Secrets

Like hell I was keeping my mouth shut!

The guards quickly blindfolded me after Professor Juri gave the go ahead and drug me like a ragdoll through more halls than I could count before throwing me outside like a sack of garbage. Iero was known for its first class hospitality.

Who did Professor Juri take me as? The hot headed misfit sister of Caspian, who would sit quietly and do as she was told the second they sent a vague threat my way?

Bullshit.

It said a lot about the Professor that such an idea would even pop into her mind. All that time and she never bothered to learn a bit about me. For being the competent part of the government down there, she sure was missing a thing or two.

I groggily opened the door to my apartment, collapsing on my bed. In the few days since I’d been back even I could notice the changes. A thin layer of dust covered my desk, a few old world books of mine had toppled over with the wind's breeze, and my curtains had fluttered to the side against my open window.

After the damp dark jail cell I’d spent my last night in, my warm soft bed sheets felt like heaven.

Yet I couldn’t rest now, not with all those people down there. “Text Kat and Sky, tell them to come to my apartment right now.”

                                                                               * * *

An hour later, both of them sat near my desk–Sky on the chair and Kat relaxing on the black bean bag chair next to it. “Are you seeing anything?”

“No bugs,” Sky said, shooing a collection of screens away. “Far as I can tell there's not a soul listening to us.”

“Perfect,” I breathed a sigh of relief. “I know you have a lot of–”

“Spill it already!” Kat said.

“Fine, fine, don’t rush me!” An hour passed as I transpired about my past day or so, from the piglike guards to the sterile white halls, to Professor Juri’s real identity and the whole shebang about Project Iero. Their faces morphed into more expressions than I could count–even Sky’s. And here I was thinking his was glued in place.

“Wow… that's a lot,” Kat muttered.

“You think?” I tossed a pillow off my bed, laying my head where it rested just moments ago. “What do you think, Sky?”

“What do I think? I don’t…”

“We have to tell people, right?” Kat asked.

“Do we?” Sky asked, leaning back in his chair. “It sucks, but what other option is there? Assuming she’s telling the truth here, and I’ll admit that is a big assumption, Iero itself dies if they don’t. You either have an endless torture chamber, but they get released after three years and memories wiped, or most of the population of Iero dies. Trolly problem that all you want, it looks pretty clear from my angle.”

“They killed my family Sky! Fuck debates, people at least have a right to know what’s powering this damn city.”

“Do you want to follow them Asta? Because you’re right on track at the moment!”

“Guys!” Kat shouted. “Calm down for a minute. Shouting at each other won't get you anywhere.”

“Fine… You may be right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Kat continued on, “I don’t think either of you are wrong, not really. Sky’s right in the fact there's no other choice, yet for the government to hide such a thing is abhorrent. We say we're better than those who lived in the old world yet we keep the same secrets. I get they’re trying to minimize the pain and suffering, but to kidnap people without their consent, it’s just not right.”

“So what,” Sky said. “You think everyone will just shrug their shoulders and move on if this gets leaked? How many people do you imagine volunteering for inhuman torture so some high schooler can play another fantasy rpg?”

“I’d rather give people the option than kidnapping them at random. Everyone likes Iero, if people are willing to sign up for the defense and scouting force, what's the difference?”

I took a deep breath. Kat was right, neither of us was wrong, just different perspectives. “It’s worth a shot, Sky. I’m biased, we can both agree there, but for revenge or not letting people in on the truth is the right move.” Plus, it was Caspian’s will to let this be known, I’d gathered that much. As his sister carrying on his legacy was the least I could do. “Sky, at least give it a thought?”

He sighed. “If we were to do such a thing, the radio tower would be our best bet.”

“They must be thinking the same thing,” I said.

“Well, you said that they don’t have an idea of what we're discussing here right?” Sky reached into his bag, pulling out an old fashioned notebook and pen. “Theoretically of course, but if we were to do such a thing, shouldn’t we make a plan?”