#i'm EXHAUSTED and i'm SCARED and it's ABOUT GODDAMN TIME someone in medicine listened to me & took me seriously

[dreamlogic]

[wjforever]

Shatter me again. Chapter 95. Final chapter

"We're here," Kenji declares, and I look out the window, tearing my eyes away from Adam. 

I discover that we're underground, in some kind of elaborate parking garage, and I am angry with myself for missing the moment when we drove inside. I should have been more careful. But I have an excuse. Adam is getting worse, and I tried to periodically bring him out of a semi-conscious state. It was getting harder and harder for me. It hurts to feel almost useless when you can't help a loved one. Not surprisingly, all my attention was exclusively on him. It doesn't matter where we're going or how we get there. If only Adam would alive.

"Adam has to go straight to the medical wing," Kenji announces.

"They have a medical wing?" This surprises me. I hoped that they had doctors and some medicines, medical instruments. But the medical wing… It doesn't make me happy, it scares me. Because I just recently escaped from a place where there was something similar. But Kenji doesn't notice my worry.

"Oh, this place has everything. It'll blow your goddamn mind."

The anxiety only gets stronger. Because I'm not sure we haven't arrived at another base, with another handful of psychopaths. I just got rid of one. I won't outlive anyone else.

Kenji hits a switch on the ceiling and a faint light illuminates the car. Still struggling with his body, he steps out the door.

"Wait here, I'll get someone to bring a stretcher."

"Okay." I nod. Adam's health is the most important thing right now.

Kenji disappears from sight and I look at Adam. I study his facial features. He should be fine, he definitely should. 

A few seconds pass. A few moments of peace and calm. And then everything happens too fast.

Four people suddenly run into the room. Two men and two women. They immediately approach the car. Kenji opens the door for them from Adam's side. It's strange, but Kenji suddenly looks completely different. He seems stronger, faster, even taller. It's weird, considering how exhausted he seemed to me recently. But now I see that he's in control. A figure of authority. These people know and obey him.

I suddenly feel real anxiety, almost fear. What if I was wrong? What if I trusted the wrong person. Another psychopath could have played another role. Someone good-natured, friendly-minded to us. Hasn't Warner been doing the same thing all this time? My God, what am I doing? I should have listened to Adam's intuition. He has it much better developed than mine.

But it's too late. Adam is already being lifted onto a stretcher, quickly examined. It's hard for me to make out what they're saying. Something about blood loss, about the need for urgent measures. 

A young woman and a man look at me. They are all dressed in strange outfits. White suits with gray stripes down the side. It's probably a medical uniform.

"How long has he been in such condition?" A woman asks me.

"It's been a few hours." Kenji answers for me. "Hurry up."

His voice is so authoritative, confident.

I see them starting to take Adam away.

"Wait!" I shout and at the same time trip out of the car. "Wait. I'll go with you!"

I know James is still in the car and I should probably stay with him. But I want to be near Adam.

Kenji stops me halfway.

"You can't go with them. Not now. Don't prevent them from doing their job. You can’t be with him for what they need to do."

"What? What do you mean?"

The world goes is fading in and out of focus. Everything suddenly seems so unreal. It's like I'm in a dream. And everything loses its meaning. It seems to me that I was deceived. Again. I was mistaken. I trusted someone I shouldn't have. I don't know where we are. I don't know who all these people are. I have no idea who Kenji is. And in his appearance at our place are so many oddities. He never explained anything to us, joking or talking some nonsense. Why did I believe him at all? Wasn't experience supposed to teach me anything? You can't take people's word for it. And this doesn't look at all like groundless paranoia.

Kenji. He has been Adam's friend. But is he a friend? Judging by their relationship, Adam has always treated him skeptically, without much trust and enthusiasm. Adam seems to know him, but hasn't he doubted him all this time? Adam. My Adam. Adam, who these people are taking away from me now, and I'm not even allowed to go with him to make sure everything is okay. And I don't know why.

"They will help him, Juliette. You need to focus, pull yourself together. I understand it's been a crazy day, you're tired. But I need you to stay calm.

His voice is suddenly so soft, so steady, so clear. I've heard something similar before. Warner talked to me like that when he tried to convince me of something. Oh, my God.

"Who are you?" I'm beginning to panic. I want to take James and Adam and get the hell out of here. But I can't. Adam has already been taken away. James is unconscious and I don't even know what he did to him. And I can't drive the damn car. "Who are you…?"

Kenji sighs. "You're exhausted. Probably starving. You're in shock from a million emotions. This is logical. I understand. I won't hurt you. You're safe now. All of you. Adam is safe. James is safe."

Jesus, how familiar it sounds, how familiar it is. I can hear him in Kenji's voice. I still have the gun in my hand. His gun. I can't handle them all, I'm not sure that the gun will fire even one more time. But I could try. At least try… I squeeze the butt of the gun, trying to give Kenji one last chance. To give myself one last attempt to believe…

"I want to be with Adam… I want to see what they're going to do to him…"

"Juliette, it's unnecessary. They're helping him…"

I don't want to hear him.

"What are you going to do with us? Why do you really need us? Why did you lure us here?" My eyes are wide open, I look around, trying to better understand where we are. "What do you want from us? Do you need me? Right? You all need me. And Adam and James are suffering because of me."

"Hey, Juliette. I'll explain everything to you when you rest and calm down."

"No! No! I don't want to be here."

Kenji looks down, rubs his forehead, reaches into his pocket. "I really didn’t want to have to do this."

I freeze. I know I'm in danger, but I feel numb and for some reason I can't bring myself to raise my hand with a gun. Just not again. And I don't even think about using my power against him. Meanwhile, he takes something that looks like a gun out of his pocket. But strange, plastic, transparent one. I've seen something like this before. It seems to be used to put wild animals to sleep. They've already disabled Adam. And James, too. And he's got a portion for me too.

It's all a lie. I doubted for a reason. No wonder I felt alarm and suspicion. He didn't find sleeping pills in Adam's first aid kit, he had it with him. I start backing away, I want to run away, it seems to me that I'm screaming.

Something pricks my arm.

And the darkness consumes me, dissolving my consciousness without a trace.

THE END

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