A/N: Hi! I FINALLY managed to get this done! This is my submission for Round 3, Part 1 of the Multigenre Mashup SmackDown contest! Our task for this part was to write a dystopian and horror short story incorporating two images and one song (all of which will be included and/or at the bottom of this page). This was an interesting experience - while I love and am quite familiar with dystopian fiction, I've never really liked or read the horror genre. I hope it turned out well! Please enjoy!

Word count: 1999

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They say being Sightless drives you insane.

Every kid learns about it, within a year of being administered the serum and given Sight. They say it's a slow decline. It doesn't happen immediately - your eyes and brain adapt to living without Sight at first. But slowly, over the course of months, or even years, your vision becomes weaker, easier to manipulate. Your thoughts become more scrambled, getting closer and closer to the kinds of thoughts you would have with the Sight.

Because while the brain adapts, it never overcomes. It never forgets the feeling of the Sight - in fact, it craves it. It starts pushing the Sightless person back to that feeling, but without the serum running through the person's veins, it can never achieve the exact same feeling. And so, the brain drives itself insane, trying to get back to the feeling of the Sight until the Sightless person succumbs to it.

I'll hand it to them, the Federation's scientists really knew what they were doing when they cooked up that monster.

Of course, all the teachings about Sightlessness could just be propaganda, like so much of everything else in this damned Federation. But, somehow, I doubt that they're lying about this one.

Especially considering the fact that those symptoms - weakening vision, scrambled mind - feel quite familiar.

Crouching on the moist forest floor, I squint at the plant in my hand, bringing the leafy green closer to my eyes in an effort to identify it. The world behind the plant spins, a constant, mildly annoying flurry of motion. On the edges of my vision, any still plants flicker in and out of existence.

The plant in my hand isn't edible. I sigh, standing up as I toss it to the side. Naki would really be more suited to this job than I currently am, but foraging has almost always been my job. Asking her to do it now would make her ask why, and there are some things I don't want Naki to know yet.

My daughter has grown up into a beautiful young woman, both inside and out. Some days, the decisions I've made haunt me, but, seeing how Naki has blossomed, oblivious to the true horrors of the Federation and the Sight, I know I will never regret running.

No matter what it has cost. What it will cost.

Or will you?

I flinch at the dark whisper in my head. It's the effects of being Sightless, I know that, but it never fails to send shivers down my spine.

No, I won't. Naki gets to live a life without the Sight. She'll remember her childhood. She will never feel what it's like to be Sightless, not if I have anything to say about it, and that is everything.

Children are injected with the serum to introduce the Sight when they are twelve, to avoid the neurological damage that comes from being given Sight too early. It comes at a cost, though; any memories from before age twelve are completely wiped out. I broke the Sight's hold and fled when Naki was eleven, and I shudder to think of what might have happened if I had stayed.

A flash of white catches my eye, and I whip around. There, in the grass behind me, sits a small white bunny.

Strangely, the little creature doesn't run away. Instead, it tilts its head, watching me carefully, seemingly unwilling to move from its spot.

I kneel down again, gently extending a hand to it. I probably shouldn't, but I've always had a soft spot for animals.

"Hey, little guy." I coo, keeping my voice soft. "What are you doing?"

I inch my hand closer and closer, but the bunny still doesn't react.

My fingers are nearly brushing the creature's coat when I look, really look, at its face. And then I see it.

Its eyes are red.

I yank my arm back as fast as I possibly can, shock rippling through my body.

The bunny has been given Sight.

But that shouldn't be possible! The Federation's serum was adapted for human biology, not any other creature's.

But it's been five years since I was on public Federation land. Clearly, things have changed.

The shock quickly turns to horror as the realization dawns on me: if the Federation has given animals Sight, then Sighted animals undoubtedly have trackers. And all trackers will pick up on Sightless individuals within a certain radius.

Now, the Federation knows I'm here.

I don't spare the Sighted bunny another glance. Turning around, I tear through the forest, back to our little home, my basket of greens laying abandoned in the grass.

* * * * *

Naki and I jog through the forest, our panting the only thing interrupting the utter silence of the woods. We're going deeper and further than we've ever dared to before, but it doesn't matter anymore.

Not when we're being chased.

The silence doesn't fool me. I can feel Sighted people, getting closer - it's another side effect of being Sightless, the ability to feel and be affected by the heavy, far-reaching aura that seems to surround the Sighted. The Federation's soldiers are mobilizing faster than I expected. 

As I run, I finger the small object in my jacket's pocket - a yellow rubber duck, scratched and covered with dirt.

This little rubber duck was the only toy I took with me when I ran from the Federation with Naki. Although it hasn't seen use in quite some time, the memories of a younger Naki playing with the little duck always make me smile. I had grabbed it before we left our home, unable to bring myself to leave it behind.

The oppressive atmosphere only grows heavier with every second. The Federation's soldiers are gaining on us.

Quietly, I urge Naki to run faster. 

It's no use. My limbs feel sluggish, and I know I'm slowing down. The presence of Sighted is overwhelming me.

We're going to get caught.

In that moment, I make a decision.

"Naki," my daughter turns to me, her pace not faltering. "We need to split up."

"What?!" She reacts violently, as I knew she would. "No! Never! I'm not leaving you, Mom."

"You don't get to make that call."

"You're my mother! I don't care if they catch us, I'm staying with you."

Oh, my sweet girl. She has never lived under the Federation. She doesn't understand what it's like. The scars it leaves on every soul it pulls into its clutches. And I will certainly not be the one to tell her, or, worse, expose her to it.

Naki is my daughter, my little firecracker. And I would take any amount of bullets, or solar rays, or Sight, if it meant that she walked free.

Would you really?

I grit my teeth, wishing more than ever that my previously-Sighted brain would just shut up.

I can hear crashing now - it's faint, but there. Soldiers.

I made a promise to protect her. And now, it's time to keep it.

"Naki, do not argue with me. Go." I hiss, trying to soften my voice so it doesn't sound irritated. I don't want my daughter to think that the last thing I will say to her is out of anger. "I'll meet up with you again, I promise."

The words burn as they leave my lips, but I say them all the same.

It will be the first promise I've broken to her.

Naki's eyes search my face. Even though I can tell she doesn't quite believe me, she nods slowly, eyes welling up with tears. "You better."

She turns, until her back is all I see. And then, she is gone, her blue shirt disappearing into the trees like it was never even there.

She didn't look back.

I swallow, trying to contain my own emotions, before I pivot, and start running again. This time, directly towards the incoming soldiers.

The plan is simple - I'll let myself be caught. The bunny never interacted with Naki - hopefully, they'll think I was the only one living out here.

Or maybe you should just let Naki get caught instead. Save your own life.

I nearly fall over as that thought crosses my brain.

At that moment, I hate the Federation. I hate how they've altered my brain forever, made the world spin constantly, made me even consider selling out the amazing girl that I'm lucky to call my own. But, more importantly, I hate myself.

I need to do this. For Naki, but also for me. I don't think I could live with myself if these Sighted thoughts finally made me do something I'll regret.

But you've lived with yourself before. It only gets easier with time.

My hands tighten into fists. SHUT UP, BRAIN.

Maybe the Sight would have said something back. Maybe it would have actually listened to me. But I'll never know, because, suddenly, I'm tackled to the ground.

Pain explodes in my side as I land over a tree root. Looking up, I can make out a face through my messed-up vision, with a green camo cap covering his head. A soldier.

"Found her!" The soldier yells, his eyes alarmingly bloodshot, a sure sign that he's Sighted. "Subject B-316 was correct, the rebel has no Sight."

With a sickening lurch, I realize that the "Subject B-316" that the soldier is referring to is the little white bunny. It didn't ask for this, either.

"Good job, Private. Bring her over here, we'll take care of readministration."

Another lurch. They want to make me Sighted again.

The serum will wipe my memory.

I'm roughly pulled to my feet by the soldier who tackled me. His hands clasp around my own wrists in an iron grip. Feebly, I tug against him, but it's no use.

I don't try to resist after that.

Any amount of pain, I remind myself. For Naki.

The thought of not being able to remember the most important person in my life sends a sharp, stabbing pain through my heart, but if it means Naki will go free-

My hands are quickly tied, and I'm led some distance away, before being shoved down onto the ground again, this time in front of an older man, with numerous medals on his jacket. But his eyes are the same as the private's, red overtaking most of his sclera and even creeping into his irises.

There's a red-eyed woman sitting beside him - a nurse, judging from her pristine white outfit and professional demeanor. 

The nurse lifts a syringe, and fear crashes down my throat like a tidal wave. My eyes fill with tears.

This is it. I'm going to forget everything about the last 37 years - or, at least, everything I haven't already lost. I'm going to forget about being Sightless, about my home. I'm going to forget Naki.

It takes every bit of self-restraint I have to keep myself from trying to run. I doubt I could, anyhow, even if I wanted to - surrounded by so many Sighted, their aura is strong, making my limbs feel like jelly. It's a wonder my brain hasn't been flooded by Sighted thoughts yet.

As the nurse wipes my neck with a wet cloth, I remember something. Naki's little rubber duck is still tucked in my pocket. Moving slowly, carefully, making sure they can see that I'm not a threat, I shift my tied hands until they lay over the pocket, and the duck.

The nurse lifts the syringe.

She puts it into position. The tears start slipping down my cheeks.

Naki, Naki, Naki-

She presses the plunger.

The effect is immediate - my grasp on reality starts slipping away before I can even realize that it's happening.

Where am I? Why am I surrounded by soldiers? What's happening?

But my stubborn, stubborn brain holds onto one word. Something tells me that it's a person's name.

Naki, Naki, Naki.

My vision starts to dim - I don't know what's happening. Everything's blurry, and loud, and wrong.

The last thing I see before my eyes slip closed is the stars.

Naki, Naki, Nak- Na- Who?

Now it's been ten thousand years

Man has cried a billion tears

For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through

But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight

So very far away, maybe it's only 

                                                                            yesterday...

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A/N: Any thoughts? 

This story was, interestingly enough, inspired by a fascinating lesson on human vision and the way the brain perceives it from AP Psychology. The thing is, our eyes just take in colors and shapes - our brain is what assembles the millions of pieces of information the eyes are receiving into images we can understand. And our brain is more than capable of tricking us, even if it doesn't mean to; this can best be demonstrated by something called selective attention. In one experiment we participated in to prove it, four still footballs were put on a screen, with a background of moving blue balls on a black backdrop. We were asked to focus on one football. And when we did, after a few seconds, the other footballs began flickering out of our vision! This wasn't video editing - this was our brains realizing that the other footballs weren't moving with the background, and therefore thinking that the other three footballs weren't part of the image, and not relevant, and removing them from our vision altogether. I was MIND BLOWN!

It also got me thinking - what if people found a way to harness the ways our brain naturally tricks us? Use it to twist our perceptions of reality? And thus, the Sight was born; the best way I can describe it is some sort of serum that tricks your brain and manipulates your vision, along with some other, more voodoo-ish stuff (like the thing about auras). 

I hope the ending was okay. I wanted my psychological horror/dystopian story to end with something truly scary, but also a bit sad, and this was what I came up with. :)

Wow, I write a lot in these author's notes, don't I? Well, that's it from me (for now). Thank you for reading!

https://youtu.be/zKQfxi8V5FA