by Giger, S. L.
“Sweet, we don’t have to wash our own clothes,” I said as a joke but much to his annoyance.
“You will have jobs in here so that life can function. You’ll receive your chores tomorrow.” He gave me a measuring once over. “Plus, there is school for everyone under eighteen from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon with a one-hour break for lunch.”
I nodded. “I’m eighteen though. Do I have to go?”
“No”, he said as if I asked a stupid question. “Anyway, go up to the clothes room on the second floor and see Damian at attendance tomorrow at 7.45 a. m. Dinner is in the garage at 6.30 p.m.” He rattled off as if he’d told this already a thousand times. “I’ll let you get settled now.” He waited for some kind of reaction from us for a moment and then turned around and left.
I looked at Gregory who was still pretty much a stranger to me but already felt much closer since he was my only ally right now.
“So far, so good. I was getting nervous when you didn’t come out for so long.” He muttered.
“Should be okay.” I exhaled. Now that we were almost by ourselves, I could finally concentrate on why I came here. Alex had to be somewhere inside this building as well. I filtered through the heartbeats of all the people here. It was quite a loud rainstorm. But I would find Alex’s heart even in this mixture. I’d know his heart out of one million. Except that he wasn’t here. My nerves started to get tense. Why couldn’t I find his heartbeat? Either they had already done something to him or they had brought him to another place. Both would be terrible but since the first option was unthinkable, I concentrated on the second option. It could be that they had brought him to the police station. Melissa and Luke would be close to here, listening out for him as well and they would notice if they weren’t bringing him here on Tuesday. I exhaled to make myself relax. Now that we were here already, we should make the most of it and get to know our surroundings before Tuesday.
“Let’s check out this place a little.” I prompted Gregory. We walked back through the maze of beds. The air down here was surprisingly good for the fact that so many people stayed in this room. Probably thanks to a filter system with big metal tubes. Outside the sleeping chamber, there was a dark corridor or the stairway leading back up. Would they keep Alex locked away somewhere down here? It did look a bit like a dungeon. Gregory and I exchanged a glance and headed down the dark corridor. Then, an automatic light buzzed and suddenly we could see more. We reached doors leading to different bathrooms and shower stalls. So, no prison after all. We headed back upstairs. I needed to catch Sam before he caught me, not that he’d blow our cover.
Upstairs I smelled roasted onion. They were already preparing our dinner, which would take place in about two hours. Since most doors were closed and we didn’t have an excuse to open all of them and look inside, we made our way up to the second floor to ask about the clothes room. Up here, they treated us much friendlier. I guess we had arrived on the charity floor. The clothes room was like a small shop with clothes ordered into category sections.
“Pick three outfits and then label each piece, including the underwear with a ribbon with your name on it.” An elderly lady shook a box of safety pins and pointed to a pile of red ribbons and waterproof markers.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “A free shopping day should be every girl’s dream, right?” I started looking through the shirts.
“So, you received a job inside this room”, Gregory said to the woman. “What other kinds of jobs are there?”
“Oh, all kinds of jobs. Cleaning, cooking, washing, setting up and clearing the tables and benches, electricians if something doesn’t work, teaching, security or something hospital related.” She went to the pants and picked out a couple that might fit Gregory. “Try those.” She handed them to him. “If you have a special skill, you should tell someone.”
“I worked in a bank, I guess accounting is not of much use at the moment.” He replied and then disappeared behind a curtain to try on his pants.
“Except if they could put you on the food rations team.” The woman placed her hand on her cheek while thinking whether Gregory would be right for that job. “They have to make many calculations and keep a record of how much food there still is in the surrounding supermarkets. They have to arrange themselves with the other shelters around.”
“Thanks”, we heard the muffled voice from behind the curtain. “That might be interesting.” He stuck out his head. “How do they get the food here?”
“Oh, by trucks. There are logistics jobs as well of course.” She moved around to pick out a few shirts.
So, the shelter wasn’t a maximum-security prison. Like I proposed to Melissa it must be possible to get on one of those trucks and then leave the shelter.
I also picked out and tried on my outfits and in the end, Gregory and I were standing in front of the underwear shelves a bit self-conscious. I didn’t calculate into our plan that we’d have to wear secondhand underwear. But I guess we could deal with that.
Then, I put on my thin silk gloves to also be able to touch the safety pins and we labeled our pieces of clothing with our wrong names.
“You can keep them in your locker.” The woman said.
“We don’t have one yet.” I pulled one corner of my mouth down.
“Oh, then they’ll give you one tomorrow. You can leave them here for now and get them later. Hardly any new people come anymore. But obviously, there are still a few lost wanderers.” She smiled at us.
We thanked her again and went back downstairs. Next up was a walk on the big concrete square outdoors which I had observed from the other side of the fence in the past months. It was about half the size of a football field and again populated with groups of people standing around and talking. Some of them acknowledged us with a nod or simply with a stare because they realized we were new and then they turned away again. I spotted Sam and wanted to run up to him with a surprise hug. However, since we told the VCP at the entrance that we weren’t from Orleans it wasn’t likely that I knew someone so well.
“There’s my friend,” I, therefore, said quietly since I wasn’t sure if anyone was still watching us. Gregory followed my glance.
“The blonde one?”
“Yes.” I slowed down, so Gregory would hide me from his vision.
“Perhaps, I should talk to him first and let him know you are here but that he has to behave like he doesn’t know you?” Gregory suggested, and I was glad he was such a fast thinker.
“I’ll be on my bed. You could send him there.” I turned around to head back to the firehouse before Sam’d see me.
In the quiet of the staircase, I once more listened out for Alex’s heartbeat. Again, without success.
I heard the door squeak from upstairs and then steps echoed as Sam came downstairs. When he saw me, his face lit up and he gave me a questioning look at the same time.
“Hey,” he sped up a little until he stood next to me, still one head shorter than me.
“Hello,” I said. “I’m Nathalie.”
He drew his head back slightly and furrowed his brows. “Sam.”
“Have you been here for a while?” I asked and walked toward my bed where we’d be more sheltered from other ears.
“Yes,” he said hesitatingly. His eyes screaming to want to know why I was behaving like this. I felt a strong urge to give him a hug. “How about you?” he managed to add.
“My dad and I got here today.” I sat onto my bed with my gloves on, since the frame of the beds were made of metal as well. Sam‘s eyebrows had disappeared below his fringe due to his questioning look, but he sat down next to me in silence.
“Have you noticed anything about the guy they arrested this week?” I asked in a low voice.
He shrugged but then actually gave it some thought. “He did look a bit familiar. But I only saw him on TV.”
“Have you ever been on a college visit at UMass?” I asked him as he was there with me when I saw Alex for the first time.
> Sam’s eyes rolled to the top right and he grimaced. The more I did or said the more my behavior seemed to confuse him. Suddenly his eyes widened. “Is he?” he stammered in a whisper.
“Alex.” I filled in.
“Oh crap,” he hissed and then clenched his jaw. I saw how his train of thoughts started rolling behind his eyes. “Shit. I’m so sorry.”
I slightly shook my head. “I’ll get him out.”
Sam exhaled sharply. “That’s not possible. Everybody is armed. They’ll kill you.”
I swallowed. “I have some helpers.”
He put his hand on top of mine between us on the bed and squeezed it. “They don’t joke around with people who don’t behave the way they want. I know this must be hard for you but even with help, you won’t stand a chance. They are too many.”
I bit my lower lip. “I appreciate your concern. But I don’t have a choice.” I drew my hand back. “Don’t you understand that I have to do everything in my powers to save Alex? Even if it seems impossible,” I added more quietly. Despite my extra powers, I was still scared I’d mess up due to nervousness.
Sam gulped, looking a bit hurt. “What is your plan then?”
“We planned a big distraction. It will all be over soon.” I pressed my lips together. Or over for us.
Sam was quiet and then moved his mouth a few times without saying anything. As if he wanted to get something out but didn’t know how.
“What is it?” I had to laugh.
He swallowed. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I like you, but you have always been a bit different and somehow it fits that you are involved in something like that now.” He studied me a bit more, unsure whether to continue. “Now with all this talk of curses I had to think whether there is something to it.” He took a deep breath. “Are you a witch?” he whispered.
Although this came as a surprise, I had to credit it to Sam that he didn’t use the now negative term ‘Alternative’. Sensitive Sam had a good nose. My face changed to a friendly smile. Other kids at my school had accused me and my family of being Alternatives a long time ago. Sam, my friend, would never say anything like that if he didn’t believe it and had his reasons for it. Then, my smile turned serious again. Dr. Palmer’s action had been so efficient that people were afraid of magic right now. I couldn’t be sure how Sam’d react. “Sam, what do you think of me?” I asked quietly. “Do you think I’m a good person?”
“Um, yes.”
“Have I ever hurt anyone?” I asked.
“No, you are my friend. I only have kind friends”, he bit his lip, waiting for what was coming next.
“So, then you do know me. And while for you, I’m one of your friends since you went off to college and got many new friends, you for me are still my best friend here.”
He nodded, his lips tight.
“That’s why someone needs to do something about this situation and I am happy I am part of it. We can’t let them rob us of our freedom without even the slightest fight.”
“Oh, Nat...” He puffed his cheeks. “Can I do anything to help?”
“We should have enough people.” A human probably couldn’t do much without weapons. “You stay safe and keep up the charade.”
He bowed his head, staring at his knees. “You should sit with us tonight. We might as well spend some time together until whatever happens."
“Right.” I scooted back out of the bunk and he got up as well.
“What’s up with the gloves?” he asked.
“I’m allergic to metal.” I gave him a ‘don’t ask’ glance until he turned and walked in front of me.
“Let’s go then.” He beaconed. “Dinner is served in the garage.”
That evening, Gregory and I sat with Sam’s family. They knew me but since they had so many young boys to always look after, they didn’t realize I had only just shown up in the shelter. It was loud in the garage with so many people eating there. I found out that there were even two eating shifts since there wasn’t space for everybody at once.
Now that we were admitted, we were two people among many others and nobody paid special attention to us anymore. Still, since Alex wasn’t here, we had no other option but to pretend to be normal asylum seekers until the execution. I’d simply keep my eyes open for TV messages which would announce the exact place and time where the execution would be. I was so nervous about Alex’s death I didn’t even worry that these could be my last two days alive as well.
Chapter 19
I probably wouldn’t have slept well in the bunker in my first night even if I was able to sleep. There was too much movement. People going to the toilet, small children crying and contaminating other children with their cries. Gregory was completely passed out though. I guess the exertions from the journey of the past days had caught up with him. But that meant my mind was free to wander to the worst possible variations of Alex’s death or how I’d mess up my singing. I tossed and turned to try to shake those images off but no matter how hard I tried, they always returned. In the end, I lay flat on my back again and focused on finding my energy flow but just before starting singing, I would disconnect. Then, I did it from the start again.
In the morning, we filed in with the other people who went on a pilgrimage to the breakfast room. I had a half full glass of water in front of me while Gregory ate both his portion of cereal and mine. At the appointed time, we announced ourselves at the attendance office. A tall guy with a pen behind his ear and a lot of paperwork in front of him nodded at us. “Nathalie and Bobby?”
“Yes,” Gregory said.
“So, for you, I have found a spot in the kitchen for the breakfast and lunch shift.” Damian looked at Gregory.
“For you, it was more difficult with all your allergies. I hope you will be fine mopping the floors?” He paused, and I nodded. “There are different shifts. Tracy is your group leader and yours is Jack. You can find Jack in the kitchen now and Tracy will be down in front of the bathrooms in half an hour.” Damian had finished his instructions and we could leave again.
“I guess I’ll see you at dinner. Don’t get hurt.” Gregory told me.
I knew that he didn’t mean the allergies. My nerves were still tense that Theresa might come back and try to measure my pulse again. However, when I joined my cleaning team, I realized everybody was preoccupied with their own thoughts about the upcoming execution. It would be the first one at this shelter. Here and there I overheard someone whisper to someone about it. Most of them were shocked that Alex would be shot because he had talked to them during his stay here and they didn’t think this punishment was fair. But there were also a few idiots who were happy something was finally happening. A change to their boring daily life no matter that it was at the cost of someone else’s. I wanted to slap some sense into them but suppressed that urge for the bigger plan.
The people of importance were busy arranging things for the execution. On one hand, I was relieved to hear they’d bring Alex back but at the same time, my chest tightened. The day of having to sing on cue was approaching.
Sam had gotten himself a job to get the dining room ready. For every meal, they had to set up all the tables and benches and then put them away again. The space was needed for the food trucks delivering their goods and other happenings. Sam was also one of the people who had to help to build the stage for the execution.
“I can’t believe I have to do that. I feel like such a traitor,” he told me when we had a break at the same time and we took a walk across the square together.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s better for our plan if we get an unobstructed view of what is happening on stage.”
He puffed his cheeks and then let go of a breath. “I get queasy if I only think about us having to watch this. I mean, this isn’t a video game. It’s real life.” He added as if I could have been in doubt about it. “How must you feel and are you sure everything for your plan is ready? Because they will be.” He whispered.
I pressed my lips into a thin lin
e, counted to three in my head, and then looked back at Sam, not allowing myself to panic. It wouldn’t help to scare Sam as well and, in the end, it was important that I believed in myself. “Truth is, I can’t wait for it to finally be here. We have practiced what we’ll do at home and know what to do in our sleep.” I threw another glance at the stage. Waiting for the execution was the biggest torture of all. I had no idea how it would play out, but the longer I’d have to wait, the higher was the chance that I wouldn’t be able to sing on cue because I’d be too nervous.
“What exactly is your plan?” Sam asked in a low voice and then gave a nervous laugh.
I smiled at him as if I’d say something trivial. “Give them a big show instead of letting them put one on for us. I’m sorry but I don’t think I should tell you any specifics on those grounds.”
He pulled his mouth into a slant line but nodded. “I can be here for moral support if you need me.”
I lay my arm around his shoulder for a moment and squeezed him against me. “Thanks, that I can use a lot of.”
The night that followed was endless. People were even more restless than on previous nights and in the morning the breakfast room was far too quiet. Perhaps people were afraid that they’d be executed along with Alex if they made a wrong move and so the tension was palpable in the air. Pulses quickened, and hearts were beating louder. However, so far, I still couldn’t feel the presence of Alex and nobody had dropped a line about any high visitors. Before my shift of mopping more floors, I took a walk in the square where technicians set up the last equipment for the big event in the afternoon. I slowly let my glance wander along the fence of the square. I hoped to spot Luke doing what I had been doing in the weeks before – running along the fence in Siren speed without being seen by the human eye. My insides jumped with relief when I did not only see Luke but also Melissa. Both would be there for back-up safety. I bit my lip. Did that mean Dr. Palmer and Monica would be here if Melissa was back from France? I drummed my chest with my fingers to symbolize the energy that was supposed to be boiling in there. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how Melissa gave me a thumbs up. I puffed my cheeks. Alright, only a few more hours until it would come to the big showdown.
