Douglas. Does that name mean something to you?”
“Yeah, that’s my dad. What about him?”
Parris didn’t answer him right away as she watched Dewan’s frustrated expression fade to worry.
“What’s wrong? Why’s he in the paper?”
Parris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was the only way she knew how to prepare herself to give him the bad news.
“I was doing some research on you. I took a look at some of the newspapers back home on the Internet and ran a search on your name. Your father’s name came up in the obituaries section from a newspaper that was published two days ago. This is just a printout of the newspaper’s online website. I believe you should look at it.” Parris walked over to him and lifted his visor and held the folded newspaper article out in front for him to read. Parris watched him carefully as she prepared herself for the inevitable.
“No!” He screamed as he tried to force himself up out of the chair. “How do I get out of this chair? Let me out!”
“I’m sorry, Dewan. You’re here among friends.”
“I told you to get me out of this stupid chair,” he yelled.
“Okay, give me a second.” She removed the electrodes from his chest and face, then the straps.
He got out of the chair, walked beside the table where he slammed his fists. “Not my dad. Hell no!”
“I’m sorry, Dewan.” She had to calm him down and restrain him. It was the only way to continue. At least let Hashimoto and the others think that the experiment was still her primary objective. The pain that this young man felt, it was inhuman for her to still treat this as an experiment. She was not even supposed to have shown him that article and she knew she’d be in Hashimoto’s office afterwards trying to explain herself.
Parris glanced briefly at Eva-who could not hide her concern.
“Don’t worry,” she mouthed without speaking. It was only then that Eva appeared to relax.
Hashimoto walked back into the observation room just in time to see Dewan get out of the chair and slam his fists on the table. Dewan then walked over to the wall where he put his back to it and let himself slide down to the floor, landing on his rear end.
Parris walked over, knelt down beside him and put her arm around him, pulling him closer to her. As tall as he was, he still went to her willingly as he cried. She sat with him in her arms, cradling his head close to her as though he was her little brother. Instinctively, she stroked his shaved head as the tears poured onto her lab coat.
“The experiment’s ruined. We need to stop,” said one of the scientists.
Hashimoto turned to him. “What do you mean ruined? What’s going on?”
“Dewan’s out of the chair. Dr. Parris has gone on a tangent, and I doubt he wants to take part in the experiment any longer. We should terminate this and replace him with someone else.”
Hashimoto watched as Parris continued to talk to Dewan. Why didn’t she follow the procedure? She knew that keeping him in the chair was essential. She was up to something. He’d know soon enough exactly what it was. “No, not yet. I believe Dr. Parris knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s just using a different approach.”
“But, sir, didn’t you see his readings-”
“Wait. I want to see where she’s going with this.”
It was all a part of the act on her behalf, anything to get him to calm down. At first anyone would’ve thought that Dewan was hot-tempered, but the way Dewan gripped Nita’s upper forearm said otherwise. This didn’t feel right.
“I’m…I’m here for you, Dewan. We’re all here for you. I can only imagine the thoughts that must be going on in your head right now, but you’ve got to listen to me. Is it all right if we still talk? We can stay right here or we can sit back down at the table, whichever you prefer.”
Dewan kept clinging to Parris, but he stopped bawling.
“I’m assuming you want to stay here. That’s all right. We can talk right here,” said Parris as she stroked the top of his head. It was so smooth that she couldn’t resist continuing. “Your father had a weak heart. He’d already suffered a heart attack five years ago. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
Parris glanced over at Eva. She stared blankly back at her, as though she was beginning to get bored.
Dewan started to sniff as he tried to utter a few words. “It happened because of me. My arrest, that was too much for him to handle. And I was innocent and still am.”
Dewan sat up and wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt. Parris kept one hand on his shoulder.
“There are few people for you to go back home to, Dewan. It’s going to even be more difficult for you when you go back.” Parris turned to Dewan and crouched beside him. “Back home, all you’ve experienced is a half-rate justice system that lets the guilty walk, and hard-working individuals like yourself fall to the bottom of the barrel. The people you met yesterday, maybe they don’t mean much to you, but they are good people. They’ve all suffered at the hands of injustice like you have. And one way or another, they’ve all come from similar backgrounds like you, and even Eva.” Parris held his hand as she continued to speak to him.
“Hazel,” he said.
Parris’s eyes widened as she heard him say the name. “I beg your pardon?”
Dewan sniffed. “Hazel. That was my sister’s name. Her perfume smelled just like yours. She’s the only one at home whom I was close to before-”
“Shh! You don’t have to talk about that.” Parris already knew about Hazel. She had been killed in a hit and run. The police never found the culprit. She felt that Dewan blamed himself for not being able to save her.
“The important thing, Dewan, is that your new friends can and will be your family, because they are just like you. Just from different parts of the world. I think one of them is from New Orleans and lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. They were nice to you yesterday because when they look at you, they see themselves. And trust me, they want to help you get over the pain. You might be labeled a criminal, but you’re far from being one.” Parris noticed Dewan had stopped crying and had started listening. Is this Clarity taking effect on him? “Look at what the outside world has done. It’s destroyed your family and kept you down. And the ones responsible for all your family’s problems got away with it.”
Dewan wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
“Your sister died a senseless death. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for your father, his weak heart couldn’t take the stress of you going to jail for a crime that you didn’t commit.”
Dewan wiped his forehead with his sleeve again.
“This is your opportunity to get back at everyone. Join The Promise and you’ll be saved from the upcoming apocalypse. You know what you need to do, Dewan.”
Something was odd. Dewan was not wiping away tears, but rather perspiration. When Parris looked at Eva, she wasn’t perspiring. “Eva, do you feel hot?”
“No, why?” she asked.
“I was just asking.” Parris didn’t feel hot either. It was something she had not noticed in any previous test subjects. She looked back at Dewan. God, he’s sweating. She was ready to call the infirmary but thought better not to panic him. She touched Dewan’s shoulder. “Come. Let me help you back to your chair. You’ll calm down easier.”
He slapped it away hard enough that Parris was tipped over slightly. Oh Lord, this ain’t good.
She backed off, but like a whip, Dewan’s hand gripped her throat. He stood, pulling Parris up with him. A few seconds later she felt her feet dangling. Oh my God, how’d he get so strong? This has to be some sort of adrenaline rush. Parris glanced at Eva who sat with her jaw locked open and trembling. Shit, she’s strapped in and can’t escape.
“Dewan!” Parris choked out as she kicked him just below his right kneecap with the tip of her pump. He lost his grip and Parris dropped to the floor. She turned around to run and slipped. She fell, but immediately clawed away on all fours. Two hands locked around her ankles and jerked her backwards. She had no grip on the floor and her palms screeched against the tiles.
Where the hell’s security? Hashimoto? What’s taking you so long? “Dewan, stop! Please.” She could use her martial arts skills. Sure, and risk blowing her cover. Or not defend herself and die. Something was wrong with him. He yanked her from the back of her collar and pulled her up onto her feet. As Dewan continued to tug on the collar, Parris easily slipped out of her lab coat. Luckily, it wasn’t buttoned.
