Vision

David was one of the most successful lawyers in the city. He was by no means a celebrity, but he was very good at what he did, and he was handsomely rewarded for it in terms of his paycheck. He had the latest and most expensive Audi, his favorite car. He wore the nicest designer suits. His hair was always well kept, his beard just the right length. His whiter than usual smile lit up a room whenever he was in it, and his voice commanded your attention. David was always kind, considerate, and progressive. He never stepped on anyone’s toes, never shouted, never cursed. He never let his power or wealth get to his head, with everyone around him always mentioning how down to earth and humble he was.

           David didn’t have many friends, but there were a couple co-workers that he was somewhat close with. David, Cory, and Nathan would all get lunch together Monday to Friday and discuss their ongoing cases. Whenever Cory or Nathan would bring up their personal lives, David would shy away from joining in. He liked to keep his private life as private as possible, but he was always polite about it. Anytime he was asked about what he gets up to, David would mention taking care of his mother, tending to his garden, taking his dogs for walks. There was never anything interesting going on.

           This was usually true however, lately, David’s after-hours schedule was quite littered with the name ‘Julie’. David had been secretly dating Julie, who he had met online through a dating app. They were only five years apart in age, David being thirty-nine and Julie being thirty-four, but Julie would often tease David for being an old man. David didn’t really show any signs of being his age though. His face was void of any wrinkles, his body was well sculpted from regular sessions at his home gym, his hair required no dye to remain its lovely coconut brown, and he was very up to date on the latest trends and technology.

           Despite her constant teasing, David still adored Julie. They had been dating for two years, and their time together had only become more and more pleasant as the days went on. One thing David truly loved was how Julie was content with never meeting anyone from his job or even his remaining family members. His job was always something that he felt needed to be separate until he was married, and his family — who lived in Europe — wasn’t really close with him. He sent his mother cheques every month to take care of her medical bills, but that was really it. Julie enjoyed the idea of having David all to herself, happy to even keep him from her own friends and family. She never questioned his desire to keep her a secret, in fact it was something that sometimes turned her on.

           Tonight was their two year anniversary, so David invited Julie over to his place for a homecooked meal. He had set the table in a fancier fashion than most extravagant restaurants would, and his culinary skills were on display with the meal he had put together for the two of them. The most delicious wine from Italy filled their large glasses and quiet classical music played on David’s home sound system. Julie moaned as she took her first bites of the white wine butter scallops that David had prepared.

           “Oh, David,” she said. “These are amazing. Why don’t you cook for me more often?”

           David smiled. “You ask me that every time I cook for you.”

           “I do?” Julie asked. “Well, it must be because you never answer me.”

           “You know the answer,” David said. “Work doesn’t end at 5 p.m. for me. I’m not always available for dinner dates.”

           “I know, I know,” Julie said with a smirk. “I’m only teasing. This is lovely, David. Truly.”

           “I’m glad you like it,” David said. “More wine?”

           Julie was finishing a bite of her scallops and quickly swallowed so she could answer. “Yes! This is lovely stuff. Naples?”

           David gently poured more of the dry red wine into Julie’s cup. “Tuscany.”

           “Oh no wonder I love it,” Julie said.

           “Yes,” David said with a smile. “Your ancestors must be singing hymns every time you take a sip.”

           “Let me finish this glass and I’ll be the one singing,” Julie said through some light laughter.

           “Well, before you do that, I have something I want to tell you,” David wiped his mouth with his napkin and adjusted his deep blue jacket and maroon tie.

           “Oh?” Julie said as she put her fork down and sat up straighter. “What is it?”

           David reached out and took Julie’s hand in his. “I love you, and I want to marry you. But, first, you have to know something about me that I’ve been forced to keep from you until I thought I could trust you.”

           “Okay aside from the loving me and wanting to marry me bits, you’re making me a tad nervous here, David,” Julie said.

           “It’s nothing bad,” David said with a smile. “I’m a part of a secret society called The Descendants.”

           “Oh?” Julie asked. “That’s quite exciting actually. Can you tell me more?”

           David gently squeezed Julie’s hand. “Yes! I have to. Like I said, I want to marry you one day, and the society won’t let me until you agree to be a member.”

           “Are you kidding?” Julie said with a massive smile on her face. “I would love to be a member!”

           David returned her smile with one of his own, but he let go of her hand and adopted a bit more of a professional posture. Julie noticed this change and her smile faded, realizing then that it was perhaps a more serious conversation than she was taking it for.

           “I appreciate your enthusiasm,” David started. “However you must know what we stand for first. The Descendants are a society of people that have communicated with their ancient ancestors from a time before our known history, when human civilization thrived before the great flood. They have taught us their ways, and our goal is to replace the standing governments of the world with our members to better lead humanity into a new age of prosperity.”

           Julie appeared confused. “You…talked with ancestors? Say I believe that. What ‘ways’ did they teach you?”

           David grinned. “A wonderful question. In our envisioned new world, there is no left or right. In fact, the extremists on either side are prosecuted and detained, eliminated if necessary. Elections are no longer held. Population is regulated. The world operates under one common currency, and those in communication with their ancient ancestors rule the world. We lead the human race as one nation, with hubs of importance. We determine a person’s job and purpose and insert them into their role when they reach the proper age. Education is purely statistical, focusing on mathematics and science. In this new world, we eliminate freedom, therefor removing the main reason people tend to lose their way, and in turn, cause the human race to lose its way as a whole.”

           “My god, David,” Julie said. “You can’t truly believe that’s a better world than what we have now, can you?”

           “Of course I do,” David answered. “There’s no other way forward in my eyes.”

           Julie took her napkin off her lap and put it on her plate. “Well, this was lovely David, but I think I want to go home now. I’m feeling a little tired.”

           “I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” David said as he stood up.

           Julie defiantly rose to her feet as well. “Excuse me?”

           David sighed. “You clearly weren’t paying attention. Today, you accept to be a part of the society and in turn, marry me. That’s what needs to happen.”

           “And what if I don’t want to be a part of your crazy society that appears to crave tyranny?” Julie asked.

           David slowly grabbed his knife from the table. “Then that would be quite unfortunate.”

           Julie didn’t waste any time. She quickly broke away from the table and ran for the door. David was faster though, and he caught her in his arms before she even got close to the exit. He held the knife to her throat with one hand and held his other hand over her mouth.

           “I will give you one chance to change your mind, Julie,” David said. “Simply because I love you.”

           Julie bit David’s hand and he pulled it away quickly. He then closed the distance between her neck and his knife, causing Julie to throw her hands up in the air.

           “Wait!” she shouted. “Wait! David, please. I won’t tell anyone. I promise. I won’t say a word about any of this. I doubt you ever truly did love me, but if you do, please, show me. Let me go.”

           “Is that a no to joining The Descendants?” David asked.

           Julie took a moment to answer. “I’m sorry, David, but I can’t. Please. Let me go.”

           David sighed before kissing Julie on her cheek. “I’m sorry too, Julie.”

           With that apology, David quickly jammed the knife into Julie’s neck before sliding it across and out. Blood fell to the floor, Julie’s eyes wide and full of tears. She clawed at David as he lowered her to the floor, watching the life leave her eyes the entire time. Eventually, the loss of blood was too much, and Julie died. David wasted no time. He put the table settings away in the kitchen before taking the tablecloth and wrapping it around Julie’s neck. He then picked her up in his arms and carried her down the hallway to his study. Tilting one of the books on his bookshelf caused the entire shelf to come forward and then slide to the left, revealing an elevator door. David entered and pressed one of the two buttons on the panel.

           The doors opened soon after David’s descent and revealed a stone-walled room with a large metal door at the far wall, and a table in the middle of the floor. David rested Julie on the table and opened a small, slim drawer. He withdrew his necessary utensils and placed them on the table before walking over to the right wall and procuring a jar full of clear liquid from a shelf. He brought it with him back to Julie, opened it, and set it down. Expertly, David used the utensils to remove Julie’s eyes and then placed them in the jar. He left the bloody tools on the table and closed the jar before walking over to the big iron door. He used a large mitten that was on the floor to open it, the heat from the fire warming his face.

           David walked over to Julie, kissed her lips one final time, and then lifted her into his arms. He carried her over to the flames and tossed her in before he began to undress; every bit of clothing he wore that night was tossed in after her. David closed the iron door when he was done and walked back over to the table. He picked up the jar, inspected it with a solemn expression, and made his way over to the wall with shelves incased in glass. He set the jar of Julie’s eyes next to the other six jars of eyes that sat on the shelf.

           “It’s truly a shame that you couldn’t see the future we would have made together,” David said. “I really thought that you were the one.”

           David closed the glass door and grabbed his cellphone off the table, having left it there when he undressed. David dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

           “She didn’t have the vision we have,” he said. “Send the cleaners.”

           David ended the call and got into the elevator. He then opened the dating app on his phone and started swiping right on every woman that showed up.