New Sins of Man Chapter 2

2

“Be nice to me or I will be Pride if I need to tear you apart” I like that line as I speak it loud while I am driving. I don’t where I was but there is a GPS builtin to the car, and I gave it my old address which I remembered as Prude. Prior to that, I drove up up to the local bank here. I did not know how or why I did it, but it was so natural to me then. I walked up to the cash dispenser and project the machine to give me some money. And it did; enough for me  to get some decent clothes, food, lipsticks and mascara. Now I am ready for my long drive back to my only known address; Prude’s home.

I ditched the car and walked to the bus station. Its was to be a long six hours trip and with two stops for gas and personal needs by the driver, I am pulling up in the familiar town I lived. I took a cab to my home; a modest house in the suburbs. The last half an hour was easier for me as I looked at the familiar scenes and some faces. There is the grocer which mother gets her stuff every week, and there is the stupid old man who is always peeking at me  as if I am going to steal his things in the shop. Actually, I did on a few occasions when he is not peeking. There is the pet shop which I got my things for my cat.

My cat? I forgot all about my cat. I remembered its a grey white kitten then of about two weeks. I was trying to get it to use the correct toilet but it still likes to do it everywhere. Mum is very upset when she comes back to the house and smelled the leftovers by the cat.

Well, here its; my home. Its a modest single level house with a small garden next to the car porch. Mum is at home as the car is there on the porch. I stepped up to the house door and press the bell.

There was my mum who opened the door and she went pale. Maybe its my new clothing; Pride selected it from the rundown place ‘we’ stop at. She likes the darker colors and this is her choice. I am okay with anything casual.

“Prudence? Is that you? Come in quick.’ She pulled me into the house and looked out the street before closing the door. I had already walked to the kitchen as I am hungry and tired. I am going to search the fridge for my favorite drink. Its there as always; Mother knows I like it. I grabbed one and pry off the cover to take a big gulp. I turned around to see Mother holding the taser gun on me. She fired off one shot at me and I went black into nothing.

‘Mum? Did you just shot me?’ I opened my eyes to see her holding the same gun in her hand. I felt my hands and legs are all tied up. I am laying on the settee in the living room and I can’t seem to move much. This is the second time days I been tied up.

“Prude, are you there? I want to speak to Prude only.’

“Yes, Mum. Its me, Prude. Why did you tied me up for?’

‘Prude, I do not want to speak to Pride. If Pride comes out, I will shoot you again. Do I make myself clear?’ I looked at the gun in her hand to her facial expression. I seen that look; and she means it. I nodded my head to her request.

“Mum how did you know about Pride? Who is she? And who am I? I mean the real me.” I looked at the lady I called my mum and I am not sure if she is my mum anymore or another layer of lies again.

“Pride is you and you are also Prude. If Pride come forth, I will kill you both.” That’s twice she had threatened me with harm. I can feel Pride wanting to lash out and I felt the rush of pain inside me.

“Arghhh! What did you do......Mum?” I tried to rub my hands behind me as they are numbed from the electrical current that surged through me. She must had attached some electrical wires to my wrist and she is controlling it from her end. The current is enough to cause me pain but not deadly.

“Prude, I want to talk to Prude only. No Pride or I will press the level again.’ I can see now the lever is at her right feet and all she need to do is tap onto it. She was going to press it when I shouted out to her.

“No more Pride, Mum. Its just me, Prude. Please don’t do this. I cannot stand the pain. For God’s sake, I am your daughter.” I looked at her with my tears running down on my cheeks.

“Promise me, Pride stays away. I just want to talk to you, Prude.’ She is crying and I think she wants to talk to me as Prude. I nodded my understanding to her. I also want to know who am I really inside.

This is her story.

I am not her daughter. My ‘mum’s’ name is Maddie Irwing, and she is actually a Neurologist and Microbiologist, among some other doctorate she holds to her name. She was brought into Global Research to do test on some special kids as she was initially told. It was then she found me in the labs of Global Research when she started on the project named God’s Way. I was among the seven children under her section. There are other sections which are manned by other staff. She does not know how and where we come from but when she was with, we were like age of five only. As for her section, they named us Section Red, but she called us ‘children’. She was our coach and mentor for five years when we finally got separated to different mentors’ but I was the exception. She wanted to keep me for her own mentoring and it was allowed. She continued her training on me to develop my mind probes and manipulations. I was called Pride but she always calls me Prude or in full its Prudence. She said I was very cautious and slow in learning but once I did I was exceptionally good. I always called her ‘mum’ and I did not know why.

We trained for another year and the top levels decided to take me away from her. She was upset and adamant on wanting to know what was going to happened to me. But I was spirited away and she was sent to another section. It was not for another six months before she could track my whereabouts, and why I was taken away. She did her findings into Project God’s Way and she was in state of panic on knowing what I was going to do. She somehow managed to find me and we both escaped from Global Research one evening. She whisk me away that evening buried under piles of rubbish. She loaded me into the car boot when no one was watching, and drove us out of Global Research. She kept on drving until she came to this place she had planned for three months before. In here, she worked with me on re-conditioning my mind to this fictitious person named Prude. She buried my past inside of me including Pride. We live together as mother and daughter hidden away in this small town for two years now. She now works as pharmacist and she been treating me to be normal again.

But somehow in the last week or so when I was missing, Pride has re-surfaced. She saw it in me when I stood in front of her. Pride likes to wear dark clothes and this is her style of dressing. More to it, she saw it in my eyes; the dark looks and I was not wearing any mascara now. She knew then Pride has come back. But she took me in regardless as she still loves me. The only way I can change to become Pride or uses Pride’s power if I focus, but the pain she is inflicting on me is to prevent me from focussing on the change. If I can change, then Prude is harmless to everyone.

“You knew this all along? You were also trying to change me but I am a freak. So how can you change a freak like me?” I could feel my anger coming up and I really wanted to be Pride again. I saw her moving her feet over the switch and I shook my head.

“No, mum. No more please. I won’t be Pride as I promised you. But tell me, what did you want to do to me?” I looked at the lady now who apparently has landed me a tale of myself. But how much of it is true? Maybe she is lying too like the people in Global Research. Or Global was trying to help me after all? And who are the clan’s?

“Prude, you are not a freak. You are an exceptional kid and they did something to you when you were born. They somehow enhanced your abilities into doing the things you can. I am trying to subdue those ‘freakish’ action so you can be normal. I did not know then when I become your coach. I only learned of it much later. But it was too late, you have become their best subject. Their achievement on years of research. You have developed what dozen of other kids has failed to do so. Pride has succeeded where others has not achieved. If not for me, maybe you would had been their finest speciment on display and maybe put into action.” She paused there to look at me. “As a special agent to fight for their cause. But you are just a child....” She broke into tears and her feet stepped on the lever.

The electrical current passed by me was excruciating painful that I screamed out and blacked out again.

I woke up on the back seat of a moving car. I can see the shadows of the lamp posts as the car travelled in a constant speed. I can feel my hands and legs are not binded to any strappings or ropes. I slowly moved my body into a sitting position and looked forward to the driver in front of me. Its Maddie and she is holding the steering wheel with one hand and smoking with the other.

“Good, you are awake. There are some food and drinks on the floor area. Help yourself.’ I looked down and saw my favorites’ in the basket there. I reached for them and had my fill while watching the passing scenery. Its looks like late evening and we are on some small road or country road. I can see the fields and the occasional farm house.

“Where are we going, Mum?” The last word somehow seems empty to me now that she told me she is not my real mum.

“We had to run as they came for you. They must had tracked you somehow. Its not everday someone parks a Bentley on our street. There was two of them, and I stopped them with my taser. They were not prepared for me to be there. They thought it was only you alone and you were laying on the settee asleep. They took their chances and I caught them on it. I loaded you onto the car and collected what we can carry. We are going to see someone who may be able to help us.” I thought I recognised the car; its her’s and its not a flashy one but it will sufficient for our travel, I guess. If it does not break down again.

“Mum, no more surprises please. Who are we meeting?”

“God, as I named him but his full name is Godfrey. He was the project Head before they removed him just before I left. God will know what to do with you”. I hope she is right as I believe in no god now. Actually, I don’t know who I believe in anymore. Or even myself. Am I really Prude or Pride? Or someone else’s daughter before I become Pride. Just exactly who am I really.

“Climb over, Prude. We can talk here.” I moved up and climbed over to the front seat. Its not like I was a young girl anymore, so it was a bit of difficulty trying to move my body over. But I did it finally and I felt something on my seat. I reached for it and it was a gun.

“Mum?” The little girl in me is calling out for Maddie as I held the gun with my thumb and index finger.

“Sorry, Prude. Let me have it now.” she just reached for it and put the gun into the dashboard. “Its okay, Prude. I do know how to use the gun as I been training on it since we left Global Research. Its just that I prefer to use the taser in most cases. That gun belong to one of the guy who came into the house. I thought it will be useful to have one which can shoot further than twenty feet. In case if you asked, my other gun is in the luggage in the boot.

“Mum, its seems we have a lot more things to talk about for now? Could we do this now while I am still in control of myself. I don’t think Pride will take too kindly to words.” She slammed down on the brakes and the car lurched to a stop on the country road.

“Prude or Pride, I don;t give a darned worry about it. I only saved your life as I cared about you and really love you as my own. When they took you away, I fought with them for your return, but they locked me away in a isolated lab. I could had left but I stayed back for you. I had to find out where they took you and why. I did and I was getting more worried then. So I sneaked you out so I can change you back. I risked my life and career because I love you. So Prude or Pride, you can kill me now or mind cleared my brains. I don’t care now if you do not want my help. But if you do, then let me do my work so we can have a regular life and peaceful one too.” I looked at the lady whom I addressed as my mum.

“Okay, Mum. You win for now. But please understand I am still confused in me. Please allow me the time and space to consider.” She nodded to my request and she moved the car into gear again so we can continued our journey again.

“Uh, Mum. Is there a bathroom I can use?” She grabbed hold of the steering wheel and pulled to the side of the road.

“Its the country side. You can just do it anywhere. But be careful of any bulls and crickets. The later can be naughty.” She laughed away at her own joke while I climbed out of the car. I don’t care for any bulls or crickets now as I really needed to let go now.

“Oh my God! You are still alive.” I am looking at an old man dressed in dungarees and holding a pitchfork. Maddie and myself met him when we got out of our car to walked towards the small house in the middle of some country open land.

“Oh for heaven sakes, stop calling me God. Just called me Godfrey for once. That’s my name given by my parent’s. Wait.... is that who I think its....Pride?” He held up his pitchfork to level on my chest.

“God...Godfrey, hold on your action. She is Prude and she is not dangerous. She can be if she become Pride... You do remember Pride? Project God’s Way.” Maddie has taken the midway stand between me and Godfrey. The old man lowered his pitchfork when Maddie stepped in.

“We’ll talked in the house.” The old man led the way for both of us to follow him.

Its a simple home with simple furnishing for a simpler lonely man. Godfrey moved here after his dismissal, while his wife died a year before then. It used to be his country retreat for the quiet evenings and now it become his main stay. He does nothing here except tend to some cows and horses. And of course the occasional fishing at the nearby river. He left his job at Global Research when he realised the project was not it was to be. They are using his serum for other purpose than to help disabled chidren. They are trying to build a super heroes of these kids from young. He never know where the kids came from, except the parents volunteered them here. That was another lie he discovered when the records showed these kids were purchased off the slave market. When he threaten to expose the research, Global Research took onto him that he is the head of the research and all the testing was approved by him. He will be the sole person responsible for any charges. He knew then he was in a corner so he asked to be terminated and left alone. They gave him that plus a big bonus but he is binded by a contract of non-disclosure.

“Why now, Godfrey?”

“Maddie, I am dying; I got maybe three months to go on. So its make no difference now. I am the only surviving person left in the world. I have no siblings and Janice died long time ago. Time for me to go too. I thought I will be dead with a tombstone that will say; he did nothing but you turned up with her. Maybe I can do something for her.” He went out of the house to the barn. He came back with a metal box. He handed it to Maddie.

“Its all on the Project. I had a set duplicated days before I left. You may be able to help the remaining seven. Yes, there was two Pride. She is not the only one alive, but she is strongest. Find the rest and God knows what you can do; rescue or terminate. Its your decision.’

It was then the cars pulled up outside the house; two big SUV with armed men. On the side of the SUV was the words ‘GLOBAL RESEARCH’. Maddie looked out and gasped in fright.

“They found us. We are trapped unless....” She is looking at me. I know what she wants and she fear it might be the wrong decision.  But I knew its the right one. Its the only one we can think of now.

“Be nice to me or I will be Pride if I need to tear you apart” I muttered those words to myself.

The shots came into the house breaking the basic items around us as I focus my mind on the armed men outside. I will smashed them all including the SUV. By the power of my mind, I can see the eight armed men all merge with the SUV into one big bloody ugly ball of scrap metal. Just as I pictured it, the event happened before my eyes. The men are all drawn in like a vortex alongside with the SUV into one big bang and the next thing I saw was the metal ball of scrap.

“Its over, Mum.” I looked at her as she held onto the man she called God. He was shot by the volley of bullets that came in through the walls. God is dying and he held out his hand to me.

“Please end this.” That was his last request to me.