One Potato, Two Potato

Thursday

I awoke to a feeling of unfamiliarity. The room I lay in was that of a classic rock fanatic’s. Posters of AC/DC, Def Leopard, and even Bon Jovi covered the underlying white walls. There was a guitar in the corner across from my bed, a guitar I did not know how to play. I had been sleeping in a cut-off Pink Floyd shirt and torn daisy dukes. I went over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sensible jeans and wore a black, led zeppelin shirt turned inside out. I walked over to the desk with carved out skulls on it. At its corner was a charging MP3 player, one I had never seen before. I picked it up, and tried to see if my name or anything was on it. No use, so I rummaged about, scrolling the thousands of cheesy rock songs for something I could listen to.

#

I stepped outside my room and noticed the beautiful house we lived in. It was a two story house with a massive first floor. Contemporary as contemporary gets with it’s in-wall, mounted television, glass coffee table, black sectional sofa, and all chrome appliances in the kitchen. There was an entire glass wall overlooking our desert surroundings. I must be in Arizona or Nevada. The second floor was divided by glass railing, and featured six bedrooms and one bathroom. I ventured outwards down the hall and began peering into each bedroom one by one. In the room next to mine lived another guy who was pumping iron on a bench press. He had posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger during his body building years on one wall. I suddenly had a memory painfully force its way into my mind like a needle injection. I saw myself and this guy with an older man. Jonny, his name is Jonny.

“Hey - Jonny.” I said. He noticed me at the door and smiled.

“Oh hey bro. Gimme one sec, I just wanna finish this set.” He seemed obsessed with body building, but he wasn’t huge yet, like he had just started very recently. He got up and held out his hand, expecting five, and nervously gave it to him.

“Jonny, I’m a little lost today. I feel like this is the first time I’ve ever been in this house. Where are we?” I asked.

“That’s weird, Matty. We’re in Nevada, bro. Dad got stationed here and got us this house.” he explained. Matty, my name is Matty.

“Pretty sweet how we have this sick house all to ourselves. We should totally invite some girls over later. Come spot me on this next set.” he said.

“Jonny! You’re a total perv!” called out a voice from the room next door.

“Who the hell was that?” Jonny asked, placing his bar back and rising from his bench. He left his room and I followed him to the next. We saw a little girl’s room, pink walls, gold stars stuck over them, and a single unicorn poster. There was a girl inside, literally as old as myself or Jonny. She was brushing the hair of a horse figurine, she had mid-length, blonde hair and wore pink over-alls.

“What do you want?” she asked with a scowl.

“How long have you been in our house - Lilly?” asked Jonny. As he recalled her name, he held his head as if a searing headache came upon him.

“Wow, that really hurt.” he noted.

“Dude, I had the exact same thing happen to me when I first saw you.” I explained. He pushed me aside and continued his walk down the hall. In the fourth room he saw another guy wearing glasses reading a comic book about these transforming robots. His entire room was devoted to the comic book, from posters to action figures.

“Julia! Stop singing your crappy music while your door is open!” he shouted to the girl singing next door. She was in a room devoted to boy bands and male pop singers. She had long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes, and was still in pyjamas. She had her headphones in so she didn’t hear the guy next to her. Jonny moved to the last door in the hall and saw a closed door.

“Why is this door closed?” he asked.

“Olivia must still be asleep! She’s so lazy!” called out Lilly from the fourth room down. Jonny shoulder checked passed me and went back to the room with the comic fan in it.

“Yo loser, who the fuck are you?” Jonny asked aggressively.

“The fuck you talking about, Jonny? I’m your brother Caleb! Fuck, this family is so weird!” said Caleb.

“Family? I’m only family with Matty! Get the fuck out of here!” he commanded.

“How about you shut the fuck up, Jonny, and go lift your weights!” he said. Caleb seemed to know best what was going on here. Jonny left to go back to his room in a rage. He tried slamming the door, but it just swung open. He tried a second time; same thing. This time he closed it and put a weight in front of it to prevent it from opening again, but the door managed to push the weight aside and open itself once more. Jonny gave up and just continued his weightlifting. I slowly went back to my room, taking a good look at each room and the family member within, other than Jonny, I truly did not recognize any of them.

#

I went back to my room, I had finally found a winning song. It was Sad but True by Metallica. I liked the song because it spoke of a devilish being inside us all that caused us to sin, when really it’s just a clever way to explain impulsiveness. There was something about it that triggered feelings; feelings more familiar than my current surroundings.

“I’m your dream, make you real” sang the song.

I took a good look around my room, at all the posters of rock legends whom I decided I did not care for. I began to tear them all down, not caring which I rip or crinkle, for in the end, they all seem the same to me.

#

I laid down on my bed until a hunger pang struck me. I walked back down the hall towards the see-through stairwell. I quickly glanced at all my ‘family members’ doing what they were into, but I stopped when I passed by Olivia’s room. The door was wide open. Olivia sat up on her bed, staring out her window. Her room was purple and had posters of vampire soap operas on her walls.

“Olivia?” I called out.

“What?” she asked, her wavy, raven-black hair whipping back as she looked at me. I couldn’t help but notice her incredible beauty.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.” she admitted.

“Did you not want to watch one of your shows?” I asked.

“Not really.” she replied.

“Would you like me to help you take all this stuff down?” I asked, remembering my ordeal just a moment earlier, and how much it made me feel better.

“Yes please.” she said with a smile. I got up and I took down everything ensuring neither to rip nor crinkle. I’m not sure why it mattered to me this time, perhaps in case Olivia would change her mind later.

“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.” she said.

“I’m Matty - apparently.” he said.

“I wasn’t sure of my name either. I don’t feel like an Olivia. Maybe if I look in a mirror I look like an Olivia.” she said interestingly.

“Would you like something to eat?” I asked her.

“That would be nice, thanks.” she said.

#

I took Olivia downstairs, and she sat on a stool by the kitchen island. I searched the chrome fridge and found no fresh foods. There was only pop, juice, and condiments.

“Can I have some juice?” Olivia asked. I happily poured her a glass, all the while her eyes were transfixed on me. I looked inside the freezer next, it was chalk full of frozen dinners. The cupboards were full of junk food.

“Wow! It looks like dad didn’t think we’d eat healthy while he was gone.” I noted.

“Dad?” Olivia asked. I look for something I could cook when I feel Olivia’s hand on my shoulder signalling me to turn around. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply and passionately. I returned neither. I pushed her off of me.

“Olivia, stop! You’re supposed to be my sister.” I said, unsure if I was really speaking the truth.

“Fuck you! I’m not your sister! She said angrily, marching back upstairs towards her room. She slammed the door shut, only for it to open again.

“Hate, I’m your hate, I’m your hate when you want love.” sang Metallica in my left ear.

#

We had a pizza party later on, all of us but Caleb joined in. Hip Hop music videos were being played on the television screen. Olivia, Jonny, and Julia all got up and danced. I sat on the sectional with Lilly. She sat across from me hugging her knees to her chest. She gave me this toothy grin, like I was her favourite brother, or subject. We spent most of the night listening to Julia tell us stories of our growing up, only Lilly was able to confirm the stories’ truths. Jonny was apparently a super brave kid and saved Lilly from being attacked by a porcupine. Olivia and Julia used to be best friends until Olivia started having ‘attitude problems’. Jonny was okay with the stories and soaked them in, but Olivia thought it was all false. She knew everyone in the room were complete strangers to her.

Olivia took it upon herself to raid the cabinets to find where ‘Dad’s’ liquor stash was. She found whiskey hiding behind a group of surface cleaners under the kitchen sink. She offered some to everyone, everyone except me. While everyone drank, she got her make-up game on and was wearing a silken, black dress that looked more like a nightie. She was moving in on Jonny, giving him more and more to drink until Jonny wanted to dance with her. Olivia had her arm around Jonny’s neck. She held the bottle of whiskey in her hand with her middle finger stuck out, looking at me.

“You two are disgusting! You’re brother and sister for god’s sake!” yelled Lilly.

“Shut up, infant!” Olivia shouted. Lilly’s feeling were instantly hurt, and she ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door, only this time the door stayed shut.

Olivia took another swig of the whiskey, then whispered something in Jonny’s ear. The two left for the upstairs and went into Jonny’s room, Olivia laughing as the door closed behind them, this door also stayed shut. Julia fell to the floor. I ran over to check on her. She was fine, but she was going to pass out.

“I’m gonna fall asleep now.” she said. I picked her up off the floor bridal style, and I regretted it immediately as it provoked Julia to peck me on my lips.

“Thank you, sweet prince.” she said before finally drifting away. Lilly was the only other one to notice all this was madness. I’m envious of Caleb. He sat quietly in his bedroom all night reading his comics. Tomorrow he’ll be completely unaware of the madness that took place this night, lucky bastard.

“Pay, pay the price, pay for nothing’s fair” sang Metallica as I pressed play on my MP3 player from where I left off.

#

Friday

I woke up this morning feeling the exact same way I did yesterday, this time knowing just a bit more about my reality, which still remained shrouded in darkness and uncertainty. I got up and grumpily made my way out of bed. I began to make my way to the washroom when I gazed into Jonny’s open door. There was nobody there. I stepped inside to get a better look. I called out his name, and yet nothing. I left quickly because Jonny’s B.O. really stunk up the place.

#

After my shower I took a good look at myself in the mirror. For the life of me I could not recognize my own features. I found my hair to be completely ridiculous and decided it had to go. I searched the bathroom drawers and pulled out the clippers. I shaved all my long hair off.

#

I went downstairs and continued my search for Jonny. I went all over the first floor, and noticed a locked door. I called out for Jonny, hoping he was inside, but there was no answer. As I returned to the living room, I spotted Olivia out by the in-ground swimming pool on a long chair. She gave me the middle finger again. I opened the sliding door and stepped out, the wind from the shade was nice, but it still felt like a sauna outside.

“Hey asshole, you look pretty hot without that dumb 80s metal hair. If you weren’t my brother, I would totally hook up with you.” she said mockingly.

“Can it, Olivia. Where is Jonny?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” she replied.

“Seriously? You were the one who took him to bed last night. If anyone would know, it’s you.” I said.

“Oh - he’s probably still out doing his morning cardio.” she joked.

“Stop bull shitting me, and tell me the truth!” I yelled, at my wits end.

“I passed out while we were making out last night. I woke up on his bedroom floor - he was already gone. Happy now, bro?” she explained. It was a likely story, but she did drink half the bottle of whiskey to herself. I decided I had enough of her and reached into my pocket for my headphones.

“Hey! I’ll give you a blow job if you find me more li-quor!” she taunted.

“They, they betray, I’m your only true friend now.” went the song as I pressed play.

#

I was having a bowl of cereal over the kitchen island when I heard the sound of high heels clacking down the stairs. I look up and see Julia in a yellow tank top and an orange micro skirt with fresh spun curls in her hair. I couldn’t believe my eyes. After just one night of drinking, Julia decided to go full promiscuous the very next morning. She waved at me as she passed me by, then made her way outside by the poolside area. I heard Olivia shriek in excitement when she saw her. I poured out the rest of my cereal and headed back upstairs. As I walked past Caleb’s room I asked if he’d seen Jonny at all this morning. He said no, he was clearly too absorbed into his reading to notice anything. I tried next door with Lilly.

“Hey Lilly, have you seen Jonny today?” I asked.

“What? Jonny is missing? Are you looking for him?” she asked. She insisted on coming with me to look for him. We searched over the whole house a second time, and we didn’t find anything. I showed her the locked room I stubbled upon earlier.

“What if he’s in there?” she asked.

“I already called out to him and there was no reply.” I explained.

“But what if he’s in there - unconscious? We need to find out for sure!” she insisted. We then went on a hunt for any loose keys lying around the house. Unfortunately for us, not a single key was found, not even for the front door, which was electronic.

“Hey Lilly, do you know the combination to the front door?” I asked.

“Of course, it’s 8-5-3-2… Oww!” she said, now holding her head.

“You felt it, didn’t you? Like someone jabbed your brain with a needle and out came a memory” I explained.

“Nonsense, it was just a tiny headache.” she defended.

“Okay, let’s try something else. What’s our dad’s name?” I asked.

“Dad? Well his name is - it’s Dad. We never called him anything else.” she replied.

“That’s ridiculous! You need to use your common sense here, Lilly. How much of Dad do you really know about? Do you know his job? Who our mothers were? What his hobbies are?” I asked.

“I - can’t - remember any of that stuff. What’s it mean?” she asked.

“It means our memories aren’t real, and what’s more is I don’t think we’re each other’s brothers and sisters.” I said.

“That’s a lie! We’ve lived together our whole lives! Remember when you were only eight years old and you stepped on a stick that went through your shoe and pierced your foot, then this bully from sixth grade held you upside down and stuck his finger in your hole?” she recalled aggressively. At that moment, the entire memory of her story surfaced, and with it the feelings of fear, anguish, and trauma, but worst of all, the world’s biggest needle stabbing my brain. I found myself on the floor from that nightmarish experience, and Lilly looked at me like I was crazy.

“The hole - the hole! The scar! I can prove it!” I said. I quickly took off my sock and searched my foot for a scar, but there was none.

“You see?! I’m not lying to you. Our memories, this life - isn’t real.” I explained. Lilly couldn’t believe it, she looked like she was about to break down. I don’t blame her, I feel worse for her since she was able to merge with her given personality where I wasn’t. She was able to accept her memories, but unlike myself and Olivia, if one thing crashes, everything else does. So imagine being told your life is a lie, with the proof to back it up. All of a sudden, life gets pretty scary, doesn’t it?

#

We went outside to the poolside area. We caught Olivia getting Julia to describe to her what she hopes for in a romantic partner.

“Olivia, I need to ask you a question.” I asked her.

“We’re in the middle of a conversation, weirdo! Get lost!” she said.

“You were convinced right from the start we aren’t really brothers and sisters, correct?”

“Yeah. Why? You finally figured it out and now you’re hoping to get some action?” she said.

“If you know that for sure, what else do you know? Can you remember anything before the events of yesterday? Because I can’t.” I asked.

“I don’t remember jack, Matty. I’ve never met any of you before in my entire life. The only thing I remember is that I like booze - and I like to fuck.” she explained.

“What are you guys talking about? Olivia, we used to talk like this all the time when we were younger, but then you hit puberty and you went crazy!” Julia interjected.

“Julia, that’s not a real memory, it’s fake! Lilly, tell her about my foot.” I said.

“Remember when Matty was eight years old and a stick went through his foot, then a bully stuck his finger in the hole?” Lilly described.

“Yeah, and I remember Dad grabbed the bully by the arm and yelled at him with everything he had. Later, that kid’s parents threatened to press charges…” Julia grunted in pain. The remembering pain was happening to Julia now as well.

“Julia, I know exactly what you’re going through. So far you are the one with the strongest callback for these memories. Please, if you can tell us anything about our ‘Dad’, we would really appreciate it.

“Yeah, he was a big business man with a strong advocacy for adoption.” she recalled, still holding her head.

“Adoption? Well that would make sense why none of us look alike, but I think we need to look a little deeper. Olivia, I know you and I have our differences, but if you could do me one favour and try to remember anything from your past, it would help a lot.” I asked her. I really had no trust in her because she seemed like the lying type, but I had no other options.

“If I do this, you make me, Julia, and even Lilly a crazy drink from whatever you can pull out of the fridge, kay?” she bargained.

“That’s fine. Now please - try!” the rest of us waiting with baited breath for any kind of tidbit of information she had. Her eyes were closing tighter and tighter with every moment that passed by.

“It’s night. I see - a man stepping into his car… He’s wearing a big coat and hat. I’m holding another man’s hand at a gas station. I feel sad.” Olivia opened her eyes, a drop of blood poured down her nose. We all panicked for a moment as I scrambled to get her a tissue. As Julia and Lilly tended to her, I put the pieces together.

“That must have been a true memory, one that wasn’t ingrained. Two gentlemen at night - probably making a deal. I betcha Olivia was in the middle of it. Guys, I don’t think daddy dearest was an advocate for adoption, but rather abduction.” I said. The three girls looked at me like I was crazy, until the realization finally struck. Julia felt lost, Lilly ran away back towards her room, angry that her door could never close during the day, and Olivia looked relieved.

“Haha! See? I told you guys we weren’t related. Hey! Perk up, cutie! We have this awesome house to ourselves. Cabana boy - I believe you owe three gorgeous ladies some fruity drinks. Chop chop!” she said. I did as she asked, it gave me a moment to think more deeply on this mystery, and I knew now more than ever we were all in danger.

#

An hour later and I found myself pacing up and down the second floor, my eyes catching Caleb laying on his bed, reading another damn comic. I was getting fed up with it.

“Hey Caleb? How can you still read at a time like this? You really can’t see or hear what’s going on in this household?” I asked aggressively.

“Hey, just because you guys want to run around like chickens with your heads cut off, doesn’t mean I have to join the misery.” he replied. I hated his tone, and he came off as huge jerk for not caring about the situation we found ourselves in. I look at him, then at the comic he was holding. I noticed the spine read Vol. 16 when I got an idea.

“Say Caleb, how many volumes of that comic are there?” I asked.

“Twenty-five in total, and I still wish they would make more.” he added.

“Pretty good stuff, huh?”

“Heck yeah, I can’t put the series down! It’s so riveting, so enthralling, so…” he began.

“New? Like you’re reading it for the first time?” hook, line, and sinker. I watched his face as the mind-blowing realization sunk in. He chucked the volume away immediately.

“What the fuck? What - the fuck?! Holy shit! Where am I? Who are you? What is this place? Are they gonna farm my organs? Am I next on the list?” he asked hysterically.

“I know it’s a lot to process, but we could really use another head here.” I said calmly. He approached me with a crazed look in his eyes.

“Get away from me!” he said and slammed his door closed only to have it slammed right back in his face.

“I hate these fucking doors!” he said, then began to tear his whole room apart. I decided to give him his space.

#

Myself and Lilly took the opportunity to check out our surroundings. We noted just how vast and empty everything around us is. ‘Dad’ went to a lot of trouble to make sure his kids didn’t run away. To the left of the house stood an unattached garage. The door was locked but we did see an SUV on the inside through the side window.

“Riding that SUV is our best chance out of here.” I said.

“Who among us can drive? I don’t have any memories, false or real, of any of us knowing how to drive.” Lilly asked.

“Look around, Lilly. Wide open space. Nothing we can crash the SUV into except for the house, and I personally would love to burn that sucker to the ground.” I replied. She agreed that nobody really needed to learn how to drive, just how to start the car. We would still need to find keys however, and therein lies the problem. This ‘father’ of ours was extremely careful not to leave anything behind us kids could break or cause havoc with.

“The only place I could think of looking is in that locked room. I’m sure there are bound to be loads of secrets in there. We might even find Jonny there.” I said, remembering her previous concern. She fed me an appreciative smile, and we both headed back inside.

#

Back in the living room, we heard sounds from the tv. As we walked inside I noticed Olivia and Julia were making out by the pool. I really didn’t think Olivia could get any hotter. Caleb was chilling on the couch, watching some mindless sitcom.

“This cable box is great! So many great channels, I don’t even know where to start.” he said. I was disappointed, but I could tell he was in denial.

“Caleb, did you forget what’s going on here?” I asked.

“I remember it all too well, whatever-your-name-is, but as far as I’m concerned, we’re all trapped here with no hope of escape. Not once have I seen a radio, a telephone, not even a telegraph set in this whole, god forsaken house. So it looks like they will harvest my organs whether I like it or not!” he said.

“We aren’t going to have our organs removed.” I said.

“We’ve all been abducted.” Lilly added.

“Yeah, abducted for our organs!” he said stubbornly. I took the remote from his hand and looked through the channel guide.

“See that? All specialty channels, right? All fiction! There isn’t a single news channel on here. Whoever put us here didn’t want us knowing what was happening out there, and I wager he’s on most of the news right now.” I explained. Caleb was barely bothered by this revelation, however it made Lilly all the more nervous.

“Now listen, our abductor is the man we all thought to be our father.” I explained.

“That’s impossible, our father won multiple humanitarian of the year awards!” he said.

“Where are they? Where is he keeping them?” I asked with my arms out.

“He probably keeps them in his office.” Caleb insisted.

“Listen, I have scoured the entire house and I haven’t found a single office room. But - we did find a locked room.”

“Did you consider what kind of room it is? I have not seen more than six bedrooms that are upstairs. Could it be his bedroom?” Caleb suggested. He’s probably right, we haven’t found any other bedroom that could be his.

“Tell you what, if you help us break into that bedroom. We promise to find you evidence that this place isn’t for organ harvesting. How’s that sound?”

“Why do you want in that bedroom so bad?” he asked.

“Because we found an SUV in the garage and we are looking for a pair of keys to start it.” I explained. Caleb jumped right up after that, no more questions asked.

#

Caleb took a good look at the door. He felt it, he shook the handle, and even leaned up against it. He looked like a man possessed, mission oriented, and nothing, not even this door, would stand in his way.

“Okay, so just like the movies, Matty, you and I are gonna bash this door with our shoulders. Now normally I would do this myself, but even I can admit I’m not as strong as Superman so we’ll both tackle it together, if we do it at the same time and with the right ferocity, we’ll knock that bad boy open. Understood?” he explained. I had my doubts whether or not it will work, but we were desperate and any plan was better than none. We squeezed in close together and Caleb counted down from three. I charged the door as hard I could, and after a sharp pain to my shoulder, I felt myself falling forward. We had made it inside, and what we saw was very interesting. There was a collection of dust sheets hanging from the ceiling. There were no surface ornaments on the dresser or the side table.

“Those are usually tucked in the drawers when moving, check them all out.” Caleb said. I took the left side and Caleb the right. Lilly took the bedside table. I looked in every drawer and found three things of interest: a gold watch, a business card, and a SIM card.

“Aha!” cried out Caleb.

“I found a big, white rock! It’s not the keys, but we could always smash the window with this.” he suggested.

“Does the name Willis Bladoon mean anything to anyone?” I asked, reading from the business card. No replies, but it was Lilly who really pulled through for us. She had found a picture of a man standing next to a young, black boy.

“That’s definitely our ‘Dad’, much younger at least, but who’s the kid?” asked Caleb.

“I can’t be sure, but I bet you this kid was one his previous kids. You see, Caleb? This proves it! Our ‘Dad’, who I betcha is this Willis Bladoon guy, had other children before us. You don’t pose like this with someone you’re gonna cut up just for their organs.” I explained. Caleb didn’t want to believe, but he swallowed his pride.

“Can we please try to get to that SUV now?” he asked.

#

“Why do we need the coat? Other than it’s starting to get really freaking cold out here.” Lilly asked. We were headed to the garage at a quickened pace, nightfall was here and we were all stir crazy, all except for Olivia and Julia whom we could hear giggling by the pool.

“Because Lily, we need to wrap our arm in it as we shatter the glass. You don’t want to get cut, do you?” he asked rhetorically. Since he was the idea man, he took the responsibility of breaking the glass. It took him a few tries, but he was successful.

“I can’t find a light switch.” he said.

“Never mind the light switch and just unlock the door!” I told him. He unlocked it, and we looked frantically for any source of light, even just a flashlight.

“I’m not finding anything, let alone a key in this darkness.” said Lilly.

“She’s right. We’re not gonna find anything until sunrise. I know it sucks, but we gotta call it a night. It would make more sense to drive out in the morning anyways.” I confessed.

“Now hold on just one second! Let’s use our heads and not let this night completely go to waste. What’s easier to see at night? Lights! So what I propose is we try to spot any city lights on the horizon so we can at least have a heading tomorrow.” Caleb suggested. We stepped outside and looked out in every direction, but we were unsuccessful in finding any kind of lights but our own.

“I think we need to get higher. Tell you what, let’s climb up the garage so we can get a little more altitude. Come give me a boost, guys.” Lilly and I both glared hard at Caleb.

“Or, if you’ll give me a moment, I can go grab the ladder I found in the garage.” I said. I ran in and careful avoided the SUV while pulling out the ladder, luckily it wasn’t snagged on anything. We set it up and Caleb cut in front of me and climbed it before I could. He took a moment to look in every direction.

“Nothing yet.” he exclaimed. Lilly began climbing the ladder unimpressed with his answer.

“Move over, bifocals!” she said. She hopped up to the roof of the garage and looked around.

“There! See it?” she said, hope rose in my heart.

“It’s a radio tower!” Caleb added.

“A radio tower? What good is that going to do?” I asked disappointedly.

“Are you kidding me? It’s huge! A radio tower usually means a town or city is not too far from it. If not, then near the top of the tower will be an emergency communication radio, and we can ask for help.” he explained. It was better than nothing. At least we would have something to move towards tomorrow than just empty desert.

#

Caleb and Lilly wanted to head back inside and watch tv until they got tired. I decided to climb up to the roof and star gaze. I pondered all that was revealed today, trying to put puzzle pieces that were upside down into place. It was a difficult task, and my mind went astray when I heard the pleasured moans of Olivia. The moans awoke an urge in me, an itch to scratch. It’s an itch so powerful I forget my goals. My purpose becomes a need for release, a need for flesh.

#

Saturday

It was already noon, and I was surprisingly the first awake. I heard the sound of winds rushing back and forth outside. In a desert, that is a bad omen, as it could mean the beginning of a sandstorm. I clenched my fist in dismay and admitted ‘Dad’ found the perfect place to hide his stolen children. Luckily, the SUV we found yesterday in the garage would hold up in a sandstorm. If we are truly lucky, ‘Dad’ has left the keys here for us to find in that very same garage.

#

I left my room to see if I could wake anyone up. As I walked past Jonny’s room I was saddened to see he still hadn’t returned. Did he make a run for it Thursday night? Perhaps his sexual encounter with Olivia triggered some memories for him and he knew something was wrong before we did. My thought process was disturbed by a putrid odour. What I put off as Jonny’s B.O. yesterday now smelt much worse, and it was coming from behind the door. I grabbed at it, afraid of what I might find. I slowly pulled it forward, and my eyes widened at the horrific sight before me. It was a heavily decayed corpse, hard to say for sure, but I think it’s Jonny. I ran out of the room screaming: “Jonny’s dead Jonny’s dead!” I hoped it would wake Lilly and Caleb up.

I noticed Julia and Olivia’s rooms were both open and empty. Were they already up? I looked outside the glass wall to the pool and noticed someone inside of it. I went outside and noticed in horror that it was Olivia. Her stare was stuck upwards, her arms holding her head up above water. It was as if a premature rigour mortis froze her arms at the moment of death. I could also tell she wasn’t wearing bikini bottoms. If Olivia was here, where was Julia? They were loving on each other last night. Did Julia do this? I called out for her, but no answer. That’s when it hit me, the SUV! She may have already found the keys and left us here, stranded for the next time ‘Dad’ shows up. I ran over to the garage and peered through the window to see if the SUV was gone. I was in luck, still there! This revelation soothed my mind, but left me all the more confused about Julia’s fate. Why was this happening? What is truly going on here? My trembling fingers struggled to place my headphones into my ears. I pulled out my MP3 player and hastily pressed play.

“I’m your eyes when your away.” began the song. I waited here for a moment, trying to zone out and listen to to the music. I let myself forget about the uneasy situation I’m in, that I’m living with false memories, but most importantly, I forget that death seems to be coming for us all. I look up, and see a glimmer of shine reflecting off of something hiding underneath the vice grip from inside the garage. I walk up and careful push at it until it showed up on the other side. It was a key. I quickly turned and made my way to the SUV. I tried the key on the door. We had a match!

“I’m your eyes when you must steal.” sang the song.

#

I hurried back inside to wake Lilly and Caleb, but when I walked up those see-through steps, I saw something I never expected. I saw Lilly, standing there, waiting outside of Olivia’s room. She was wearing a pair of Olivia’s leggings and a black bra.

“Do you like my outfit?” she asked. This was completely uncharacteristic of Lilly, but ever since yesterday’s revelation, she had no idea who she really was. I tried to keep true to my mission, but Lilly’s new demeanour was very - distracting. The urge - the urge came over me, betrayed me, wanted me to give into it. I told my myself no, but then I found myself holding her, and dropping ever so gently so she wound up sitting on my lap. We caressed each other, we were taking it so slow, enjoying each other’s warmth. We weren’t even kissing yet when she asked me “Do I look like a stripper?” and I replied yes, believing it to be what she wanted to hear. Her hands went from touching my shoulders to pushing against my chest.

“Get off me.” she said angrily. I was shocked, in dismay, then I was mad. She wanted to refuse me of what I wanted, what I deserved!

“You heard her, punk. Get off her.” came a voice from behind me. It was Caleb. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, he looked down at me with this sadistic smile on his face. I got off, knowing he’s in a position of power opposing my own. I stood up and faced him, and we locked beams. He smiled wider.

“Why don’t you go back to your room and calm down.” he said. I began walking away, looking back see Caleb invite Lilly to mount him. I was sick to my stomach. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. How dare he?! I went to my room’s doorway and popped my headphones back in.

“Do, do my work, do my dirty work, scapegoat” went the song. I looked back at the two, and saw that Caleb was beginning to get very aggressive. I knew I had to act when his eyes went from his normal brown to a glowing yellow. I rushed into Jonny’s room, ignoring the dead corpse behind the door, and grabbed a weight. I ran towards Caleb just when Lilly began to cry for help which I foretold would come. I hit Caleb so hard a spurt of blood gushed out of his nose and he flung off of Lilly. I kneeled down beside him and began repeatedly bashing his head in with the weight. I bashed and bashed until the sight became too terrifying for me to continue. I threw the weight away quickly and went over to console Lilly.

“Lilly, I’m so sorry for saying you looked like a stripper. I really didn’t mean it. Please, let me hold you again.” I begged. She gently slapped at my face.

“Matty, you gotta snap out of it! We need to get out of here! Let’s be serious right now. Did you find a way to start the SUV?” she asked, forcing my head to face forward and look her in the eyes.

“The SUV! Right! I found the key, it was hiding beneath the vice grip!” I explained.

“Good, now go open the garage door and start it. I’m gonna get a shirt on and grab a few bottles of water for us.” she explained. I was thoroughly impressed by this new Lilly.

#

We were driving off-road through the desert. My lack of driving experience frightened Lilly, but she knew she wouldn’t have done any better. We drove a while in silence, but I needed some conversation to defuse the tension.

“You may not want to hear this right now, but I think Caleb was the one behind all of this.” I said.

“All this what?” she asked.

“The murders. Didn’t you know? I found Jonny’s corpse in his room and Olivia dead in the pool.” I explained. I gave Lilly a moment to process this information.

“When Caleb was trying to force himself onto you, his eyes changed colour. They turned a burning yellow. I think he’s some kind of creature or something crazy like that, and I know that sounds crazy, but Jonny and Olivia did not die natural deaths.” I explained. I looked at her, but instead of fear at the story, she looked at me as if she was going to break in some bad news.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It couldn’t have just been him then.” she began.

“Lilly, what the hell do you mean?”

“Your eyes turned yellow as well. When you first walked up the stairs. I didn’t say anything at the time because I really wanted to feel you.” she explained, a tear falling from her eye. I stopped the car, I was in shock. I couldn’t move or concentrate on anything but what she had just revealed to me. What the hell was I? What were we?

“I don’t think we can go any further.” she said. I looked forward and saw she was right. There was a large, wired fence up ahead that looked like it was electrified. Is that meant to stop us?

“This confirms it.” I said.

“Confirms what?” Lilly asked completely confused.

“Do you think one man could buy a house secluded in the desert, set up a parameter this wide with a tall electrical fence all by himself? No way, this is something much bigger. This is government, this is military. Don’t you see? We aren’t family, we are all monsters. We’re some kind of massive threat to the world, so bad that they captured us, wiped our memories clean then implant new ones, and then they make us live with each other so we can take ourselves out. That’s why there were no news channels, we must be some worldwide pandemic that’s all people are talking about.” I explained.

That doesn’t explain why we’re made to think we’re family though.” she said before she hid her face in her hands, crying. She’s right, it doesn’t explain why they would make us think we’re family. What could be the reason? Am I wrong? Wait, if we are such a big threat, wouldn’t they be hunting us down? Wouldn’t they want to obliterate us? Of course! Turning us into a family is their humane solution for dealing with us. If we can live together homonymously as a family, we won’t ever think or know what we truly are. Now comes the guilt, I screwed this up for everyone, Lilly, Caleb, they had no idea, their implanted memories and personalities were perfect. I screwed everything up. It’s my fault for making everyone realize the illusion of our existence, and now we’re all paying for it.

As I checked on Lilly, who continued to sob, I noticed movement to the right of the SUV. It appeared to be someone waving their arms in the distance. I drove towards it, thinking anyone would help at this point.

As we arrived, we noticed the person was wearing a camouflage hazard suit, fully covered, and he wasn’t alone. There were four others just like him, and on the ground was a silver bodybag that looked occupied.

“Who’s in the bag?” I asked.

“Be quiet and await direction.” he said sharply. I gripped the steering wheel tightly in nervousness. I’m sure by now they knew the jig was up. We barely lasted three days before our family broke apart. I’m sure the consequences will be severe. This could very well have been a test run, and I have now doomed our race to genocide. One of the suited men approached the guard overlooking us.

“The girl is compatible, the boy is not.” he said. The guard looked up at me, and then walked towards Lilly’s side of the SUV. He opened the door and escorted Lilly to one of their two military SUVs beyond the security gate.

“What’s gonna happen to her? Please don’t hurt her. She means a lot to me! Please! Lilly! I love you! I really do love you!” I shouted. One of the other men walked towards me. He reached for his gun and pointed it at me, and before I could even react, he fired.

The End