The Vote
A weak autumn sunshine shone through the skylight windows and into the Inner Roses hall. The hall was a gorgeously designed, dark rosewood themed circular hall, moderate in size. Around the hall, continuing in the circular pattern, were two rows of dark red seats, separated by red carpeted stairs. Every seat was assigned a large tablet that hung from its charging lead wrapped over the seat. Near the centre of the hall were a dozen dark brown coloured wooden seats.
There was a long passageway into the hall used for both entry and exit. Directly opposite to the passageway was a large, exquisitely designed raised bench. There were two seats at the raised bench and slightly below it was a moderately large screen. Two sets of stairs, each leading to a separate dark red door, flanked the bench from behind.
On all of the screens and detailed on all the wooden furniture was the Roses logo. The logo was of two roses, inside of the other. The outer rose petals were black and as the petals moved inwards they transformed into a vibrant maroon red.
At the centre of the ceiling of the hall, hung four large screens, each one facing one of four directions. There were circular cameras dotted on the four corners of the hall and large speakers placed above them.
Slowly as the minutes passed, people started entering the hall. All of them wore smart black uniforms, one piece dresses for the ladies and suits and red ties for the men. Every person had their own uniquely stitched pattern on the front and back of their clothing. The stitching reflected that individuals specialisation within the organisation.
There were a myriad of different stitched patterns, some had images of a mind with stars as a backdrop, others had coins stacked or crates in a pile. Each one represented their industry or talents.
These specific individuals were known as the ‘Inner Rose’ members. They were the representatives of the organisation and their role was to vote and represent their speciality. There were also seats assigned to local law enforcement and emergency service staff, if necessary.
More and more Inner Rose members entered as they spoke with each other. They took their assigned seats, removing their tablet from their chair. They all looked for a moment at their tablet as it authorised them through facial recognition. Their tablets lit up with all the information relevant to the agenda for the day.
Once most of the Inner Rose members were present and seated, a second type of member entered the hall. They were young, fit and confident individuals. They wore more practical black themed clothing, cargo trousers, tight breathable sweaters and black comfortable trainers. Many were equipped with firearms and kevlar armour, some even had multiple weapons strapped around themselves.
They all shared a common feature, on their left eye was a small, transparent light blue coloured screen. The small screens were called a ‘Monitor’. It was a form of augmented technology that overlaid information through the screen, depending on what they were looking at. These individuals were known as ‘Agents’. They confidently walked towards the centre of the hall and took their seats on the wooden chairs.
Once everyone was present, the passageway door slid closed and a light next to it went red, indicating that the Inner Roses meeting was now beginning. Both the red doors at the back of the hall slid open as two young women walked through them and down the stairs.
The woman on the left was of Indian descent, with short black hair and brown eyes. She wore a unique black dress. The stitching on it showed a large white eye, with sparkling white stars as a backdrop.
The woman on the right was pale white, with short blonde hair, green eyes and a brilliant smile. Her dress had the stitching of a sun and moon with sparkling white stars as a backdrop.
Both of them were very young, 18 years old to be precise. They walked down the stairs with large tablets in their hands and as they approached their seats at the raised bench, a synthetic female voice spoke over the speakers in the hall.
“All rise for Nadia and Aisling.”
Everyone in the hall stood up as Nadia sat on the left seat and Aisling sat on the right.
Aisling smiled, “Thank you, you may all be seated.”
Everyone sat down and the hall went quiet as everyone listened in interest.
Nadia looked up at the skylight and smiled, “It’s good to see the sunlight. Let’s hope it lasts all day.”
The synthetic female voice spoke over the speakers around the hall, “Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. We shall now commence today's meeting. Today's agenda is currently displayed on the screens. We shall begin on the first point of United Nations exchange services.”
The voice started to speak again but stopped itself. A person was standing in the front row. He had short ginger hair, pale skin and thin rimmed glasses. His uniform stitchings were a mind with stars as a backdrop, indicating the field of psychology.
The synthetic voice addressed the standing man, “Mr. Jones, is there something wrong?”
The man’s face looked deeply concerned as he looked down at his hands, he took a moment to muster the courage to say what he needed to.
His voice was quiet, “I am calling the vote.”
The voice enquired, “To which vote are you referring to?”
He answered slowly and deliberately, “Angels.”
There was a silent pause as Inner Rose members and agents looked amongst each other in confusion.
There was movement amongst the agents near the centre of the hall. A surprisingly tall and muscular man, with short black hair and a clean shaven face, stood up.
The man spoke frustratingly, “I’ve tried this before Oliver and it won’t pass without a good reason.”
Oliver's voice was deep with concern, “Michael, it’s different this time.” His face was racked with sadness, “We are losing him… We’ve run out of time.”
The voice responded in a reassuring tone, “He is safe and there is no cause for concern.”
Oliver shook his head, “AI… I’m a psychologist. It’s my job to pay attention to my patients, to listen, talk to and to help them. It’s my job to know them intimately… To know him.”
Oliver pronounced AI's name as 'Aye', just like everyone else did.
He stopped talking and looked back down at his hands, “He’s code-red for suicide, AI… The situation is truly that bad. He’s nearly completely lost himself now. He’s withered away into near nothingness. If this vote doesn’t pass this time, we will never get the chance to vote on it again.”
He slowly repeated, “I am calling the vote.”
The room filled with concerned whispers. The two Inner Rose members standing next to Oliver tried to comfort him by putting their hand on his shoulder, even though they knew not what was being discussed. He shrugged off both attempts, however.
Another long moment passed before AI responded, “Very well, Oliver.”
The four large screens at the centre of the hall went black for a second. Then the image changed to a black background, with the title “Angels” at the top centre, underneath the title were 4 white boxes in a row, the fourth box had a red cross in it.
Oliver looked up and noticed the fourth box’s red cross.
Oliver raised his voice, “AI, it’s time… We need to save his life…”
AI calmly responded, “I can have him watched over by agents to keep him from hurting himself. I believe he simply needs more time.”
Oliver shouted, “You would imprison him… AFTER ALL HE’S DONE FOR US?!”
There was a large noise of shock across the hall.
The young lady sitting on the left of the raised bench, Nadia, spoke, “Mr.Jones, please calm down…”
Oliver shook his head as he looked once more at the ground.
After a moment AI responded, “I see your point and I never saw it that way. My apologies, please forgive me, Oliver.”
AI announced to the hall, “This vote has been called and the reasoning is sound. There will be four individuals partaking in the vote, Michael Campbell, ex-agent James Hull, Oliver Jones and myself.”
“For the first vote, Michael Campbell, what say you?”
Michael instantly responded, “Aye.”
A large tick mark appeared in the first box on the screens.
AI continued, “For the second vote, I have established video communication with ex-agent James Hull.”
On the top left of the screens, a video feed showed the man looking at his phone. He had short brown hair, blue eyes and a full beard.
James spoke towards his phone as he scratched his beard, “Greetings AI, what can I help you with?”
AI summarised, “We are calling the Angel vote once more, James.”
James looked away from his phone as he shook his head in frustration and then looked back at his phone, “Again Michael? I’ve already told you it won’t pass unless there is significant reason, mate. This is the third time you’ve called it now, come off it!”, James rolled his eyes in frustration.
Oliver quickly spoke, “It was me who called the vote, James.”
James’s tone shifted quickly into concern, “Oh Oliver… Why? What happened?”
Oliver spoke remorsefully, “He is at his end James… I can’t save him from his own suffering anymore.”
James looked away for a long moment as he stared into the distance. His face was sad as he reflected on tragic memories. He was thinking intensely of what this truly meant.
“It’s that bad mate?... Very well, then it is about damn time the truth came out… I say aye.”
A tick appeared in the second box.
The inevitability of the vote was now clear. Oliver was the last to vote, however since he was the one who called the vote, AI didn’t need to ask him, as it would have been redundant. A tick appeared in the third box. There were three ticks to one cross, and therefore the vote was a majority pass.
AI announced, “It is decided by majority vote, The ‘Angels’ vote has passed.”
The screens transformed into one large green box with a large green tick in the centre.
The one we all owe everything
Nadia frowned, “Gentlemen the whole world is watching this. It disturbs me greatly that Aisling and I have no clue what you’re talking about. As a public facing organisation, this is concerning.”
Aisling, sitting on the right of the raised bench, folded her arms in frustration, “What does ‘Angels’ refer to please?”
Oliver ignored both their remarks and looked away in relief as he took deep breaths to calm himself. He knew the desperation of the vote and what they would all lose if it never passed.
Oliver spoke quietly, “Thank God, I can’t express how desperate this was… I can’t lose him.”
AI spoke slightly louder than it had before, “I made a promise to him and now I have broken it.”
Michael responded, “By voting no, you kept your promise with honour, AI.”
AI’s voice went quiet, “Time will tell if he will see it that way, Michael.”
AI spoke quickly, “We will need to hide this session from him, he can’t watch this session today and he can’t know about everyone being made aware of his existence.”
Michael nodded, “Yes, can I trust you to keep him distracted today, AI? Find excuses and reasons for him to not turn on the TV.”
Oliver shook his head in disagreement, “This is the only thing he cares for anymore… All he does during the day is watch this live broadcast. What else is he supposed to do?”
There was a pause as Michael and Oliver looked at the ground, they thought intensely for a solution.
AI slowly spoke, “His pain today is significantly worse than normal, Oliver.”
Oliver looked up, slightly confused, “Yes?”
AI waited a long moment before stating, “Morphine.”
Oliver felt a wave of sadness, “If I gave him a large enough dosage, it would knock him out and we can be sure he won’t stir for many hours.”
Oliver felt disgusted at himself for a moment for considering this… But the situation was this desperate. He reminded himself that he had to remember the bigger picture, that this session is hopefully the cure and not another band aid.
Oliver quickly muttered to himself, “I will need to go to the apartment myself to administer the drug. It shouldn’t matter if I excuse myself now anyway… I know it’s not me who will tell this story.”
Oliver looked at Michael for a brief moment and nodded to him. He briskly walked down the stairs of his pew and out the main entrance. Michael walked to the centre of the hall, to ensure that all could see him clearly. It was hard to miss a man of his size, but Michael needed to ensure he was the focus of everyone's attention.
Aisling asked concerningly, “Morphine? Excuse me, but isn’t that an extremely powerful painkiller? This person you speak of… Can’t you just give them sleeping tablets?”
Michael looked at Aisling for a long moment. His face was sad… He clearly knew something tragic that she did not. Aisling realised and she looked away. Whatever it is she didn’t know about the morphine, it was not yet time to know it.
Michael announced, “AI, this will take all the session, please clear the agenda.”
On the large screens, the list of agenda points were completely wiped. All that remained was the title ‘Angels’.
Aisling stood up in irritation, “Hold on, the entire day's business? Some of those are directly affecting relief supplies for the storm happening right now as we speak, in the Philippines!”
AI responded, “I will coordinate with the local government representatives and have the logistics managed in the background. Aisling, the topic we speak of is of greater importance.”
Aisling was getting even more irate, “There are 140 million people living there and we are not even going to discuss their threat? We have a representative waiting for our conference call right now!”
AI instantly responded, “I will send them any relief supplies they require.”
Aisling took in a deep breath and was on the verge of saying more, when AI cut her off.
AI said in a final tone, “It’s under control, please focus on this now.”
Aisling was shocked as she stood there for a few seconds, stunned. Aisling turned to Nadia with a bewildered face. Nadia was also surprised, her eyes were wide open.
Aisling finally spoke as she stared down at her table, “What’s going on here? I have a horrible feeling now, about today. I have never had AI dismiss me before…”
Michael smiled at her, “Aisling… Please sit.”
As she took her seat, there were a few murmurs across the hall, but it quickly died down. Michael had the stage as he stood there for a long moment, looking down as he arranged his thoughts and prepared himself.
Michael spoke loudly to ensure all heard him, “The Roses… Are an impossible miracle. What I see when I look around is hard to believe. An organisation, stretching across the globe, doing good and building a brighter future. I see more and more of my fellow Rose members, every day. On the Television, on online video platforms and even on the papers. We have become a proud and honourable collective and the dream of Aisling and Nadia has been truly realised… We are succeeding in making true, positive change.”
Michael paused for a long moment. Long enough that people started looking around, as if something had happened or perhaps something was wrong.
Michael’s words were slow but deliberate, “What if I told you… That it’s all been built on a sacrifice so great… That it would completely change your perspective of all we have accomplished?”
“What if I told you that we all owe a debt… A debt so large, we could never hope to pay it?”
Michael looked down at the ground with sadness, “What if all our proud accomplishments were being carried on the shoulder of a hidden giant?”
Nadia was deeply concerned, “Michael, what don’t we know here? I almost never see you frown even… This is the first time I have ever seen you so sad.”
Aisling nodded, “You’ve only ever been our smiling hero…”
Michael shook his head for a long moment, “I admit, I have been acting for the last few months. I have been wearing a mask to hide the truth I swore not to tell, a promise of absolute importance. I have cried rivers of tears over this promise I've made. This truth has changed me, it’s reshaped my perspective of my own abilities and my character. It has me questioning all the impact we have accomplished here together. I have entered this building for months, pretending to be ignorant as I swam in a sea of hopeful smiles and waded through mountains of optimism and confidence.”
He stared into eternity, “This organisation is incredible… But you don’t know the price that was paid for its success.”
He looked around the hall, “It has been my purpose for the last eleven months, to make sense of this truth. In what little time off I have had, I have been feverishly researching and connecting the dots, trying to form the picture of what really happened. I wanted to completely discover the story behind this deceptively beautiful painting, that we call ‘The Roses’. It has consumed me entirely and became my sole mission.”
There were many concerned faces across the hall as everyone listened to every word with complete attention. Nobody dared to move as they waited for Michael to continue.
He read the room and realised that he was going on for too long, “Forgive me, I’m sure you must all have a million questions and concerns right now. I will give everyone answers today. It's time for the truth to be revealed.”
***
The Dream Of Hope
Aisling and Nadia sat next to each other in Aisling's parents living room. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, and the two 16-year-olds had just finished eating their lunch. With nothing better to do, they turned on the TV to see if there was anything interesting to watch.
As the TV screen turned on, a newsreel had just begun, with a news presenter speaking.
"Two years on from 'The Clamp,' as the youth now refer to it, the agency of statistics has revealed concerning numbers. According to their report, the suicide rate among those under 30 has increased by 43% compared to the five prior years. GBB has reached out for comment from the prime minister, and we will report back when we receive a response."
Aisling made a disappointed "Tsk" sound as she grabbed the remote and changed the channel. The TV showed a talk show featuring a young woman and a middle-aged man. The man appeared very sympathetic as he gently patted the young lady's back.
“Tell me love… How do you feel about your life right now?”
She stared at her lap, “I feel… Like I’m a burden to my family. I feel like nobody wants me and I wish I could disappear.”
He gently hushed her, “No no, come on now that’s not true. You’re incredible and we all want you to be happy.”
She shook her head, “No… You don’t care about our happiness…”
Aisling immediately grabbed the remote and changed the channel, feeling a horrible sense of worthlessness. Her mind raced with thoughts about how the young lady felt, and what disturbed Aisling was that she felt that way deep down as well.
The new channel showed a recording of a young man being tackled and arrested by the police. He was flailing around, trying to break free as the officers held onto his shirt to keep him in place as they brought him down.
“Let go of me you fucking pigs! What did I do wrong eh?! You just targetted me cause i’m young you fuck-”
The police officer punched him in the stomach, “Be quiet, you were inciting anger and trying to provoke violence!”
The young man coughed and caught his breath, “Why don't you just kill me now, huh? Do it like you did during the Clamp, and fucking end me! We all know you don't think of me as a person, so just fucking do it then!”
In the background, a crowd of young teenagers watched in horror, as a young girl shouted out, "Please leave him alone! He did nothing wrong, he has rights!"
The policeman pointed at her aggressively, "Your generation lost your rights when you lost your respect and sense of place!"
Aisling turned off the TV, feeling panic and hopelessness overwhelm her. Nadia hugged her in an attempt to calm her down, but she was also shocked by what they had seen on the TV.
In frustration, Aisling threw the controller at the wall, and it shattered into pieces. Nadia squeezed her tighter, trying to soothe her.
"Shh, Ash, be calm, please." Nadia urged.
Aisling began shaking, "That's our generation, Nadia! What's happening in this country, it's horrible!"
"I know, but if we just keep our heads down, it will all blow over…"
"Keep our heads down? How are we going to feel when we reach our thirties and think we're worthless?"
"I know, Ash, but what can we do? We don't want another Clamp…"
Aisling slowly breathed as she tried to calm down. She shook her head as her hopelessness transformed into anger.
“We can't be afraid, Nadia. I think we need to do something… We need to give hope.”
Nadia shook her head, “But how, Ash? They have us down, and they've shown what happens if we try to stand up…”
Aisling stared at the ground for a moment, “We can't give them hope… They need to find it within themselves.”
“That's the problem. Our generation is angry and scared to take action, and the older people are too angry and selfish to try to help us… Nobody can fix this.”
Aisling smiled, “Nadia, help me here. There has to be a way! I know the problem, I need a solution!”
Nadia closed her eyes, deep in thought for several minutes. When she opened them, she smiled at Aisling.
“What if... Neither of them do?”
Aisling tilted her head sideways, “What? Are you saying nobody does anything?”
Nadia shook her head, “No… What if it wasn’t a person who decided how to help?”
Aisling whispered, “... Machines?”
Nadia smiled, “My cousin works in AI, he literally edits them and makes new ones… What if I asked him to make us one, and the AI decides fairly for both?”
Aisling stood up as a wave of hope took over her whole body. She smiled gloriously as her eyes sparkled.
“Let’s go give our generation hope.”
***
Michael resumed his story.
“We start at the very beginning, in the formative days when Nadia and Aisling only had a primitive version of AI in a tablet they carried. They ran around trying to demonstrate and convince people of their dream.”
He looked at the two on the raised bench, “Aisling, Nadia… Would you please be so kind as to explain what your dream was back then?”
The two were surprised as they looked back at him as they never expected to be asked something like this. They both smiled gorgeously… Their smile was what defined the Roses leadership until this point, the smile that represented their mission. They both stood up.
Nadia started, “Our dream was to give hope to the current generations of adults, to give purpose through service and to use technology to change the course of humanity for the better.”
Aisling finished, “Our dream was to create an honest, honour-bound, non-profit humanitarian organisation and to ensure that merit is given to those who care and excel.”
They both smiled and then took their seats. Smiles had replaced the frowns across the hall… The two young leaders had that effect. Their hope and optimism was contagious as even Michael found himself smiling. It was simply impossible to resist their smiles.
Michael resumed, “It’s hard to believe it, but in the beginning… They were simply two seventeen year old girls with a tablet. How humble their start, compared to the massive organisation that we are today.”
He smiled, “On the first day they unfortunately had little success. On the second day however, they met a young man who joined them for the day as he tried to accomplish whatever their little tablet suggested.”
Nadia exclaimed, “I remember him! Remember Aisling? We met him on the train, and he didn’t believe us when we said we wanted to change the world?”
Aisling tapped her head, trying to remember, “Yeah, what was his name? Andrew wasn’t it?”
Michaels voice was soft and reverent, “Yes… Andrew was his name, Andrew Smith.
Tell me you two, what else do you remember about Andrew?”
Nadia’s voice changed to frustration, “Well, I remember he initially talked like the world couldn’t be changed.”
Aisling nodded, “We told him about AI, the tablet and how we planned on it helping us… He was impossibly sceptical.”
Nadia smiled, “He got off the train with us though… He said he would walk with us, since he had nothing better to do.”
Aisling beamed her incredible smile, “Even though he didn’t believe us, he still helped us with our first tasks. I even think I managed to convince him over the day, because he started to ask more and more questions.”
Michael softly spoke, “He believed in you two… Far more than you realised.”
Aisling and Nadia went quiet for a moment as they realised Michaels tone was deeply significant.
Aisling finished her recollection, “We never saw him after that day Michael… Which is a shame, as I imagine he might have grown to be our first agent rather than you Michael.”
Michael looked away shaking his head. His face was wracked with sadness as he breathed deeply to hold back tears.
Aisling realised something she said hurt, “I’m sorry Michael...”
She wondered what she had said wrong as she looked at Nadia, but Nadia shook her head in confusion as well. The two said nothing as they waited for Michael to regain his posture.
He spoke loudly and with emphasis, “Andrew… Andrew is the one we all owe everything to.”
The Bruiges
Murmurs arose across the hall and they lasted much longer than before. Aisling and Nadia looked at each other, as their confusion had been replaced with concern.
Michael raised his hand and members of the Inner Rose noticed it as the murmurings calmed and the hall went quiet. Michael lowered his hand and stared at the floor for a long spell. Nobody said anything, for clearly they were getting closer to the important truth now. Patience was given to Michael.
Michael began talking again, “There was a particular thing that happened that day, seemingly as small as a passing memory, yet it proved to be the most significant event.”
“Towards the end of the day, AI recognised that there was a local drug dealer nearby. The three of them tailed the individual and took photographs, gathering enough evidence to call the police to arrest the person. The individual caught wind and ran. Andrew chased after him, managing to tackle him to the ground and giving time for the police to formally arrest them.”
Aisling and Nadia recalled that event. It was exciting to be sure and Andrew reacted surprisingly quickly. The chase was over almost before it began from their perspective. However, they did not yet see the significance.
Michael continued. “When the police had the dealer secured in the police car and cuffed, they wrote notes and asked questions from Andrew. Andrew gave his full name as he shared the videos and images he gathered as proof.”
Michael slowly emphasised, “He told the police his full name.”
Aisling and Nadia looked at Michael with a deep focus. What was so significant about that? It was only natural that he did that as police need this information to form a case.
He again spoke very slowly and very deliberately, “Andrew did not tell them anything about Aisling, Nadia or AI, however.”
Once more, the room felt the emphasis and they absorbed it.
Michael looked at Aisling and Nadia with a concentrated look, “What you don’t know about this story is who this dealer was.”
“The person... Was Gerald Bruige.”
Michael paused to see if anyone would recognise the name.
The local police representative had his hand raised. “Wait! That Gerald, the one who died in prison nearly a year ago, the son of Ronald Bruige, the old head of the Bruige syndicate?”
“Yes”, Michael said simply in response.
“Gerald was not a simple dealer, he was one of the highest members of the syndicate. He was also the heir to the head of the organisation.”
“His prosecution was instant as the evidence Andrew gave them was conclusive. They issued him 6 years of jail that very night, with no chance of appeal. The father, Ronald Bruige tried throwing around threats and bribes, but none of it worked. All the legal bases were covered and there simply was no argument possible in Gerald's defence.”
Michael once more left a long silent pause to give time for people to internalise these basic facts.
“Ronald Bruige was furious, so he got Andrew's name from his son on Geralds one permitted phone call. Gerald had overheard Andrew's name when he was detained in the car.”
Both Nadia and Aisling realised where this was headed as they both breathed deeply and buried their faces in their hands.
Michael looked around the hall, making eye contact with all who were not looking down in worry. He eventually looked back to Nadia and Aisling.
“The Bruiges had him that same night.”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The Sacrifice
“Oh God… No”, Aisling said.
She was slightly shaking as fear took hold of her. This was not a possibility she could have imagined. Nadia rolled her chair over to Aisling, embracing her in a hug as she too was shaken up.
Michael gave them a few moments before he continued.
“The Bruiges had him kidnapped. They took him to one of their safe houses and hid him in the basement. That night, he simply sat in that chair, bound by ropes, with a bag over his head. It was only the next morning when Ronald arrived.”
“Ronald was furious, his son was taken from him and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Ronald cared for his son Gerald deeply. One might even say, he cared only for his son.”
“Revenge was on his mind and he went into that basement to exact precisely that. Something precious was stolen from him and he wanted retribution. However, Ronald needed information first.”
Aisling looked up from her hands, “What information?”
Michael pointed straight at Aisling and Nadia, “He wanted to know about you two.”
Aisling and Nadia both jolted up in their seats as their eyes widened in terror. Aisling shook her head and Nadia looked down at the table hopelessly.
“AI, can you please show the footage from the recording when Ronald first went into the basement.”
AI quickly responded, “Standby, I am accessing records… Ready.”
“Play the clip, starting from the first moment Ronald entered the basement.”
The large screens in the hall began playing the video.
*
Andrew sat in the basement motionlessly, his arms and legs bound together by rope. There was a brown paper bag covering his head.
Ronald walked down the stairs quickly. He was in his late 50’s, bald with a trimmed beard and a weathered face.
He spoke to the goon standing next to Andrew, “Is this him? Show me his ID.”
The goon shrugged. “He ain’t got none.”
“No ID?... Fine, my men swear they saw him at the station with the two girls… What a shame they didn’t catch them as well...”
“Right!”, Ronald shouted.
Ronald slowly walked around Andrew, “Andrew Smith, the hero himself…Andrew, I’m a reasonable person, so let's cut to the chase shall we?”
Ronald stopped walking in front of Andrew as he bent down and pulled the paper bag off Andrew's head. Andrew closed his eyes as they struggled to adjust to the bright light above him.
Andrew had scruffy short brown hair, cold green eyes and a fine, stubble beard. He had a slight gash on the left of his forehead, the result of when they kidnapped him from the train station. A little blood had begun to drip down down his face prior, but it had dried up. Andrew said nothing as he stared defiantly at Ronald.
“I know your kind, you’re just a tool. I have many tools in my numbers, men and women who do as they are told. You’re as much of a tool as the man standing next to you, so I want to make a deal with you. You tell me who the girls are that you work for and who they work for… And in return I will let you go.”
Andrew slowly looked up at him, his face maintaining a defiant look. A moment passed as he thought intensely, his eyes darting left and right as his mind quickly raced to assess the proposition.
Andrew finally slowly spoke, “I don’t know”. He looked down at Ronalds shoes indicating that he would say no more.
Ronalds fist swung so fast into the left side of Andrew's face, the camera almost didn’t see it. Andrew yelped.
Ronald screamed in his face, “Don’t you fucking lie to me! You wouldn’t have done the job, if you didn’t know who they were! WHO ARE THEY?”
Andrew turned to him as blood dripped from the reopened gash, “I don’t know.”
Andrew defiantly stared at Ronald with a face of commitment and certainty.
The video ended and the large screens went black again.
*
Michael was staring sadly at the floor, his face told the tale of suffering and pain. He knew just how awful this was going to become, for he had spent many days watching the torture recordings. Even though he memorised every single strike, every scream of pain… His heart broke rewatching the clip, for it was knowing what lay before Andrew, that hurt Michael.
Aisling and Nadia were visibly disturbed. Their breathing was heavy as they buried their faces in their hands. Nadia slightly rocked back and forth, “Not Andrew… Please not Andrew.”
Aisling muttered, “He should have told him about us… This wasn’t his fight.”
Michael recovered himself as he saw many of the Inner Roses were shaken. He needed to find the right words to express this next vitally important part.
“The day after his arrest, Ronalds son, Gerald, was sent to jail. At the time this video was being recorded, Gerald was already being attacked in prison. There were many people the Bruiges had wronged in that prison… Gerald was an easy target for revenge and by the end of the first day of his prison sentence, Gerald had been beaten and stabbed to death.”
Michael stopped when he heard gasps and he patiently waited for the noise to die down.
“After the video you watched now, Ronald went from angry… To insane. He had then truly lost everything he cared for. This was the reason why the torture went on as long as it did, as Ronald had nothing left to lose… His entire life had become dedicated to destroying the people responsible.”
After a moment of thought, he stated, “Ronald needed the details of the Roses.”
He shook his head in sorrow, “...He never got those details.”
Aisling looked up, still partially stunned, “He didn’t tell him?!”
She rocked back and forth a few times, “... How long…?”
Michael folded his arms as he finally shed a tear, struggling to answer the question.
“Three and a half weeks.”
*
Protecting The Angels
The hall was suddenly consumed by a wave of horrified shock as cries of terror combined with the sound of dozens of individuals suddenly standing from their seats. There were shouts of ‘No!’ and ‘My God…’ echoed around the room.
Michael regained his posture once more as he stood there for many minutes, the seemingly never ending cries carried on. He looked around and witnessed many people attempting to comfort each other, and heads in hands full of distress. The Rose agents that were sitting in the middle of the hall were shocked, shaking their heads as they glanced at each other.
This was a hard thing to hear, no matter who you were. Aisling and Nadia took the longest to regain their composure. Aisling in particular was entirely distraught, she stared down at her desk as her eyes flooded with tears.
Aisling looked at Michael and after a moment, the frog in her voice cleared. “Surely this didn’t need to happen, right? I’m sure if he told them about us, we would have managed… Right?”
AI responded, “No Aisling, I’m afraid you wouldn't have managed at all.”
AI decided that this deserved an explanation, as it searched its database to find the relevant video.
“I will show you a video that will help you fully realise and understand what Ronald intended to do with you two. The video I am about to show you is from four months ago, when Andrew met Ronald in prison.”
Aisling instantly reacted, “Andrew met Ronald? Why on earth would he meet the person who tortured him?!”
Michael answered, “There is a good reason, but that will have to wait till later, Aisling, please trust me... All in good time.”
The large screen began playing the clip.
*
Prison interview 1
Andrew sat in his wheelchair, wearing a white hoodie with the hood up, completely covering his head and face. His posture was weak, slightly slouched and his breathing was laboured as he looked through the transparent safety glass window of the isolation prison visiting room, awaiting Ronalds arrival.
A moment passed before the door opposite the glass opened and through the door entered Ronald, wearing his grey prison overall. His hands were cuffed behind his back with two prison wardens behind him, batons in one hand and their other hand held tightly to Ronalds shoulders. They had complete control over him.
Andrew slightly jumped when he looked up and saw the wolf. ‘The wolf’ was the nickname Andrew had chosen to refer to Ronald. It was a clear reflection of the vicious and deliberate behaviour Ronald had demonstrated in the past.
He experienced a full range of fear seeing him, no matter the fact that he was clearly defanged. The Wolf was slowly pushed onto the seat facing the three inch thick safety glass, after which the two wardens took a step back.
The left warden spoke to Ronald, “If you so much as stand up, we will beat you Ronald… Don’t test us on this.''
The wolf slightly nodded to confirm.
Andrew looked over his face, noticing sleep deprivation marks under his eyes and his once trimmed beard now no longer maintained. His face was devoid of seemingly… Anything.
The second warden looked at Andrew, “Son, hit that button to your left if you need us, alright?” Andrew nodded to show his understanding.
The two wardens walked out the door, shutting it behind them. A loud locking sound made evident that the wolf was locked securely in his cage.
The wolf looked up to see who had called to visit him. Suddenly his face animated to the form of disgust.
He shouted, “Not you again!”
Andrew jolted back into his wheelchair in shock.
“Well if it isn’t Mr. I DON’T FUCKING KNOW!”
The wolf kicked the bottom of the barrier to express his anger and frustration.
“Ladies and gentlemen behold the man I tortured for weeks! The man I gave my all to hurt and make suffer… AND ALL HE FUCKING GAVE ME WAS ‘I DON’T KNOW!’ ”, the wolf howled.
He kept shouting that sentence again and again, “I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!”, he repeated until it sounded dull even to him.
The wolf stopped to catch his breath for a moment as he leaned forward to look straight into Andrew's eyes. This was something he did many times during Andrews torture. It was his way of measuring the mental state of his victim and maintaining control.
Andrew couldn’t look away, for the wolf's eyes were cold and horrible as they instantly elicited fear in him. His body began to hurt simply in response to the thought of what usually happened after he would see this face.
Andrew began to cry, his fear betraying him. He now faced his enemy… And he faltered.
The wolf gently asked, “Why didn’t you just tell me, boy?”
His face changed to a surprisingly genuine… Concern.
“I honestly would have let you go, you know that right? My fight wasn’t with you, my target was those fucking do-goody whores you served so pathetically”, he spat the words out.
Andrew slowly wiped his tears away while slightly rocking back and forth for a few moments, before he faced the wolf again.
Andrew quietly asked, “What would you have done to them?”. His voice was slightly slurred still due to his missing teeth.
“What would I have done if you had told me who they were?”, the wolf slowly said, the corner of his mouth raised into a perverse malevolent smile.
His eyes widened as rage filled every surface of his face. It was like staring into a real wolf's desperate face as it was about to pounce on you, as you had your back to the corner.
“I would have done everything I could to find them, boy. I would have spent all my money and used every connection I had. I would have pulled every string I could pull, to find those worthless twats!”
“Then I would have kidnapped them like I did you…”, the wolf stopped, and he looked down to the floor for a few seconds.
“Then I would have raped them…”
“And after they were broken from the rape, I would have tortured them…”
“I would have tortured them so badly, it would have made my time with you look like a picnic!”
“They would have begged me for death and I would just cut them to pieces as they screamed uselessly.”
“I would have had them stare at a photograph of my son…”, the wolf got a frog in his throat the second he mentioned his son.
“As I ripped their eyes out one after the other!”, he screamed at the window and banged his head against the glass.
Andrew panicked as his intense stress made him squirm in the wheelchair, looking around for someone who could save him from this monster. There was nobody but himself on the other side of the glass though. He was trapped in there with the monster.
“Then I would go find that stupid robot-AI-THING and I would douse it in petrol and set it on fire! I would round up and kill every single person who worked for it in that building.”
The wolf screamed, “I WOULD HAVE WIPED THE ROSES OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!”
The wolf looked down to indicate that he was finished, his breath heavy as he regained control. All of the fury had run from him and what was left was the dead and empty face that had met Andrew when Gerald entered the room.
He calmly looked into Andrew's eyes, “But that doesn’t matter…”
“You won boy… And I lost everything I ever cared for… But hey, at least you saved your friends.”
“Against all odds and no matter what I did to you… You beat me.”
“The only thing I walked away with… Was ‘I don’t know’.”
Tears now dripped down the Wolf's face as he looked away with a devastatingly pained face.
The video ended and the large screens went black again.
*
AI spoke. “Aisling, as you now can see, if Andrew had revealed any information, the two of you would be dead and I would have been destroyed.”
Nadia shouted, “You can’t know that! There’s always the chance we could have hid away… We’re just two people after all!”
AI explained, “I currently have access to petaflops of computer calculation speed and I have run hundreds of simulations, with different permutations, in order to determine our survival rate. The results are clear. If he had revealed any information, Ronald would have mobilised over 200 members of his syndicate to find you, of which there was a zero percent survival rate.”
Nadia went quiet and her face became worried.
Michael announced out loud, “It’s time for a break. This has been a lot to take in already and we need some time to process it all. We will now break for roughly an hour.”
The large screens changed to a single word: “Recess”
*
The Price Paid
The hour break passed, perhaps too quickly for most people's liking. Slowly people walked back into the hall through the main entrance. Aisling and Nadia entered through their own separate doors at the back of the hall; these being their entrance and exits, an intentional security design by AI, to ensure the safety of the Rose leadership at all costs.
As everyone quietly took their seats, the silence was eerie, but understandable. Michael and Oliver together were the last to enter, Oliver having returned from his unfavourable task.
Michael’s arms were folded and his face was serious, “So it’s done? Did you encounter any difficulties?”
Oliver responded, staring a million miles away, “It’s done Michael. He didn’t ask why nor did he object at all… He just sat there, rocking back and forth in pain. It only took a moment before the pain went away and he just collapsed on the couch. I gave him enough to last at least 5 more hours.”
Michael’s face dropped. This was the sad result of the greatest sacrifice Michael had ever known… A man so debilitated by pain, he’d seemingly lost touch with reality. Michael bolstered as he reminded himself that the shadow of ignorance was now over. He’d told them the ‘what’, now it was time he made it clear on the significance of the ‘why’.
Michael gestured for Oliver to take his seat, “Be seated Oliver, my friend… And try to ignore the current gloomy atmosphere… For it’s likely to get far worse in a moment.”
Oliver nodded. He was aware of all that had been said as AI had relayed the audio of the meeting through his earpiece as he administered the drug to Andrew. Oliver knew that there was still much left to say as he took his seat and waited.
Michael walked back to the centre of the circular hall. He quickly realised he didn’t need to ask for silence, for it was already depressingly present.
He spoke loudly, “Inner Roses, I must apologise to you now. For as much as this is going to be deeply painful to listen to… I must give you more details of Andrews torture”. There was an audible sound of people breathing out in disbelief.
“Andrew’s multiple weeks of hell is the most important action ever made in this organisation's history. I must ensure his sacrifice is fully realised, known and honoured. By the time we leave this hall today, you will truly know the importance of Andrew's silence.”
“AI, please form a list, sequentially, of every torturous act recorded by that phone in the basement and every thing Andrew has since made known to us over that three and a half week period.”
The screen filled with a bullet list. There were eight horrendous acts listed. It took several moments for people to process its length, for It was impossible to believe. Their eyes glanced at every bullet point, their minds fruitlessly attempting to visualise them… It was hopeless.
That list disappeared to be replaced with a second list itemising a further six monstrous acts. It was then that a huge reaction swept across the hall. Absolute shock… Absolute disbelief.
Suddenly, a single sound dominated everyone's attention. It was Aisling… She had fallen apart at that moment. Her sobbing echoed through the speakers of the hall, a hall that until this point, had been a place of heroic celebration. A place of triumph, a place of sanctuary. The biggest smile that the world had depended on to give them hope, was now replaced with Aisling’s sobbing.
Nadia was badly shaken as she had her arm around Aisling, embracing her in a hug. She was gently rocking her, “Shh, it’s all passed now”, she whispered.
Michael looked down at the floor in shame, for he never thought he would be the one who would make the brightest star fade so dimly. Aisling was the hope of the Roses, the light in the darkness. She was the one who told the world “We can do it.”
One could feel the overall mood drop off a cliff. People depended on Aisling for her optimism and her smile. There was a vacuum now and the discomfort was palpable. Michael loudly cleared his throat, regaining everybody's attention.
“Forgive me Aisling”, Michael said regretfully.
Aisling shook her head, continuing to cry. There was nothing he could say, he had to continue as they only had this session to explain everything.
Michael gave himself another moment, his arms crossed as he thought carefully on how to articulate his next point. He shook his head as he realised how difficult a job this was going to be. This next point was subtle, yet he had to make it obvious.
“It’s important that I explain Andrew's motivation. You see, Andrew is more than anyone might assume. He is the pinnacle of human determination. He has greatness inside himself. He is the very image of strength of will.”
“He knew from that point in the video I showed you earlier, in the basement, what was on the line. There and then he realised what was at stake. He was not ignorant of the consequences of failing to withhold the information.”
Nadia spoke softly. “How do you know that though?”
Michael gently answered, “Because he told me… He told us four.”
A moment passed and Michael swallowed hard. This was the hardest part for him, personally.
“After we found and recovered him, Andrew was transported to a nearby private hospital for operation. He nearly died three times while being operated on as they used the defibrillator three times on him to resuscitate him. Andrew was dancing on a needle tip. It’s a miracle the surgeons managed to save him, considering the unimaginable blood loss.”
“The surgery took 4 hours. He was bleeding out, dehydrated and starved. There was so little left of Andrew… It made the surgery even more difficult… They went through a shocking amount of blood bags to save him.”
“After the operation, we waited for him to wake. James Hull, Oliver, AI and myself. We simply waited there hoping we could get some answers. An hour passed after the surgery before Andrew stirred.”
Michael already hated talking about this part. It was the most important moment of his life… He decided it was better shown than described.
“AI, please play the video of that night”, he politely requested.
The large screens instantly started playing the video. AI seemed to have this one ready.
*
Andrew’s Tale
The video showed the hospital ward room. Andrew lay in the hospital bed, with three people standing at different positions around the bed. Oliver leaned on the bed frame, looking down at Andrew.
The image of Andrew was nightmarish. Blood was still visible, on both arms and his face. There were multiple tubes plugged into his arms, hydrating him and giving him still more blood. His face was so battered and bruised, it sadly looked like a lumpy mess.
The noise of his heartbeat was concerning. It was a worryingly slow beep on the EKG. It was stable though… He was definitely still alive, whatever part of him still remained at least.
Michael leaned back on the wall adjacent to the door, his eyes were closed. He had his earpiece microphone/speaker in his ear, it looked similar to what a secret service agent would use. Michael used that back then, to talk to AI at all times.
Agent James Hull stood at the bottom of the bed, his arms were crossed as he simply stared at Andrew in the bed. He shook his head in disgust, at the violence done to Andrew.
There was a large tablet placed on the bed table, facing Andrew. That was AI’s presence in the room, as anything AI needed to say, would be said through that tablet.
James quietly spoke, “We still don’t know who this is though. Police and swat are sweeping the house and the basement, trying to get us answers. God only knows why they did this, to this poor person.” James shook his head quicker and more aggressively, for he was clearly in shock.
AI spoke from the tablet, “I have my suspicions of who this is. They may be a person I have been actively searching for weeks for. His hair colour matches and the height matches, but until he speaks, I have no definitive identification to prove it.”
Half a minute passed. The EKG suddenly beeped twice as fast as it had before; Andrew had finally regained consciousness. He concentrated on trying to breathe in deeply, but the pain stopped him midway, instead resulting in a whimper. He tried a few more times, but his body simply couldn’t do it.
Everyone suddenly looked at him, they glanced at the EKG and back. Trying to confirm his state wasn’t getting worse, Michael quickly moved over to the emergency button, prepared to hit it if the situation went poorly.
Oliver slightly crouched himself down, so that he was face to face with the man in the bed. Andrew's eyes slowly opened, which was hard to see since his face was so battered. Becoming aware, he slowly and painfully moved his head to face Oliver.
Andrew spent a moment looking over Oliver, then he looked away, glancing at Michael and then James. He kept looking around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. From his perspective, one moment he was looking into the eyes of a monster… Then he was here. It was a sudden change.
Oliver carefully chose his words, “Hi, my name is Oliver, I'm a psychologist and I'm here to help you get through this horrible situation. You’ve been through… A lot. We want to help you as much as possible, but we need to ask you some questions, please…”
Andrew wriggled his body a bit, clearly trying to move more decidedly, but pain instantly stopped him. The beeps went faster, but still not too quick a pace to push the emergency button.
Andrew slowly asked, “Is this… Real?”
His voice sounded dumb, his missing teeth betrayed his normal talking style. Andrew glanced around again intensely.
“If this is real… Are they safe?” He questioned.
Oliver softly queried, “Who are you talking about? Who is safe?” He tried not to speak in a tone that might generate panic.
“The… Angels…”
AI was listening from the tablet and it quickly did a search for the term “Angels” in it’s records. A result turned up, it was a video recording from Aisling and Nadia’s tablet weeks ago. It was at the train station, at the end of the day when they were saying goodbye to Andrew.
Andrew stood at the platform, the train was rolling into place, people were approaching the edge of the platform to get on.
Andrew looked at the two girls with an excited smile, “It was a pleasure saving the world with you two angels, I hope I get to do it again some day.”
AI then knew with complete confidence that this was Andrew Smith.
“Andrew Smith”, AI announced from the tablet.
“He’s the one I’ve been searching for.”
The three all quickly looked at the tablet. Now they knew who they were talking to. This made things easier.
“Andrew”, Oliver said gently. “It’s a pleasure to meet you”.
Andrew ignored him entirely as he looked intensely at the tablet.
“... Tablet?”, he mumbled.
“Is that you?”
Andrew raised his voice, “Are they safe?!”
“Yes, the angels are safe”, AI responded.
The EKG slowed momentarily but then started beeping at a faster rate as Andrew breathed faster and faster. He had clearly realised something of urgency.
“Don’t tell them.”
“Don’t tell them what?”, AI questioned.
“Don’t tell them… About me”. Tears started streaming down his face.
“Why?”
“They are the hope and the dream… I don’t know if any of this is real, but if it is… Don’t tell them about me.”
“I don’t understand your logic”, AI admitted.
“If the angels find out… They will become hopeless. The hope in their eyes, the light in their smile… Will fade”, Andrew slowly struggled to get the words out.
“They will blame themselves… As they fall into anger and despair. They need… To remain ignorant.”
Andrew shouted, “Keep them smiling!... Or else everything I did was for nothing!”
Andrew stopped talking for a moment as he struggled to breath. He finally managed to catch his breath.
“Promise me”, he quietly asked. “Promise me you won’t let them know about me… Not yet”, he implored.
A silent moment passed. Michael stepped away from the button and looked at Andrew for a few moments, as he made up his mind.
“I promise”, Michael said assuredly.
Oliver and James swung their heads to face Michael. They scrutinised his face for a moment… Michael clearly meant it.
Oliver looked to the floor, his mind thinking as quickly as it could. After a few seconds he realised… Gut feeling, Andrew was right.
“I promise”, Oliver firmly said.
As James stared at Andrew, he couldn’t stop shaking his head. Emotions of sympathy clouded his mind… The injustice of what happened to Andrew, still flooded his thoughts.
“I promise… But it will be a hard promise to keep”, he finally said.
All heads faced the tablet. The question became… Would a computer AI make a promise?
They weren’t aware of just how hard AI was thinking at that moment. Hundreds of servers across the globe heated, as AI used its cloud brain to make this decision. At the end of its 3 seconds of intense thought, the camera on the tablet looked at Andrews' messed up face… It saw the tears streaming down.
This is something it could not decide on its own, by its very nature. Yet a decision had to be made. AI decided, if three humans all agreed, then the truth was obvious.
“I promise.” AI said loudly.
Everyone breathed out, Andrew included. Relief was found by consensus.
Michael asked AI, “Where are the two now?”
AI quickly responded, “They are on route to this room, they just came through the hospital main entrance.”
Michael rushed to the door, swung it open, exited the room and quickly shut the door behind him. In the video, the camera changed to the hospital passageway. It showed Michael closing the door at the end of the corridor and walking quickly down it. Michael made the turn, nearly colliding with Aisling and Nadia.
Nadia took a step back, “Oh! Michael, easy there!”
Aisling joked, “You almost ran us over.”
Michael looked them in the eyes, he had to be convincing, things had to seem totally non urgent. He allowed Aisling’s smile and laughter to lighten his mood.
“Come on ladies, you know me! When I need to get somewhere, people ought to get out of my way!”, Michael joked as he gave them a confident wink. Aisling and Nadia both blushed. It was hard for any lady to ignore Michael when he turned on his charm.
Aisling spoke, “We came as quickly as we could, apparently they rescued a person from the raid. We thought we should come and cheer them up”, her honestly reflected in her dazzling smile.
Nadia spoke calmly, “It’s only fair, since the Roses instigated the raid, we leadership should meet the victim.”
“Yeah, well it will be hard to do that, considering they are completely unconscious”, Michael informed.
Aisling became frustrated, “What? AI said the person was awake, that’s why we came!”
Michael casually lied, “Nope, that’s definitely not the case. It seemed like they were awake, but they were actually just sleep-talking or something. The person’s in a bit of a rough state, so they’re definitely not going to wake up anytime soon. Sorry you wasted your time.”
“Aww”, Aisling seemed disappointed. It was a great reason to stop looking at paperwork and get some fresh air.
Nadia nodded, “Ok, well, when they wake up, tell them to call us, AI will arrange it no doubt. We look forward to meeting them and helping them as much as possible.”
Michael reassured them, “Of course, AI will handle that, don’t worry.”
The two turned around and walked back down the hall. As Michael stood there, watching them walk away, he fully appreciated what Andrew said.
“Angels should always be smiling”, he quietly said to himself, before he turned around and walked back to the room.
The camera changed back to the patient ward room. Andrew was still catching his breath, every breath, a tiny whimper of pain. Although he was under the effects of strong painkillers, his body was subconsciously reacting to the pain he was numbed to.
The door opened, Michael was back. He instantly shut the door behind him as he looked at Oliver and James.
Michael quickly stated, “They’re gone, they don’t know a thing.”
Oliver asked urgently, “You’re certain they’re not suspicious?”
“Yes, completely certain, don’t worry about it.”
Andrew heard Michael and the EKG audibly slowed down and his breathing slowed a little too. Andrew's panic was gone, now that his important request was fulfilled.
Oliver started speaking, “Andrew.”
He asked quietly, “Can you please tell us what happened? We don’t know what happened to you…”
Andrew looked up at the ceiling for his mind was still largely compromised. He debated with himself for a moment, whether he should even tell anyone what happened.
“You won’t believe me.”
Oliver smiled weakly, “Don’t worry about if we believe you, just tell us. The truth always makes itself known.”
Andrew took a few minutes before he finally started. His mind reeled as he tried to recall the darkness, the weeks in hell. When you spend that long suffering, time distorts. It’s difficult to know what happened first or what happened last.
“They grabbed me at the train station car park. They choked me from behind… I couldn’t yell or make a noise. They injected something into me with a needle… I woke up with a bag on my head.”
Andrew stopped, for he had the image in his mind of what he saw then, the brown all around him, a lighter brown above him, where the ceiling light was. He recalled hearing his own breathing and the bag being hot and stuffy. His hands were tied tightly, as were his legs. Incredibly tight rope was choking the blood in his ankles.
Andrew returned from thought. He glanced at Oliver as he realised he needed to carry on, they needed more information.
He spoke slowly with terror in his voice, “Then the Wolf came down the stairs.”
“He wanted me to tell him about the angels. He said if I told them, he would let me go.”
“I knew he meant it and I could tell he was honest about releasing me, but…”, he stopped.
“When I looked into the Wolf's eyes, I saw the two beautiful, gorgeous, irreplaceable beaming lights… Being snuffed. I saw dreams being shattered and hopelessness flooding the world.”
Another tear slowly leaked from his eye. The beeping EKG slightly rose for a moment, then calmed down.
“I knew”, he slowly said.
“I knew that there was more at risk… Than just me.”
“I knew… If I told the wolf, everything would come crumbling down into ruin.”
“I was the gate… That held back oblivion for the angels.”
“And I would not fail them”, Andrew said finally, as he looked back at the ceiling.
The three were motionless as they listened to Andrew. The last sentence echoed in Michaels head.
“And I would not fail them”, it repeated again and again in his mind. Michael felt something he had never felt before, inferiority. For a moment, he felt the presence of an unimaginably strong will. Andrews' powerful will snuffed any confidence Michael was feeling at that moment. All that was left was the feeling of doubt in Michaels mind.
“So then what?” Oliver asked, not wanting to know, but the answers needed to be told.
Andrew started, “They punched senseless… I said to them, "I don't know.” ”
“They then flooded my face with jugs of water upside down, I couldn’t breathe, I drowned a few times… I said I don’t know”, the EKG slightly sped up.
“They beat me more, smacked the back of my head with something sharp, I was bleeding… I said I don’t know”, Andrew was staring a million miles away now.
“The hours passed, days went by, they stabbed me with forks… I said I don’t know”, Andrew’s voice was rising.
“They…”
Andrew cried for several moments as everyone felt a dark presence in the room. Things were about to get so much worse.
Andrew finally resumed, “They broke my fingers, one after the other…”
“They ripped out some of my teeth…”
“They didn’t let me sleep, they didn’t let me… Relieve myself…”, Andrews tears continued to pour down his inflated bruised face.
“They mocked me, they beat me more… I said I don’t know.”
Andrew stopped again. For many minutes, he lay there, looking at the ceiling, tears dripping down his cheeks.
“Then, it was dark and the light was off. I felt the presence of the wolf, he was looking at me in the darkness… Waiting. I didn’t know what was happening, but then…”, Andrew stopped for a second.
“The pain went away.”
“After an eternity of agony, I felt no pain at all… I felt warm and calm.”
Andrew paused again.
Andrew’s voice was gentle and reverent, “Suddenly I was in a peaceful place. I was resting on soft grass, looking up at the night sky. The stars were shining so brilliantly.”
“My head was resting on one of the angels' laps as they sat there, smiling at me. The other was softly stroking my hair. I felt normal, I felt whole”, Andrew looked at the ceiling peacefully.
“Then it happened…“
“One of the angels stopped stroking my hair and asked me “Who are the girls?” Andrew slowly said, as tears began pouring again.
“It was not real…”, he said with anger in his voice.
“They drugged me… And they tried to use my moment of peace, to get me to talk”, Andrew sobbed.
Michael gasped loudly in disbelief. Oliver shed a few tears as he looked out the window. James had buried his face in his hands, he shook his head as his body shook in shock.
Andrew quietly whispered, “It wasn’t long I had, but I enjoyed every second with the angels. It was my only break, my only rest… But it didn’t last long.”
“The pain slowly returned…”
“I watched as my angels turned to dust, their smiles crumbling away…”
“The stars disappeared and the grass burned…”
“Then I was back in hell again. The wolf was staring at me, face to face, fury building in his eyes...”
Andrew loudly cried, “I said I don’t know!”
Andrew stopped to catch his breath. The EKG beeped quickly, dangerously close to the maximum rate. They all stood still, their eyes wide open in horror. Nobody looked at anyone else.
Andrew resumed the horror story, “Then they connected plugs to my arms…”
“Electricity flooded me… It was somehow worse than I had already felt…”
“I screamed in pain, but they had a car horn blowing whenever they zapped me…”
“I didn’t even hear myself scream”, tears flooded Andrews face.
“I don’t know!”, he loudly shouted.
“They took a sledgehammer and they… My leg…”
“I DON’T KNOW”, he shouted again.
“He took a rolling pin, and he smashed my ears… I DON’T KNOW.”
“The years passed, the pain never ended, I DON’T KNOW.”
Andrew stopped again. His breathing was very intense, the EKG beeping frantically. Several minutes passed, the beeping slowed a little. Everyone was shaking with fear as terror resonated within their bodies. This was a nightmare, infinitely worse than anyone could dream.
Finally Andrew quietly spoke again.
“Then, I don’t know when it was, the wolf was staring at me again. I could barely see him, something was blocking my view, my eyes were bruised and sore…”
“His rage and fury had reached maximum. He grabbed a knife and he screamed at me”, Andrew said fearingly.
“He yelled that I stole his everything. He swore at me, he blamed me for all his losses.”
“He swung the knife, not aiming at anything, he sliced my face twice, he cut my arms and my chest…”
“The bleeding, I was going to die… Finally an end… It was over.”
Andrew stopped as he breathed a little.
“I heard loud noises upstairs. Yelling… Banging… My hearing… It was hard to know what I heard. Then I lost consciousness…”
Andrew's eyes opened widely as he quickly glanced around, a realisation flooded him. The EKG sky rocketed, the beeping was intense. Michael rushed to hit the emergency button to call the nurses as Andrew was having a panic attack!
He raised his voice, “I feel warm and safe… there is no pain again. Who are you?! How do I know this is real?”
“I could still be there right now, this could all be another lie… MORE DRUGS?!”, Andrew's body shook violently in panic.
“YOU’RE DRUGGING ME AGAIN WOLF… I DON’T KNOW!”, His voice roared across the room. A nurse swung open the door and she looked at Andrew shaking in the bed.
The nurse yelled out the door, “Psychosis, patient is experiencing acute trauma, we need to sedate him!”.
A second nurse rushed in, “Stand aside!”, she shoved Oliver and Michael to the corners of the room.
She quickly opened the top drawer, grabbing a tranquiliser. She popped the lid off and stabbed Andrew in the top right of his arm, squeezing the syringe.
“I DON’T KNOW I DON’T KNOW I DON’T KNOW”, Andrew kept screaming, again and again.
Then, his voice lowered and his words started to slur. The violent shaking stopped as Andrew shut down… And his eyes finally closed. The beeping rapidly slowed down. It rested a little in the midrange and then settled at a slow rhythmic pace.
The first nurse yelled at Oliver, “What in God’s name did you people do to him?! Jesus Christ, he almost suffered a heart attack!”
Oliver was in a state of shock, he could barely process what the nurse said, let alone the situation that just happened. The nurse stared daggers at him for a few moments.
“Whatever led to this, don’t ever do it again. I have a duty to protect my patients!”
“I’m so sorry”, Oliver managed to say. “Forgive us… Things were far worse than we realised.”
The nurse looked at him a moment longer.
Anger was deep in her voice, “He will be unconscious for several hours, don’t you dare try to wake him.”
“I will need you to leave shortly, the shaking has opened some of the stitches and we will need to restitch them”, she said looking at the blood slowly dripping from Andrews chest and arms.
The two nurses left the room, shutting the door behind them. The three stood frozen in place, motionless and dead quiet.
The video ended, and the large screens in the hall went black again.
*
Michaels Pain
There was a deeply disturbing silence in the hall. This was understandable, for it was precisely the same reaction that the four in the room had. It was the only way one could react, for it was an immeasurable amount of suffering that people were just witness to.
Michael stood in the centre of the hall crying. This was the key moment of his life, the very event that changed who he was… And led to his personal investigation of Andrew Smith. After this night, his every spare moment was haunted by the question: ‘Why didn’t he just tell them?’
Moments passed without anyone saying anything. Aisling and Nadia were crying as they stared down at their table. It was as if they had just seen a tragically sad ghost. Every now and again they would sniff away their tears, but the tears always seemed to return.
An important question was now answered. Why did Michael claim that Andrew did what he did, for the reasons that he did? Now there was no doubt about the answer to that question. The video proved Andrew's motivation and reason.
Michael waited, his hand covered his eyes to hide his tears. He needed to continue, but he was struggling to get a grip of himself.
“I…” he started, but his voice failed him. He gave himself another moment.
“He…” no success again.
Aisling looked at Michael and read his body language. It was clear that Michael was emotionally compromised. He simply shook his head slowly, for at that moment his heart was a vinyl, stuck looping back and forth between the same tragic emotion.
This was a difficult dilemma, for everyone understood why Michael was like this, however they knew not what they could do to remedy the situation. All they could do was wait.
Oliver stood up and quickly jotted down the stairs, walking up to Michael. He gently hugged him and he relaxed his posture.
“Michael, I know this was so hard for you to experience again” Oliver said gently.
“This was what broke you for the first time in your life. It’s ok to feel these intense emotions.”
Michael started to sob. This was not the plan, he thought to himself, he was not supposed to break down. Everyone was watching this, the Inner Roses… The whole world. He just simply couldn’t grab back control.
Michael finally managed to spit out the words, “Why didn’t he just tell them?” His body shook with emotional tremors.
“Shh, shh”, Oliver kept making the sound, trying to calm the heartbroken giant.
“It’s over now, it’s done”, Oliver quietly tried to reassure him.
Oliver spoke hopefully, “We have the chance now Michael… We’re finally out of the dark and in the light.”
Michael shouted, “Andrew is still there Oliver! He’s still in the darkness… Alone… In pain”, he wept.
“After all he’s done, if I can’t get people to realise the price he paid, my greatest hero will be lost forever!”
Oliver hugged Michael even tighter. He knew that Michael was finished, for there was no way he would be able to speak more about this. It was hard enough for him to speak of what he did.
“They know and realise this Michael, I see it in their eyes when I look around. You succeeded mate, they truly do see the truth”, Oliver said reassuringly.
Nadia spoke, “It’s burned on to my heart… I will never let myself forget this truth.”
Aisling quietly spoke, “I will never forget his sacrifice… Ever.”