things are now.”

Kye stared into Connor’s eyes until Connor looked away. “The way things are is not the way things always have to be.”

“Well, when you find a way to escape, take me with you,” Connor said sarcastically.

Kye’s back was starting to hurt from the position he was sitting in.

“Can I lean on you?” he asked Connor. The lack of furniture was apparent to him now.

“Go right ahead,” Connor consented, and Kye laid down on the floor, placing his head on Connor’s knee. Shadow walked around Connor’s legs and laid down as well, pressing himself against Kye’s chest. Silence fell once more, until Kye continued the conversation.

“I just…I can’t forget you again. I don’t think I can bear it.”

“Yeah, well, you won’t remember me or anything that’s happened if they wipe your memory. It’ll be just like two days ago. It’s me who has to deal with it…” Connor trailed off, and Kye sensed the deep sadness in his voice.

Kye thought about this. Connor was right. As weird as it seemed, he wouldn’t be able to remember Connor, or these times in the Lookout. He could only imagine, however, what it must be like for Connor; to become friends with someone, only to have them forget you over and over. Having to restart things with your best friend had to be discouraging and annoying. Kye could hardly believe that Connor had made it this far, or that he still wanted to be friends at all.

Another great wave of appreciation for Connor swept over Kye. He was lucky to have such a loyal friend.

And as he laid there with his head on his friend’s knee, beneath the shine of the night sky, he thought about the coming days and what they would hold. He could feel himself drifting off, and knew that it would soon be time to return to their rooms.

“I won’t forget you,” Kye whispered, and he dropped off into slumber.

v   

            The two boys parted ways with a hug in the stairwell once again. Connor had roused Kye a few minutes before when the announcement to return to rooms had played in the Lookout. Now back in his room, Kye had no idea what to do. He did not feel much like sleeping; it seemed that all he could do here was sleep and wait for the next meal. He wasn’t provided with many alternatives.

            Kye decided he would just try to read again, and sat in front of the bookcase. He reached his hand out and read the titles under his breath as he moved his fingers down the line of books. He stopped when his fingers felt the mangled edges of one, and smiled as he pulled Moby Dick from the shelf, remembering his encounter with Brevyn.

For a moment, Kye had the hilarious desire to hand it back to Shadow and watch him chew on it again. Yet, the more Kye thought about it the more he was filled with curiosity about this book now. He decided he would read this one.

He stood up from the bookcase and plopped himself down in the blue chair before the desk. Shadow lunged onto the desk as well and curled up into a ball, but kept an eye on the book that Kye was holding, as if he still longed to continue his assault.

Kye looked down at the battered book; it really was in rough shape. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to read it with all of the chunks missing. Nevertheless, he opened the cover. He flipped past the first few pages of information and the author’s notes. When he reached chapter one, there were two words sprawled out across the top of the page in dark, and obviously runny, black ink: For Kye.

Kye looked up, and then behind him, peering around the room as if someone would be there. Then, he returned his eyes to the book, to his name. He turned the page. There were more scribblings. It looked as though someone had written them hastily; the ink was smeared in some places and blotchy in others.

Safeguard this book. No one must see it but you.

Kye was utterly bewildered. He quickly flipped through the book and found similar writing on many pages. He flipped back to the one he was on and tried to piece together what the writing said through all of the teeth marks.

It is too dangerous to �" explain much? �" here, so I will tell you only what you �" need? �" to know.

He was having difficulty making out all of the words, but flipped the page nonetheless.

You…rescued in one week exactly. The time is….for now.

            Kye turned the page.

            ….only take you. We’re sorry.

            Kye’s brain was in overdrive. What was happening? Who was ‘we’?

            Make sure….packed. Be ready always.

            Next page. Kye was squinting at the words, but it was getting tougher and tougher to make sense of anything.

            This is not a stealth mission. It…ruthless. In and…any means necessary.

            Kye struggled to comprehend what was happening, but continued flipping and reading frantically. A phrase was written in large letters at the bottom of this page.

            Everything…LIE.

            Next page.

            DO NOT drink…give you. Tell this…one.

            Kye’s panic and confusion was mounting.

            Stay low. Avoid…. If all goes as planned,...free.

            Next page.

            The world is not…it seems. No one knows.

            Next page.

            That’s all.

            Kye frantically flipped the page over, and ruffled through the next few, desperately searching for some signature or some clue as to who wrote this. There was none. He lost control for a moment and ripped a page from the book accidentally, and Shadow jumped and hissed at the noise. Kye slammed the book shut with a loud thud.

            Kye leaned back in his chair, panting as he stared wide-eyed at the book. His mind was racing so fast that it was throbbing. What could this all mean? Escape? Freedom? Something about not drinking? And the words ‘any means necessary’ sent a shiver down his spine. He could think only of the people who tortured Connor, probably spurred on by the thought of ‘any means necessary.’ He felt a lump in his throat at the thought. He shook his head violently.

            Kye felt a sudden impulse to run to Connor. He needed help with this. He grabbed the book and darted towards the door. But it was still locked. He was a fool.

            He threw the book back on the desk and sat on the bed, trying hard to steady his breathing. Dinner had already come and gone; he would have to wait until morning to tell Connor. Accepting this fact, he dropped his body backwards, allowing his head to rest on the pillow. He felt a wave of emotional and physical exhaustion steal over him as the words he had read continued to dance within his vision.

            He turned his head to look at the book on the desk, then sighed, and turned back to stare at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and hoped against hope that he would not awake again before breakfast.