THEY — Chapter 15 — Sorrow
This is chapter 15 of my book “THEY”. If you are finding it for the first time, please begin with Chapter 1 (or check the INDEX )! Follow me to be notified when new chapters are posted. And when you’re done, check out more of my stories on my MEDIUM profile: Caralynn Scott — Medium
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CHAPTER 15 — Sorrow
“They’re gone!” Napthal could not hold back their sobbing, the echo reverberating from the tunnel walls resounding like the “second line” at a New Orleans funeral. “They are just… gone. And nobody seems to care.”
“How do you know for sure?” Navlin asked, trying desperately to think of ways to comfort their friend. “What did they tell you?”
“The official line I heard from the Enfo’s was that they had failed in their attempts at rehabilitating Xania, and that it was necessary to move them to a place where they could not influence the rehabilitation of others in the facility. When I asked where they had taken them, they refused to tell me, ‘for the good of the public’. But they are gone Navlin!” Napthal continued to sob, “I have sources that tell me they have been moved out of the facility, but they could not tell me where. But we know where, don’t we Navlin? We know the stories. We know they have been taken to one of those forsaken camps. They might as well be dead. How will they survive there?”
“You know our intelligence on the camps is limited Napthal. They are mostly just uncorroborated stories. You know we are still trying to gather more information to confirm what happens at these camps, and the surgeries.” Navlin wanted to comfort their friend but was finding it difficult to sit with their own emotions. It could have just as easily been Jennic that was taken. In all likelihood, it would be one day. “We still have a lot of work to do and things to learn. We can’t give up. We still have to work on the plan! We can’t even be sure how much of the plan was in place when she was removed. Perhaps she is OK. We have to trust that Xania is alive, and we will be able to rescue them.”
Napthal looked up through glistening eyes and considered the possibilities, “But we can’t be certain everything was in place before they disappeared.” Napthal planted their face back into their palms and cried, “My child! My beautiful child!”
Navlin knew that there was nothing they could say that would make this right for Napthal, so they simply rested a hand on their shoulder and provided the only thing they could in that moment — their presence.
They stayed in that space for hours, Napthal sobbing, Navlin comforting them as best they could, until eventually Napthal lay down on a cot in the corner of their bunker and the sobbing subsided as they cried themselves into sleep.
Digger had arrived at some point in their conversation and sat quietly in a corner, listening. When Napthal fell asleep, they made coffee and offered some to Navlin.
“This is why we have to keep fighting Navlin. This has to stop. They think they have built such a perfect world, and it seems like it when you’re part of the general population, but when you’re a little different, you see clearly that you’re not welcome. Those are our kids out there. They deserve to live happy lives just like everyone else.”
Navlin turned their cup slowly between their fingers, studying the swirls of cream floating on the top. “I know we do Digger. I know we do…”
