Oh.

   My.

   God.

   Was I dead? Yeah, that had to be it. I was dead. And now in hell. That could be the only explanation for this. It was only in the most screwed up part of hell that Alien-Mr. Speck was just Mr. Speck. It was only in hell that Yunie-controlled Mr. Speck could actually be our cool, tech genius, philanthropist principal who does everything for the good of mankind and would certainly not hurt a fly. The Yunies had knocked me out too hard while we were in the hallway. Everything that transpired so far was simply the devil torturing me in his playground.

"Has it in sunk yet?!" Our principal asked, with the same giddiness that got everyone off their feet with wild screams when he was first introduced as Zavlon's new principal in the assembly pod just a few weeks ago.

   I didn't have to look over to the others to see how they'd taken this disturbing revelation. This wide room we were in felt stuffy and congested in an instant. The sudden heat within my body armour was suffocating as the unspoken mood that had engulfed the atmosphere.

   I barely had the time or energy to come to terms with reality when certain way too obvious clues that had always been there came at me with merciless force.

   Like how it was the Virtual glasses by Speck tech for the Virtual Reality dance organised by Mr. Speck that was responsible for the placement of the mind control tech into the heads of Zavolonians. And why Mr. Sacury had come at him the day after the dance in the hallway. Also, how on earth would a bunch of aliens know so much about the history of humanity if there had never been any rumours of sightings of them anywhere in the world like other aliens, so much so that they would make it their personal responsibility to want to do something about it?

   I hated how this was starting to make so much sense, starting to seem truer with each realisation that came to me.

"And here I was thinking I was dealing with the geniuses of the future." Mr. Speck (I just threw up in my mouth) laughed. "I can't believe you hadn't figured it out all this while."

"Maybe it's because no human being who, like us, had seen you and everything you do could ever –" I was saddened at how my voice cracked from the anger and disappointment most likely written all over my face. "–could ever imagine you doing this. Everything you've done in the world of science and technology has been for humanity and has impacted everyone in the best manner one or another. You've inspired so many people–me included!– to follow in your footsteps and make the world a better place. What changed?"

"Absolutely nothing." He sighed, exasperated. "Didn't you listen to anything that I said earlier? I had it all wrong before. You can't make people the way they should be by giving them the best and latest tech or by discovering groundbreaking theories that will alter the course of their lives. People can only become better by changing themselves. As time goes on, however, more and more of them lose sight of that."

"And you think getting in their heads and turning them into puppets is what will lead them down the oh-so-righteous path?"

"Just stop asking questions and begin your search for Mr. Sacury's antidote. If you're lucky you'll live long enough to see my vision come to being."

   How many times did we have to say there was nothing here?!

"So if your technology works only on Zavolonian students, what did you do to our teachers and non-teaching staff?" The horror on Rav's face showed his preparation to receive an equally appalling answer.

   Sedative pods was the cool response he gave, as if putting a bunch of adults with families and/or friends in a weird enclosed space against their own will that turned them to vegetables was normal.

"But that comes to an end tonight," Mr Speck said, still referring to Rav's question. "I was finally able to make the right improvements to create ultimate mind control tech. What is currently on every Zavolonian student now applies to everyone; kids, teens and full grown adults. This tech is the source of power for all the devices that are going to be placed in everyone's minds. It was quite the challenge I'll admit, due to how their prefrontal cortex development is either lesser or greater than teens, but after the much-needed support, no one is going to be exempted from this historic moment."

   I think I just threw up in my mouth. Again. Suddenly, mind-controlling only a bunch of teenagers in a high school didn't sound so bad. What was awful about this situation was that he wasn't simply blind to how wrong it all was. Mr. Speck really believed that everything he was planning was for the greater good.

   There was nothing scarier than a self-righteous psycho.

"'Much-needed support' huh?' What happened to you and only you alone knowing what's best?" Rav's rhetorical question directed toward Mr. Speck was heavy with sarcasm. "You might as well reveal the person stupid enough to help you."

   Our principal's hearty laugh prior to his response bounced off the four walls of the room. "The answer to that mystery lies between me...

"... and one of you."

   Did I hear that right? The slack jaws and wide eyes of everyone else showed that I wasn't the only one who heard what he was implying. And that was just what I needed for my nausea to be triggered all over again. His last words wouldn't stop ringing in my ear as a sudden wave of dizziness made it difficult to remain on my feet.

   One of you. One of you.

   One of us.

   This couldn't be true.

"Don't listen to him, guys!" Cami's cry was accompanied by ragged breaths. "It's obvious he's just trying to mess with us."

"Whatever you're playing at won't w-work," Dorian seethed, but the crack in his statement was evident. "So just stop it."

   Rav, of all people, stayed silent.

   My gaze shifted to the floor. After all we'd been through, I couldn't bear the thought of looking at anyone in this room when there was a possibility that I would be staring at the eyes of a traitor.

"Lying to you is not something I stand to gain from," Mr. Speck said. "One of you, on the other hand..."

   A sharp, inhaled breath came from someone I would've recognised if my eyes and attention weren't so fixated downwards.

"It was yet another wonderful school day," Our principal began to narrate. "For everyone, but me, anyway. You see, I was still struggling to come up with what I needed to get my tech to its current state. That is, until someone decided to be somewhere they shouldn't have been with a certain piece of tech. When a Yunie brought me this wet, deserted device, my first thought was to toss it, but not without finding out the capacity of this device that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It didn't take me that long to discover what exactly I was dealing with and was I glad I did?! This turned out to be the very answer to all my problems!"

   That last part of the story was the final blow that sent me sprawling to the floor. The coldness beneath me did nothing to quench the fever that took over every single part of my body. My breathing was reduced to loud, irregular gulps of air from my mouth as I scrambled on my hands and knees to find my way out of the barrier Landon, Dorian, Rav and Camila had formed by rushing toward me in concern.

"Beth–"

"Get away from me!" I wheezed, swatting away Dorian's outstretched hands and forcing myself to remember how to breathe as I crawled further away. "Just stay away! All of you!"

"Let us out of here, right now, Mr. Speck!" Rav raised his head to yell. "Can't you see what you're doing?! Let us out, no–"

"It's me."

   It was already hard enough admitting this to myself, but looking at their confused faces only seemed to make my chest feel heavier and trigger the tears I'd been able to suppress until this point.

   But I knew I had to say something. I owed my friends that much.

"I-It's me, okay? I'm the traitor!"

   Unable to take it anymore, I didn't give anyone a chance to react before explaining the reason why this was my fault.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to vote and comment 😊!

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