Orphans

44

44 I lift my head. I am at the table. Well, of course I am. I was at the table. I did not move. And yet something is different. There are no E.C.s, no Dr.Thanos, just Morg. He’s sitting across from me, and he’s smiling, just sitting there and waiting for me to say something. So I do. “I would prefer not to,” I say sluggishly, a mouth full of clay and muck. “Yes, I know,” Morg says, “but that’s not going to work. You understand that right?” “I understand that it doesn’t work for you,” I say, “but I don’t care.” “That’s nice,” Morg says, “Do you think that Shelley would prefer not to? Of course, but that isn’t our problem.” “It could be,” I could say, “things could be different, better.” “Bring him in,” Morg shouts, jumping up dramatically and awkwardly all at once. The two E.C.s walk in dragging Shelley by his arms, and he shuffles between them on his old-man legs—a mix of old-man smell, fear, and sadness permeating the room. “Hey kid,” Shelley says, trying to look and sound upbeat . “Shelley,” Morg says, “let me ask you a question, would you prefer not to, you know maybe stop this charade, and just go home?” “Of course,” Shelley says, “more than anything.” O R P H A N S 156 “Norrin, do you think we should let him go home?” Morg says. “Of course,” I say, and Shelley smiles. With that, Morg pulls out a gun and shoots Shelly in the side of the head. Shelley falls in front of me, hitting the table before dropping onto the floor in a pile—old-man clothes and old-man skin. I stand up—no plan, no idea what I think or what I’m doing. “Sit down Norrin,” Morg says. I sit down. “So here’s the plan,” Morg says, “John is going to come in here in a moment, and the two of you are going to talk about the date of your next assignment.” “And that’s it,” I say, wishing I could sound more incredulous than I do. “That’s it,” Morg says, “any questions?” “I guess not,” I say. Morg exits and John walks in. We stare at each other for a moment. He looks pained, though maybe no more so than he usually does. “I…” “Yes, I know,” John says, “you would prefer not to. I got it. Just go, Norrin. Go find whatever it is you think you need to find, and I will be waiting for you right here, okay?” “Really?” I say. “Really,” John says, and with that he walks away. ...