This story was originally published in Bag of Bones Press’ second-person horror anthology This is Too Tense. This edition contains the original second-person story and an expanded version in third-person.
Born with a rare Gift, Jon was taken from his home as a child and conditioned into beliving everything his dystopic government told him. They took an ability that should’ve been used to heal and instead used it to interrogate and kill.
This story shows the thoughts inside his head after this has happened – the small voice of reason that sounds like his mother, and the crushing brainwashing he’s undergone.
This story can be read as a standalone and features one of the main characters from Seeking the Light (as yet unpublished). No prior knowledge of the world is needed.
Content Warnings: Torture, kidnap, brainwashed child, harm done by and to a child