SIXTY-TWO
Emmie Keyes
I continued to watch from my small light out into the world and could hear Tobias speak to me. “Everything I’ve done to get you here has been leading up to this one moment,” he said.
“You have seen what those people did to me,” he said. “Do you feel they need to be punished?”
“They were trying to save billions of lives,” I said.
“Yet my life was an acceptable risk?”
“I don’t know. But whatever you are planning it isn’t worth taking over all these people.”
“People?” he replied. “They aren’t people any more to me. They are vessels for my own power. Hands to do whatever I need. Yet they are not the people I really want to control. Let me show you the people who deserve my attention.”
The lights in front of me shifted to reveal ten windows of new light. “Take a look,” he said.
I looked through the portals and didn’t see anything I recognised. The inside of a jail cell, the padded wall of a mental institution, a derelict apartment, the dark corner of an alleyway. Whoever these people were, none of them were in good places.
“They are the people who did this to me,” said Tobias.
Tobias revealed an eleventh window and urged me to look through it. I focused my vision on it but could only see myself in the chair. It had to be the vision of someone in the room.
“Don’t hurt Rex!” I shouted.
He moved the vision around and I could see Rex and Rufus. I knew he couldn’t be controlling Jill or March which just left one person.
“Dad?”
“That’s right Emmie,” said Tobias, hearing my every thought. “Your father. I doubt he told you he was one of the people who did this to me? I’ve been watching him a long time, as he has no doubt been watching me. It was nice of him to stay by my side this long.”
I was in shock. I couldn’t believe my father would hurt anyone. “You’re lying!” I said.
“I promised I would always tell you the truth. This is no lie. Your father was not there on the day you were born. That day he was with me. Operating on me. He felt my suffering was more important than your birth,” stated Tobias.
“He was trying to save the world. My life is more important than that!” I said back.
“Didn’t you ever wonder why he blamed himself for your mother’s death so much? It was because she was the last person to die from the 20 Day Siege. If he had used me to find a cure sooner then he would have saved her. Your mother died because he didn’t torture me enough.”
There were no words to describe what I was feeling. I didn’t know who to blame for my mother’s death. No one could blame Tobias for what he went through and yet my father should not have pushed him to such dark places.
“I can hear your thoughts Emmie,” said Tobias. “You are conflicted but I’m going to make your life simpler. The eleven people you can see in front of you were the ones who operated on me and made me what I am. They have all carried a large burden for what they did, none of them going onto live normal lives afterwards.”
He continued. “I’m going to show them a kindness that they did not show me. I’m going to end their suffering.”
“No!” I shouted.
One of the lights moved forward and I could see through the eyes of the man in the prison cell. He started banging on the bars shouting “Guards! Guards!”. The guards came rushing over and dragged the man out of his cell. “What happened to your eyes?” They asked.
He grabbed one of the guards and threw him over a railing onto the concrete floor below. The other guard grabbed a gun and shot the prisoner. I could feel the gunshot rip through his body and then he fell to the ground. Two more shots were fired and the light disappeared.
“That was an easy one,” said Tobias, clearly enjoying this.
My view moved to the darkened alley as I saw someone hand over thousands of pounds for a large packet of some kind of white powdered drug. “Be careful with that,” said the dealer.
I watched the body walk back to the dark corner and snort the drug until every last flake had gone. The body started to convulse and I began to feel delusional as his brain ceased to function. The light disappeared and nine nights remained.
“I wanted to save your father to the end but I’m too excited,” said Tobias. “I’m going to give this one to you Emmie. You can kill him any way you like.”
A light moved towards me and I could feel in control of my father’s body. I looked at Grace and shouted “Help me.”
“Emmie,” she replied and while she was distracted an orange eyed Rufus grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. “Get off me!” she shouted but she couldn’t compete with his improved strength.
“March, help,” I said but Rex now held a gun directly at March.
“Emmie, you have no choice,” said Tobias. “You saw what this man did to me. I showed you the tape. I showed you where he kept me whilst he tortured me. You know what he is capable of. He deserves to die.”
“I can’t do it! He’s still my Dad. He didn’t do those things to hurt you.”
“Don’t be so naive! He could have found another way. He could have saved everyone without hurting me. There’s always a choice.”
“You don’t know that!”
“No one left to die,” said Tobias. “That should be how the world works but it isn’t. It’s all a lie! People are left behind to die every day to further a career or science or sometimes for fun. Your father is just the next person to be left behind to die.”
Rex clicked off the safety on his gun. “I will make you do this,” said Tobias. Rex aimed the gun towards himself and placed the end inside his mouth.
“Don’t!” I shouted.
“Why are you doing this to her?” shouted Grace. “She didn’t do anything to you.”
I tried desperately to break free from the light and jump into another body. If I could just grab control of Rex I might be able to save everyone, I thought.
“Fine,” I replied. “Just have Rex drop the gun.”
“That’s better,” said Tobias. Rex lowered the gun but held it by his side with the safety off. “Sorry Emmie, I can’t have spare weapons lying around.”
Rex walked towards a table that sat to the side of my chair. He kept looking backwards towards March and aiming his gun at him. “Don’t move traitor.”
Rex pulled a cloth from the table. “I wanted to give you options,” he said.
I walked my father towards the table and saw its contents. It was a table of death; knives, pills, razor blades, barbed wire, brass knuckles and more. So many different ways to die. “You can kill him any way you like but remember I can feel his vital signs. If you try to trick me I will know.”
I looked down at the table. I wasn’t prepared to kill my father, even after knowing what he had done.
“I need you to make a promise,” I said. “If I do this. I want you to stop controlling other people. This has to end now. You will have had your revenge and you can stop.”
He replied. “I can’t do that Emmie. That won’t restore balance for what happened that day.”
I made sure my back was to everyone and concealed a knife in my father’s pocket. Then I picked up the wire and turned around. “Then at least my father will have a quick death.”
I walked towards Tobias’ motionless body. “I want you to see this up close. That’s what you want right?”
As I walked past Grace I moved a hand to my father’s pocket and slid the knife out to her. She quickly grabbed it and stabbed Rufus in the leg. He screamed out in pain and rolled off her whilst frantically trying to pull out the knife.
Rex turned to face Grace, ready to fire but he was stopped by a bright blue light. March had retrieved his gun in the chaos and now stood there shining it brightly on to Rex.
I ran towards Tobias with the wire and pulled it tight with my hands in preparation for one last desperate act. “This has to stop,” I shouted.
As I reached Tobias I felt myself stop running. The arms I had moments ago held outwards were now heading towards me and were wrapped around my father’s head. I no longer had control.
“I told you I can see everything Emmie. You knew the rules. I gave you the chance to do this but I’ll have to do it myself.“
I could feel my father’s neck as the wire cut into it, its razor sharp points cutting through the skin and causing blood to flood outwards. I could feel him gag as he tried to breath in air but his airway was blocked and his neck ruptured. The pressure began to build in his head and I could see his vision start to blur as his brain shut down.
“You were right Emmie. It will be a quick death,” said Tobias. “This is for twenty one years of suffering.”
My vision went black and the light shattered and fell away. Then there was nothing. No lights and no sound, not even the voice of Tobias taunting me. Worst of all there were no feelings. No anger, no sadness, just a feeling of emptiness at my father’s death.