Sarika's head pounded as she woke up. She then immediately stood up, but the toxins were still doing their dirty work - she stumbled back down to the ground. Breathing heavily and feeling utterly weakened, she decided to take stock of the situation.
Unsurprisingly, she was dressed in all black - her captors knew not to provide her with any further ammunition for her powers. The painted the chamber they currently imprisoned her within all black as well. She tried to rub the paint away with her hands to reach the color below it, but the black held.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that her cylindrical chamber had black glass for walls. Behind the glass, all around her, swam a variety of eels through clear-colored water. Being on the other side of the glass meant Sarika couldn’t reach that color, but it was an unusual sight. The eels swam calmly, gently moving in a large circle with Sarika right in the center.
The toxins made her head pound; now that she fell back to the ground, she couldn’t even get back up. She heard the sound of a hatch opening far above her; a long ladder emerged into the cylinder, resting so close, yet so far away from the fallen Sarika.
Principal Holloway and Quaid gently climbed down, not concerned at all about Sarika trying to make a break for it. They had her, and Sarika knew it.
Her two captors arrived on the chamber floor. Quaid dressed in all black, including the bandages that now wrapped around his wounded face. Holloway merely wore his usual blue suit, as if daring Sarika to attack.
But Sarika couldn’t. All the fight in her had left.
“Where am I?” Sarika asked.
“The EEL PIT!” Quaid proclaimed.
Holloway placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Let me do the talking here.”
Quaid sulked off.
Holloway then turned his attention back to Sarika. “Quaid is not far off the mark. I funded his dream to construct a pit of eels and we produced this chamber. With some slight modifications, we’ve turned it into a prison specifically designed to torture the mind.”
Holloway knelt right next to her, an amused smile on his face. “Your captivity will only last a week. Everything ends - or should I say, everything begins - this Friday night, one week from now. You’ll be fed and given drinking water until then.”
Sarika couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
Holloway gestured toward one side of the chamber. Sarika saw a door, previously hidden within the black; it had a rotating handle in the center of it like the wheel of a pirate ship.
“That’s the entrance to the airlock,” Holloway explained. “Step inside there and gather your courage. You can then open the exit on the other side, giving you access to the eel aquarium all around us.”
Holloway raised his hands, gesturing to eels, all different colors, that swam around them. “The top of the aquarium isn’t covered. If you can swim all the way to the top, you can escape.”
“Why…why would you give me a way to escape?” Sarika asked.
“The eels are POISONOUS and can SMELL FEAR!” Quaid proclaimed.
“Let me do the talking here,” Holloway whispered forcefully. Quaid went back to sulking.
“Once again, he’s not wrong,” Holloway said, turning his attention back to Sarika. “The eels themselves will pose challenges. But your own mind will provide the greatest hurdle of all. Because you’ve given up, haven’t you? You haven’t been eating, haven’t been sleeping, haven’t been communicating with others. And now, here I am, just an arm’s length away. Even with the toxin inside you, you should be able to reach out and touch my suit. Yet here you are.”
Sarika kept quiet, instead just watching the kaleidoscope of eels above her.
“I’ve seen your notebooks,” Holloway said. “You’ve figured out how to overcome death long ago, haven’t you?”
Sarika did.
“But you hit an uncomfortable truth. Your formula could only prevent future deaths, rather than resurrect any prior deaths. But resurrecting a prior death is all you wanted. Here you are, with a complete theory on how to save mankind from its prison known as death, yet all you could focus on was your own selfish needs.”
Sarika noticed faint blinking lights behind the eels, adding to the wheel of colors surrounding her.
“Thanks to your research, I’ve finally finished my own project,” Holloway said. “I’m now able to complete my device that will prevent all future deaths. Back in my office, I told you to make a choice. Search for your truth, or accept mine. I merely wanted you to make a choice so I activate my contingency for you. Had you ignored Quaid's letter, you would've posed no further threat to me and I would lose my interest entirely. But instead, you chose to fight. And for what? A desire you can never actually fulfill? That's why I'm keeping you alive. This is a teaching moment. By constantly reminding you of the possibility of an escape, I'm reinforcing the lesson that you ignored all those opportunities in the past and must now dwell on your failures.”
“Just kill me,” Sarika mumbled. “Reunite me with my sister.”
Holloway brought his arms in front of him. “The greatest boundary of all is not life or death. It’s between people. Person A will never be Person B. They can never truly understand one another - there’s a wall between them. That wall starts as concrete, but through communication, that wall can weaken to wood, perhaps even mere glass. But the wall will always remain. Humans can never truly understand each other, much to our sorrow. Some people trick themselves into thinking that the glass wall is just fine and enjoy that lie, but…you and I both know that as long the wall is there, humanity isn’t worth it.”
“You and I are nothing alike,” Sarika croaked out.
Holloway grinned. “Really? Both of us have dedicated our lives to the single-minded pursuit of defeating death. But you, you wallowed in self-pity within your walls. You strengthened them, turned them from concrete to steel. And all the while you thought you were the victim. And now it’s too late for you. You chose to go against me, so now I'll punish you by dangling an alternative path in front of your eyes for an entire week, always forcing you to remember that your ignorance of every alternative path has what brought you to your doom. I want you to reflect on the very depth of your regrets until we all turn into oblivion.”
“And you’re different?” Sarika asked weakly.
Holloway pushed down on her stomach to lift himself up. Sarika didn’t even go for the opportunity to steal the color of his sleeve; she just groaned as said regrets entered her mind.
“You forced yourself down that path due to ignoring your true self. I know who I am," Holloway declared. "I thrived within my walls. And, in one’s week time…all of our walls will be gone entirely.”
Holloway nodded at Quaid and the two departed up the ladder, taking it with them once they arrived at the top.
Sarika remained laying down in the center of the pitch-black chamber, only her thoughts and eels to keep her company, as she heard the sound of overhead hatch shutting tight.
----------------------------------------
Ruta's head pounded as she woke up. She immediately stood up and a flood of memories came rushing back to her. Getting a ride home from Holloway after the peanut convention. Sitting in the backseat, Holloway and the chauffeur in the front. A feeling of fear rising in her stomach. The walls of the car seeming claustrophobic; the air incredibly stale. Passing out entirely.
“Where…where am I?” Ruta asked herself. It seemed as though she was in an honest–to-god dungeon. Every step kicked up dust; the walls were moss-colored concrete stones from another time; iron bars separated herself from a dark hallway and perhaps the wider world.
“Welcome,” a familiar voice greeted on the other side of the hallway. Ruta peered through the bars and saw the battered face of Mr. Connolly in a cell across the hall. Chains trailed from his legs to the ground; Ruta wondered why she had no chains of her own.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“What happened?” Ruta asked.
Connolly shrugged. “They captured me when my investigation of this school went in too deep. As for you, I have no idea. All I know is that you made one hell of a speech two nights ago.” When Ruta looked confused, he gestured down the hallway. Ruta looked through the bars and saw a television hanging from the ceiling in a position that made is visible to both cells.
The television currently played static-filled footage of two news anchors discussing Ruta’s speech. Though there was audio, the sight of her own face - captured on signs held by protesters, on buttons worn by diplomats signing peace treaties, on bright-eyed children who could believe in something again - made her do a double-take.
“What…what is this?” Ruta questioned, stepping backwards. “I’m just a girl with an alleged peanut allergy. Why am I this big symbol now?”
“That would be my doing.” another familiar voice answered. Principal Holloway stepped beneath the television, an amused smile on his face. He stopped and looked at Connolly, who gave him a calm yet determined look of defiance.
“I’d rather not have you interrupting my moment with Ruta,” he explained, then snapped his fingers. Air presumably coming from Connolly’s lungs suddenly wafted out of his mouth; Connolly struggled to breath, then collapsed into unconsciousness.
“Don’t worry, he’s only mostly dead,” he informed Ruta. “Like you, I wish for him to see the fruits of his failures.”
Ruta let out a whimper.
“It’s okay, Ruta,” Holloway said. “As I’ve said, you’ll be a pioneering hero. You’ll cure any and all diseases. With your help, I’ll even cure death.”
Ruta scratched her arm and looked away, feeling crushed by everything. “I don’t get any of this.”
Holloway shrugged. “Then let me explain. I love a good teaching moment.” He began pacing in front of Ruta’s cell. “I already gave a breaking speech earlier today, so I’ll speedrun this bit. The biggest boundary in life is between people, there's an insurmountable gap due to an ever-present wall, yada yada…but, with your help, I’ll tear down that wall.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything Is or Isn’t,” Holloway explained. “That’s the basis of life and can be applied to anything. It's a rock, or it isn’t a rock. It’s either Person A, or not Person A. It’s either a truth, or it’s not a truth. A person is either allergic, or isn’t. A person is either alive, or isn’t. In this case, we call this isn’t death.”
Holloway stepped under the television, now playing scenes of dictators stepping down from power due to protesters with Ruta symbols on their jackets. “And it works the other way as well. It either isn’t a rock, or it is. A person isn’t allergic, or is. A person isn’t alive, or is. We call this is life.”
Holloway stretched his arms in front of him. “Don’t you see? Life and death are two sides of the same coin. You can’t remove death without removing life. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Ruta gulped, her forehead hot and hands clammy. “You’re going to kill everyone?”
“Not quite,” he corrected. “You can’t kill what isn’t alive. If a person isn’t alive, they can’t die. That’s how you solve death. But I won’t kill them. I’ll simply move everyone to a stage beyond this duality. Is and Isn’t. 0s and 1s. I’m going to make humanity into a 2.”
Holloway rang his hand across an iron bar. “And it all starts with you, Ruta. By taking my medicine, you’ll advance beyond the duality of allergies and no allergies. Neither concept can exist without the other, so to solve this conundrum, you’ll evolve into a being beyond them where neither applies. And we can extrapolate that. We’ll use that evolution to overcome the duality of disease and no disease. And then we’ll perfect that evolution to overcome the duality of life and death.”
Ruta was still trying to process all of this. “But…if nobody in the world has allergies, doesn’t that mean there are no allergies? Or like…can’t you have no allergies without having allergies?”
Holloway tapped on his head. “I’m speaking on a conceptual level. If nobody had allergies, then allergies wouldn’t exist. You wouldn’t be able to understand the concept of no allergies because there weren't any allergies in the first place. Is and Isn’t. You can’t have an Isn’t without having an Is. And you can’t have an Is without having an Isn’t. It applies to people and beyond. That’s the greatest boundary of all.”
Holloway brought out a tape recorder. “Note to self - for my next breaking speech, say that Is and Isn’t is the actual greatest boundary of all.”
Ruta wiped the sweat off her forehead. “You say I’m going to evolve. What’ll happen to me?”
Holloway shrugged. “Unfortunately, I will have to use a lot of test subjects. Only the evolution beyond life and death will be perfect; you’ll just be a test run. Most likely, you’ll end up tortured in some sort of pocket universe for all time.”
Ruta didn’t like the sound of that. “Please, there has to be another way!”
“There isn’t one,” Holloway said firmly. “You having a peanut allergy started this whole road. And now that you’re on it, there’s no way to get off.”
He immediately pressed his face between the bars, startling Ruta. “Unless you lied, of course. If you have no allergies, then you’re an Isn’t, and my medicine requires starting with an Is.”
Holloway seemed to grow larger, or was that just Ruta’s imagination?
“I’ll offer you this one last chance. You’re not lying, are you? The whole thing isn’t a sham, is it?” His voice grew softer. “It’s just us down here. I’m offering you this one chance to tell the truth. There won’t a be second. Or third, I suppose, since the first chance was when this whole shindig started.”
Ruta gulped. Was this it? Would she really maintain her lie into an early grave or pocket monster torture thing?
She didn’t want to be tortured. But she also couldn't bear to see the sight of her friends’ faces when they realized she had lied. Would that immediately break apart their friendship?
That’s when Ruta realized. The revelation might break apart their friendship with her, but it shouldn’t break apart their own friendship among the group. Their own friendship was based on their own experiences; Ruta just got it kickstarted. The experiences would remain, whether or not their friendship with Ruta did. Ruta’s alleged allergy didn’t bring them together; Ruta’s pursuit of friendship did. And that pursuit would remain, lie or no lie, carried on by those five members of the peanut table.
Ruta steeled herself. She took a deep breath.
“I lied.”
Holloway’s face dropped. “I’m…I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I lied!” Ruta repeated, red shame appearing on her face. “I don’t have a peanut allergy. I never overcame any sort of struggle with any sort of allergy since I don’t have any. It’s all a sham.”
Holloway gasped. “But…but the speech at the convention? You volunteering for the medicine to cure peanut allergies?”
Ruta looked at her feet. “All lies. Everything having to do with peanut allergies is a lie. But everything about friendship-”
“Would you believe that, people?” Holloway suddenly exclaimed in the direction of the television. “Ruta was never a hero at all. She never overcame any allergy. She’s a false idol propped up to make us forget about the real issues!”
Ruta grabbed the bars. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“She betrayed us!” Holloway yelled into the camera. “She betrayed all of us. She was our savior.” He looked down at the ground in disgust. "She's just a liar propped up by the powers that be to distract us. Rise up, I say! Tear down all their false idols!”
Holloway turned off the television. Ruta felt her knees buckle and she collapsed onto the stone floor. Holloway pulled out a remote and turned off the television.
“Did you know Vyse Academy has contracts with telecommunication corporations all over the globe?” Holloway asked. “I used my connections to turn you into a symbol of hope. We whipped up a media frenzy about you. How else would we have gotten a president or a bubble boy to see you? And it only snowballed from there. I broadcasted to the entire world your alleged story of how anyone, even a small girl, can overcome the boundaries posed by life. I built you up…and with one airing of your confession, I’ve broken it all down.”
Ruta thought she was going to pass out again. Holloway ignored her hyperventilation. “Thanks to the power of science and my corporate investors, that television was actually recording a livestream that began when me offering you a final chance. My streams are fairly popular, you know. And my connections ensure that it’ll be picked up everywhere. Ruta the Hero will become Ruta the Liar. Everybody’s faith in humanity will be shattered. We have a laundry list of things to worry about. This breach of faith will be the final straw.”
Ruta rubbed her eyes. "But don't...don't you need me for the allergy duality thing?"
Holloway laughed. "I'm five steps ahead of you on that. This Friday, it'll be time to activate my device to break down the duality. Originally, your only role in my scheme would come at the very end, but you've proved highly useful along the way. Once you lied through your teeth to me in the second approval for your allergy, I knew you were the one I could turn in a symbol and then just as easily crush it.
Ruta felt the world spin. She sat with trembling legs in the corner of a cell, trying to get away from the light of the hallway. “But why…why would you do all this?”
“People are fickle things,” Holloway explained. “They’ll cling to life like shipwrecked men on rafts, drifting across endless oceans. I wish to break down their faith in life. The exposure of your lie will destroy that desire to cling.”
Holloway eyed her. “But because we tend to cling, it takes a lot for us to move past living and wish to die. I will destroy humanity’s will to live, but I don’t want any of them to wish for death. I simply want them to give up. Not wanting to live, but not wanting to die. To just go to bed and not wake up the next morning - to just fall asleep forever. A global feeling of that kind is what’ll enable me to finally move humanity past this duality of life and death. When the members of humanity want neither.”
Holloway smiled at her. “Thank you, Ruta. I knew from the start you were lying. Your sketchy website misspelled allergy. But, because you took this lie so far, I’m able to complete my plan. I still have need of you, but for now, you can watch me torture an entire globe on that television for a week straight. You’ll grow to understand that creeping feeling of neither wanting life or death.”
Ruta rubbed her eyes again, trying to stay strong. But Holloway merely looked down the hallway, into the distance.
“And then, when Friday night arrives, I’ll have one finally use for you. Then we’ll escape the duality for all time.”