(i)
The day as you know it isn't anymore. The world around you has changed and you have to change too… but you do not want to accept the change. You fight against the change because you want to return to that day where everything was so easy and peaceful. You don't want the change because you are not sure what future it will bring with it. Are you afraid of the change?
"No…" whispered Mark. "I am not afraid of the change."
So, why resist it? Or are you running away from it? Running away from the conflict, the problem, the fight… do you really think by running away the problem might go away? It will be following you like a ghost through every chapter of your life.
"But how do I fight it? How? They are looking for me… I'm suddenly a killer, a rape killer…! I am too weak and powerless to fight such foe."
Get up Mark. You have to fight it. It's only you and no one else. You are the only one who can swipe this dirt out of your life. The time has come to kick back!
Since the announcement in the radio Mark had been hiding. He had dropped the car somewhere in the woods and walked slowly back to the city. In the darkness of the night he was running through the city. Every 10 minutes he stopped and looked around. Nobody was following him. It wasn't far anymore to the house where he would meet this person who had tried to help him. Passing the noisy area of the city he came into a quieter place. Apartment houses made out of red brick stones stood on both sides of the empty street. It was quiet. Too quiet for Mark. Rubbish and other unidentifiable stuff were lying in the streets. Everything looked pretty deserted. Mark looked closer at the windows and couldn't see hardly any lights in the apartments. It was pretty deserted. But this was the correct street. He took out the note and double-checked.
"Number 34…" he mumbled and slowed down his pace.
After a couple of minutes he found the place. He saw a heavy oak door with white paint crumbling down and a rusty sign showing the house number. He looked up the building but saw nothing else than darkness. There was no doorbell so he just hammered his fist against the door. The thumbing noise echoed behind the door through the entire building. For a long time Mark stood there and listened for any noise coming out of the house. He was just on the verge to knock again when the door handle was pushed down and it swung open. Out of the inner darkness came out the face of Julie.
"I was worried about you… everything alright?" she asked.
She came out of the building looking around before she grabbed him and pulled him inside. The door shut with a loud noise. Mark watched her as she locked the doors. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered her. Her brown hair and eyes looked soft and comforting. Mark just wanted to crash into her arms and cry. He was so tired of all this shit. She wore a white blouse and dark skin tight trousers. Her cleavage was exposed and Mark looked at her well tanned skin for a moment remembering suddenly the amazing sex they had together.
"We have to hurry Mark. They know that we are here. Both of us have a tracking device buried somewhere under our skin." She said and vanished into the darkness of the house.
Mark waited outside until she came back.
"Take this." Mark grabbed one of her bags and followed her.
"You are very late Mark… where were you?" she asked him while they walked down the road.
"I… I just went home for a while and encountered a little problem there…"
Julie shook her head in disbelief. "I thought you would follow the directions on the paper as soon as you would wake up."
"Do you actually know in what kind of deep shit I am?" Mark asked her.
"We are already in pretty deep shit but you obviously had to drag us so deep into it that I hardly know how we can get out of it again." She muttered.
"Thanks… I didn't know they would be at home and do something like this to me."
Julie stopped and turned around to face him.
"They just want to catch us Mark. We both know a tiny little too much about that company. And the important point is now that we have to get out of this town as soon as possible."
"If they have a tracking device how do you think we can get out of here?" Mark asked her. Maybe I shouldn't run away. Maybe I should just face the fucking consequences…
Julie grabbed his hand. Her sudden touch surprised him.
"We have not much time Mark. The tracking device is not the only thing they have implanted inside us…"
Her eyes were serious and Marks heartbeat rose. What now? He thought.
"The drug they have injected in me and you… don't ask me how I got it I will tell you later but I got hold of the antidote. There is a catch though… it is not a permanent solution. In my case it looks pretty grim. I was subjected to the drug for over 2 years now. It changed my body and my mind… the antidote can lift the effects of the drug on your mind and your body only for a while. Soon I will start to yearn for a new shot of the drug. My body cannot live without it."
"Wait…" Mark interrupted her. "Please don't tell me you only have a few of these antidotes with you…"
She looked away from him and just nodded with her head. "I didn't have much time. Greg was busy with some new girl and I realised somehow in the haze that the door to the supply room was unlocked. The urge to get out of that shit hole was stronger than the effect of the drug itself. I hate that place…" Tears were flowing down her cheek. "It took them less than 2 years to destroy my entire life. I lost everything Mark… my friends, my parents and my identity. I want it back!"
Mark put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a hug. It felt good. He could have cried as well. Her face pressed against his upper shoulder. She smelled wonderful.
(ii)
"They left the apartment…" Greg whispered.
He was hiding in the darkness of a car. He had watched Marks every move until now. The boy wasn't stupid. He had dropped the car as soon as possible and avoided crowded streets. Greg stared at Julies round butt in her tight trousers. She was the most beautiful girl the company had in the underground harem. No wonder that Phil wanted her back.
"He is a handsome boy." The woman seated next to him whispered back. "Is he under the influence of the drug?"
Greg's eyes moved from the butt to the boys face. "No. He had only one shot until now. He is clean."
"I want him…" she whispered back.