I've had three memories over two strokes.
Memory A: the ban on high schoolers and the setup for war.
Memory B: Elaine stopping someone from killing someone else.
Memory C: an older version of me in control of half the student population. Cold and heartless.
I separated them because they do different things.
Memory A is over. It's passed, so I don't think I'll have to recall it as much these days, but just in case, I've still named it.
Memory B is probably the next big thing that will happen to me. When it happened, I thought Elaine was trying to stop someone from killing me because of the perspective I was watching from, but I ruled that out because of Memory C.
Memory C feels distant. I'm definitely about five to six years older in that scene, and I doubt I'll have to deal with it for a long time.
It only makes me wonder why it's appearing now, though.
Did it slip in with B?
I don't know.
But still, I won't treat them like fate this time.
I did manage to change the outcome of Memory A. I was supposed to become cold and heartless, sort of like Memory C, just a softer, younger version of that.
But I didn't.
I may be the Monarch, but I'm not burdening anyone. I'm not forcing anyone to do things against their will. I'm not banning high schoolers.
I'm sure things have changed.
Which means Memory B and C can be changed too.
I will focus on becoming the best version of my current self while also refusing to become what I saw in my past self.
I won't spiral this time.
I won't go insane this time.
This is my new resolve.
———————————————————————
I'm still in the hospital.
In fact, it's only my third day here.
It's been two days since the stroke, which means today is the first closed day of the third week of the trial.
I hate being absent from it.
I can't even get information on what's happening while I'm hospitalized. The best I get is Melanie coming by every now and then and updating me.
Even though it's a closed day, I still hate the fact that I can't rush over there if I hear something happened.
I mean, I could run away from the hospital, but that would scare a lot of people, and I'd rather not do that.
But luckily, the founders are such kind people.
They all came to visit me today.
And all they had to say, Factory 24-wise, was that nothing notable had happened.
What a relief.
But they also admitted that something could still happen later. There are still two closed days left. The closer we get to the final one, the more nerve-wracking it is to wait, because that would be the perfect time to strike.
When we have our guards down.
But I've been reassured.
I've known these guys since first grade. I know what they're capable of.
They can handle any problems that come their way this week.
This week...
If the problem were to last longer than that, I believe they'd get eaten from the inside out.
There's a reason I became the Monarch of 24.
It's because I give a final solution.
But I'm only hospitalized for a week, so that shouldn't happen.
After all that was said, we moved into small talk for the next hour or two.
We talked about the stroke. I told them what the doctor told me about my brain literally opening up for some reason.
George won his basketball tournament yesterday. Good for him.
Leo kept asking about the tests the doctors did. I explained them as best I could. Maybe he wants to be a doctor in the future.
Melanie was trying to act normal, but she was clearly worried about me. I'd had something similar to a stroke twice now, and I was also carrying the weight of being the Monarch of 24.
Liam gave a small update on Andrew's part of The Claim, saying he doesn't know much, but he knows they don't have any plans right now.
Mel was quiet the whole time.
She looked worried the whole time too, but never said anything directly. At first, I thought she was worried about me, but then I realized it wasn't me.
It was her.
She doesn't have anyone to stick to right now at the factory.
I figure that's good.
It's about time she learned to be on her own again.
I doubt Josh would come back to bite.
And then I was alone again.
The founders all left.
I felt uneasy the second they did, mainly because of how little information they had. If they miss something, it means I miss it too.
I trust Liam, but Andrew is his own brother. I feel like I would've expected more by now...
———————————————————————
I spent about an hour alone before I was rudely interrupted again.
This time by Sarah.
Sarah?
"Hello, ■■■■■."
"Hey, Sarah."
"I've been wanting to speak to you alone without anyone else finding out, but you're always stuck to Mel or at the factory."
Yeah, I'm stuck to Mel.
Why would she want to speak to me?
Then she dropped a bombshell right out of the gate.
"I know what The Claim is planning."
What the fuck!?
"What?"
Was she lying?
"On the last closed day of the trial—August 1st—The Claim plans to make a move on Factory 24 and take it over."
She gave me a lot of information in that one sentence.
The Claim knows about the reduced-activity trial.
They know about our schedule.
They know when the building is most vulnerable.
Which means they still have a scout.
I started to think their scout stopped working for them after the last attack, but now I know they're still there.
The threat was never solved.
"How do you know?"
"Null has a scout within The Claim."
Well, that changes the picture.
And makes it all the more terrifying.
Just how big is Null if they can scout both Factory 24 and The Claim and still not get found out at this point?
Even Alex and John got found out.
We still don't know why or how, either.
"You're probably thinking it's Andrew again, but this time it's not. I don't know what he's up to."
"What do you mean? You're saying someone is working against him?"
"No. It's Thomas's group. I'm sure you know all the leaders' names, but he's the one who wants Factory 24 for the space, similar to you guys."
She tried to make a joke, but it was dry.
"Funny that one of the leaders ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■."
The joke barely landed for me, because I hate ■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■ The Claim.
She explained that Thomas wants the place preserved, not destroyed.
But she doesn't trust it.
She's only a scout for Null, so she doesn't have all the information, but from what she does know, he might be lying.
There's a good chance he's saying he wants the factory for the space just for publicity inside The Claim.
His group has grown.
Earlier he had five members. Now he's up to thirteen.
That's a big jump, which means there are others who want to take the space from us.
And it also shows that while Factory 24's member count has been shrinking, The Claim's has only risen.
Soon enough, they'll be able to overpower us easily.
"You said you don't have information on Andrew?"
"No. All I know is that he's weak right now. The other two groups he took over left him after the attack."
She says he's weak, but I know he can bounce back into the leader position. If Thomas's attack on Factory 24 fails, I wouldn't be surprised if Andrew swallows Thomas's group whole.
"Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want them to take it over so you can destroy the factory?"
"After observing these past two weeks, I've grown to understand a small part of why you want to keep it."
That didn't really tell me anything.
"Wh—"
"Bye, ■■■■■."
And she left, just as quickly as she came in.
I'll have to talk to Liam about Andrew, and maybe see if he can figure out what the deal is with Thomas.