After watching hundreds of outsiders pass by, one holds my attention a little longer. She's young and looks healthy enough to be a scientist. Her hair is long and blonde, and she stands taller than those in line around her. Her strength also exceeds the others, as she isn’t struggling with her buckets.
She must have felt my eyes on her, because she looks at me and sends me a smile. Forgetting where I am for a moment, I smile back, feeling the skin in my cheeks warm up. I watch her until the trail of people obscures my view. The second she’s gone, I want nothing more than to see her again.
Minutes later, my wish is granted as she appears in the line returning to the reservoir. Again our eyes meet, and we exchange smiles. She continues, and I find myself searching for her in every outsider that walks by me.
Hours seem to pass, and in the brief moments the sun steals through the clouds, I can tell that our shadows have moved. Finally, I see her walking toward me again. My heartbeat speeds up, and my cheeks feel warm also. She must have been looking for me as well because she begins smiling steps before she gets to me.
As our eyes lock, her feet get tangled into each other, and she falls, dropping her bucket of stones. Her face looks up to me in horror, anticipating an electric shock from my gun. Without thinking, I bend down and help her collect the stones into her buckets and get back up to her feet.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
When I stand, fear fills my chest. Everyone has stopped, and they have all turned to watch me. The drones and the outsiders are all in shock. If I am supposed to fit in, that didn't help.
I fight to regain my composure. Taking a quick deep breath, I yell, “Back to work!”
The outsiders jump right back into their never-ending march, including the girl. Most of the drones resume their tasks, though some continue to stare in my direction.
I’m watching the girl walk away in my peripheral when a drone steps in and shocks her in the back with his prod gun. My head whips around, and I see the drone sneering back at me. Immediately, I know that it's 99. It's getting harder for me to tell the drones apart from one another, but my instincts tell me that I'm right. As bad as I want to run over and rip the sneer from his face, my mind and body contest. I stand my ground.
A lump rises in my throat when I realize that it's my fault he shocked her. I want to apologize to her and ask her if she's alright.
She passes me a few more times before the end of the day, and I suppress my apology every time. The last thing I want to do is cause her any more harm. We share a few hidden smiles as she walks by, and I'm sure she understands that I am remorseful.
When the night begins intruding on the day, 13 steps out of his tent. “Close it down!”
The drones closer to the bunker usher the outsiders away as a new drone shift replaces them to stand guard at the entrance. The outsiders drop their buckets where they stand and rush past me. I turn and see dozens of drones handing out protein pouches to the mass of people. Things begin to make a little more sense.
I turn back and join the drones as they return the weapons to the tent. After placing mine on a rack, I exit the tent. A hand pulls me aside. It belongs to 13.
“What happened out there does not happen again. Understood?” He grips my arm tighter.
“Understood.” I pull my arm away. I didn't know that he had been watching. I have to be more careful if I am to do what Farouk said.
“See you tomorrow.” 13 heads back into the tent.
I walk off in the direction I came from this morning. My thoughts replay everything from the day, especially the girl. I hope to see her again tomorrow.
It isn't until the tent is no longer in view that I realize I am the only one walking this way. Instead of turning back, I continue, knowing it will lead me back to my room at some point. The decorations along the exterior wall look different as the last of the day leaves the sky. The lack of light makes them appear evil and uninviting.
When the statues of the people begin looking more familiar, I know that I am closer to where I need to enter the stadium. A few feet away is the entrance to the first corridor in the maze that will lead me back to my room. The irony is not lost on me, because I feel more trapped here than I did in the dungeon at the compound. I stand outside, staring at the black hole, not wanting to go in.
“You alright there, kid?” a voice echoes out from the corridor. I have only ever heard Farouk refer to me as a kid, so I know it's him. His large frame steps out of the darkness and joins me outside.
“Why am I here?” I get right to the point. I'm tired of not knowing, and if he wants me to cooperate, he needs to tell me why.
He smiles at me. Without a doubt, the biggest smile I have seen on his face. Farouk puts his hand on my shoulder. “I want you to build an army.”
CHAPTER IV
We sit down outside the stadium. The air has gotten colder, causing me to shiver every time a breeze blows by. Those small moments of wind also carry with them the stench of fires from the city.
My mind is still processing what Farouk said. He wants me to build an army. What kind of army? For what?
These
