Decending into Madness: Chapter 5

This was all starting to become too much for me to take.
 
The school day was beginning to drive me insane. All of these teachers were teaching their classes and talking over and over about the greatness of these strange Pokemon that I’d never heard about. Every class I went to felt like an attempt to brainwash me into believing everything the teachers were saying. It appeared to be working on all the other students.
 
They’ll have to try harder if they want to get to me. As soon as the bell rang, I was ready to sprint to the door and get the hell out of here. I jumped out from my desk and almost sprinted to the door of the classroom. I didn’t hear if anyone was trying to stop me, and if they were, I didn’t care at all. I sprinted out of the school building and into the dorm building, ran up the stairs to get to the floor my room was on, and ran down the hallway to get to my dorm room. Unlocking the door, I rushed inside and ran into my room, slamming the door closed behind me. Finally, I was alone.
 
I threw myself onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Why was this happening to me of all people? I was perfectly fine as a normal person, and now, I have to live as a freak for the rest of my life. I should feel happy, knowing that I’m around people like me. But how can I be happy? What is there to be happy about? How is everyone else so happy with their lives? I had so many questions to ask, but I doubted anyone here could answer them for me.
 
I was lost in my thoughts for a few minutes, but I was brought back to reality when I heard someone knocking on the front door of the dorm. I tried to ignore the knocking, but the knocking just continued.
 
“Go away!” I shouted aggressively I expected them to go away after that, but they apparently didn’t get the idea and continued to knock. Growling in frustration, I got out of my bed and stormed out of my room to the door. I threw the door open angrily to see who was being so persistent. Standing out in the hall was one of those fox-like Pokemon with the black fur and strange mane. I think that Dan called them “Zoroarks”. He was holding some cardboard boxes in his arms, and I couldn’t help but be curious about them.
 
“Good, you decided to open the door,” the Zoroark said. His voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t place where I heard it before. “I need some help with something, and no one else here is willing to help me. I don’t suppose you could help me?”
 
“Why should I?!” I snapped. “What do you even need help with?!”
 
The Zoroark set the boxes down and chuckled. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you? Well, if you must know, I saw you running into the dorms, and no one else was around.”
 
“Well, I don’t care what you’re doing, but I don’t trust you at all.” I started to close the door, but the Zoroark put his foot in the way.
“I know how you’re feeling right now,” he said, catching my attention.
 
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure you do.”
 
“You feel different from everyone else, don’t you?” he said. “Everyone else here is happy with their new lives, but you aren’t. I don’t blame you for not trusting anyone here. These Pokéumans and their propaganda trying to convince you that they’re the good guys, and that everything you’ve been taught as a human is fake.”
 
My eyes were wide in shock. “H-How?”
 
“Simple kid,” he said. “I’m on your side. I don’t trust these freaks either. You and I are the same. After all, us foxes have to stick together, don’t we?”
 
“Who are you?” I asked.
 
The Zoroark extended his paw. “The name’s Drake. Drake the Zoroark. And you are?”
 
I took the Zoroark’s paw and shook it. “Cameron,” I said. “Cameron the Delphox.”
 
“It’s very nice to meet you Cameron,” Drake said. “You know, I see this as the start of a friendship between us, and because we both share the same view of life here, I feel like I can trust you with what I’ve got in these boxes.”
 
“Really? What’s in them?” I started to open the box, but Drake closed the box. “Not here,” he said. “They’re watching us.” Drake pointed to the cameras scattered across the hall. “Quick, inside your dorm.” Drake began carrying the boxes inside, and I didn’t object. I quickly helped him. Once we were inside, Drake locked the door. While he did that, I opened one of the boxes.
 
There were numerous items in the box, but they were all very shocking to see. There were guns, knives, and various blueprints of the base. “Wh-What are these?” I stuttered in horror. “Why are these here?”
 
Drake turned towards me and grinned. “I’m making sure that these freaks don’t have this stuff for much longer. Smart, right?”
 
“But we could get in a lot of trouble for having this stuff!”
 
“But we won’t, will we?”
 
I sighed briefly. “Fine, I’ll help.”
 
“I’m glad I can count on you,” Drake said, chuckling. “Now, we need to get these out of the base and take them as far away from here as possible. But we can wait for a little bit if you want to do some snooping to see what these freaks have been hiding from us.”
 
I opened the next box closest to me to see what was in it. The box contained various manila colored folders; each one containing information about various Pokéumans around the base. I lifted the folders out of the box, looking at the names on the tabs. Most of them were Pokemon I had never heard of before. Then, I saw it. The file at the bottom of the box appeared to be brand new. I picked it up and checked the name.
 
Cameron the Delphox
 
“Wait, this is my file!” I said to Drake.
 
“Well, read it if you want!”
 
I nodded and opened the folder. The folder contained various sheets of paper, like a copy of my birth certificate and medical records just to name a few. One of the papers caught my eyes: a page that read “Clone Record”. Curiosity got the better of me, so I began to read.
 
Name: Cameron Decker
Age: 13
Date of Clone Manufacture: N/A
 
“Non-applicable?” I asked myself. I continued to read.
 
No clone of Cameron Decker has been made per his parents request. Both are high ranking members of the Virginia Pokéxtinction Division. Before he was born, Cameron’s parents planned to let him join the Pokéxtinction with them. Because he’s related to members of the Pokéxtinction, he is a prime suspect should a Pokéxtinction spy ever come to the base. Due to his lack of physical capabilities however, it is highly unlikely.
 
I stared at the paper, confused. “This doesn’t explain anything,” I said. “Why would they not make a clone of me?”
 
“If the original wasn’t good enough to become a member of the Pokéxtinction, why would a clone be better?”
 
It took me a second, but I realized what he meant. “They….were disappointed in me….so they didn’t make a clone….because they’re so embarrassed. They...don’t care about me….” Just then, I felt a paw on my back. I turned around to see Drake patting me on the back.
 
“It’s okay, I’m here for you,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said, trying my best to hold off tears.
 
“You don’t need them,” he said. “You don’t need anyone here. None of them understand you like I do. Your parents think you’re weak, but I see something in you that no one else can. I see greatness in you Cameron.”
 
“Really?” I asked. “Thank you...I really needed that boost of confidence.”
 
“Tell you what,” Drake said. “I think we’d make a great team. So how about you and I work together to take some more blueprints and weapons from the base?”
 
“But we’ll get in so much trouble!”
 
“We’ll get in trouble if we get caught. Come on, we’re not the bad guys here. We’re the ones who want to stop these freaks from trying to take over the world. I mean, why else would they have so many weapons? Why would they be telling you that everything you learned was false? They’re trying to brainwash you and all the other school students in here. They’re going to make you mindless slaves that will kill humans on command. That’s why they’ve got all those weapons: to make an army of anti-human soldiers. If we stole their weapons, this base would be weakened. Then, we wouldn’t have to worry about them trying to do anything to us or anyone else.”
 
I sat in silence for a minute. “Was this all true?” I thought. ”That would explain why they’re telling me that everything I was taught was false! They’re trying to make me a mindless slave!”
 
“Alright,” I said. “I’m in. What do I need to do?” Drake grinned. “I’m glad you came around,” he said. “Now, I’ve been observing the group of Pokeumans called the PRT. They’re the ones in charge of the weapons. The PRT members are the main threat to us. They’re the ones who kidnap the children from their homes and bring them here to be brainwashed. All the members are extremely strong Pokemon such as Charizards, Sceptiles, and their strongest member: a Garchomp. But don’t you worry, because we’ve got an advantage. They think we’re on their side, so they wouldn’t expect a thing. With that major advantage, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
 
“So when do we start?” I asked. “Is there a certain time we can get in?”
 
“Not yet,” Drake said. “You’ve only been transformed for a few days now, so you’ve got a lot to learn. That’s why I’m going to train you to be the strongest Pokeuman these freaks have ever seen.”
 
“Really?” I asked.
 
“Of course. After all, you can’t expect take down the PRT without any experience, can you?”
“Very true.”
 
“Now, we should probably get rid of these weapons. We’ve got to put them somewhere where no one will ever find them. Any ideas?”
 
I was silent for a minute while I tried to think of a place to hide the weapons. “How about we dig a hole outside the base?”
 
“No, there’s too much of a risk to be seen.”
 
“We could always try hiding them under my bed,” I suggested. “My roommates wouldn’t look under there, because why would they?” Drake remained quiet, presumably thinking about it.
 
“Until we have a way to permanently dispose of them, it’ll have to do. Now help me carry the boxes into your room.” I proceeded to pick up a few of the boxes and carry them into my bedroom, where Drake helped me tuck them deep in the shadows beneath my bed. That way, if anyone did look under there, they’d have a really hard time seeing the boxes. Once they had been hidden, Drake sighed in relief.
 
“Thank you for helping me Cameron,” he said. “You’ve been a big help.”
 
“I’m glad I could help,” I said. “Will we be starting my training tomorrow?”
 
“Yes, we will. After school, meet me in the gym. There, we’ll start your training. Until then, be careful Cameron. We both know what these freaks are capable of.” With that, Drake walked out of my bedroom, and I heard the front door open and close, signalling that he’d left. Once again, I was alone.
 
My loneliness didn’t stay for long however. Soon, I heard the door open and close again. Peeking my head out of the door, I saw Liam walking towards the couch.
 
“Hey Cameron,” he said, casually waving. “You ran off after the bell rang.”
 
“Yeah...sorry…”
 
“Hey, you okay? You’ve been acting weird ever since you left History Class. Didn’t you find all that stuff interesting?”
 
“Yeah….reeeeeeal interesting.”
 
“What’s wrong with you?”
 
“I’m not a fan of all that crap that they’re teaching us.”
“It’s not crap!” Liam snapped. “All that stuff is cool!”
 
“You don’t think it’s odd that Pokemon did all that stuff?” I asked. “I mean, why would they be trying so hard to be making sure that all of our previous knowledge is confirmed to be false?”
 
“Pokemon turned out to be real, so why the hell wouldn’t all that they’ve taught us be true?”
 
“You’re stupid for believing all this,” I growled under my breath. “All of you are.”
 
“What was that?” Liam asked.
 
“Nothing,” I said.
 
Drake was right. New Pokeumans were brainwashed once they arrived! Everyone here must have been brainwashed. That means that everyone who comes here would be transformed and brainwashed.
 
Just then, Jason came into the room. “Hey Liam, I reserved a field in the gym for us to battle in! Hey Cameron, you want to come and battle too?”
 
“Battle? No!” I snapped.
 
“Yeesh! Sorry!” Jason said. “Come on Liam, last one there’s a rotten Eggsecute!” The two ran out the door, and Liam closed it behind him, leaving me alone again.
 
“This brainwashing is everywhere!” I said. “I can’t let them take this any further. I won’t stand for this.”
 
They’ll never be able to get to me.