Chapter Twenty-Eight: Inner Thoughts

Time seemed to be progressing in slow motion. Krystal's mind, however, raced at a furious pace, the knowledge of why this man was familiar to her was on the 'tip of her brain', so to speak - she could almost place it, but not quite, and it was frustrating her to no end. In fact, Krystal's mind was going so fast, that for a few milliseconds, she believed that she was truly multitasking - hyperthreading, if you will, literally processing multiple ideas at the precise same moment.

Krystal, for whatever she seemed to the outside world, was not a dumb girl. She was smart, and she knew it. Maybe not street smart, and perhaps a bit naïve, she'd give you that, but book smart, nerd smart: in an academic and mystery-solving sort of way. And despite her apparent, yet planned, incomprehension of the cryptic threats of this man now behind her, she'd been taking meticulious mental notes of everything over the past few days, and her mind was working Holmes-like to bring all the clues together.

This whole situation thrust into which Krystal currently found herself, seemed to her to be a conundrum of sorts: this man's sudden and frightful appearence, his bizarre reference to 'the Queen', his apparent and seemingly unprovoked poisoning of both she and her Teddy Bear, this strange carjacking hostage situation, Tedford's sullen countenence and seeming inability (or unwillingness) to do anything about it, the odd lack of force on either side required to drastically alter their lives like this, and the fact that T-Bone seemed to know this man, yet had never once mentioned his name. 'You guys' is all he had said in their conversation. What guys? What Queen were they talking about? Had Tedford really stolen something from 'them'? Does that mean that he was once part of 'them' in the past?

Admittedly, she hadn't known Tedford very long, but he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy at heart, but she supposed that that didn't mean he hadn't done foolish things in the past. Heaven knows she had. Her thoughts flashed back to her school, her friends, her parents, her jobs, her lovers, her vices - some good memories, and some she'd rather forget. Each of us is a complex fusion of good and bad, caring and conceit, helpfulness and hatrid, emulation and exploitation.

As for the Drone, his thoughts are crystal clear. His plan has been formulated in exactness in his mind, each step logically leading them to the next. He does, however, find one facts incredulous: How can this man, Tedford, have forgotten so much since leaving the Hive? And why, after having been given such great power, had this man Tedford wanted to give it all up? What was out there that would make such a deadly risk worth taking?

Tedford, on his part, is desparately trying to think of a way out of this mess. He's come up with a few escape plans, but as long as he's already been poisoned - or more importantly, as long as Krystal has been poisoned, there's not much to do except to comply. Resistance would be futile at this juncture.

Tedford knows of the odd duality of his captor, the power this man can tap into, and yet the unending feeling of abased servitude. The desires to serve the Queen with singleness of mind, and yet the nagging individuality of self trying to escape. He remembers his own struggle with his thoughts - thoughts that each Drone struggles to repress and hide from the collective mind of the Hive. He wonders how many times this particular Drone has thought of leaving, or has he mindlessly not questioned his own existence? Impossible. The irony of his having to chase after a former Drone has had to have reintroduced the possibility of a life beyond the Hive. How could he not have contemplated it?