"Mom, where are you taking me?"

"You will know soon Aaron."

I looked at Mother, slightly nervous and apprehensive. It wasn't because I was afraid of being taken to an unknown location, it was because we were being escorted by two armed guards. Did Mother and I do something wrong? No, it was impossible as mother was calm when interacting with them.

We were being escorted through an unknown facility. The walls of the facility were white and spotless, the air conditioning occasionally making my skin prickle and develop goosebumps. I shivered and rubbed my arms to warm myself up. I could also smell the occasional pungent scent of antiseptic, making me sneeze from time to time.

"We're here." one of the guards announced. He stopped and grabbed the handle of the door closest to us and ushered me in.

I looked up and saw that I was brought to an empty room. The room was similar to the rest of the facility – the walls clean and the floor spotless. However, if you were to notice closely, tiny holes can be seen on the walls.

Suddenly, I heard the door shut, followed by a loud clicking noise. I swiveled my head and saw that the guards and Mother locked the door, trapping me in the room.

I panicked and grabbed the handle in an attempt to open the door, but was met with failure. "Mother, what is going on?" I shouted, my heart thumping furiously. I banged against the door vehemently, hoping I could get an answer from Mother.

"I'm sorry my son," she replied, her eyes tearing up. "It pains my heart greatly but for the sake of my survival, I had no choice but to do so. It was either me or you. I am sorry, sorry, sorry...."

I looked at Mother's crying face, shocked. Thoughts raced across my mind, causing me to panic even more. Mother was the only pillar of support I had in my life. My father passed away before I was born so I had no memories of him. Mother became my only family member. Due to our impoverished status, we were often looked down upon by other people. Mother's relatives, ashamed that they had connections with lowly beings like us, cut off ties with us. We only had ourselves to rely on. Mother worked hard to make ends meet. She took up multiple jobs and worked for long hours, just to earn enough money to afford basic necessities and to provide for my education. Despite all the hardships, we were a happy family. Now, that illusion of the happy family I had was slowly cracking and crumbling to dust. I couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal and anger.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening...." I muttered to myself over and over again, a futile attempt to calm myself down. What did she mean by ‘It was either me or you’? Am I going to die? No, no, no....

Suddenly, I heard a hissing sound, similar to when gas is leaking out from a pipe. I turned around and saw that the holes on the walls were now emitting a strange colorless gas. Instinctively, I held my breath and ran as far away as I could from the unknown vapor. I noticed that the room seem to lack a vent and I immediately came to a conclusion - I was trapped inside a gas chamber.

"Let me out! Let me out!" I pleaded, tears streaming down from my eyes. I kept banging against the door, hoping that what I have heard just now was a lie. Mother looked away, ashamed to meet my face. The guards simply looked at me with a stoic expression, as if as they had seen this scenario thousands of times and had developed immunity to it.

Even though I knew it was hopeless, I kept banging against the door. I was speedily loosing energy and becoming tired. I could no longer hold my breath and started to inhale the gas. When the vapor entered my lungs and to my bloodstream, my eyelids suddenly felt heavy and I could feel myself beginning to lose consciousness. I concluded that I was breathing in sleeping gas. My vision became blurry and I could feel my senses dulling. I cast one more look at Mother, whose face was one of guilt. Anger and disbelief filled my heart.

“Why….? I thought we were family…..”

I fainted.