POV Snippets: A scene from the past 3/3 - Jewel

The low-frequency buzzing of the barrier that stretches around the perimeters of the Institute is naturally quite subdued, discernible only during the period of deep stillness when most of the machines are off and the majority of the scientists are away. Such occasions can be counted on the fingers of one hand, though even then the  daily-life turmoil of the backup staff is more than enough to partially drown the unremitting humming.

This time, however, nothing other than the howling wind can be heard through the branches and bushes of the surrounding forest.

Junia goes through the name and date of every known celebration, smile melting bit by bit the closer to the clearing she gets. By the time she reaches the gate, a sense of inscrutable foreboding devours her enthusiasm at the prospect of returning home, leaving only pure dread in its wake.

Quick to imagine the worst, Junia finds her trepidation magnifying as she realizes that the only person that came out to greet her and lift the barrier is Rene.

The woman, always somewhat withdrawn and absent-minded, especially since her mother’s failed OBS treatment, now seems plainly weary, as though she aged ten years in the span of one. The slight smile she wears whenever she’s nervous or simply out of habit wobbles slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Junia asks because obviously nothing is right. When Rene's shoulders drop, so does Junia’s heart.

“It’s-” Rene starts, seemingly unsure how to continue.

The hesitation is a dead giveaway, one that rouses Junia faster than a bolt of double-struck lightning would. At once, she berates her earlier inattentiveness.

Like an idiot she ignored all the signals, dismissing the fact that the first bus she was supposed to take didn’t arrive at all. It seemed insignificant, then, but now? When she got impatient and decided to hike, shouldn’t there be at least one vehicle driving past her during her walk? She marched right by the path, after all.

If there are no buses, there are no people. And if there are no people...

“It’s” Rene’s second attempt is successful, if only just. “It would be easier to show you.”

Junia’s breath catches in her throat at the first sight of the view behind Rene’s back. The patches of burned-out grass, the trails of brown substance on the pavement that neither the recent abundant rains nor the bleach - liberally used as can be sussed by the stench - were able to wash out.

As Rene leads her further towards the main building where the living quarters are located, the peculiar chlorine-like odor grows thicker, irritating Junia’s nostrils so much so that she’s forced to cover her nose with the palm of her hand.

Rene doesn’t need to, evidently used to the fetor. “Your parents are fine,” she says quickly, though unnecessarily, noticing Junia’s stupefaction.

Junia spoke with her mother earlier this morning: Cyrene tried to stall her, just like she did three months ago despite the clearance Junia received from her academy. At the time, Junia thought her mother wanted her to spend the last break before graduation with her friends. Now it seems that wasn’t the case.

Through the shock and unease, a sliver of both irritation and affection cuts in. It’s hard to recall what Junia did exactly during the time the apparent malady has befallen her family, but she was not with them like she ought to. There’s that saying about spilled milk, but how is Junia supposed to not rehash the past when the present and future both appear so unstable?

“What happened?”

“Three months ago, there was an-” Rene swallows as her throat dries. She pauses to open and hold the door, giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts and transform them into sentences. The screech of the unoiled hinges is the only normalcy that Junia encountered since her arrival. Weirdly, it eases her mind a little - for about a second it takes Rene to proceed. “A visitation.”

What kind of visitation leaves the lawn looking like a chessboard and the hallway like swiss cheese?

“From the government?”

Rene nods. “They didn’t like the results.”

“So they closed the lab?”

Closed? No, what a stupid question.

Junia blinks, tracing the fractures in the wall, hoping that they’re like a mirage, but they don’t disappear once touched. The blood on the concrete is a sure sign that somebody was hurt, possibly killed, but Junia’s dumbfounded brain can’t put two and two together, can’t acknowledge that what she sees is indeed real.

“Shit. No, don’t tell me...” Junia drifts off. At the end of the corridor, the sharp whiff of bleach becomes unbearable. It stings Junia’s mouth, the expanse of her tongue.

She might not be privy to the details of the experiment, but she knows that much: the research was centered on developing medicine that would help afflicted people control their powers. What had to happen for the government to lose their marbles?

“Father said...” Rene mutters, barely louder than a whisper. And still, her voice wavers audibly. “He said that it happens. That sometimes when they discover something they shouldn’t...”

“They-” Junia barks out a startled laugh that borders on maniacal. “You’re not serious.” But Rene is, she’s not one to joke. “How many?”

“Left? A half. Some escaped later. A few of the SPD officers that were sent here decided to help. Then they sent the military.”

“Fucking hell.”

Wincing, Rene glances away, unable to stomach the tone and weight of Junia’s stare. “Cyrene will explain more. I was-”

“You were here?”

Rene wrings her hands. The nails and skin around them are bitten bloody. She doesn’t confirm verbally, but the answer is clear nonetheless.

“Why did you stay?”

“They have a list of all the scientists who... worked here. If we leave...” Her eyes snap to the wall where splotches of carmine near the ceiling remain unwashed.

“Even if they have nothing on you? Or do they have something?”

“Treason and sedition. Of course, the documents aren’t real, but as long as we stay here...” Ah. As long as they keep their mouths shut the government will let them live. It’s a threat Junia has only heard in movies... how naïve she was to think it couldn’t happen in real life.

For the first time in years, possibly ever since her affliction awoke, she feels as though the control shifts out of her hands. There’s the familiar numbness that douses the budding panic, the gears turning in her head as she tries to get her reaction under control. “Okay. Okay, I will-”

“You’ll need a different name,” Rene states matter-of-factly.

Undoubtedly she’s reciting a plan made in advance, most likely by Junia’s mother. Cyrene knows Junia’s less likely to argue with Rene, given her mellow personality as opposed to the explosive one of Cyrene or the non-confrontational manner of her father.

“You’ll be living alone, so it won’t be difficult to change it. They won’t bother you if you go back to your grandmother-”

“Stop. What are you saying? I’m not going anywhere!”

“Junia, you have to. This is not a place to raise a child.”

There’s a blandness to Rene’s voice that makes it twice as hard for Junia to comprehend the actual words. It takes her a while to choke out, “What child?”

“You’re going to have a sister.”

“No.” As the meaning sinks in, the magnitude of the revelation - the last straw - overwhelms her. “I have to go.”

Without regard for Rene’s gentle calls, Junia retreats, shaking her head vehemently. Two steps back she breaks into a sprint. Down the corridor, out of the building, and into the moor, as far as the barrier allows, until her eyes are blinded by dampness and she can’t run anymore.