Something was horribly off.
I jumped off the couch, away from Jaeden. In my mind, I went back over the words she said. One, two, three, four, period. One, two, three, four, period. One…
My mind went over several possibilities. I could wake up Jae, and leave this place, although I doubt she would wake up, or even be normal. I could stay here, and hide. I could leave the apartment myself and run away, without Jae.
I mentally slapped myself. Leave Jae? Ridiculous. Don't lose yourself either. Perhaps I could coax Jae out of the trance when she woke up. From now on, I would make sure we didn't talk to anybody. Trust no one, right?
First, I covered Jae's mouth with a towel, hoping it would be enough to stop the heavy scent from getting to her. Then, I grabbed a bottle of water from my bag and dumped the entire thing onto her face, hoping it would be enough to wake her up. If Jae was still talking all weird, well, I hadn't planned that far ahead.
I felt like I had slept an eternity. As if actual weeks, months, maybe even years went by. It was such a deep sleep, and as I was so abruptly pulled out of it, I felt as if my soul was being pushed back into my body. I felt as if, as I was waking up, I could see myself on the couch, with a worried Candy right next to me. And then I felt as if myself was a magnet, and it pulled me closer.
My eyes shot open along with my chest, and I immediately forget all of what I presumed to be an out-of-body experience. I shake my face and cough out the water from my throat, looking up at Candy.
"What the hell was that for?!" I yell, shocked. How much time had passed? Is it the next morning? How long was I asleep? I didn't understand why Candy nearly drowned me, but I was struck with such rage that I yelled at her. I know I'd regret doing such a thing, but I could feel my heart beating in such a way that only fueled my rage. I should probably breathe slowly, but I couldn't. Not right now.
I was taken aback by Jae's anger. Having never heard her yell, particularly at me, my heart sank a bit. The heavy weight in my chest rushed to my eyes. Oh, wonderful, I'm crying like a three-year-old who just got scolded by his mother for leaving front door open. When was the last time I cried? Because of my sister?
"You were talking like Adrian…" was all I managed to get out, hoping she'd understand. I was only worried. The towel had fallen onto her lap, and I concluded that if I don't mention the flower scent, she wouldn't notice, and the towel was basically useless.
I stared at the ground, rubbing my arms. Is she mad? Obviously. Will she understand? I mean, with how fast she fell asleep, there was no way gently shaking her would've helped.
Upon seeing the lights reflecting on Candy's face, I noticed she was crying. My body and mind went through several layers of panic as I tried to figure out what to say or do. I exhaled deeply and looked around to the windows.
"What time is it? How long was I asleep?" I asked quietly, almost muttered, trying to calm my voice enough to help. I knew I had to apologize for yelling, and I regret the fact that that wasn't the first thing out of my mouth afterwards. My mind was swarming with thoughts and questions and I had to get a few out. I knew Candy had questions too. Maybe we could try to answer a few with Adrian. No, he'd be no help. Maybe someone else. I wonder if everyone is just as cryptic in Purple as the people everywhere else when they're talking about Purple. I wonder if anyone here can think for themselves. I start to think about all the people who have never been to Purple and how they talked about it. No one admitted exactly what Purple did to the residents there, not even the people who got out. What does that mean? Why wouldn't they tell everyone if it was something horrible? Maybe it's just not as bad, or they make you erase your memory if you try to leave, but someone remembered that it was bad, just not what happened, and that's what started the rumor. Maybe since Purple became it's own separate entity from the Colors, Huerule started the rumor to keep people from entering Purple. I don't know, no one knows. But I'm prepared to find out.
"What time is it? How long was I asleep?" Jae mutters. She must have noticed and felt guilty. I wipe my face. putting myself back together. We had a bigger issue at hand, and there was no room for petty feelings.
"It's only been about five minutes. I have a lot of thoughts about this place, and I'm sure you do too, but I don't think we should say any of them here. Let's go explore the city, shall we?" I say, slightly louder and with a wink. I hoped Jae realized we were never coming back here. It was too risky, and we needed to be somewhere with guaranteed privacy.
I thought about all the books and movies I read where reality was distorted. In these works of fictions, there was always a place where reality felt real and not a mask to cover shit up. Perhaps Purple was similar. As scared as I was, a lingering curiosity began to haunt me. I wanted to find out why Purple was this way, and what it really was.
I nod at Candy's responses and her suggestion to explore the city, eyeing her wink and noticing her raising her voice.
"Alright, let's head out. Do you think we're going to find a place to stay for the night? Not to push back to going to sleep, I just want to know what you think about staying here for at least one night."
I walk over to my backpack that rested on the dining table. I unzip the bag and pull out two water bottles. Candy and I might need to preserve our own water, who knows what's in Purple's water system. I hand one of the bottles to Candy, already determined not to give her a choice of refusing the water.
I squint as how mom-like Jae is, and take a sip of the water. "We'll see, I guess. If we don't find somewhere, we can head back anytime. Adrian seems too nice to refuse anyways."
We put on our bags and go on our way back to the city. I'm not really sure where to go, so I hope Jae would take initiative and lead. When we pass Adrian, I fake a smile and avoid his eyes. After we leave the building, the flower scent dissipates and finally my headache alleviates. A strange thought passes my mind.
"Jae? How come you fell for Purple's… tricks… but I didn't? I smelled the flowers too, and I talked to Adrian. I don't understand why I wasn't affected…"
We escape awkwardly past Adrian, but something seems off about him. Maybe he's just one of those kids, or he's tired, but he seems…zoned out. He almost looks troubled, as if he's having a silent anxiety attack. I don't think he even noticed us leaving the building. I consider stopping and getting his attention, but now is not the time. I'm sure he's okay.
"Jae?" I snap my neck to Candy, realizing we'd left the building already. "How come you fell for Purple's… tricks… but I didn't? I smelled the flowers too, and I talked to Adrian. I don't understand why I wasn't affected…" I shrug my shoulders at her, that being yet another question piled onto the mountain that ruled my mind.
"I don't know, and I'm scared to ask anyone else that kind of question. Where should we go first?"
I scan the area from where I'm at and see several options, which lead to even more various buildings that still seem open.
I don't know why I bothered asking Jae, it wasn't like she would've known. Did anyone here know? Were they all oblivious, mindless robots to Purple?
We head to what looks like a souvenir shop. When we open the door, a cute little bell jingles, indicating our arrival. The shop is purple, as expected. There were a couple jewelry displays with ordinary Purple! souvenirs. All shades of violet shirts are hung about the wall. To our left was a wall full of magnets and key chains. To our right was a clerk repping the shirts. She was looking down, and didn't seem to acknowledge us. I wandered around, checking out the mugs and cards. Should I buy something?
"Hey," I looked towards the clerk, holding up a cute Purple dress. The girl jumps and looks at me, alarmed.
"Yes? How can I help you? Sorry?" she speaks so quietly, I struggled to hear what she said.
"Um, do you have any other sizes for this dress?"
The clerk speaks even quieter. "Yes? Maybe? Can you give me a moment to check?" I look over at Jae with a confused expression.
I exchange looks with Candy, confused, but sort of getting used to it by now. I wander around the store, looking around at the name cups, the key-chains, the hats, the candies, the stuffed animals, all of which were different shades of purple. Unless it was the aggressive, hard purple lighting. After a few moments of Candy and I showing each other the funny looking creature sculptures, my favorite being a sculpture of a half spider, half man, with long hair and a blindfold over his eyes, the lady walked out with two dresses of different size.
"Do either of these work? Should I look for another size? What size are you?"
I look over at Candy, pretty sure she's noticed the strange way that each Purple citizen talks by now.
Jae shows me a badass-looking-spider-human hybrid sculpture. I smile in awe and show her a Hawaiian cyborg. The sculptures were the only things that weren't Purple. The clerk comes back, still speaking like Pandora.
"Thank you, this one will do!" I press the dress against my body and look at Jae for a nod of approval. This looks like it would fit perfectly. Before we leave, I ask one more question, "Where is the town center in Purple?"
The girl looks at Candy with a puzzling, but intrigued expression.
"Oh? The town center? Why would you want to go there?" I myself am silently attempting to piece together the reasoning behind Candy's question. I guess that's where we could get our questions answered, but an uneasy pit began to form in the depths of my stomach. Something didn't feel right, but I couldn't identify what. I tried to breathe heavily and slowly in order to calm myself down, but I still feel…wrong. The clerk and I await Candy's response.
"I'm not sure… It was the first thought that came into my mind I guess. I don't know where else to go," I scratch my head, slightly confused myself.
"Are you supposed to start running towards the purple glow? I think it's a glow? Will you miss it? I doubt it? Just make sure you run?" I nod my head slowly.
We made our way to town center, following the clerk's odd instructions. Strangely enough, we arrived. Town square was a busy place, people walking in and out of buildings, umbrellas to shade the sun, and modern buildings tattooed with glowing purple neon signs.
I look around at the people. They seem normal enough, I suppose. I haven't talked to any of them yet, so they seem completely normal at the surface. Of course, Violet talked normally, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe she just doesn't spend much time with the people? I try to muster up the courage to talk to someone, trying to think of a conversation starter. Suddenly, someone bumped into me from behind. They continued walking, without looking behind or apologizing.
"He-" I then noticed him. Dark skin, black hair, black coat and black jeans. Not even a hint of purple shown in him.
"Hey!" I call out for him, turning my head to Candy, wondering if she's thinking the same thing as me. He doesn't stop after I call after him, so I run up ahead and put my hand on his shoulder. He turns around.
His face almost makes me jump. His left eye was probably the only purple thing about him, considering it was swollen so much. Blood dripped from his nostrils and mouth, and the side of his head. The pain in his eyes made my heart drop.
"Are you okay? What happened to you?" I ask, causing him to look back and forth at the people in the town square. He leans in, and I can hear his lungs wheezing, struggling to take in each breath. He mutters the next words, hoarse and tinged with worry.
"You shouldn't be talking to me. I'm a criminal."
I took in the view when suddenly Jae ran off towards a strange man who seemed to have bumped into her. With what he was wearing, he stood out like a sore thumb. He owned jet black hair and rather dark skin, paired with coffee colored eyes. If it weren't for the blood and bruises, he would be mediocre looking.
"You shouldn't be talking to me. I'm a criminal." I raised my eyebrow, slightly panicked by his wounds.
"Criminal? Define criminal," my curiosity was peeking." Wait, let's go somewhere private."
"Do you need me to define the word criminal for you? And trust me, there's no privacy here." I was taken aback by his sass. Who did he think we were? I squinted my eyes, almost laughing.
"Wha- no!" I return my voice to a whisper. "I just know Purple's definition must be different than the norm. We want to help you, right, Jae?" I looked over to Jae, silently praying that she would convince him to accept our help.
Help? What in the fuck could we help him with? Perhaps it was his help we really needed. He must know more about this city than any of the corrupted citizens. Still, the way he said criminal made me worry. We don't even know why his face was so beat up and bruised, or who he was at all.
He raises an eyebrow at us, eyeing Candy's comments about Purple. Candy's last comment made me think quick as I lit up.
"Yeah, you're pretty messed up, I've got some stuff that can help with that." Luckily, I wasn't lying. I actually packed a few bandages and mild medication for small cuts and minor injuries, just in case. The boy's eyes shifted from me to Candy, then back to me.
"I just want to emphasize the risk you're putting upon yourselves in order to help me. Even just talking to me puts a target on your back. Are you okay with that?"
I furrow my brow at the surety in his voice.
"Target for who?" I ask, wondering if he's fully against Purple. But if he is, why is he here? He looks up from me to the townspeople wandering, going about their daily business.
He doesn't answer my question.
Instead, he looks back down to me and says, "So you're not aware? Should I even trust you two?"
"We seem to already be targets," I mutter under my breath. If I had a dollar for every moment his eyes flickered from me, to Jae, to the townsfolk, I would have enough money for a ticket on the train.
The train. I had completely forgotten that we had to check in every week. It had only been a day, yet it felt like it had been weeks since coming here. I wonder if we would be able to go to the train station after meeting this seemingly dangerous boy. I felt like we were about to be dragged even deeper into this charming mess.
"So you're not aware? Should I even trust you two?"
"Listen man," I butt in, "We came here not too long ago and we're already having a mental breakdown from everything that has happened - and I'm willing to bet that this is only the beginning. You can't trust us, but what if we're important to your - no - our chance of living?"
He returned his gaze to me, with an expression on his face I couldn't quite make out. I surprised myself with my automatic words. Living? Why did I imply he was going to die? Is this a matter of life or death? Could we die?
The boy glances at Candy. His eyes spilled with the debate in his mind on whether he wants to trust us. After a few moments of silence, he sighs heavily, walking towards us.
"I am not at fault for whatever happens to you." He declares, almost as if he's telling himself that more than he's telling us that.
"Follow me." He mutters as he passes Candy and begins walking away from town. I look over at Candy, confused, but intrigued, as I follow him. I don't understand why he suddenly took on the leader role after we offered to help him, but if he knew what he was doing, I was willing to find out what was going on. Surely he'd be willing to tell us, right? If he's a criminal to Purple, he'd be spilling their secrets, right? What is his plan? Where is he leading us? The questions reverberate around my mind as I try to remain silent, following close behind him. However, one question I felt was worth asking.
"Hey! Before we go anywhere with you, can I at least know your name?"
He looks from Candy and back to me.
"Jade. I guess it's only polite to ask for yours."
I look down for a moment, but then immediately raise my head back up to him.
"My name's Jaeden."
"Wow, we got a whole family of J names here," I say, hoping to relieve the tension. When the two remain silent, I murmur my name shamefully. "Candy."
As Jade heads away from town square, I take this chance to further evaluate this stranger, but all I notice is how tired and worn out Jae looked. Her hair was in tangles, and there were faint dark circles around her eyes. She seemed rather pale, too, and somehow there were patches of dirt on her clothes. I looked down at my own garments to notice there were several mysterious rips and stains. We hadn't even done anything, yet we looked so beat up. Tired. Maybe it was Purple's effect.
Jade led us to a forest, which felt rather questionable, but if it was away from Purple people, I felt fine with it. Nature seemed to be our best bet anyways. "So, where are you taking us, Jade? Or, are we not far away enough from civilization for you to tell us?" I sigh, tearing a leaf off a tree.
Jade sighed, visibly irritated with the both of us already. Why was he so grumpy? Is that why he's a criminal? Because he doesn't have that over-the-top, bubbly, obnoxiously happy attitude like everyone else? Maybe he's just stressed out from what's happened?
"Sniff the air. Still smell that faint scent of lavender? We're not far enough away yet."
I sniff absentmindedly, smelling the lavender, then feeling a need to hold my breath, as if it's going to poison me again. I look over at Jade. His eyes are closed, as he slowly breathes in the nature. It was at this moment that he looked so peaceful. He breathed in slowly, so focused on breathing in the natural scent that filled the air.
"It's safe now."
I blink, realizing the trance I was in as I look over at Candy.
"When did you arrive here? At Purple?"
He was right, the lavender was still there. As soon as he announced our safety, my headache and the smell faded away completely.
"When did you arrive here? At Purple?" Jae asked as I whipped out a water bottle.
He hesitated for a moment. "I lost count. You guys said you were here for only a day? Are you sure?"
The cold water was beyond refreshing. I offered a drink to Jade, but he shook his head. "When was the last time you stayed hydrated?" I scolded. He stared at us for a long time and swiped the bottle, taking a couple gulps. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Anyways, it hasn't been night time yet, so I'm positive it's only been a day. Although… it feels like years, but that could just be because we're tired."
I suddenly remember the cuts and bruises on Jade's face and drop my backpack, digging through to find the bandages and ointments. I stand back up and look at Jade, his face caked in dried blood and sweat, but still eliciting hesitation to receive the help.
"Come on, how am I supposed to hurt you with a piece of cloth?" He sighs, relaxing the tension that filled his entire body as I roll my eyes, wiping the blood off of his face. After that, I wet the cloth with an antiseptic and looked at Jade, already wincing.
"This is going to sting."
He inhales sharply through his teeth, as if in preparation, as I pat the cloth onto his eye and several cuts scattered about his body.
"I suggest you start explaining what the hell is going on here to help distract you from the stinging."
He looks at me with a defeated expression as I shrug.
"I'm sure you heard a lot of people spreading unclear rumors about Purple. How much of the truth do you know?"
I take a seat as I watch Jae clear Jade's wounds. I wonder if she ever wanted to go into a hospital job.
"Not much. Only the lavender scent does some kind of converting? And people here talk really strangely. I'd like to say the way of speaking is unique to a person, but uh…" I glance at Jae, remembering her four word speech. "Another thing, people seem to know of our presence already. Don't know what's up with that. Is there anything else, Jae?" I grabbed a towelette from her kit and wiped my face and arms. The unusual amount of muck shocked me once again. "Oh, this is another thing. I don't know if you've noticed, but we are really beat up for some reason."
I direct Jade's face to turn in order for me to reach all his wounds, as he looks at Candy.
"Interesting. And, don't worry too much about that. It's a side effect of the lavender." Jade examines Candy's face, gazing at the wounds as he sighs at us.
"So, are your wounds different from ours?" I ask Jade, finally finishing patching him up. "Like, did you get it from the lavender?"
Jade looks from Candy and then back to me.
"If I say yes, will you believe me and drop it? You wanted me to tell you the truth about Purple, not about me anyway."
I look over at Candy, wondering who or what he could have got it from.
"Well, tell us, then. What's going on in Purple?"
Jade situates himself so that he's sitting more comfortably, facing Candy and I.
"Okay, you guys know what a utopia is, right?"
"You're part of the truth about Purple, too…" I muttered to myself.
"Well, tell us, then. What's going on in Purple?"
"Okay, you guys know what a utopia is, right?"
I nod my head, reminded of the book series Jae and I discussed before. "Yes. Oh, is this like that one country in the Earth book series? Where America is a utopia, but then it turns into a dystopia?"
Jade looked at me confusingly. "Earth…?"
"It's a book! Jae knows!" I looked back and forth between the two.
"Ah, well, sort of. It is a utopia on the inside, but a dystopia from the outside. See, Purple was in anarchy, so it was super chaotic. So, they decided, let's brainwash the residents into following the law. The lavender, and the fact that every new citizen must speak to them, is the brainwash. You guys have been here for far too long, and you're in danger."
Danger? Thank you, Captain Obvious. I wondered what kind of danger, and I hoped that Jade would explain his wounds eventually. We had to know what to look out for.
"You guys have been here for far too long, and you're in danger."
From the look on Candy's face, she wasn't surprised, but she was still confused. I look at Jade, curious. That is, until a voice from behind us causes me to nearly jump out of my skin.
"Ah, look at you kids, having a talk in the forest."
I turned around quickly, scared of what might happen. It was the man in the Purple suit from earlier. What was he doing here? I look over at Jade to confirm how dangerous this man might be. He's expressionless.
"Now, I'm sure you're very curious what's going on in Purple, many different voices have filled your thoughts and gotten you all confused, but I'd like to clear everything up for you two girls and get you settled in this place. How does that sound? I'll answer all your questions and then some. I won't hold anything back or be unclear. So, what do you say?"
I look over at Candy, shrugging. He doesn't seem so dangerous, the way he talks is completely normal and he has a genuine vibe about him. I wasn't opposed to it, especially if he intends to answer all our questions.
"What do you think?"
I jumped up and hid behind Jade. A strange man stood in front of us in a suit. He had rather soft features: a clean shaven face, short dull hair swept to the side with occasionally white hairs, laugh wrinkles near his eyes. The man was pretty bulky, however. He had a kind expression on his face, and his gray eyes friendly. Despite his normal speech, I felt cautious.
"Who are you? Were you following us?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes. He must have been eavesdropping. And, clearly, according to Jade, being 'settled' into Purple meant brainwashing. The most we could do is hear the man out, then run as soon as possible. But, Jade showed no signs of anything helpful, making me apprehensive. There was no way I could communicate to my friends at all with this stranger here. I suppose all we could do was to hear him out.
The man chuckled a gentle laugh, waving a hand at us.
"Oh, don't be so afraid, what am I gonna do? Talk you to death? I don't even have a weapon, and, to be frank, I'm not a big fan of fighting or violence either. When has that ever solved anything, right?" He smiles a big, friendly smile as I look over at Candy, who's shivering behind me. I turn to Jade again to see if he's reacted at all.
He's gone. I turn my head back and forth, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of him running. Maybe he's hiding. Did the man even see him?
"To answer your questions, my name is Oleander, but you can just call me Ollie. To answer your second question, I actually come to this forest everyday to write in my journal." He pulled a notebook and pen out of his coat pocket and showed it to us.
"I like to document my days, studies says it improves memory! I think you two should try it, it's therapeutic."
This man really does seem harmless. At first I thought he was serious when he said he'd talk us to death, but the more I thought about it, it was probably really a joke.
"Oh! I almost forgot to mention the most important thing. If you're going to be staying in Purple for long, I really should register you as official citizens! It's very exciting, trust me everyone loves minor paperwork and hand shaking. Plus, it won't take longer than forty-five minutes. And you can leave whenever you wish, but if you're citizens of Purple, we can make sure we know when you come back so we can give you a warm welcome."
I flinched as he pulled out the notebook. Red flags were popping up everywhere, and not to mention Jade had disappeared.
"Oleander…" I said, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of saying his nickname. "You still didn't tell us exactly who you are. Like, perhaps what your job is? And why you so clearly followed us? This forest doesn't feel that small."
Jae looked so relaxed, as if this man wasn't suspicious at all. I didn't understand how she wasn't even slightly on edge, like she usually would be. I wanted to run, find Jade maybe, but my feet would not move.
"I promise you, it was just a coincidence. I happened to see you girls, and I noticed I never introduced myself before! Now, let's start with your names!"
"I'm Jaeden." I reply on autopilot, not really thinking twice about giving him my name. I mean, he gave us his name, so it's only fair.
"And this is Candy. We've been kind of unsure about Purple for awhile, but we definitely have tons of questions. Ollie smiled sweetly and nodded.
"Ah, that's good! Questions mean you're interested. Now, we should find somewhere inside. You don't want those bugs nipping at you, you'll get all itchy."
I stand up as he gestures for us to follow him. Looking over at Candy, I see she's still unsure.
"C'mon, Candy. What's the worst that could happen?" I whisper to her, without Ollie hearing. "Plus, he said we could leave at any time, it's not like he's throwing us in jail. If we need to escape, we could take this guy if we team up."
