The Compound told you that you needed to be on the lookout for people who might need to be saved. Did you ever try to do as they suggested?
Yes one time I did try to help someone.
Titanium and Camo are getting off work and when they walk by a park bench, Titanium notices Absolon sleeping on the bench. He feels sorry for him because it looks like he's homeless. There is a duffel bag and a guitar case sitting under the bench.
"Camo, wait. I want to talk to him. Maybe he needs a place to stay."
"You want to drag him into our hell? I don't know if that's a good idea, Titanium."
"It's better than this bench, at least we have beds."
Camo gives in and lets Titanium try to convince Absolon to come with them. Just then, Absolon stirs and sits up on the bench. Titanium approaches him and says hi.
"Um, I was wondering if you wanted to come stay with us, there are beds where we live."
"No. I don't want to stay there."
"But you've come to the party before..."
"I was starving, so I went there for free food, and nothing else. No way would I ever stay there."
"What? Why?"
"It's a bad place, a very bad place."
"I just thought-"
"Thought what?! That you're all high and mighty and I'm broken because I'm sleeping on a park bench?! Think you need to save me from my life of filth?! Fuck you! Leave me alone!"
Absolon picks up his belongings and walks away. Titanium is stunned by Absolon's harsh words and a tear rolls down his cheek. Their first conversation went well, but now it looks like his crush hates him and even worse, he feels like his crush hates him.
At that moment, when you asked him to stay, did you think he needed to be saved, or were you genuinely trying to help him?
At the time I was still pretty brainwashed, so even though I convinced myself I was just trying to give him a place to sleep, it's possible I might have been thinking his life needed saving.
The next day, Titanium is still shaken up from his encounter with Absolon.
"Camo, why was he so mean? I was just trying to help him."
"Maybe he doesn't think he needs help. Either that or he doesn't want any."
"He sleeps in the park. I hate that. No one should have to sleep outside, especially not him. Camo, is this place really that bad? I know there's a lot of rules, but we always have a place to sleep."
"Dude, you're starting to sound like Zinfandel. Chill. Absolon will be fine. I got the feeling if anyone tried to do anything to him, he would kick their ass. It might suck that he's homeless, but at least he's free."
"Camo, you don't think we're free?"
Camo shakes his head no in answer to Titanium's question. He then stands up quickly and grabs Titanium's arm, leaning close and speaking softly.
"No talking about that. Not here."
How did The Compound want you to deal with people who didn't want its help?
We were supposed to try to persuade them no matter what. The Compound was convinced it was the answer to the real world's problems.
Titanium raises his hand and asks a question that makes Camo nervous. He hopes Titanium won't give away too many details about their encounter with Absolon because the last thing he wants is for Absolon to be stuck here.
"Uh, Miss Teacher, I saw a stranger who had nowhere to go, and I invited him to stay here, but he yelled at me. Does that mean I didn't show my kindness correctly?"
"What did he say when he yelled at you?"
"He asked me if I thought he was broken. He also accused me of thinking that I was better than him and he acted like he didn't want to be helped."
"Titanium, you are better than him because you have not been tainted like he has. If he didn't want help, he just doesn't know it. Most of The Strangers are blinded by their impurities. Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong."
Zinfandel is in her room, sitting on her bed. She has been unable to stop thinking about her intimacy experience. She wonders if Titanium and Camo have had their turn at intimacy yet because they have been acting normally. Maybe Camo has since he was quiet today and not being mean to the teacher. Does that mean he had a good experience? Why did he get to have a good experience? Zinfandel gets angry. Camo is such a jerk, he deserves to have bad things happen to him. Zinfandel pulls out her walkie talkie and stares at it. She can't talk to Barry because he is the problem. She wonders if the teacher would be a good person to talk to. The teacher always understands her and gives explanations that Zinfandel can comprehend.
"Miss Teacher? Are you there? This is Zinfandel. I was wondering, can I talk to you about something?"
"Hello, Zinfandel. Where are you, my dear?"
"In my room."
A few minutes later, Zinfandel hears a knock on her door. It is Petunia answering her request to have a talk. Petunia smiles and sits down on Zinfandel's bed.
"Miss Teacher, do you remember the boy who I was impure with on the bench? I got him as an intimacy partner and he hurt me."
"Hurt you? Did he strike you?"
"No. He hurt me when he was being intimate with me. I asked him to shift his positioning and go a little slower when he first started, but he didn't listen. He just pushed all the way and it hurt a lot. That's not the way it should feel, is it?"
"No Zinfandel, he should have listened to your request. Are you still in pain?"
"A little sore, but it's getting better."
"You should go to the clinic, they will help you. I will deal with him."
I've been living on the street for a little over a year now. I bought this cheap guitar with the money I stole from Dad before I left. Playing for tips isn't really bringing in much money. I never should have gone to that stupid Compound to get food. I can't believe Titanium lives there. I always thought it was weird that he was wearing a t-shirt while swimming when I saw him on the beach that day, but now it makes sense. He's just another brainwashed idiot. Too bad he's a cute brainwashed idiot.
Now I am really, truly curios how this will develop o.O
ReplyDeleteYay! If there's one thing I would like to try to avoid, it is predictability. That is one reason I don't usually like romantic comedy movies.
DeleteEven though he's on the streets, I'm glad that Absolon is staying away from the compound. I hope he's the key to Titanium and Camo getting out of there. I shudder to think of how they could escape.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely can't hurt that they're not all stuck in the compound.
DeleteWhoa, I thought Zinfandel would've been happy to get Barry, but now knowing that he was rough with her, and during their first times? That sucks. I was really happy for her until she said he hurt her. I hope she just means the pain of losing her virginity..
ReplyDeleteAnd Absolon is awesome. I was so scared reading the part where Titanium asked him to live with him and the others at the Compound, but was so relived at his negative reaction! Thank goodness Absolon seems to already know about The Compound People. I did feel sorry for Titanium though when Absolon lashed out like that. I agree with mypalsim, I hope Absolon is a hero eventually and saves them from this hell! Reading on now! :)
Aww, yay, I'm glad you like Absolon. It wouldn't have done much for the story if they were all stuck in the Compound. Barry was pissed off at Zinfandel because he got brainwashed into thinking it was her fault he got put in Isolation, so he was less than excited to get her as his Intimacy partner. Absolon has a reason for hating The Compound that we'll find out about later. The fact that Titanium and Camo are socializing in the real world with people like Absolon is definitely healthy for them. :)
DeleteI'd say being on the street is better than being in the compound. I feel bad for Titanium that his attempt to help, or save, Absolon was rejected so harshly, but I hope it's part of a wake up call he'll need to get him out of there.
ReplyDeleteI really feel bad for poor Zinfandel! It sucks that her first time was so bad. I'm not sure if Barry was being an insensitive jerk or if he's just as awkward and clueless as the rest of them. It was his first time, too, I'm assuming. So even though I don't know him, I"m a little concerned about what Petunia is going to do about what Zin reported.
Yea, being on the street is better than being in the compound, like Camo said, at least Absolon's free. Poor Titanium is still in the middle, he doesn't really see the compound for the evil that it is. He knows things are weird sometimes, but it hasn't clicked in his head yet.
DeleteZinfandel is going to be broken soon. :(
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think about Camo and Titanium. Camo knows something's messed up. What would really happen if they left? Would they be hunted down and killed so that they couldn't talk? The people a The Compound seem to believe it's all for the best, but is there another motive? Do they all live there, or does Mr Leader go home to a mansion and a yacht? heh.... Absolon is certainly the key to the escape, I hope anyway.
In my mind, Zinfandel is already broken because she likes following the rules to a point of exhaustion.
DeleteThe way a cult works is they want you to stay and recruit more members, so they keep you there out of fear. They tell you that if you leave, you'll surely be killed by outside people, or you'll meet an outside person who will corrupt you and make your life miserable.They tell you it's happier and better in the cult because the cult is your family. What would really happen if someone just left? Nothing. But the members don't know that because they're so brainwashed. They think if they left they'd be eaten alive by the outside world and be miserable, so they stay. When I left the cult I was in, they called me for a few months, wanting me to come back, but once I ignored their calls, they eventually stopped.
It's also about control and power, which are The Leader's main motivations. He thinks the outside world is impure, and he has a God complex, thinking he can save people from a life of filth, like Absolon mentioned "You think you need to save me from my life of filth, you think I'm broken?" Yes, they do all live there, granted The Leader's room is more decorative and comfortable than the residents' rooms. He can't control people as easily if he's not on the grounds.
As for who is the key to their escape, I'll just let you read on and find out that way. =)
Titanium was like the Jehovah witnesses lol...Or at least that's how Absolon took it. It's interesting how Absolon knows about the Compound, I love his guitar. Hopefully he can get some money or maybe some fame.
ReplyDeleteZinfandel is too nice...It's like she has no idea what it means to stand up for herself. Barry should be slapped, beat up...All of the above...I THOUGHT HE LIKED HER :O
I wonder how they're going to deal with him.
How was Petunia chosen to be an educator? I feel like there's some sort of hierarchy established and somehow she proved herself of being worthy enough to teach these people.
LOL, yes, Titanium was a bit like the Jehovah's Witnesses. XD It's the same idea, being brainwashed, and needing more members to join the cult, so you annoy people on the street. LOL. Yes... >:D you'll find out more about why Absolon knows about The Compound later on in the story. Haha, thanks, his guitar is punk, like he is. XD
DeleteZinfandel is brainwashed, and she doesn't know about the concept of standing up for oneself. She is the ideal cult member because she only questions things that she doesn't understand in accordance to the cult's rules, and when she is given an answer, she accepts it as truth. She'll probably continue to frustrate you LOL. She's the opposite of how a person in the real world behaves.
You'll find out more about Barry later on, he's not a nice guy. That's all I'll say about him in this reply. :D
Petunia was chosen to be an educator because she volunteered. As young adults in The Compound, there is an opportunity to get jobs. Some people go outside The Compound to find jobs, like Camo and Titanium tried to do in the other chapter. Some people volunteer to work on The Compound grounds. That's why there's teachers, nurses, doctors, janitors, cooks, etc, all who help to keep The Compound running smoothly. There's really no skill needed to become an educator. Once Petunia volunteered, she was given a training lesson in one of The Compound's classes, and a book on the things she was supposed to teach on a given day. They tell her what to teach, basically.