Status: Active
This Could Be Home
Kate
"Well when I graduated from Litchfield High School, I went onto medical school at Quinnipiac University. My first quarter went amazingly. My classes weren't too difficult, and I was apparently in the top two percent of my class in my field already. I felt on top of the world. But then, my father died," Benny began. I gasped, not realizing that my best friend's father had died. Benny's father was so kind when he used to live in CT. He would always bring Benny and me out for ice cream in middle school. Then, Benny's parents divorced and his father moved to Nevada.
"I didn't want you to know, Kate. I didn't want you to have to comfort me," Benny said, pushing his glasses up. I chocked up a sob, trying to hold back tears.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend. I would have given you space," I said, hurt of the huge secret he kept from me.
"I-I was going through his small trunk of things we had of him in my mom's attic, and I saw a box with my name on it. I became curious. I wanted to know what was in it, so I opened it. Inside were hundreds of diagrams, formulas, experiments, and pictures of the ways one could cheat death." Benny continued, ignoring the confused looks Chris and I gave each other.
"I dropped out of medical school and spent the remainder of my semester in my attic working on the idea. It was a simple mixture of common ingredients. If mixed precisely, in theory, they would make one live forever. When I got the mixture one hundred percent perfect, I thought about what I'd use it for. Should I give it to science? Should I give it to children in cancer hospitals? Would I give it to me and my fiancee Lara to live together forever? Then I thought of a plan as soon as I got the worst phone call I'd ever received. I'd give it to my beautiful best friend because she was in the hospital nearing death. Kate, you got shot in a drive-by shooting." He said, waiting for my reaction. I saw Chris looking at me, but I just looked at the wall, trying to take all of this information in.
"What happened next?" I asked, trying to stop the shaking in my voice.
"Well I realized that you'd have to live somewhere far away because if the doctors ever found out, then the US Government could find out and you'd be put in area 59 to live with the other crazy experiments. I needed to hide you. Thankfully, my father had left me a very hefty inheritance, so I bought you an island. The house was already here, so I sent Lara down to set it up. I couldn't stay with you, because what I had created was so powerful I needed to figure out what to do with it plus help do damage control with your parents." The thought of my parents made my heart sink more than any thoughts of the government and what could happen to me.
"Then I needed a participant who was still alive and well..." Benny said, trailing off.
"Wait, I was fine and you killed me?" Chris said, shocked and almost angry.
"I was looking through Massachusetts for someone to give the gift of new life to, but then I saw you being beaten up by some homeless man looking for drug money. I couldn't let you die, so I gave you an injection and then left so the ambulance would arrive and I'd go get you. Lara went and posed as your mother while I went back to Connecticut to get Kate. Then I drove up to get you. The four of us took the van all the way down to the tip of Florida. From there, I used my boat to get you guys down here. Now I know this is a lot to take in, but you have enough food to last you a year. I'm going to bring fresh food once a month, too. You two will like living here..." Benny said, speeding up after each sentence as he got more and more nervous. I looked over at Chris, his face twisted in confusion before looking over at Benny rambling.
"Okay stop," I said to Benny. He just looked at me.
"I-I-I need a minute," I said, the warmth of the room getting the best of me as I fled up the stairs. I ran into my room, slamming the door behind me, before laying down on my bed. I began to cry, and I couldn't stop myself even if I tried. It wasn't because I was devastated. It wasn't because I was relieved. It was all just too overwhelming.
"I didn't want you to know, Kate. I didn't want you to have to comfort me," Benny said, pushing his glasses up. I chocked up a sob, trying to hold back tears.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend. I would have given you space," I said, hurt of the huge secret he kept from me.
"I-I was going through his small trunk of things we had of him in my mom's attic, and I saw a box with my name on it. I became curious. I wanted to know what was in it, so I opened it. Inside were hundreds of diagrams, formulas, experiments, and pictures of the ways one could cheat death." Benny continued, ignoring the confused looks Chris and I gave each other.
"I dropped out of medical school and spent the remainder of my semester in my attic working on the idea. It was a simple mixture of common ingredients. If mixed precisely, in theory, they would make one live forever. When I got the mixture one hundred percent perfect, I thought about what I'd use it for. Should I give it to science? Should I give it to children in cancer hospitals? Would I give it to me and my fiancee Lara to live together forever? Then I thought of a plan as soon as I got the worst phone call I'd ever received. I'd give it to my beautiful best friend because she was in the hospital nearing death. Kate, you got shot in a drive-by shooting." He said, waiting for my reaction. I saw Chris looking at me, but I just looked at the wall, trying to take all of this information in.
"What happened next?" I asked, trying to stop the shaking in my voice.
"Well I realized that you'd have to live somewhere far away because if the doctors ever found out, then the US Government could find out and you'd be put in area 59 to live with the other crazy experiments. I needed to hide you. Thankfully, my father had left me a very hefty inheritance, so I bought you an island. The house was already here, so I sent Lara down to set it up. I couldn't stay with you, because what I had created was so powerful I needed to figure out what to do with it plus help do damage control with your parents." The thought of my parents made my heart sink more than any thoughts of the government and what could happen to me.
"Then I needed a participant who was still alive and well..." Benny said, trailing off.
"Wait, I was fine and you killed me?" Chris said, shocked and almost angry.
"I was looking through Massachusetts for someone to give the gift of new life to, but then I saw you being beaten up by some homeless man looking for drug money. I couldn't let you die, so I gave you an injection and then left so the ambulance would arrive and I'd go get you. Lara went and posed as your mother while I went back to Connecticut to get Kate. Then I drove up to get you. The four of us took the van all the way down to the tip of Florida. From there, I used my boat to get you guys down here. Now I know this is a lot to take in, but you have enough food to last you a year. I'm going to bring fresh food once a month, too. You two will like living here..." Benny said, speeding up after each sentence as he got more and more nervous. I looked over at Chris, his face twisted in confusion before looking over at Benny rambling.
"Okay stop," I said to Benny. He just looked at me.
"I-I-I need a minute," I said, the warmth of the room getting the best of me as I fled up the stairs. I ran into my room, slamming the door behind me, before laying down on my bed. I began to cry, and I couldn't stop myself even if I tried. It wasn't because I was devastated. It wasn't because I was relieved. It was all just too overwhelming.