Spoilerit has come to my attention that some people would prefer content warnings before the heavy stuff. I do apolgize if it caused anyone any grief.

  Content Warning: mind control

  [colpse]

  After Eli had managed to load all of his things into the truck, he waited for about 10 minutes before his father stormed outside, climbed into the truck, and smmed the door behind him. Eli stayed silent in the backseat of his father’s extended-cab pickup truck. His father insisted on driving only pickup trucks despite how rare and hard to find they are these days. He said that they were manly or something like that. Eli didn’t pay it any heed and just accepted it. He had learned long ago that most of what he said could be ignored or filtered out ter unless his father was making a demand. He usually was.

  Trucks were alot less common nowadays, especially with some of the vehicles that the professional tinkers produced. There had been a huge push about 50 years back from car manufacturers to build trucks and SUVs as they were cssified as light trucks and had to meet looser emission standards and regutions. Once the government cracked down on standards, especially after The Druid Example. Most of the car companies went bankrupt from having to repce all there machinery and casting dies. This time, though, the US was in the middle of a civil war and wasn’t there to bail them out of bankruptcy. They had no choice but to meet the new standards or fold up and die. As for The Druid Example, let’s just say that the Democratic Union of Druids got fed up with the exploitation and destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest. Most of the territory had been recimed by nature, and Rio de Janeiro no longer existed.

  The ride home was silent except for the sound of the engine and the road noise. It wasn’t until the two-hour mark that Austin finally deigned to acknowledge Eli’s presence.

  “So boy, who was that girl then? She cimed that she was yourgirlfriendd but I don’t believe her.”

  Eli had to think fast. He couldn’t lie to his father. He would always figure it out, and Eli was terrible at lying. Amy was a girl and a friend, sogirlfriendd did technically work. “Yeah, she’s mygirlfriendd, we met the first week of school and really hit it off.” discounting all the strife during the first week.

  Austin quickly turned to Eli, fury written on his face as he shouted. “Don’t lie to me boy! Listen here boy, you will tell me the truth.”

  Eli could feel it, this weird feeling that came over him from time to time. He just knew that he couldn’t lie to his father. Though he hadn’t lied so far, so he should be fine. “Yes father. Amy is mygirlfriendd. We have hung out regurly since the first week of school.”

  Austin’s brow seemed to tighten for a moment. “But are you dating her?”

  Eli really didn’t want to tell his father the answer to that question. He would hear no end to the conversation as his father would rage at the answer. Eli had to say something, anything else. “No Father, Amy is dating my other friend Rachel. We hang out regurly and I spend time with the other two, but those two are clearly dating.” No, god damn it, why couldn’t he say anything else. Eli’s shoulders slumped. He had known it was futile, but he tried anyway.

  Austin’s anger boiled over as he began to let out a stream of expletives. Eli tried to tune him out, but he heard everything his father said. He had to listen. This turned into an endless tirade that sted for the remaining two hours of driving. They could have taken one of the many bullet trains and been home in half an hour, but his father always insisted on driving.

  Once they had arrived home, Eli’s father finally psed into silence. Just as Eli stepped out of the truck. Austin grabbed him by the colr and shoved him against the side of the vehicle, hard.

  “Listen here boy, we are going to have a nice dinner tonight and you won’t cause any problems. We will de with your punishment for lying ter.” Austin spped him upside the head before he walked into the house, leaving Eli reeling from the hit.

  Eli took a moment to fix his clothes and get his bearings again before he headed inside.

  The house was silent as Eli walked in. The only sound was his father’s heavy footsteps echoing down the hall. Eli went to his room and pced his bags on the floor. The silence was eerie but Eli could smell that his mom was cooking dinner. Eli settled into his room and hoped that they would forget to bring him to the table like the st two years. The st two Thanksgivings’ had been awful. Eli could hear the shouting all the way from his bedroom.

  Unfortunately, things were not meant to be. Eli was just finishing unpacking when there was a knock on the door. Eli walked over and opened the door to see his sister, Elizabeth, standing there with a bnk expression on her face. She was only an inch taller than him, and they looked quite simir to one another, except while Eli had blue eyes, Elizabeth’s eyes were the same icey blue that their mothers were. She stood there stock still, not a sign of recognition on her face.

  Behind her stood his brother, Elijah. Elijah took alot more after their father. He was tall and lean, with a short, groomed beard and these cold, dead, brown eyes. He was also just as cruel as their father and loved to manipute others and use his siblings as a punching bag. When he had moved out, it had been one of the better days in Eli’s life.

  “Do you hear that Elliot? Silence. Elizabeth finally learned how to shut up.”

  Eli looked on in horror. He didn’t understand. What had happened to Elizabeth? Was this just an act? He would have to ask her at dinner.

  “Either way, come along. Dinner is almost ready.”

  Eli followed his siblings down to the dining room. Eli couldn’t stop watching his sister. When she moved, her movements were stiff. It was like a doll or puppet had repced his sister. When they reached the dining room there were two others already there. Sitting in two of the chairs were people he had never met. One of them was an older gentleman with rather generous proportions. The other Eli recognized. He was the local chief of police. Chief Rogire. Why were they here? Why were they just staring off into space? Eli was so confused.

  It wasn’t long before Eli’s mother, Diane, came into the dinning room as she began to set the table, her stiff movements mirroring the ones that he had seen from his sister just moments before. Except Eli couldn’t remember the st time she hadn’t acted as this cold and stiff stranger. Except… Eli tried to think back as images fshed through his mind.

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???????????????????????a????????????????????? ???????????g?????????????l??????????????????????o???????????w????????????????????????i????????????????????n?????????????????????????g???????????? ???????????????????????y???????????????e????????????l????????????????????l????????????????????????o????????w????????????????????? ??????????????e??????????????????y?????????????????????e?????????????????? ????a????????????n????????d????????????????????? ??????????a?????????????????????n?????????????????? ????????????i???????????????r????????????i???????????????s??????????? ????????t???????????h???????????????????????a????????????????????????????t???????????????????? ????????????????????s??????????????????????e??????????????????e??????????????????????m????????????e???????????????????d?????????????? ??????????????????????????????t???????????????????????????o??????????????????????? ????????s?????????p?????????????????????i???????????????r??????????a??????????????????????l???????????????? ?????????????????i??????????????????????n?????????????????????w??????????????a???????????????r?????????????d????????????s????????????????????????.????????????????

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  [colpse]But he couldn’t make sense of it.

  Once everyone was seated, dinner began. It was a retively silent affair at first, until Eli’s father began to talk with the two individuals. They seemed to unfreeze once Austin addressed them. The three continued to talk amongst themselves for a while. Austin did not get his own dinner, instead making constant demands of Diane.

  “Come on Diane, get me some potatoes.”

  “Come on Diane, pour me some gravy”

  “Come on Diane, get these gentlemen a beer”

  This continued for over an hour as Eli’s mother was forced to get up repeatedly, her movements stiff and rigid. The whole time, an empty smile adorned her face, and her icey blue eyes seemed to glow.

  When she handed the beer to Eli’s father, he set it down on the table. “Come on Diane, this ones frozen. Get me a new one.”

  Once things had settled down, Eli’s father stood up. “Hello everyone, I know that this is a precious family day but I want to announce that I will be running for mayor this coming year. I already have the approval of the current mayor and the local police chief. I know that this is a big decision but this pce has been allowed to drift away from traditional family values. Would you agree Elizabeth?”

  Elizabeth sat stock still in her chair, not responding. Austin cast a quick gnce over to Elijah before returning his gaze to Elizabeth. “Alright Elizabeth, give me an answer.”

  Elizabeth finally seemed to react as she turned her head towards her father. “Yes, Father.” Her voice was stilted and came out in halting sentences. Whatever they had done to her had clearly had a terrible impact on her.

  Eli could only stew in silence as the conversation went on. Eli’s father talked about the ways of UISA and how he was going to bring them to Canada and show the people the “true way” a country should be run. Eli had to think. What had happened to his sister? She was acting like just his mother from when he was younger. Movements too stiff, and speech coming in halted sentences. Like she didn’t want to do it…

  Wait. The stilted speech and stiff movements. Eli thought about how his dad kept saying the same thing over and over again. Come on Diane. He said this sentence repeatedly. Every time he addressed Diane. When he addressed Elizabeth for the first time, she didn’t respond. It wasn’t until he addressed her a second time with a weird phrase. Was it like a code phrase maybe?

  Eli felt a jolt of pain run through his body as he felt his arms spasm and his knee hit the underside of the table. Eli’s father gnced over at him for a moment before turning his attention back to what he was doing.

  No, that couldn’t be right. There was no way his father had brainwashed his siblings. Things were fine, and he was just overreacting…

  Fine? Fine? What the hell was going on? Eli grabbed at his head and started rubbing his temples as he started to get a headache. Why was he just dismissing that as an option out of hand? He had just been presented with clear evidence. Why? How had he ignored it this long? He needed to get out of here. He needed to inform the cops. No, if the police chief was here, he needed to go bigger. He needed to escate this to a hero squad. How much damage had his father done? What or who else had he brainwashed over the years?

  Eli quickly stood up. “May I be excused please.”

  His father’s gaze fixed on him and immediately sharpened. “No.”

  Eli knew he had messed up. What he did was way too suspicious. He needed to get out of there immediately. “Bu-”

  “Listen here boy, you will sit down and shut up for the rest of dinner. When dinner is finished you will follow me to the basement.”

  Eli’s body seemed to freeze up and he immediately sat down. Oh god, now that he thought about it. His father had used that phrase everytime he wanted something from Eli. Had Eli been brainwashed as well? Was that why he felt so weird and terrible all the time? What else had his father done to him? Was that why there were so many gaps in his memories? Eli needed to get out. He tried to stand. He tried to run. But nothing worked, no matter what he did. It was like he was detached from his own body. He had no limbs. He had no mouth. All he could do was watch as the time passed, as dinner grew closer to an end. And all he could do internally was scream.

  TheLilyinBloom5963