TW: Might trigger anyone with the fears or phobias of holes, evil people, weapons, and CLIFFHANGERS!(no if you don't like cliffhangers please keep reading I might make a part two) ⤁ "Aliyah!" Katherine, my best friend, shouted. It sounded as if she was panicking, and in distress. That was not a good sign. ⤁ "Coming, Kathy." I said in a steady tone. I ran towards her at lightning speed, feeling lucky that I didn't collapse her. I stood there and tried to catch my breath, looking at her with my olive green eyes. Everyone said they were special, that I was one of the only few with them. They marveled at them, their own eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Then, they instantly forgot about them and went on with their day. ⤁ When that happened, I normally felt a short zap go through my head- it's hard to explain really. Even with my parents. No one I know of in my family tree has, or had, green eyes at all. I seem to be the only one. The only person I do know with green eyes is............ha! I don't even know anyone with green eyes other than myself! Great, juuuust great. ⤁ "Aliyah! Aliyah! Earth to Aliyah!" And that broke my train of thought- thankfully. I saw Kathy waving one of her hands up and down in front of my face, attempting to help me snap back into reality. I must have been daydreaming, I thought to myself. But was I really? Ugh. Weird stuff happened to me all the time. Did it have to do with my eyes? That was the only weird thing about me. Having green ones. It makes you stand out, when you /don't/ want the attention. ⤁ I jerked to the side and bumped into the wall of the school hallway. "Yes, Kathy?" I said, rubbing my head to ease the pain. ⤁ "You've been zoning out all day. What's wrong?" She asked, her hands concrete-steady on on her hips. "And don't even try to say nothing." She said, moving to the left to block me from moving away, just when the word 'nothing' was about to escape my mouth. ⤁ I sigh. "The- the thing is....I don't really know. And if I try to explain it, y-you'll forget anyways." I say, fidgeting with my fingers. ⤁ "What do you mean? I would /never/ forget something you told me. Have I ever done that to you?" Kathy's brows furrowed, her arms now crossed across her chest. She was clearly /very/ offended. ⤁ "No, no....it's not that...it's just that..." I can't get the words out without sparking tears from my eyes. Ugh! More mentions of my stupid, green eyes. ⤁ "It's just that what?" ⤁ I held my tears back, and braced myself for the complicated explanation I was about to try to interpret in a way she won't forget. Everyone forgets everything at the words 'green eyes', or me saying something and then saying, 'it's because of my eyes', or something like that. ⤁ "It's just that....." ⤁ "Yes? Keep going! You were so close!" Kathy's eyes widen and her expression becomes a mix of excitement, curiosity, and intimidation. ⤁"Okay, I'll say it! My eyes. I keep thinking about them. Because...." I think of a smart way to word it without getting caught in the weird thing I like to call 'the filter', which is the thing that makes everyone forget things when I mention my eye color. "whenever I talk about these," I motion to my eyes, "everyone forgets what I'm saying. I cannot accuse them, tell anyone the reaction, and I have no clue why! It's frustrating!" I say, a snappy nerve to my voice, which I couldn't entirely drown while I spoke. ⤁I flinch, and my eyes are now pinched closed, bracing for the zap that'll make Kathy forget. Surprisingly, it didn't. I've tried to tell Kathy before, but it never worked, because the zap always occurred. This time, Kathy just sat there, wide-eyed(ugh, more eye puns), and itching for more information. I know I would be if I wasn't me. But here I am, being me. And it was no fun game. ⤁ And then, Kathy asked me a question, but all sound drowned out of my ears as I heard a long beep that was so loud, I could've sworn it had the ability to deafen me to the core. I had a super swirly headache, which felt like a giant hammer was pounding on my head. I should've heard my own words, coming out of my own mouth. Except, I didn't. I couldn't hear what I had said. My mouth was moving numbly, but I wasn't the one controlling it. But I had to be! It was /my/ mouth, wasn't it? Except it wasn't me controlling what I was trying to say.... ⤁ "Aliyah! Aliyah! Aliyah! Aliyah!" I heard Kathy shouting, sobbing with tears after the sound drowned out. ⤁ We were on break, and in the private student-only hallway, but only for trustworthy students who made 'The List', which was only for certain handpicked students. No one was here, gladly. I finally got a glimpse of reality. ⤁ I was shaken. Why was /Kathy/ sobbing? I was the one with the weird sound thingy that happened. Maybe it was the thing I said that I couldn't hear? ⤁ "W-what did I say to you?" I asked, my voice shaky and nervous.
⤁ "You're the one who said it! Or.. were you? It was a robotic voice. You are /terrible/ at other voice impressions. That couldn't have been you...or was it?" ⤁ I could tell that Kathy was stressing. But unlike most times, I didn't know how to comfort her, for I was confused what was happening myself! ⤁ I recollected and told her what had happened to me earnestly. All sound drowning out, my mouth moving without my command, the horrible headache that made me want to collapse, and how all of them had made it almost impossible to think at all. ⤁ Kathy believed me. Every word. Thank goodness, I thought I'd lost trust in my own best friend for a minute. ⤁She told me that I'd said exactly this: "You must not repeat this information to anyone. If you do, we /will/ find out, and our one-on-one talk will not be pretty. I might even bring the sword to finish you.." ⤁ I did a double take. No /way/ I said that! I assured her, that I would /never/ try to slay her with a sword for saying that to anyone. In fact, it would be better if the information was spread. People would be aware of it. But the filter would catch me. We both agreed in hushed whispers-even though no one was in the hallway-that Kathy shouldn't tell anyone, and I shouldn't try to explain my situation for now. It was how we'd stay safe. ⤁ "ATTENTION, HARRISON MIDDLE SCHOOL. TODAY, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A NEW SYSTEM, WHICH WILL BE BEST FOR ALL OF US." The ominous voice startled me and Kathy. Who was /that/?! And who would break in during a school day for....whatever they were planning? We stayed close together, and we shared a warning and worried look. "FROM NOW ON, ANYONE WITH GREEN EYES IN THIS COUNTRY WILL BE BROUGHT FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION......AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE....IF YOU'RE LUCKY....WE'LL LET YOU LIVE." He taps the mic multiple times, I assume, creating annoyingly loud pounding sounds that'll probably deafen the entire school! He cackles loudly, and then adds, "OH, LET ME CLARIFY. WE'LL LET YOU LIVE....IN OUR HIGH-CLASSIFIED SECURITY PRISION." ⤁ Kathy shoots a look at me, and now I know what eerie, robotic voice she was describing. I know what I have to do. I give Kathy one last hug, swing a chair at the glass window which breaks it, and I jump out through the cracked, student sized hole. And I run. I need to get out of this country. I know, running isn't the best way to do this, but I don't really have a choice, because if this was a Kahoot game, I would be keeping my cursor very much away from the "Life Ending" option. ⤁ If I need to stay alive in the next twenty four hours, I need to escape. Now.
