04-06-2019, 06:41 PM
Inside was eerily quiet. What stood out the most was the obvious lack of a teenager in the home, or else Alondra kept an incredibly strict household. Judging by the cereal bowl left on the counter and the pile of unfolded blankets on the couch, she doubted that was the case. Men’s workboots were discarded in the corner. A back pack slumped on the table. It was almost like the house was a shrine that Alondra did not want to touch.
She handed Lawrence a piece of paper.
“I found that in my mailbox a while ago.”
Lawrence turned it over. A flyer. These things were banned years ago. Too wasteful in a day and age where electronic versions were practically free. The Orion logo scrawled across the top. Her eyes roamed the content quickly and the pieces glued together.
It was a flyer recruiting participants exhibiting symptoms of the Sickness for a research study. The same study that Lawrence found online.
“Your granddaughter had the sickness,” Laurie said quietly, laying the flyer alongside the backpack. Alondra nodded sadly, but then plucked a photograph from a drawer. Another old-fashioned printout. What was with all the print outs? Lack of digital trace, maybe? No way to connect them to a certain entity, other than the logo?
Laurie took the picture. In it was a girl sitting on a teeter-totter wearing a school uniform. She knew it had to be Alondra’s granddaughter, but the woman was smiling, oddly enough. “That’s only a few weeks old. You see, she’s fine. They’re curing her. They even compensated her for the enrollment.” Lawrence had a feeling the compensation was more of a buy-off than gratitude.
”That’s a playground, isn’t it. It’s the school.” She pointed at the background of the photograph. The girl certainly seemed fine enough, staring into the distance. The teeter totter was tipped under the weight of the teenager. The upper end was empty. Other shapes filled the background, but Lawrence couldn’t make them out other than they also wore plain school uniforms.
Alondra nodded, “yes. I tried to sneak over one day and see if I could see her for myself, but they shoo’d me away and said I could contaminate the study. They sent me this picture a few days later to show me she was okay.”
“The people that chased you away, were they police?” Laurie asked. Alondra nodded, unconcerned.
“Not police, I don’t think, but they were comforting. I know the kids are safe. This isn’t the best area. Drug problems and stuff.”
Lawrence blinked, “Kids… do you know of more that are … enrolled … in the study?”
Alondra nodded. “Yes, but it’s very hush-hush. If word got out that there was a collection of Sickness victims gathered in one spot, they might be endangered. People are terrified of the Sickness. I only know of one other lady whose kid is also enrolled. She’s from a few towns down the road. I think they recruited locally the most.”
Lawrence thought quickly. When Alondra turned, Lawrence snuck a photograph of the flyer and playground.
Soon after, she gathered Xander and piled back in the car. First thing she did was call Natalie with an update. This was so weird! Which meant they were on the exact right path.
She handed Lawrence a piece of paper.
“I found that in my mailbox a while ago.”
Lawrence turned it over. A flyer. These things were banned years ago. Too wasteful in a day and age where electronic versions were practically free. The Orion logo scrawled across the top. Her eyes roamed the content quickly and the pieces glued together.
It was a flyer recruiting participants exhibiting symptoms of the Sickness for a research study. The same study that Lawrence found online.
“Your granddaughter had the sickness,” Laurie said quietly, laying the flyer alongside the backpack. Alondra nodded sadly, but then plucked a photograph from a drawer. Another old-fashioned printout. What was with all the print outs? Lack of digital trace, maybe? No way to connect them to a certain entity, other than the logo?
Laurie took the picture. In it was a girl sitting on a teeter-totter wearing a school uniform. She knew it had to be Alondra’s granddaughter, but the woman was smiling, oddly enough. “That’s only a few weeks old. You see, she’s fine. They’re curing her. They even compensated her for the enrollment.” Lawrence had a feeling the compensation was more of a buy-off than gratitude.
”That’s a playground, isn’t it. It’s the school.” She pointed at the background of the photograph. The girl certainly seemed fine enough, staring into the distance. The teeter totter was tipped under the weight of the teenager. The upper end was empty. Other shapes filled the background, but Lawrence couldn’t make them out other than they also wore plain school uniforms.
Alondra nodded, “yes. I tried to sneak over one day and see if I could see her for myself, but they shoo’d me away and said I could contaminate the study. They sent me this picture a few days later to show me she was okay.”
“The people that chased you away, were they police?” Laurie asked. Alondra nodded, unconcerned.
“Not police, I don’t think, but they were comforting. I know the kids are safe. This isn’t the best area. Drug problems and stuff.”
Lawrence blinked, “Kids… do you know of more that are … enrolled … in the study?”
Alondra nodded. “Yes, but it’s very hush-hush. If word got out that there was a collection of Sickness victims gathered in one spot, they might be endangered. People are terrified of the Sickness. I only know of one other lady whose kid is also enrolled. She’s from a few towns down the road. I think they recruited locally the most.”
Lawrence thought quickly. When Alondra turned, Lawrence snuck a photograph of the flyer and playground.
Soon after, she gathered Xander and piled back in the car. First thing she did was call Natalie with an update. This was so weird! Which meant they were on the exact right path.