The teenager lowers her head to ignore the boy, who is walking down the same corridor as her, but she fails, as he grabs her hand and holds it by his side. She doesn't look at him. Only when he grabs her by the shoulders and positions her in front of him does, she lifts her face and mirrors him with a cool gaze.
- In your eyes I am a traitor, right? - he speaks and squints his eyes, studying her. - You lost trust in me too easily, Sara. Too quickly for a person who supposedly loved me.
The girl tightens her lips. The word "loved" echoes in her ears.
- Not only are you a traitor," she says sharply, poking him with a disappointed look. - First, you are a murderer. You kill people, Alan. I know it was you who murdered the psychologist. Even if he lied to me, and I was in danger, you have his blood on your hands. No one else would have been able to do it. This is bestial.
The boy smiles sourly. He takes his hands off her shoulders, not thinking that he looks so cruel in her eyes.
- You're right. After all, I've done.... I became a monster. Just consider the fact that I didn't kill innocent people. I did it all in our defense. In this way, I wanted to protect you. You and, by the way, your friends," he says, although lately the word barely passes through his throat when he thinks of Oliver.
- This is not protection. Why are you the only one who can kill another person? Because you are the same as the General. You have become similar to him. I wouldn't be able to kill a man, even if he held a knife to my neck.
Alan rubs his forehead, and a scowl escapes his lips.
- So you are so merciful that you would give your life for a person who murders innocent people? What an absurdity," he claims, laughing into her eyes. - Think about what you are saying. I know you well, and I know that you can't hurt a fly, but look at your eyes, Sara. In such a situation, as we found ourselves, certain steps must be taken. A person should be able to do anything just to survive.
- Maybe you are capable of anything, because killing a person comes to you with unimaginable ease, but I am different from you. Apparently, I am a good person, and you.... - At this point she breaks off and looks at his face, noticing that he is stuck with a questioning look. - You apparently come from hell, like your grandfather.
- I'm not the same as the General," he hastily denies, as this hurts him the most. - To him, killing makes him happy. He has been doing it for many years and has no remorse. I can't do it that way. Perhaps you can't see it from me, because I can mask myself. Living at home with a cruel father, I learned how to hide all my emotions so that I would look like a happy teenager to other people. From a young age, I was beaten because I was just a child born to his mistress. He never treated me the same as his first wife's sons. Eventually, he left me in this hell, as long as I didn't say a few words too many outside the house. I couldn't hurt him. - Her gaze softens. Something in these words makes her begin to sympathize with him. - Do you think I can murder people in cold blood? That I can't be seen to suffer? Guilt tears me from the inside. I cry internally, although you can't see those tears. Every night I have nightmares. In them, I see the people I killed. Their souls haunt me. They wish me death.
Something inside her cracks. She blinks her eyelids to chase away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
- So why didn't you tell me earlier that you were in such pain? Why did you play the cold bastard all the time and further hurt me?
- In your eyes, I'm a traitor anyway, right? - He shrugs his shoulders. - What will it change if you no longer trust me and think I'm cooperating with the General.
- Then confess the truth to me!
- Now I can't," he whispers, lowering his face. - Probably, when you understand everything it will be too late, but at least to a small extent I will clear myself in your eyes. This is what I care about most.
- What are you talking about? Why would it be too late?
She does not hear an answer from him. All she notices on his face is a sad smile.
- I didn't kill two people, Sara said. - These words send a cold shiver through her spine. - There are many more.
She blanches. She takes three steps backward. Furthermore, she can't make a sound.
- Now, do you understand? It's too late to fix anything.
*
Sara returns to the room and finds a furious Oliver on the bed. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he nervously moves his leg, looking like a ticking bomb.
The girl closes the door behind her and carefully looks around the room, but her roommate is not in it.
- Is something wrong? - She asks uncertainly, fearing his outburst.
- Yes! - She opens her eyes wider as he unexpectedly jumps on her. - I saw you talking to that murderer! Are you on his side all the time? Can't you get away from him? He's a traitor! He collaborates with the General, kills people, and you just talk to him like that!!!?
She shudders anxiously because she hasn't seen such an angry Oliver in a long time.
- I was just talking to him... - She is unable to finish because he enters her sentence.
- Only? You should steer clear of him!
This is too much. She can't afford to have him yell at her. She's not a child, and besides, she hasn't done anything wrong.
- Are you by any chance exaggerating? I'm an adult that can make decisions for myself.
- But you are to stay away from him! - he yells. His eyes are full of such rage that he begins to worry her.
- What about you, Oliver? - She asks, seeing how hard he is breathing. - Are you feeling well?
- We're not talking about me, we're talking about you! - He waves his hand, as if by doing so, he is trying to explain it to her at all costs. - Stop believing his lies. It's an illusion. Everything is one. All life, is one big lie!
She sees in his gaze anger, sadness and, above all, fear. Terror. He is deeply concerned about something and notices that his hands are shaking. She gets the impression that he is not angry with her, just trying to get the lingering anger out of him.
- After all, I can see that something has happened. We are friends, so you can tell me, can't you?
- Friends? With Alan, you are apparently still closer! - Such an answer she did not expect from him.
She presses her lips together and decides to leave the room, as talking to him no longer makes any sense.
She puts her hand on the doorknob and pushes against it, but Oliver won't let her go outside. With a push of his hand, he slams the door. He grabs her by the elbow, then turns her violently in his direction. She is so surprised that she opens her eyes wider in shock. And this intensifies when he captures her face in his hands and unexpectedly presses his lips to hers.
Suddenly, everything stands still, ceases to exist. His lips are cool, as are the hands with which he embraces her cheeks. She has no control over this, especially as her heart begins to beat harder.
It's the ultimate confirmation that Oliver definitely means more to her than a friend, yet then her thoughts begin to revolve around Alan, about what he confessed to her, and the magical moment bursts like a soap bubble.
Oliver looks into her eyes from a close distance. She calms down.
- I'm sorry," he whispers, and she feels his warm breath on her cheek. - Don't be angry with me.
He moves away from her with a lowered head. He thinks she didn't mean it. Furthermore, he is dumbfounded.
- If you mean that you yelled at me, then ok. You have something to apologize for.
He plunges a surprised look into her, not expecting her to accept his kiss. He was sure, she would get it wrong.
- So.
- I hope this is the last time you shouted at me. I don't like it," she says, heading deeper into the room. She walks past the boy, not expecting him to take advantage of this and embrace her from behind. He puts his chin on her shoulder and closes his eyelids. - What's going on?
- It's back.
Chills ran through her.
- What's back?
- My memories. - He is silent for a moment, then takes a deep breath. - All this is cruel. I am not who I say I am. I am afraid. It is hard for me with such a past. Very hard. - He rubs his face into her hair, and then she feels anxious, because she knows that Oliver is going to tell her everything.
*
The boy stands in front of the desk and looks at the General with concern in his eyes. The old man has returned to the building and is not about to squeak a word about where he was or what he was doing. Alan doesn't want to ask about it, because he guesses that after something like that, the man might start to suspect him. He can't give any sign with which he would betray himself that he is only pretending to be a loyal man.
- Something happened in my absence? - The teenager takes his hands back and nervously plays with his fingers. - Do you perhaps know what's going on with my brother and his worthless son? Why do I have no contact with them? - He delves into the boy with an entrancing gaze. Alan is good at hiding his emotions, so he doesn't let anything show.
- I haven't seen them for a long time, either. It seems as if they have sunk to the ground in your absence," he says, without taking his eyes off the ground. - The thought crossed my mind that they betrayed us and fled here without our knowledge. They have been rebelling for a long time. Perhaps they took advantage of your absence...
The old man mirrors him with a cool gaze.
- Are you saying that those two mangy rats rolled up their legs and ran away? - He notices a sour smile on his face. - I might have expected that. Could it be that they wanted to defend themselves from any filth? - He shakes his head with amusement. - It's a good thing that at least my grandson is loyal to me, and it didn't occur to him to betray me.
Alan forces a smile.
- I have no reason to betray. Nothing keeps me in this place. Friends have turned out to be false, so I have to think for myself.
- Just like that. - The man gets up from his desk, and walks over to the tall boy. He pats him on the shoulder. - Speaking of your friends.... Did you manage to get something out of this cutie?
- Sara continues to insist that she knows nothing about uranium. She is fierce.
The general laughs under his breath.
- If so... then today is the final day, and even with the worst torture I will get it out of her, and if she still insists that she does not know where the uranium is, I will kill her. - Alan's eyes widen in horror. Fortunately, the man didn't see it. - Since she really doesn't know where it's located, I might as well put her to death as punishment. Why do I need such a man, right? I'm tired of waiting. It's time to end it all, because it's getting more and more dangerous and we don't have time to play anymore.