A Large Price to Pay

By Alyssa Greene

Max was running rapidly, birthday present in hand. His curly brown hair with blonde highlights bounced with his movements, the sun shining on his tan skin. His bright green eyes were still groggy, adjusting to the brightness of the day. He couldn’t believe that he overslept and was late to his best friend’s 16th birthday party. The invitation was very clear: Sunday, December 2nd, 2pm. Ollie would never be late to one of my parties, he thought. I hope he’s not too upset. Max dashed around the corner, filled with a burst of new energy after seeing Ollie’s beautiful estate in the distance. It was a traditional home with two stories,  pointed gray rooftops, beige walls, and large pillars; it just screamed old money. Corvettes, Porsches, and Rolls-Royces were perfectly parked on his driveway, a display of wealth for the world to see. Ollie lives such a lavish life because his parents work for SAS, the Safety and Security sector of the federal government. Their jobs, whatever they are, are vital to the wellbeing of the entire community, so money is never an issue for them. Max slowed to a jog as he approached the door, greeted by the numerous houseplants guarding it, and rang the doorbell. 

“Honey, he’s here,” Ollie’s mother yelled, sounding preoccupied at the moment.

”I got it!” It sounded like Ollie was standing right behind the door.

The door swung open and there Ollie stood with a bright smile, shining blue eyes, and a silly party hat resting on his fluffy, black hair. His pale, skinny build was adorned with new beige sneakers, baggy jeans, and a bright white oversized shirt that said “#1 Birthday Boy!” right in the middle. 

“Hey man! Thank god you made it,” he said, closing the door behind Max. “We’re about to sing happy birthday, and my mom won’t stop trying to embarrass me in front of my family.”

”You know I wouldn’t miss one of your parties for the world,” Max replied, a bright smile on his face. “That’s what best friends are for!”

“Ollie hurry up! We’re going to eat your cake without you,” Ollie’s dad yelled from outside, his voice laced with impatience. 

Ollie walked into the backyard, Max following closely behind, and was immediately met with cheering from all his family members. They were tightly gathered around the picnic table, all dressed in pristine black and gold dresses or crisp white suits. Max thought of his own disheveled appearance — a wrinkly red polo, faded blue jeans, and beat up white sneakers — and fought the urge to blush out of embarrassment. Ollie hesitated a bit at the overwhelming amount of attention, but Max nudged him in the back and gave him a cheeky smile. 

“Come on man, don’t make me carry you,” Max teasingly whispered in his ear.

Ollie blushed, swatting Max’s hand in a motion he perceived as subtle and walked to the table where his parents were waiting, Max right behind him. Everyone sang happy birthday, cheered as Ollie cut his cake, and went back to conversing and enjoying the party. They all played games, told jokes, and ate a variety of expensive party food. After a while, Ollie’s mother disappeared and reappeared from the house, hiding something behind her back.

“Now, my dear Ollie, it’s time for your first present! Make sure you read it out loud, okay sweetheart?”

She handed Ollie a thin, yellow envelope with gold detailing around the edges. He took it and opened it slowly, revealing what appeared to be some sort of letter. Max peered over his shoulder as he began to read.

”Dear Oliver Edwardson, 

The best day of your life has just arrived! Prepare to be more cheerful, productive, and satisfied than ever before. Your surgery is scheduled for December 3rd, 2768. Please be sure to adhere to all the rules below to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Your isolation period begins at 7pm, December 2nd in room 293. Be sure to be on time, with no means of contacting others in your possession.

Can’t wait to see you,

Dr. Asher Powell.”

At first, Ollie gave his mother a confused look, but Max knew exactly what was happening. His best friend was about to receive the number one most sought after thing in this entire world: the eternal happiness surgery. It was the main reason why anyone got a job, went to school, or even had kids. The entire economy was wrapped around the finger of the neurosurgeons who performed it. Just one brain surgery spanning the course of twelve hours and you could be happy forever. Of course there were stories of psychopaths and murders and horrific side effects because of it, but everyone knew those were just stories. Max had wanted it his whole life, which was why he was so confused when Ollie’s face fell.

”What’s wrong dude? This is great news!” Max’s attempts at cheering his friend up had no result. Ollie’s entire family was staring now, his father confused, his mother disappointed, his other relatives simply waiting for his reaction.

“Wow…I mean…wow,” Ollie mumbled. “Thanks mom, thanks dad.” He quickly side-hugged them both then walked back into the house. 

“What’s wrong with him?” His aunt wondered.

”That boy is so ungrateful,” His grandmother proclaimed.

”You could say that again!” 

The rude statements quickly led to a familial argument that gave Max the perfect opportunity to sneak out of the party and find Ollie. He went up the spiraling wooden stairs on the left side of the house to Ollie’s bedroom, second door on the left. Just as he suspected, Ollie was sitting in a plush office chair and staring out the window. 

“Hey Ollie. Are you alright?” Max hesitated as he asked, instantly feeling stupid for doing so because the answer was obvious.

”Yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine. One hundred percent fine,” Ollie replied. He didn’t even turn away from the window. He just kept fidgeting with his fingers and watching the clouds move. 

Max walked towards the chair. “Alright, are you going to tell me what’s wrong or am I going to have to guess?”

Ollie hesitated, slowly turning away from the window to look at Max. 

“I’ll only tell you if you promise not to make fun of me.”

”That’s such a stupid promise Ollie. Why would I ever make fun of you?”

”Just do it!”

”Fine! I promise. Now start talking.”

Ollie sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories about the awful side effects of this thing right?”

“Well, yeah, but everyone knows those are just conspiracies. Don’t tell me that’s why you-“

”Let me finish!” Ollie snapped. Max took a step back out of surprise, but stayed put. 

”As I was saying,” he continued. “I’m not entirely sure those conspiracies are just conspiracies. My neighbors got their surgery done pretty recently, and they’ve been acting strange ever since. Their smiles are so forced and unnatural now. I heard they went to a funeral last week and they still had those strained smiles plastered on their faces as their tears fell. I don’t know if I want to end up like that, you know?”

”Listen Ollie,” Max said, placing his hands on Ollie’s shoulders. “All those stories are just stories. Your neighbors are just adjusting to their new life, and you know that this stuff takes time to get used to. Besides, just because they’re acting a bit off doesn’t mean you’ll end up like that. Everything is going to be fine, okay?”

”Okay, but I-“

”Nope! No buts. You are getting this surgery and you’re going to thank me afterwards.”

Ollie dropped his head, clearly not convinced, but he always did whatever Max told him to. Why would this situation be any different?

“Fine. I’ll go.”

“Yesssss!” Max jumped up with excitement. “Alright, it’s been fun, but I have to start heading home now. . Go tell your parents the good news! I’ll see you later!” He said, backing out the door. Ollie gave him a strained smile as he left. 

…

Max came home to an empty house as the sun disappeared from the horizon. This was normal for him, since his parents worked long hours every night, so he changed out of his party clothes, reheated his dinner, and went straight to the computer in his bedroom. He loved watching videos as he ate, but as he was searching, he stumbled upon something strange: a video one minute ago, titled “The World Must Know” with a black screen as the thumbnail. Normally Max just watched video games or something, but the mysterious demeanor of this video intrigued him. He clicked on it, immediately faced with a man who had his arms wrapped tightly around the neck of a slightly younger man. Max’s jaw dropped as he watched the victim eventually stop breathing and be haphazardly thrown into a nearby dumpster. Oddly enough, the killer had a strange, sort of strained smile plastered on his face as he calmly walked back into his house and the video ended abruptly. Wait a second. Max thought. That house looks familiar… 

In a flurry of fear, Max raced out of his house and down the street. It can’t be true, it can’t be. He thought, but when he approached the end of the road, he couldn’t deny it; the house in the video was his neighbor’s house. His neighbor who had just completed his eternal happiness surgery a few days prior. It had the same white walls, the same flat, dark wood roof, the same large, rectangular windows. Max turned around, and was faced with the exact same dumpster that had been in the video. At first, he hesitated. Do I really want to know? He thought, but inevitably, his curiosity got the best of him once more. He crept closer, and closer, and closer until he saw it. The dead man was still lying there, his face red and bruised, his arms in an unnatural position. Now that Max had his confirmation, he didn’t dare to take another step. He began to take quick, shallow breaths and his palms became clammy from his nerves. Oh no! What have I done! Max thought, realizing that Ollie had been right all along. That surgery was dangerous, and Max had just convinced him to get it. He almost ran all the way to Ollie’s house to warn him, but remembered that the isolation period had already begun, meaning Ollie was unreachable now. Still, Max wasn’t going to give up that easily. 

He dashed into his home and went right back to his computer, desperate for a solution. He searched and searched for hours, feeling the pressure of wasted time eating at him, until he stumbled upon a strange website. With the ugly, green font and completely black background, this website looked like it was made by a child hundreds of years ago, back in the 1900s. The author wrote about this obscure organization called STS (Stop the Surgery) that existed decades ago. Their purpose was to save people from the dangerous side effects of the eternal happiness surgery. As Max read this, he began to feel hopeful. “This has to be it,” he muttered to himself. However, his heart sank when he read the next few sentences. The government declared that STS had become too big and too problematic to remain. So one day, their secret bunker in the forbidden forest behind the community was burnt to the ground by government agents. Any survivors were executed on sight. That same discouragement that had ambushed Max before washed over him at full force. Max’s only hope at saving Ollie had been disposed of years ago. What was he supposed to do now? 

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. A ridiculous, ludicrous, absolutely insane idea. An idea that just might work. Max had always been overconfident, but this was a new level, even for him. However, he was determined to save his only real friend, and was willing to do just about whatever it took.

“I guess I’ll just have to do it myself,” he said, feeling his self-assurance begin to form once the words left his lips. Then, with nothing but a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, his computer and his mind, Max came up with a plan. 

…

Hours later, Max was finally ready. He had dressed himself in a black hoodie, black sweats, and gray sneakers to camouflage with the night. Most importantly, he felt mentally prepared to take on whatever challenge he might face, which is a beautiful thing that bravery will do for you: erase your doubt in the blink of an eye. He slipped out of his bedroom, snuck down the stairs, through the front door, and all the way to his driveway without making a sound. His small, black car that he often used to sneak around was parked on the street. Once he heard the engine purr, he began the long drive to the hospital. 

…

Around two in the morning, Max finally reached the hospital. His eyes bulged from surprise at the haunting sight; the blueprints had failed to do this place justice. The two, enormous, pearly white, perfectly rectangular buildings were surrounded by a bleak gray parking lot. The only signs of life were the lights peeking through the curtains of a few windows and two vans parked in the corner nearby. Max parked his car in the opposite corner, put up his hood and crouched over to the sliding glass doors that led the way into the hospital. The doors opened automatically, almost like they were greeting Max as he entered. Oddly enough, the building looked completely empty, like it was abandoned, or everyone there was hiding. The tile floors were blindingly white, like no one had ever stepped foot onto them. The porcelain-colored walls were completely blank, and while the thick, metal doors had numbers engraved on them, no sounds came from the rooms. At the end of the hallway, there was a steep staircase, leading into some kind of basement, but Max didn’t hear the stomping of anyone’s feet. Either way, Max took this as a good sign and slipped down the hall, searching for room 293. Surprisingly, it was only two doors down from the entrance. Once Max saw that the coast was completely clear, he slowly opened the door.

Ollie was lying patiently in his hospital gown on his bed, currently occupied with watching the TV on the wall across from him. The inside of the rooms were just as bland as the hallways, so this was his only means of entertainment. His head snapped towards the door as it opened, and when he registered who walked in, he gasped audibly.

”Max?! What are you doing here?” He jumped out of his bed to greet him.

“Shhhhhhh! If I’m going to rescue you, you can’t be so loud,” Max whispered in reply, quietly closing the door behind him. Ollie’s head tilted in confusion. 

“Rescue me? Rescue me from what?”

Max sighed. “Long story short, you were right, I was wrong, this surgery is evil and you need to get out of here. Now.” He continued to glance back at the door as if someone would jump out at them at any moment.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’ve been telling me to get this surgery for as long as I can remember and now that I’m actually doing it, you’ve changed your mind? Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Ollie smiled as he replied, his tone lighthearted.

“I’m so glad you find this funny Ollie, but I’m trying to be serious. If we don’t leave right now then you’ll be turned into a psychopath who can’t handle his emotions and goes on a murderous rampage and kills everyone he loves!”

Ollie blinked, caught off guard. “Wow. I did not realize how crazy I sounded earlier,” he said, his unbothered demeanor only causing Max to become more frustrated. Max pulled down his hood so Ollie could visibly see his exhaustion, hoping it would allow him a glimpse into his current state of mind. He stayed up all night trying to come up with a plan to save his best friend’s life, and this is the thanks he got? Ollie gazed at Max’s puffy eyes, deep eyebags, twitching hands, and his slouching, beginning to grasp the severity of the situation.

“Ollie,” Max continued. “I need you to listen to me. You were right to be scared and you were right to not want this surgery. Rather than listening to your concerns, I pushed you to do this without even considering your feelings. I’m sorry that I was a bad friend. I was never the friend you deserved, but now I’m really trying to be. Please Ollie, please come with me. I can’t lose my best friend.” Max’s eyes began to water as he dropped his head and clenched his fists. Ollie stared at him, mouth agape, shocked at Max’s desperation; he had never seen him so upset before. The silence between them was deafening as Ollie wondered what he should do. A few moments later, he exhaled and made a decision.

“Okay. I’ll come with you,” He replied, giving Max a soft smile. Max’s face lit up with relief and he tackled Ollie into a tight hug.

“Oh thank God,” Max said, letting go to wipe his tears with his sleeve. “Okay, follow my lead and don’t say a word until we get to the car. Got it?”

Ollie nodded in confirmation. Max opened the door, looked both ways, then signaled for Ollie to follow him. Max crept down the same, perfectly white hallway, merely inches away from the door when he turned around. Instead of being right behind him, Ollie was standing next to a security alarm on the wall, one hand on the lever.

“Ollie what are you doing!” Max hissed. “We don’t have time to mess around, we have to leave!” But Ollie did not move. He smiled in response to Max’s anger, but it was a strange smile, void of all kindness. 

“Oh, Max,” he said in a taunting voice. “You poor, innocent, fool.” At that last word, he pulled the lever, activating the alarm system. Max’s eyes widened in terror as the red lights on the corner of every wall began to flash. An ear piercing alarm screeched through the building, causing Max to double over in pain and slam his ears shut. 

“Ollie, what’s going on! Ollie!” Max shrieked at him, confused and angry at the same time. Ollie stood perfectly still next to the lever with an infuriatingly calm expression on his face. He clasped his hands behind his back as armed security guards donning bulletproof vests ran past him and surrounded Max. Max couldn’t take his eyes off of Ollie, even as he was shoved to the ground face first and his hands were locked behind his back in thick, cold handcuffs. The guards yanked him up from the floor, and pushed him down the stairs at the end of the hall, Ollie leading the way. To Max’s surprise, their descent led to nothing but a glorified janitor’s closet. The room was so cramped with bins of assorted medicinal supplies that some of the guards had to stand outside. On a regular day, Max would probably mumble something sarcastic about how he is undeserving of such a lavish prison, but this was not a regular day. Max’s thoughts were swimming with questions: What’s going on? Where are they taking me? Is this even real? He was so engrossed in them that he almost forgot where he was. At least, until Ollie flicked a light switch on the back wall, and the entire wall began to move. It slid to the side, revealing a dimly lit row of dirty jail cells. The floor and walls were bare concrete and the cells were completely empty, blocked by thick, steel bars. The first thing Max noticed was the lack of technology. Jails nowadays had keycards, electric locks, and fluorescent lighting. This jail was lit by a lamp on the wall, revealing how ancient this place was. The guards unlocked the first cell along with Max’s handcuffs and threw him in, slamming the door behind him. Ollie stood in front of Max, watching him struggle to stand.

“You can leave now,” Ollie said dismissively to the guards, waving his hand to complement his words. The guards marched out in single file, leaving Ollie and Max alone. 

“Well, well, well,” Ollie said, his smirk crooked and cruel. “How does it feel Max? How does it feel to be just as stupid as everyone thinks you are?”

Max was silent. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This boy standing in front of him was completely unrecognizable. He was not the one who went to all of Max’s birthday parties, who hung out with him everyday, who had been the only one to talk to him on his first day of school. If Max’s eyes could kill, Ollie would’ve been obliterated on the spot. The only response he allowed Ollie the glory of receiving was a subtle twitch of his left eye. 

“It’s ok Max, you don’t have to talk to me,” Ollie continued, pacing in front of the jail cell. “Heck, you don’t have to talk at all. You’ll only be opening your mouth to scream when you’re being shocked with over 100 volts of electricity by your new security guard friends, but that’s a future problem.” Max slowly shook his head, unable to mask his disappointment. 

“Why Ollie? Why would you do this? I thought we were friends.” Ollie faltered at the last sentence. He sighed, ceasing his pacing and turning to face Max.

”Well, if you’re going to be dead soon, I suppose I can tell you,” he began. “You’re what we at SAS like to call a Unique. And before you get all flattered, no that’s not a good thing. Uniques cause nothing but trouble for our perfect world. They disrupt the order we have around here with their abnormal athleticism, outside of the box thinking, and strong moral compasses. Don’t even get me started on their hero complexes.” Ollie rolled his eyes. “Once they find out about the slight moral dilemmas relating to the eternal happiness surgery, they make it their mission to put a stop to it. It’s ridiculous I tell you. In order to stop these miscreants from getting in our way, SAS began a program that assigned the children of trusted agents to certain Uniques. I just so happened to be assigned to you. I played the role of a friend, getting close enough to you so that you would do anything for me. That way, when I went to ‘get my surgery’, your hero complex would kick in and you would try to save me. Long story short, it is very hard to control an entire society, and people like you only make it harder. Therefore, we decide to get rid of you before you become a real problem by setting traps similar to this one you’ve found yourself in. Ta-da.”

“Wait,” Max interrupted. “If Uniques are such a big problem, and you people obviously have no souls, why don’t you just kill them when they’re born? Why even bother going through all this trouble?”

”Unfortunately, Max, the government can’t just go around killing babies. The average person doesn’t even know that Uniques are a thing, and we plan on keeping it that way. It’s kind of hard to keep the trust of the public when you’re massacring their children for seemingly no reason.” Ollie shook his head. “Seriously dude, it’s like you’re not even trying to keep up here.” Max opened his mouth to protest, but Ollie cut him off.

”Anyways, as much fun as it is to watch your sad pathetic face be sad and pathetic, I have to start preparing for your funeral. Looks like you got hit by a car while on a late night walk and died from impact! How sad.” Ollie frowned dramatically as Max stared at him, disgust written all over his face. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to pick the best flowers and even dry your parents’ tears for you. See you later. Oh wait! No I won’t.” Ollie cackled maniacally as he left the secret room, leaving Max all alone in his cell. 

Max dropped to the floor and sat there for a while, processing everything that just happened. He began to ransack his memories, looking for any sort of hint that Ollie would betray him, but coming up empty handed. He had been nothing but an assignment to Ollie — he even confirmed it himself — yet, somehow, Max still had a sliver of hope. Him and Ollie had been best friends for nine whole years. There was no way Ollie had been on a mission since he was seven years old. Deep down, Max knew that there had to be some way he could save Ollie, convince him to stop this, but he couldn’t do it alone. As he stared at the blank walls, another stupid idea popped into his head. The best people to convince someone to stop encouraging the surgery and killing innocent people would be those who had made it their jobs. Those who had been doing it for years. Those who had experience, like those in STS. They hadn’t been seen in decades, but that doesn’t mean they’re all gone. Someone had to have escaped, and that someone was going to be Max’s ticket to saving Ollie. But, until he got out of prison, that plan wasn’t going to go anywhere.

He tried to think, staring at the blank concrete walls and the scratched up floors, his eyes wandering over a vent in the ceiling. An air vent in the ceiling. That’s it! Max thought, jumping up to his feet to get a better look. The vent was loose, like it knew that Max was going to be there at some point. He squatted down and jumped with all his might, grasping the vent and pulling it off with his weight. Max turned left and right, looking for guards, cameras, or anything else that might get him caught, and seeing none. He leaped again, this time grabbing onto the side of the gap, pulling himself up and into the vent. Crawling on his forearms, Max traversed through the vents, recalling the blueprints of the hospital in his mind. He crawled up a gradual incline, took a few turns, and kept on going until he looked out in front of him and saw his sign of freedom through the grilles blocking his path: the moon. He punched the grille until it gave out, clattering to the ground beneath him. The sound was louder than Max had expected, but he brushed it off. Stealth was no longer the priority; now it was leaving as quickly as possible, no matter how loud he had to be to do so. He landed on the ground with a thud, breaking into a mad dash for his car. Once he got inside, he sped off into the direction of his home. 

Little did Max know that Ollie had watched him leave from the doorway of the hospital. His arms were crossed, his face still donning that same proud smirk. Ollie couldn’t wait. Any minute now phase two would begin and the real plan would be put into action. 

“Wow, Max,” Ollie said, speaking to no one in particular. “You wanna play that game, then? Let’s play.”

…

When Max pulled up to his driveway, it was almost sunrise. He snuck through the front door, up the stairs, and into his room, praying that his parents wouldn’t hear him. Before he would forget, he went to his computer and jotted down the last known location of STS on a sticky note. He took that note and shoved it into his backpack before kicking off his shoes and leaping into his bed. Max was going to need a good night’s rest to pull off this new plan of his, so he didn’t waste any time. A few hours later, Max’s mother came into his room to wake him up for school.

”Max,” She called. “It’s time to get ready for school sweetheart.” Max groaned in response, almost asking for five more minutes out of habit before remembering that today was not a regular day.

“Morning mom,” He muttered, rolling over to look at her. Her face twisted with concern as she scanned her son’s features.

”Max, why are your eyebags so dark? Weren’t you in bed before we even got home?”

At that moment, Max used all his willpower to stay quiet. He was so close to spilling his guts out and telling his mom everything the same way she always makes him do, but he refrained. This was not just a white lie or silly gossip; this could be a life or death situation. He knew he couldn’t endanger his parents, so he kept the secret. He did plan on telling them, someday. Just not today. Or any time soon.

“I just stayed up late doing homework.” Classic excuse. Works every time. 

“Okay then,” His mother replied, a skeptical look on her face. “Just make sure you don’t get to school late, alright? I’m going back to bed. Love you!” She walked out of the room.

”Love you too mom,” Max called after her. He sat up, replaying his plan in his mind until it was permanently etched there. Max got out of bed and prepared for the journey ahead. He changed, grabbed his backpack filled with snacks, water, and extra clothes, and decided to write a note to his parents at the last minute. The note was brief, with just enough information so that Max’s parents wouldn’t be calling the police. He left it on his bed but hesitated before leaving. He turned around, taking in the sight of his bedroom for one last time, not knowing when he would see it again. Then, he took a deep breath and left his house. 

The community was surrounded by a large, dense forest that was forbidden to enter. The thick, yellow spray painted boundary line stood firm on the concrete, serving as a constant reminder of that strict rule: do not enter. This same line was where Max made the biggest decision of his life so far: being a good person or living in ignorance forever. The adrenaline wore off, and the realization of what he was about to do finally hit him. Even for a casual rulebreaker like Max, crossing forbidden governmental boundaries was not a position he ever imagined himself in. What am I doing? He thought. Am I seriously about to risk my life looking for complete strangers in the forest just for a chance at saving Ollie? The minute those words formed in his brain, his heart sank with shame. Shame that he was really considering turning back and leaving his best friend to be evil forever just because he was scared. The guilt of knowing that he had a chance to save Ollie and didn’t take it would be worse to live with than any punishment he would get for breaking the law. He had to do this. 

Max took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and took the first step on his long journey towards the last hope he had of saving his friend.

---

Biography

My name is Alyssa Greene. I’m a sophomore who loves to spend her free time reading (preferably fiction), writing, baking, and spending time with my friends and family. I’ve always had a passion for volunteering with kids, and I am very involved at my church. Most of all, I greatly enjoy expressing my creativity in new and exciting ways, whether it’s trying a more difficult writing style or a time-consuming art form.

How do you resonate with your piece? Why is it personal to you?

This piece is personal to me because it is inspired by a couple of books I have read in the past, such as “The Giver” by Lois Lowry.

What is your ideal writing environment?

My ideal writing environment is my study room.