The White Room | Chapter V | A Short Story | April 2022 | Anagha

When it was lunchtime, Jonas got in the line of food. The prison was high-security and his eyes kept darting to the corners of the walls, trying to pick up cameras and how the guards were positioned. Most of them held tasers in their hands, so that meant they either believed that tasers were good enough to tame the prisoners or the prisoners would never try to harm them.

Grinning at himself, he took the food handed by the prison employees, and sat on one of the benches. His childhood friends were quick to locate him and took a seat beside him.

Amy was the first to speak, ‘How are you, Jonas? I didn’t expect to… find you here.’

Jonas chuckled, ‘You mean you didn’t expect me to be alive. Yeah, I didn’t expect that either. But I want to kill this God who has overtaken this planet and ruined our lives.’

‘Shhh… speak in a low voice. If the guards hear you, you’re doomed,’ said George.

For the next half an hour, they discussed their plan of overthrowing the tyrant ruler. The more Jonas talked to the others, the more he realized that it wasn’t as complex as he had thought of earlier. The God didn’t think any mortal would ever dare raise even a finger at him so, he always visited the prison alone and unguarded.

‘When is his next visit?’ Jonas asked the others. They all looked at each other and then back at him, ‘He’s on his way right now, if my guess is correct. He visits every Friday, around lunchtime.’

Jonas’ eyes flashed with excitement and he finished his food. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Great then, I just need you guys to create a commotion so that he finds me.’

George, who had just gotten up from his seat, chuckled, ‘Take it easy, we’ve been here for far longer than you. Don’t take him so lightly.’

In response, Jonas only said, ‘I know what I am doing, trust me. Just whenever I signal you all, create a distraction and leave the rest to me.’

The rest of them merely nodded their heads thinking that he had gone insane. However, there was an unmissable determination and spark in his eyes that told them that his words weren’t empty talk.

They had overheard the guards talk about the new prisoner who was difficult to deal with and stronger than even ten of the strongest guards. But when Jonas’ friends looked at him, all they saw was an average teenager.

None of them knew of his special power and all they could see were his heterochromatic eyes. However, his eyes were focused on the person who had just walked in. True to what his friends had said about the God, this person was walking all alone, without any guards around him.

He was wearing a pristine white suit and a white mask that hid his features. Upon seeing him, all the prison employees bowed down before him as he began walking inside.

The prisoners, that is all of the Jonas’ friends, bowed their heads while he only kept looking at the ‘Monarch’, who some also referred to as the ‘God.’ Strangely enough, Jonas did not feel like he was in the presence of any such being.

Amy, who was beside Jonas, whispered to him to bow his head. However, it was too late by then. The Monarch had already spotted him. Seeing the only person who still had his chin raised high, looking at him defiantly, piqued the Monarch’s curiosity.

He walked up to Jonas and stood just an inch away from him. The mask hid all of his features as well as the suit and the gloves that were all plain white. Even his head was covered in a white cap, giving no indication whatsoever of his looks.

The only thing Jonas could gauge was his build and height. The Monarch wasn’t very muscular or tall, but he did have a chilling aura around him, as if anything he touched would rot or die. He merely kept looking at Jonas, who didn’t look away.

The guards all raised their tasers and one of them walked ahead and hit Jonas in the stomach, hard. Jonas bent a little and staggered but didn’t fall down. Instead he kept looking at the Monarch with defiant eyes.

This time three guards came at  him. Two held him by his arms while one of them rained blows on him. There was pin-drop silence as only his muffled cries and the sound of the punches cracking his bones could be heard.

Yet he kept looking at the Monarch despite the punches that were raining on his gut. He wasn’t a great fighter, but he had known from a young age that he was quite resistant to pain. Realizing that the blows were having no effect whatsoever on Jonas made the Monarch just tilt his head to the side before he raised his hand and waved a finger.

After that, he turned around to leave and a few guards followed him. All the prisoners heaved a sigh of relief, which was eventually short-lived. The guards, who were holding Jonas, carried him away, out of the prison.

They half-dragged, half-carried him behind the Monarch, who kept walking in a particular direction. Blood pooled in Jonas’ mouth as he saw the guards take him to a building far away from their prison. The Monarch walked in and the guards followed suit, dragging Jonas behind them.

Jonas hadn’t seen that building earlier. It looked like there was a secret passageway that connected the building to the prison. There were large corridors in the equally-large halls that had nothing inside. At least that’s how it appeared to him.

After the Monarch turned a few times to pass through a series of corridors that Jonas would have remembered if he wasn’t injured, he stopped in front of a large door.

The door looked oddly familiar to him and it felt like he had been there a long time ago. As the door opened for the Monarch, he stepped inside a large space. The guards followed him in.

That was when Jonas realized where he was. It was where it had all started.

It was the white room with the large machine that tested people for anomalies on the pretext of treating them.

However, what shocked him the most was that they were not the only ones inside that room. Two guards were present there already, holding someone at gunpoint.

And that someone was his father.