The Secret Keeper

This idea has been bouncing around in my head and creating chaos for a few months now, so I finally decided to write it down. I only ask one thing of you, and that is to please not post here. A feedback thread will be up shortly.

Please silence all cell phones and pagers as you read The Secret Keeper. No flash photography as the Government may or may not hunt you down, and may or may not kill you.

Enjoy!

------------

Secrets are dangerous.

I, of all people, should know.

My life is complicated, and I really don't expect you to understand. I don't even understand myself, really.

Here's what I do know. My name is Alex. I'm a teenager, about 17 years old. And I might not be completely human.

No, this isn't one of those aliens-taking-over-the-world stories. It's more like its the Government who's taking over everything.

Everything in my world, at least.

I can't be entirely sure, but I think the Government designed me. Made me who I am. 

Who am I? They call me project X. What does that mean? No clue.

It's cold outside. It should be. It's early in the morning, late Fall. I shiver as I walk down the streets of Washington D.C. 

Yep, the nations capital. 

I don't know why I'm here. I should be trying to get away from this place as fast as I can. But I've tried that before, hundreds of times, and it never works. They seem intent on keeping me close by, observing me on the streets of D.C.

And if I'm not in D.C., I'm below it. Right under the Washington Memorial, there's a secret lab of some type. It's where they do tests on me, modify me, make me do what they want. It's like I'm they're puppet and they're pulling on my strings.

I keep walking, calmer than i should be. But it's happened before, and it'll happened again. Each time they let me out, I wake up in a different place. In an allyway or a parkbench. I don't know how, or why. They go to great legnths to keep me a secret, yet they let me out, free to roam the streets untill they want my back. I don't know how they do it, but they do it. They wait for me to sleep, then take me back to the Lab. Probably drug me or something. Either way, they always get what they want.

I'm not sure who I am. Or what I am. But I do know this.

I am your worst enemy, your best friend.
I am the thing you love, and the thing you hate.
I am your past and your future.
I'm in your dreams and in your every waking moment.
I know your thoughts, what you've done, what you want.
I have the power to destroy you.

I am the Secret Keeper.  

 

Please ignore the above post.
----

But I don't mean to be anything I am. It just happens, and I hate all of it. I wish I could just run away from it all.

But how do you run away from yourself?

Secrets are dangerous. Knowing one, keeping it to yourself. You think it'll be alright untill the truth claws it's way out when you least expect it.

Like right now. I could be just a normal kid on the street, taking a walk, on his way to school or work or something. Then reality finds it's way to me, hits me hard in the chest, and I'm left wondering if I can ever find my way back. 

I look at the clock on the bank. A little after 5 A.M. The city was starting to wake up. Men in suites heading to thier big fancy government jobs. Woman doing the same thing. 

One of them bumps into me. A woman. Brown hair, brown eyes, high cheekbones. A gold wedding band glistened on her finger. She excused herself and walked away.

But not before I saw her secrets. I looked at her with disgust. She hit her kid yesterday. 

I shook my head and turned away. I hated this. It wasn't any if my buisiness anyway. 

My eyes drifted to the guy across the street. He was around 30, maybe older, and his close looked like they hadn't been washed in a week. He just lost his job and spent the night drinking.

I noticed my ability was getting stronger. I just had to look at a person for a few seconds to know all the lies they were telling, all the secrets that they left in the dark.    

I guess that's why the put me out here. As sort of a trial run before they...before they do what?

I looked up at a video camera mounted on the bank roof. I'd bet anything that they were watching me right now.

I walked away with my head down low and my shoulders hunched over. I didn't want to know any more secrets, didn't want to keep them. 

 

In the distance, I heard some police sirens. They wailed on and on, echoing in my mind, impressing the sound into my memories. I wouldn't be surprised if they were coming for me. 

I mean, they had a good reason.

I was planning to betray them.

They must have built me for something.  Gaining intellagince from other countries, useing me as an interogation weapon, things like that. But it's not fair. Not to me, not to the people thier useing me against.

So, I guess I'm not betraying them. I don't know exactly how to do that without anyone getting hurt. I guess I'm just running away. 

The sirens grew louder as the police car drove faster. I prepared for the wors as it came up right next to me.

Then the car turned onto another street. I was safe. For the moment anyway.

I kept walking, not really knowing where I was going. Just aimlessly floating around without purpouse. 

Soon I came to a Starbucks that had just opened. I jabbed my hand into my pocket, then grinned. They had given me money this time.

I walked in then ordered something. I don't know exactly what. I don't speak the language of coffee. But whatever it was, it was good.

I sat down at a table by the window, watching more and more cars fill the streets as time passed. Then I spotted a middle-aged guy across the street, with sunglasses and something in his ear. He glanced in my direction every 20 seconds or so, and his lips moved like he was talking to himself.

His secret? He was watching me. 

Anger flared in my cheast, and I had a really deep hatred for that guy. I looked away, trying to contol myself. 

It's almost funny, really. In a sad, pathetic way. 17 years, and they have failed to relize that I am a person.

I have feelings.

Pain, especially. And hatred, and anger and grief. 

That's why things have to change, why I have to run. I just can't take it anymore. 

So you have to listen to me, because we share the same world, and I'm not gonna keep any secrets from you like they are.

Things are about to change. I don't know what. I don't know how. I don't know if it's for the better or the worse. But they have to change. I just can't take it.

Don't say I didn't warn you. 

 

.

 

I start staring at the guy across the street, and pretty soon, he catches on that I knew he was there. He stood, and walked away. But I'm sure they had someone else on me. 

I didn't really have a plan. I'm not that smart. It's not like I went to  the illeagal government experiment training school of America or anything. Most of what I'd learned came from being on the steers when they let me out. They other half was like, implanted in my brain or something. 

I finished my coffee and left the shop. No point in staying there. 

I started brain storming. Maybe if I got a gun...and then what. Shoot my way out of D.C.? I had never used a gun  before. I'd probably just get someone innocent killed if I pulled the trigger at all.

I stopped walking and stared at one of the store windows. There was a boy there. Sandy hair, gray eyes, a frown permanently painted on his face. His secret? He didn't have one.

What is a secret anyway? Something you don't want someone else to know? Something hidden from everyone, something disguised with a lie? Something dangerous. Something evil. 

Something the boy in the window hated with his entire heart.

I turned away from the window and kept walking. And then everything faded...     

 

Bright white lights assulted my vision as I opened my eyes. They had brought me back again. I cursed to myself, wishing I was back at starbucks drinking another coffee. I could still remember the taste of the last one...

I was stapped to a dentist-like chair, and there were guys in lab coats surrounding me. They whispered stuff like 'Project X,' and 'Sim.' and the absolute worst, 'it.' 

'Like I can't hear them' I thought sarcastically. ' 'Cause they didn't give me ears or anything.' 

I really wanted to knock some of thier heads together, give them some common sence. It didn't matter where they got thier collage degrees from. They were all stupid.

One of the lab coat guys unstrapped me and led me back to my cell. It was a windowless  room with white plastic-like walls. It was really bright in there, but no matter what I did, I could never turn the lights off. I couldn't even find where the light came from. It was always there, leaking from the ceiling or something. I had a hard time getting to sleep in there.

There wasn't a bed either. No furniture at all actually. It was completely empty. Now and then they'd give me a stress ball or something. Like I'm some sort of pet. But it was okay, cause every time someone came in to get me, I would chuck it at him, and that was always fun. I'd never throw it at the guy who gave me food and water, mostly because I want to stay on his good side, but partly cause I feel bad for the guy. He's so pitiful that it's hard not to try and cheer him up. But he kinda annoys me too, cause he acts like the worlds out to get him.

Guess he never really took a look at my life.

I know I sound really pitiful myself. But at least I'm fighting. Sure...maybe my only weapon I have is a stress ball. But it's better than they other guy. I've seen how the others bully them, and he just stands there and takes it.

I mentioned this to him awhile back, said that he shouldn't stand there and do nothing.

He smiled and said that it didn't work like that. He was just an intern and needed the job. He mustve gotten it if he's still here all this time later. Or maybe the others just wanted someone to talk down to. It didn't matter, cause that day, I found a friend in the food and water guy who told me his name was Marty. Maybe all he wanted was someone to notice him, and that's why he got so nice so fast.

Me? Well...It's hard to fit in when the world wants you to stand out.