Sarah’s Information of the Ignition

Death. That was our outcome? Silence filled the room after we heard Lucy’s story. My breathing seemed to slow down and become shallower just thinking of the word. Death. Chills went down my spine as my hands balled up into fists.

“Now you know why we can’t go back.” Lucy concluded.

“But Lucy, we can’t just quit an investigation!” Sarah told her. “We were assigned this, we never give up!”

“Sarah’s right, Lucy.” Alice told Lucy making her look at Alice in a ‘are you crazy?’ look. “We’re a team, and whatever comes our way, we’ll stick together. Even if it means that death is coming our way.”

“No!” Lucy cried her voice cracking. “You’re my best friends, my sisters and if anything happens to you, to us, I don’t know what I’ll do! I don’t want to loose you guys!”

“And you won’t!” Heather stated trying to make Lucy calm. “We always stick together, through thick and thin. There’s no way that this investigation will be the end of us!”

“But if those cards are true, and they have yet to fail…” Lucy started.

I wanted to keep up with the conversation, but my mind went to other things, and what I really mean is Daesung. He has been on my mind ever since we left the prison. Those emotions that he showed me today; sympathy, misunderstanding, kindness, it was wracking my whole mind, and my brain kept telling me to know him more. As I looked over to the window, I noticed that it was night time outside and the streets lights were completely off. There was no light shining down from the bulbs to guide the people outside. Since we were already talking about death and ghost stories, more goosebumps went down my spine as I pulled my blanket around my arms.

“Kelly? Are you ok?” Alice asked looking my way getting out of the conversation.

I opened my mouth about to say something about the lights, but I decided not to say anything, considered they didn’t see what I saw last time. So instead, I just nodded my head and sighed looking at my phone for the time.

“It’s getting late, and not to mention it’s cold out.” I answered putting my phone away. “Sarah, it seems like you are the last one to go.”

Sarah looked at me shocked at what I said. I didn’t mean to say it in a mean tone, it wasn’t like I was trying to kick everyone out, I wasn’t, but everything that’s been going on, the boys, this investigation, I guess you can say that I’m getting a bit creeped out.

“O-ok,” Sarah said as she cleared and gave me a look. “Well, TOP had a different approach with the scientist, once he had to collect his blood, but there was something that he had to be careful with TOP…”

**

The door opened up to show me a room full of potted plants and a ton of sunlight shining down from the ceiling. Again, TOP was on the floor, sleeping, practically bathing, in the sunlight. The smell of soil and fresh rain splashed in my face in a gust of wind. Taking a deep breath, I went into the greenhouse looking room and walked slowly towards TOP. But instead of me waking him up, he opened up his bright green eyes and smiled up at me.

“Ah, I was waiting for you.” He said while getting up from the ground. “And this time you didn’t interrupt me.”

“Do you do this on a daily basis?” I asked folding my arms.

“I try to. The sunlight in my cell doesn’t provide enough for me, so obviously I took this as a great advantage.” TOP said as he started to walk to the back of the room searching for a certain plant.

“And you do that because?” I urged him to continue.

“I need the energy. The sun, it helps me with my supplements.” TOP explained as he took a potted plant and brought it over to the big table in the middle of the room. The leaves were pointed around the edges and there were three leaves on one stem. Poison ivy?! He took off his gloves and plucked the leaves breaking them apart in his hands and then crumbling them up into little bits. Soon the leaves fell down from his hands as he rubbed the oil from the ivy into his hands. His face seemed to show that he was a bit in pain, but he quickly hid it looking down focusing on the oil.

“You’re going to get poison!” I mentioned.

“You assume too much.” TOP said irritated. “I can’t get poison, Sarah. It’s already in me.”

“But how?” I asked.

“We’ll save that for tomorrow.” He answered going taking the ivy back. “Alice made a promise, remember?”

“But that’s just it; we won’t be seeing you tomorrow. We’re off work.” I explained as TOP stopped in his tracks and made a noise underneath his breath.

“How did I know that was going to happen?” He whispered asking himself. “Fine, I’ll just deal with it.”

TOP came back and sat on top of the table as he crossed his arms and sighed looking down at me or rather at my arm.

“What?” I asked looking at my arm in bewilderment, but that’s when I remember that’s where he touched my bruise. “Your touch…”

“You didn’t scream or run away when I touched you, why not?” he asked all of a sudden curious.

“Are you trying to get out of talking about the fire?” I asked him back crossing my arms.

Half of his face started to darken as his right hand started to grip the table, rotting the edges of the table crumbling it to rust, letting it fall on the floor.

“It won’t be easy for me to talk about it. He…didn’t go after me right away like he did my brothers…” TOP started trying to control his poison side.

**

TOP was checking on his plants in the garden built within the house while soaking up some sun trough the glass ceiling. He knew how long this process can be, but luckily for him, he was the only one to use the garden. He put his left hand on some leaves and smiled at the feeling that ran throughout his whole left side of his body; warm, light, feeling like all of his problems went away.

“These seem to be good, but they need more time for me to use them.” TOP thought.

While he checked the healing plants, TOP seemed to be more cautious about his right side. Aligning on his right were poison plants of all sorts. He sighed as he left the plant and approached the poison. He sneered at the plants pointed edges, looking like razor blades. And that’s what it felt like whenever he touched them. TOP hated the feeling, but in order for balance between his two abilities, he had no other choice but to deal with it all those months. He cautiously moved his right hand towards the leaf, but before he could touch the plant, the scientist closed the door, making TOP look over in caution.

“Ah, TOP, just the one I need to see.” The scientist smiled as he had a quick observation over the plants.

“What do you want?” TOP asked a bit irritated as he was interrupted.

“I just need to borrow you for a minute, to see how you are with your healing and poison abilities.” The scientist hid the lie as he was coming towards TOP in a way that made him step back from the scientist and cross his arms.

“Don’t you trust me on this? They’re almost ready for my dose, but they still need more time.” TOP explained as he turned back to the poison and was about to touch the leaves, but the scientist stopped him.

“DON’T TOUCH IT!” he yelled angrily as TOP looked over at the scientist, now angry, the tattoos coming on half of his face.

“What did you say?” He hissed as he tried desperately not to have this side of him get out. TOP hated when this side would come out and play. It was like the Mr. Hyde to him; he doesn’t blame himself sort to say, but the poison.

“You can’t touch it, yet…” The scientist put his hand up to show that he meant no harm. “I need you for a new experiment that I’m looking into. You got to trust me on this.”

“And why would I trust you on anything you say? Ever since you made me into this, I don’t think I can trust another word that comes out of you!” TOP yelled as he walked over to the scientist, TOP’s right hand was now covered in darkness as well as his right side of his face, a swirl taking up most of his cheek.

“TOP, don’t make me force you!” The scientist warned as he started to get out the needle, but once TOP noticed a change in himself, his anger died down and the tattoos slowly went away. “Good, now, follow me.”

They both exit the secret garden and headed towards the laboratory. But once they did, TOP stopped in his tracks and let out a gasp as he saw his brothers lying on the floor unconscious.

“Seungri, Taeyang, G-Dragon…” TOP whispered as the scientist entered the room and went over to the counter top. Pulling out the three shots filled with blood, he emptied them into a flask. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“I needed them for the experiment, TOP, and I need you, too. If you would just give me your left arm…” The scientist held out his hand with a needle in the other.

TOP entered the room and checked each of his brother’s pulse to see if they were still alive, and once he felt the pulse, TOP sighed in relief, but glared up at the scientist.

“I’m not giving you anything.” TOP answered as he his poison side tried to get out, but since he didn’t even get to touch the poison, that side was becoming weaker by the second. He stumbled towards the scientist and realized that he needed to go back to the garden. If TOP wasn’t in balance, his actions and outcome can be lethal. “The poison, I need the poison, NOW!”

As he looked at his brothers worriedly, TOP turned away from the scientist and was beginning to leave the room, but without him knowing, the scientist took his chance and stabbed his left arm with the needle filling up the glass with his red blood. In the sunlight, a shiny green color coated the top of his blood. TOP screamed at the top of his lungs as he was slowly loosing energy.

“This is for your own good, I’m sorry TOP…” the scientist whispered as TOP fell to the ground feeling weak.

“Daesung…he’ll find us.” TOP whispered.

“Oh, what can he do? All he does is control light…” the scientist went on, but TOP already passed out.

**

I sat there in awe at his story. That must’ve been horrible to be pulled in by the scientist like that, and I felt sorry for him, I really did. While he finished his story, he went over to a flower and touched its petals with his left hand. It was only now that I saw green light flow through his hand and up his arm; the same color that was on my arm from where he touched me. It looked like the flower calmed him down from telling the story. I looked over at the table and there was a bigger hole in the table than there was before.

“Ok, so that was before the fire, but what caused it?” I asked stunned as TOP smiled at the feeling the flower gave him. “Was it the scientist?”

I should’ve used a different word, because suddenly TOP sneered down at the flower and pulled his touch away from it as his eyes started to glow and his right side of his face got dark. He grabbed the flower and it decayed right in front of my eyes.

“HE CAUSED IT!” He yelled as he took the pot and threw it across the room making me jump at his action. “If he didn’t add in Daesung’s chemical with our blood, none of it would’ve happened! The fire spread like wild once the chemical was added! We lost everything; family, friends, memories, he took it all away! Like I said before, Sarah, I hate him!”

“But, what exactly was the experiment?” I asked.

TOP remained silent as he looked down and looked over to the side as he seemed to be saddened at his words about the scientist.

“I-it was a cure…he was trying to cure us.” He answered.

“Yet you hate him?” I stated.

“With everything I have!” he yelled trying to get his point across.

Getting up from my seat, I calmly walked over to him as he was breathing heavy from his anger and his hands were balled up into fists and his eyes were slightly covered from his hair. Reaching out my hands, I put my hands on his shoulders slowly, and he looked up, his eyes going back to their unique green color.

“I’m sorry about what I called you yesterday. And I’m sorry that this happened to you.” I whispered. “And to your brothers. But if…he was trying to cure you, you shouldn’t hate him.”

“Why?” TOP’s eyes went wide at my apology and statement. “Why are you being like this towards me? Yesterday you were scared of me and called me a monster, yet here you are today, apologizing and feeling sorry for us. Why the change?”

“Because everyone should be given a chance to explain themselves; to be given a second chance.” I answered. “I just jumped to a conclusion too fast.”

TOP looked back up at me with happiness in his eyes as his mouth slowly went into a smile, which made me smile in return.

“You’re wanted outside,” A guard all of a sudden said from the door as I moved away from TOP.

“I’ll see you next time, TOP.” I nodded as I could see TOP’s face slowly went from a smile to a frown. I made my way to the door as I felt TOP’s hand on my shoulder, making me look back.

“Thank you, Sarah.” TOP smiled.

Before I could say anything, the guard pulled me out of the room, shutting the door in TOP’s face.

“Hey! Why did you do that-” but then I saw Alice taking care of Lucy in the hallway. I ran towards them putting my hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Lucy! What’s wrong?!”

“I don’t know, she won’t talk about it, but we have to go. I have a feeling that she doesn’t want to stay here much longer…” Alice stated as we waited for Heather to be done with her interview.