A Close Eye

The fake Orion and I stepped into the metallic room next to the set of open doors. I watched him closely, making sure he didn't even move.

We spent ten seconds in silence, and when the fake Orion moved his head in reaction to the light, I almost killed him. The door opened to a large waiting area with couches, beds, and even a food counter.

"Charlie! You're okay! Hey man!" I heard a man who looked like Alex said.

He ran over to me and hugged me, patting my back twice before separating himself from me. I didn't move, I didn't react. This was probably Genesis, but he couldn't be two people. It was either Orion or Alex who was Genesis right now... and I would bet on Alex being Genesis since I couldn't see him and can't prove against it.

"Orion, I'm sorry for accusing you to be Genesis. It's obvious that Alex is fake, just pretending to be an ally I killed. You can't fool me anymore," I told Alex.

I didn't kill Orion, but I did kill Alex. Nobody could fake an appearance as Orion, but they could as Alex.

"Orion... what is he talking about?" The fake Alex asked Orion. I kept my hand on my axe tightly.

"Would you believe me if I told you? Genesis got ahold of Charlie while I was knocked unconscious, and he's ruined his mind. Genesis made some people look like Charlie's friends and he had to kill them all to stay alive. He must've gone insane while doing so," Orion explained.

I don't know why he wasted his time, the fake Alex already knew what happened. It was Genesis, after all.

"Genesis... I think I remember that name. So, you guys made it out? Does that mean that you killed everybody?" The fake Alex asked Orion.

"I killed my friends, pretty much all of them I think," I mumbled to myself.

"What the hell... Charlie is a totally different person. How did that happen so fast?! I was only gone for two days," The fake Alex muttered.

"Two days? It was that long? It should've only been a single day... doesn't matter, what have you learned here? Where are Solstice and the others?" Orion asked the fake Alex again.

"As soon as we made it out from that Forest, we were taken to this room and we were all given tests. Like, as strength tests, intelligence tests, and speed tests. They didn't say much, but I finished mine today. They said it would take about two days for each person... so maybe two weeks for all of us?" The fake Alex asked himself.

"Two weeks should be enough time. Charlie, why don't you sit down and give me the axe?" Orion told me. I shook my head and kept my eyes locked on the fake Alex.

"Charlie, do you trust me? Listen to me, Alex is not Genesis. I will keep watch over him just to make sure, you don't have to worry. That was a part of our test, and we passed," Orion said.

I'll admit, I felt a little relaxed when Orion reassured me like that, but if he was knocked out easily the first time, then it could happen again... and I could end up killing again.

"Fine... but you won't fool me, Genesis," I told the fake Alex, sitting down on the couch and keeping my eyes on him.

"If Alex doesn't make a move within these two weeks, then he's okay. If Genesis wanted to hurt you, he would've done something very soon after you killed those people that looked like your friends. I promise you, Charlie, Genesis isn't here. I will tell you when I suspect somebody of being Genesis," Orion told me.

I took a deep breath and slowly took my eyes off of the fake Alex... or I guess, Alex. I took an apple off of the counter and slowly started to eat it while trying my hardest to keep my eyes off Alex.

"What the hell happened...? Charlie never broke like that, but after two days, he just shatters like that? What is this Genesis person capable of?" Alex asked Orion.

"He... he said something... System Restore... and I woke up to a person talking to me and I was boiling alive and then I killed people..." I mumbled between bites.

"System... Restore...? Hey, what did you experience? What did you see?" Orion asked me calmly.

"A man... he boiled me alive..." I mumbled again.

"What did the man look like? Do you remember? If it hurts to remember, then forget it, it's not important, but I want to know if it was Genesis," Orion asked me.

If it hurt to remember? All I could think about was that melting skin. I had no idea how Dani or Sky endured all that pain before I killed them. A person like me being hit with that much pain was too much and I can't even think straight anymore.

"Not Genesis," I mumbled again, finishing my apple.

"Good, then you see? You shouldn't let him take that much control of you. Listen, we deserve a good night's sleep, you can sleep on the couch, Alex and I will talk, and if we're both okay when you wake up, then that proves it isn't Genesis. Right? Because he would kill me if you left me alone," Orion offered a resolution to me.

It seems that Orion is a person I can trust. I remember our history with him, and he was a bad guy a long time ago, but he never did anything to me like that. It really made me wonder, who was the real bad guy? Was it Genesis all along? Was it Orion? Was it me? There was so much to think about now.

Nothing mattered from before, and I couldn't think about it anymore. Not like I used to.

I was still skeptical, but decided to listen, and laid down on the couch, letting my thoughts take me into dreamland.