Status: New and I LOVE IT!
Fire And Fifth
3
The Circle meets at a very normal, not so secret but not exactly dazzling place for meetings such as this. When it's just the Elders meeting they rotate houses, but when we're getting everyone together for some serious discussing, it's at Mills Community Hall, a medium, one floor building on a tiny space of land that use to be a firehouse (at least, that's what I've benn told). Inside was open and spacious, smelled like dust, and the ceiling tiles were yellow with age. My mother dragged us to a place to sit somewhere in the middle, towards the front where two long tables are place side by side, where the Elders were settling down, some a bit too rusty and withered to make any good judgments for the Circle.
The chairs we had available smelled really gross, like old people, as I relaxed my back on the hard chair and sat...well, like a boy. Emmry was a little more tense, terrible at hiding his worry for Olivia after our intense back and fourth texting in the car on the way here. I was worried about Olivia as well, because she was obviously a Lightworker, and if that's what this meeting is about... Fuck my life. That's all I can think of saying.
My mom didn't seem to worried, fidgety as normal, with her swift, wavy hair framing her face. She loved meetings, mesmerized by the fantastic fantasy world we lived in. Unfortunately, she's blind to reality, everything fixes itself for her with the snap of her fingers. Her lips were tight though, which suggests that she's thinking about something serious, but I highly doubt it concerns the Circle. That's how she is, dealing with the minor issues like they are more serious then the Circle, because the longer she pretends this is all bliss, the more she doesn't hate herself and her family for being who she is.
Soon, the room began to fill, the cold from it's empty spaciousness disappearing with the growing headcount. When the seats were practically all full, my father stood, head of the Circle, and everyone without being told, went silent. Every time this happened, seeing him stand there as if he was a God to these people, sent a shiver up and down my spine. The silence that surrounded us, as if they really were giving him all their brainwashed attention, is just as creepy as how huge and important he looked.
Giving my mother a quick side glance, I was disgusted by how proud of him she looked. I wanted to throw up all over the person sitting in front of us, Mrs. Gardner, and Carmon was sitting next to her. I wasn't surprised that Carmon didn't look back to greet me, her family being uptight and stuck up. Mrs. Gardner didn't want unprofessional dilly dally when the Circle was meeting as a whole.
"The little ones may not understand, but most of you do" My father began. "Lightworkers have been living in this town for years, co-existing with us as best as they can. They are a threat to our way of life, and we cannot accept that. They are gaining immense power, even the younger ones, and we can feel them. It's important we eradicate this oncoming threat quietly so as not to alarm Durham's people. Children of all ages must listen to the tingling, uncomfortable feeling they get from being around a Lightworker, report these feelings, and soon...they will all be gone." My father spoke, his eyes darting around the room with a look of blood lust in his eyes. He hated Lightworkers more then anything in the world, he would do anything to get rid of them.
"We've already rid two families, large pods of Lightworkers, who spoke idly of a child who was powerful enough to create light without even blinking. We must be on the watch, we absolutely must." Mr. Gardner spoke, his face stern and a little bloated with anger. He too, like my father, hated Lightworkers.
Lightworkers were not evil. They worked their magic through the light, and they have a spiritual awareness that the Circle doesn't have. Lightworkers were also impervious to time, seeming able to slip through its grip with ease, and because of that, they have an advantage over us that tips the scale unevenly. My father thinks that the vengeance of the Circle will be enough to kill them and get rid of them for once, but I know his anger blinds him.
Emmry slid down his seat and sighed, giving me a glance from the corner of his eyes. I knew what he was telling me Olivia was in trouble, and as much as we wanted to be loyal to the Circle, for some reason our defiance felt right.
After that the Elders explained further to us, reviewing the history between the Circle and Lightworkers, then we moved on to the the snack table, where some of the older woman cooked and prepared cheese plates, mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and different warm breads. Meetings use to be interesting, because I followed blindly and thought all of this was just way to cool, but now the only pro to being here is the food. Emmry agrees, already filling his paper plate with a mountain of food from the table.
I stood in line and waited for Carmon, whose mother was fiddling with the funeral skirt she forced her daughter to wear. Mrs. Gardner took all of this way to seriously.
"Are you alright?" I asked her softly as she took my side.
"No. I'm tired of all of this, being some washed up version of my mother during meetings." Carmon groaned, her shoulders slumping. "She just lectured me on my figure in front of Katie's mother, saying that I need to take more responsibility for my body and I need to stop gaining so much weight."
My eyes widened, but I wasn't surprised. Mrs. Gardner was the drone for perfection, everything in her family must appear perfect, but in reality her polished lifestyle was just a glamor to who she and her husband really were. Sinister and merciless, just like the rest of the Circle's elders.
"Your 110 lbs, that's far from fat." I told her, and Carmon nodded her head in agreement.
"She truly doesn't understand what she's doing to me. She told me that if this next diet plan doesn't work, I'm going to have to start puking up whatever I eat." Her voice had turned to a whisper as she told me this, my heart clenching for her. Though I would never have a dilemma such as Carmon's, I could still empathize with her.
"I wish I could get you out of that situation." I whispered back to her as we slowly inched up towards the table. People loved taking their time, good thanks to the patience I've acquired from my mother.
"I wish you could to. And she's still pushing me to try and get into your pants." I chuckled slightly as Carmon expressed her distaste to me. I agreed with her though, her mother was pushing so hard to get Carmon and I together that even my father thinks she's taking it too far. Carmon and I are just too much like brother and sister for us to work out, I'd be too creeped out to do anything with her.
"What do you think about Olivia?" Carmon asked me suddenly from the silence between us.
"Let's not talk about that now." I whispered lowly, looking around for any alarmed or suspicious faces. Here is definitely not the place to be discussing Olivia. I did not want to risk her exposure. That was a failed attempt anyway, anyone of us that have felt her can give her away.
Carmon promised to IM after everyone here for the meeting scarfed down all the food on the table, and I watched her depart with her parents before I jumped in the car with mine. The ride was silent, full of tension between Emmry and I as we fought the morality we were raised in. My father's face was tight and his eyes were heavy, either from exhaustion or from stress. I felt guilty for the knowledge I was withholding from my father, from the entire Circle who in their eyes deserved to know. But the cruelty hidden behind my father's words was too much for me to handle. I can't let them take another child down.
The chairs we had available smelled really gross, like old people, as I relaxed my back on the hard chair and sat...well, like a boy. Emmry was a little more tense, terrible at hiding his worry for Olivia after our intense back and fourth texting in the car on the way here. I was worried about Olivia as well, because she was obviously a Lightworker, and if that's what this meeting is about... Fuck my life. That's all I can think of saying.
My mom didn't seem to worried, fidgety as normal, with her swift, wavy hair framing her face. She loved meetings, mesmerized by the fantastic fantasy world we lived in. Unfortunately, she's blind to reality, everything fixes itself for her with the snap of her fingers. Her lips were tight though, which suggests that she's thinking about something serious, but I highly doubt it concerns the Circle. That's how she is, dealing with the minor issues like they are more serious then the Circle, because the longer she pretends this is all bliss, the more she doesn't hate herself and her family for being who she is.
Soon, the room began to fill, the cold from it's empty spaciousness disappearing with the growing headcount. When the seats were practically all full, my father stood, head of the Circle, and everyone without being told, went silent. Every time this happened, seeing him stand there as if he was a God to these people, sent a shiver up and down my spine. The silence that surrounded us, as if they really were giving him all their brainwashed attention, is just as creepy as how huge and important he looked.
Giving my mother a quick side glance, I was disgusted by how proud of him she looked. I wanted to throw up all over the person sitting in front of us, Mrs. Gardner, and Carmon was sitting next to her. I wasn't surprised that Carmon didn't look back to greet me, her family being uptight and stuck up. Mrs. Gardner didn't want unprofessional dilly dally when the Circle was meeting as a whole.
"The little ones may not understand, but most of you do" My father began. "Lightworkers have been living in this town for years, co-existing with us as best as they can. They are a threat to our way of life, and we cannot accept that. They are gaining immense power, even the younger ones, and we can feel them. It's important we eradicate this oncoming threat quietly so as not to alarm Durham's people. Children of all ages must listen to the tingling, uncomfortable feeling they get from being around a Lightworker, report these feelings, and soon...they will all be gone." My father spoke, his eyes darting around the room with a look of blood lust in his eyes. He hated Lightworkers more then anything in the world, he would do anything to get rid of them.
"We've already rid two families, large pods of Lightworkers, who spoke idly of a child who was powerful enough to create light without even blinking. We must be on the watch, we absolutely must." Mr. Gardner spoke, his face stern and a little bloated with anger. He too, like my father, hated Lightworkers.
Lightworkers were not evil. They worked their magic through the light, and they have a spiritual awareness that the Circle doesn't have. Lightworkers were also impervious to time, seeming able to slip through its grip with ease, and because of that, they have an advantage over us that tips the scale unevenly. My father thinks that the vengeance of the Circle will be enough to kill them and get rid of them for once, but I know his anger blinds him.
Emmry slid down his seat and sighed, giving me a glance from the corner of his eyes. I knew what he was telling me Olivia was in trouble, and as much as we wanted to be loyal to the Circle, for some reason our defiance felt right.
After that the Elders explained further to us, reviewing the history between the Circle and Lightworkers, then we moved on to the the snack table, where some of the older woman cooked and prepared cheese plates, mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and different warm breads. Meetings use to be interesting, because I followed blindly and thought all of this was just way to cool, but now the only pro to being here is the food. Emmry agrees, already filling his paper plate with a mountain of food from the table.
I stood in line and waited for Carmon, whose mother was fiddling with the funeral skirt she forced her daughter to wear. Mrs. Gardner took all of this way to seriously.
"Are you alright?" I asked her softly as she took my side.
"No. I'm tired of all of this, being some washed up version of my mother during meetings." Carmon groaned, her shoulders slumping. "She just lectured me on my figure in front of Katie's mother, saying that I need to take more responsibility for my body and I need to stop gaining so much weight."
My eyes widened, but I wasn't surprised. Mrs. Gardner was the drone for perfection, everything in her family must appear perfect, but in reality her polished lifestyle was just a glamor to who she and her husband really were. Sinister and merciless, just like the rest of the Circle's elders.
"Your 110 lbs, that's far from fat." I told her, and Carmon nodded her head in agreement.
"She truly doesn't understand what she's doing to me. She told me that if this next diet plan doesn't work, I'm going to have to start puking up whatever I eat." Her voice had turned to a whisper as she told me this, my heart clenching for her. Though I would never have a dilemma such as Carmon's, I could still empathize with her.
"I wish I could get you out of that situation." I whispered back to her as we slowly inched up towards the table. People loved taking their time, good thanks to the patience I've acquired from my mother.
"I wish you could to. And she's still pushing me to try and get into your pants." I chuckled slightly as Carmon expressed her distaste to me. I agreed with her though, her mother was pushing so hard to get Carmon and I together that even my father thinks she's taking it too far. Carmon and I are just too much like brother and sister for us to work out, I'd be too creeped out to do anything with her.
"What do you think about Olivia?" Carmon asked me suddenly from the silence between us.
"Let's not talk about that now." I whispered lowly, looking around for any alarmed or suspicious faces. Here is definitely not the place to be discussing Olivia. I did not want to risk her exposure. That was a failed attempt anyway, anyone of us that have felt her can give her away.
Carmon promised to IM after everyone here for the meeting scarfed down all the food on the table, and I watched her depart with her parents before I jumped in the car with mine. The ride was silent, full of tension between Emmry and I as we fought the morality we were raised in. My father's face was tight and his eyes were heavy, either from exhaustion or from stress. I felt guilty for the knowledge I was withholding from my father, from the entire Circle who in their eyes deserved to know. But the cruelty hidden behind my father's words was too much for me to handle. I can't let them take another child down.