8I9Q5 Part 4

A gentle breeze caressed Jaron's face as he lay on the cool, green grass. Trees stretched up to the sky around him, and a creek trickled by. For all the calming sounds of nature, his thoughts continued to trouble him.

Could what Lainey told him really be true? If it was, the implications were enormous! The government being a conspiracy sounded ridiculous, after all. Jaron had laughed out loud at first, but her hard eyes drilled into him, and he quieted. What she told him fit too well, the puzzle pieces sliding in beside each other, a vortex of knowledge.

He didn't want to believe her. This perfect world...the Utopian society...he loved it all, and enjoyed his life. Wouldn't it be so convenient to ignore the evidence that piled up around him, and continue to believe that his world was safe and secure and happy? But once you know, you have a responsibility. And Jaron couldn't dodge it.

He thought of the classes at school, and the values pummeled into him. Conform. Be like everyone else. Listen to authority. Don't be different. Now that he saw it all in a different light, Jaron realized Lainey wasn't lying.

And the last, final puzzle piece had been slammed into place as she shoved him a photograph, taken with a primitive camera. It was fuzzy and difficult to see, but he knew what it was. A twisted, mangled body. Dyan.

His thoughts turned to the creature that destroyed her, the men that dispatched it, and he loathed them suddenly, deeply. Seething anger shivered in his bones, and a groan escaped his lips. How could Jaron have failed to protect her, how could someone want to kill her, that lovely, bright, cheerful girl? His sister. Hot, burning tears slipped down his cheeks, tears of rage and fury, tears of grief and regret.

Jaron leaped to his feet and swung a fist in the air. He would fight. They could kill him if they wanted to, but he would fight. Jogging out of the arborium, he caught sight of two girls strolling down the street. "Permelia!" he called. "Lainey!"

***

Everything, so overwhelming. Smells and sounds and sights and tastes and feels all crowding in on it, smothering it until it couldn't breathe, but of course it could because of its nature. Every second was spent being bombarded with all the world and all its aspects, every little cell and yapping dog encroaching in its mind.

Shaking its head in pain, Adi darted down the road, sleek as a panther, deadlier than Death itself. More than the over load of sensory information was the hunger. Oh yes, the hunger. The thirst. Clawing at its throat, Adi let out mewls of frustration.

Suddenly. A smell. Blood and flesh and meat, delicious. Adi snarled and leaped upon the human, tearing and ripping. Finally, sweet ectasy, coating everything until there was nothing but joy, nothing but the purest feelings, and at least for a few moments, the awful texture of life was gone.