It was odd to be in a room full of people who all seemed to look up to my dad like he was some kind of hero. A part of me wanted to see him through their eyes just for a moment. I tried to picture him as I tried to picture him as the brilliant Dr. Smythe, single-handedly protecting the people from extinction. I fought back a snarl, flexing my fingers out of their balled position. Celeste floated in from the back entry. Her presence produced a ball of lead in my chest.
“I cannot thank you all enough for such an honor.” My father’s speech invaded my distractions again.
Keep your composure Demetri. I repeated my mantra. Any suspicion guaranteed their destruction. Just play the part a little longer and then I could get back to making amends. I would undo every step my father took, I refused to let our name be tarnished so.
A raucous applause erupted as Dr. Smythe concluded his speech. Heavy hands on my shoulders signaled I was free to follow him off the platform. Eyeing Celeste in the distance I felt the anger, the anguish boring through my skin.
What I wouldn’t give to reveal the truth! To let these mindless drones know where true brilliance lay! But if I did, I would be implicating Celeste in a world of blood-soaked horrors. Destroying her was the only way to save her.