Project ELE

by Rebecca Gober & Courtney Nuckels

CHAPTER 6 (Thirty-eight days inside.)

  I was excited when I woke up this morning and saw on my tablet that today is in fact my first free day. My dad wasn't so lucky. He still has to work. We both head over to breakfast together and down our cold oatmeal before my dad has to report for his shift. Not sure what else to do with my time, I stay seated at the table and make arrangements for Connor and Claire to meet me up with me. While I wait I browse the amenities app on my tablet trying to get an idea of what we should do.

  Someone clears their throat next to the table and I look up to find Alec standing beside me. “Oh, um, hey.” I stutter. I’m still not quite sure how to address Alec. I mean, he is my boss and all, so our conversations tend to be a bit awkward.

  “You mind if I sit?” Alec asks.

  I shake my head no, even though I do kind of mind.

  He sits in the seat across from me. Alec tipis his fingers and leans forward. “Look, I know it’s kind of awkward and all, what, with me being your boss, but I was hoping maybe we could hang out sometime?” His question catches me totally off guard and my jaw drops open. I watch as he grimaces and shifts in his seat, looking exceedingly uncomfortable.

  “Yeah,” I squeak a little uncomfortably. What should I say? No? I clear my voice. “I mean sure, that would be cool." His green eyes light up just a little. What the heck I think to myself. "Um, I’ve got some friends meeting me here soon; well, you know Claire and Connor. We were planning on doing something today, not sure what, but you’re welcome to tag along if you’d like.” Tag along? Does your boss ‘tag along?’ I mentally kick myself and look to the floor.

  Shockingly he agrees, “Yeah, hey that sounds great. You know, I have to be quite honest with you. This sucks.”

  “Excuse me?” I ask a little hurt by his words. We've hung out for less than a minute and he already thinks it's lame.

  “No, wait, that’s not what I meant. What I meant to say is my job sucks.” Okay, awkward, I think. “I mean, some people might think being in charge is cool, especially at my age, but in all honesty, it’s just flat out lonely. People respect you and all, but they don’t want to necessarily hang out and be friends. It makes me feel old even though we are all in the same age group.”

  Connor and Claire walk up behind Alec and stop mid-step. Alec continues to talk about loneliness and pours his heart out while they approach the table cautiously. Claire jabs Connor lightly in the ribs and gestures her head towards Alec. They both squelch a laugh and I try widening my eyes at them letting them know to chill out.

  Connor gets a huge grin on his face and begins doing a silent version of the running man behind Alec’s back. I look to Alec who seems to be oblivious of their presence behind him. Claire puts her hand over her mouth squelching her laughter.

  She waves her hands at Connor to get him to stop and looks back over at me. She then proceeds to act like she’s taking a seat and tipis her hands in front of her mimicking Alec. Connor nearly loses it and steps back away from us, hand over his mouth.

  “It’s just with my dad being who he is and all, it can be tough, you know?” My attention focuses back on Alec and I nod my head in understanding trying very hard to keep a straight face but not feeling like I’m succeeding. I honestly didn't hear half of what he just said because Connor started dancing in place again. “You know what’s really interesting Willow?” Alec asks with a raised eyebrow.

  I try harder to concentrate on him and not on what my friends are doing. “No, what?” I ask.

  Alec lets a small grin appear on his face. His voice raises a few decibels, “It’s interesting that Connor and Claire think I can’t see what they’re doing behind my back. Yes, that’s interesting.”

  Connor stops mid running man and Claire closes her mocking mouth immediately.

  “Oh hey guys! I didn’t know you were standing there.” Alec says in mock surprise placing his hand over his heart.

  I bury my head in my hands. Oh my gosh, can it get any more awkward?

  “How--” Connor begins to ask but Alec doesn’t give him the opportunity.

  “See that metal tray dispenser right there?" He points to an area right behind me. " Yeah, I could totally see you the whole time.”

  A crimson color spreads across their faces as the realization dawns on them. Alec shakes his head, “It’s cool. I would have done the same thing.” He gives a small chuckle as Connor and Claire try and pull their heads out of their butts. “Really, it’s all good.” Alec says trying to reassure them again.

  I bust up laughing at the calamity displayed before me. All heads turn to me, but I can’t help it. That had to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. It doesn’t take but a moment before everyone is laughing with me. Connor and Alec exchange some kind of macho male handshake. Then both of my friends join us at the table.

  "So what are we going to do today?" Claire asks.

  "I vote to go swimming." Connor chimes in.

  "No." Claire and I both say simultaneously. This is our first time to hang out with our boss. I'm thinking that bikini's and swim trunks aren't really appropriate in this situation. Plus, I didn't get to shave my legs this morning so that idea is definitely vetoed.

  Connor looks mildly disappointed. He suggests a second option, "We could see a flick at the theater."

  Everyone looks at each other and we shrug at the so-so idea.

  Alec checks something on his tablet then says. "Well, if you are into Historical films we can go check it out. Today they are playing back to back documentaries of World War I, World War II and World War III."

  "Oh that sounds like a blast." I say sarcastically.

  "I don't hear any genius suggestions from either of you." Connor says a little sourly.

  "I guess that leaves shopping or bowling. Since we get paid crap money we might as well check out the bowling alley." I open my eyes wide and hold my breath when I remember who is sitting at our table.

  Connor and Claire give me that look that says, 'dude, pull your foot out of your mouth.'

  "I mean, um..." I start to say but Alec waves me off.

  "Look, I know you all don't get paid squat. I make only a little more than you do. I understand." He looks around at all of us who still look semi uncomfortable. "Let's pretend for today that I'm not your boss. That I'm just another kid like you trying to have fun."

  "Kid." Connor harrumphs.

  Alec turns to where he's facing Connor better and asks, "Just how old do you think I am?"

  Claire says under her breath, "Old."

  Alec raises his eyebrows to Connor.

  Connor finally responds. "I guess like twenty or so." He cringes a little worried that he may be treading on the wrong turf with his boss.

  "Ha! I'm only seventeen." Alec says.

  "You're not even a legal adult?" Claire asks then adds curiously, "How did you get this job then?"

  "Like I said in our first meeting. I've been helping out at my dad's business since I was fourteen. I pick up fast and I was managing shifts by the age of sixteen. It was only natural that my dad gave me a shift when he was assigned his position as lead administrator." Alec says. "Anyhow, I may be mature when it comes to work, but I still know how to have fun."

  I blush when his green eyes settle on me.

  "Sounds good. Let's go check out the bowling alley then." I say and stand up. Anything to get out of the strange eye contact thing that Alec was doing to me.

  Everyone follows suit and we take the elevator to the fourth floor to check it out. I've never been bowling before but I've seen it done on television and in movies. It looks like fun. The elevator lets out in front of the pool area and my nose fills with that strong smell of chlorine. I look in the windows and notice it's extremely crowded today. I guess a lot of people are off this Sunday.

  We follow the hallway down until we hear the sounds of balls hitting pins and crowds cheering. Twenty lanes are lit up in neon colors. We go to check in at the registration boo
th where a skinny teenager with a liberal peppering of freckles on his face tells us that all of the lanes are full. He adds us to the waiting list without asking, which is running about an hour long. I look around to the others for suggestions.

  "We can wait," Alec says. "I don't mind."

  Everyone else shrugs so I take that as a sign to go and find a table. I find one near the back and take a seat. Everyone else follows except Alec who has been intercepted by someone playing the guess who game. Newly manicured French tip nails are attached to the long skinny fingers covering his eyes.

  "Guess who?" A girl calls out from behind him. I can't see her but when she lets out a hideous giggle I 'guess who' immediately.

  "Ugh! It's Candy." I sigh but remain in my seat.

  "Perhaps if we stay completely still and don't move an inch she won't see us." Claire says jokingly.

  "I don't think she's worried about us seeing her. She seems to have her paws all over Alec." Connor laughs and watches the scene with pure amusement.

  Alec doesn't seem too happy to be temporarily blinded so he just removes the hands and turns around. "Oh, hey Candy." He says blandly.

  "Hi ya Alec! What are you doing on this fine Sunday?" She says in a sort of southern drawl that sounds completely fake.

  "I'm hanging out with some friends." He looks back and gestures at us.

  Crap, we've been spotted. I think to myself.

  "Those are your friends?" She asks with repulsion.

  Alec surprises me when he says, "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

  I hate to admit it but I love the shocked look Candy get's on her face.

  "Well, I was just thinking that since you finally had a day off you would want to hang out with me or the guys." She rubs her index finger down his chest in a gesture that makes me want to puke.

  To my delight, Alec removes her finger from his chest. "We don't really hang out anymore so I figured it was time to make some new friends."

  Her mouth drops open for the slightest second then she closes it abruptly. She makes some annoyingly high-pitched shrieking sound and turns on her heel to stomp off.

  Alec comes over to the table and looks at me curiously. "Wow, I haven't seen you smile like that, ever."

  I quickly wipe the expression off my face, not realizing what I was doing.

  "It looks good on you." He says and I look away shyly.

  "So what was up with you and Barbie?" Connor asks.

  "We went to school together. Her brother and I were on the same football team. That was back before we started predominantly doing our home schooling." Alec answers.

  "Well it looked like she has the hots for you man." Connor playfully punches Alec on the shoulder.

  "I guess so. We hung out a few times, but she's not really my type." Alec looks over to me ever so briefly and I feel a strange fluttering sensation in the pit of my stomach.

  Claire looks over her shoulder and says, "Great, here comes her whole posse. Maybe we should just head out."

  "Good idea." I would like nothing better than to keep my distance from Candy and especially from her brother Zack. He gives me the creeps.

  We pass by them without saying anything. I feel Zack's stare as if it's burning my flesh but I look directly ahead and pretend that I don't see him. I do feel Alec stiffen ever so slightly next to me. I hadn't realized he was walking so close to me before then but I can tell that something put him on edge.

  The tension in our group doesn't relax until we are back in the hall.

  "So that idea seems to be botched. What's our next course of action?"

  "We could go to the library." I offer.

  Connor and Claire look at me like I'm nuts but Alec says, "That sounds great. I've been wanting to check to see if there are any good books in there."

  I smile up at him. Alec continues to pleasantly surprise me. He's not the cold hard boss I thought he was.

  We head down a flight of stairs to the Library. When we walk through the double doors my eyes are immediately focused on the countless books lining the walls. All four of us waste no time diving into the shelves. Thankfully they’re categorized by subject area.

  “Hey guys,” I say. “Come check this out. There’s a whole section related to this mountain.” The bookcase is labeled with a sign stating: Local Selections. I pick a random book from the shelves and flip through it. Boring! All it has in it are blueprints to the sewage systems and a bunch of information that I couldn't care less about. Before I reshelf it, I look at the sewage map again. Something about it strikes a chord in my brain but I can't put my finger on it. I close it a moment later and move on to the other books. To my disappointment, I continually come across one boring instructional manual after another. Where's the murder mysteries or the science fiction? I look around at the other sections in the small library but don't see anything of interest. They range from indoor farming to, world history and the history of F.E.M.A. Not one single non-fiction book to be had in here.

  I huff my breath sending my hair billowing from my face. With my back against the wall, I slide to the floor in an act of defeat. In less than an hour we have ran through the only activities that this shelter has to offer. There's got to be something else to do in this place. Connor, Claire and Alec all shelve the books they were looking at and come sit at my side.

  “I don’t know guys,” I start. “I’m not sure what I expected to find, but this stinks. There isn't any fiction and the one non-fiction section that could be interesting doesn't really contain anything about this mountain that's useful. I guess we will have to find some other place to pass the time. Something to keep our mind off…things.”

  Connor and Claire nod their heads in unison.

  Alec on the other hand seems lost in thought.

  “I mean, there’s got to be something fun to do here besides wallowing in self-pity or twiddling our thumbs. This place is huge. There must be some trouble to be had.” I furrow my brow in frustration. It’s really not like me to be looking for something that will get me in trouble, but hey, give me a little credit. I need something to help me unwind. These last few weeks have been completely crazy. I sort through the visual of the map in my head looking for another activity to enjoy in the shelter. Then it hits me. “Guys, I think I’ve got it!”

  Both Claire and Connor turn and look at me expectantly. Alec finally returns from 'lala' land and gives me his full attention.

  I get up quickly and find the book I had recently reshelved. “Here, look at this.” I open the manual on Sewage Systems and find the map. I lay it across the floor so we can all see. Taking my tablet out, I pull the general map up and set it by its side. I point my finger at the Sewage map. “You see here?” I ask excited that I've now figured out what struck that chord when I was staring at the map. “This is the map of the Sewage System. These tunnels run parallel to the halls, which I guess makes sense. If you look at the map of the facility that we use to make runs and this map simultaneously, you can see that these passageways not only connect to everything on the original map, but there are also some passageways leading to places that aren't named or mentioned. If you look really closely it looks like there is a whole other floor beneath the storage area." I look up from the map to see my friends staring at me like I'm nuts.

  "You totally lost me." Connor says.

  "Yep, me too. What exactly are you getting at?" Alec asks.

  I laugh. It's hard sometimes for me to verbalize what my brain is processing so instead I put it in laymen’s terms. "Guys,” I say pause for dramatic effect. “I don’t think these are sewage tunnels per say; I think these are hidden passageways.” I look up to gauge their expressions.

  Claire has a curious gleam in her eye but Connor busts out laughing hysterically.

  "Secret passage ways!" I stare at him straight faced until he calms down.

  "Hey it could happen. I heard a rumor about a spring somewhere down there that feeds into the mountain. That's how our water i
s being pumped in. There must be some way down to it. What Willow says doesn't sound too far fetched." Alec looks to me and I show him a grateful smile.

  Connor's face turns a little red at having been shut down but he quickly gets over it. “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

  “Let’s go check it out,” Claire squeals. She gets up super-fast and reaches her hand out to me. I take it and she pulls me to my feet. She's got some good strength for a girl so small.

  Alec and Connor meet us on the upright and I reshelve the book. “Wait,” says Connor. “We’ll need that to know where we’re going.” He reaches for the book I’m shelving.

  I gently stop his hand. “Remember Connor? Photographic memory.” I point to my head for emphasis.

  A look of realization dawns on Alec's face. “So that’s how you do it.”

  We all break out in a laugh at Alec being clued in to how I manage to get my work done so quickly. The librarian turns around and yells at us to be quiet. I put my fingers over my lips and we slip out the door but not before the librarian gives us a dirty look.

  When we get into the hall Alec is the first to break the silence. "Guys, I'm not sure about this. It's labeled sewage system for a reason. We can't be crawling around in that stuff!" My eyes drop as I realize what he's saying. "But," Alec begins again with newfound hope. "I think I may know how we can still do this." All of us turn to Alec and give him our full attention. Alec pulls out his tablet and opens a map I hadn't seen before. "Perks of the job," he says answering my unasked question.

  Connor and Claire inch closer to Alec and me as he punches in different options on his tablet. He pulls up a map of the lower level and it expands into a more detailed translation; one I hadn't seen before. I take a mental picture of the gigantic space that takes up an entire level as Alec begins explaining. "This is where all the supplies are kept for the different jobs in the facility. The sanitation department has rubber boots and other gear that would allow us to go into these tunnels. I'm not sure what's down there but we should be ready for the unexpected if you ask me."

  We all nod our head in unison.

  "So," I pause trying to gather my thoughts. "Once we get down there, how will we know where the stuff is that we would need? I mean, it's got to be a pretty big area to take up an entire floor. And, what if we get caught? "

  A small smile escapes Alec's lips. "In answer to your questions Willow: a) I don't know how we'll know what stuff is where; and b) we won't get caught if no one sees us." A small gleam catches his eye as a mischievous grin escapes me. I guess that was confirmation enough for Alec that I'm game. He turns to Connor and Claire, "You guys in?" He asks simply.

  They look at each other and then nod their heads. We look like a bunch of Cheshire cats grinning the way we are. We've been working our butts off; now it's time to play.

  "Wait," Alec says. "Before we go, we've got to figure out what to do with the tablets."

  I furrow my brow. "What do you mean 'do with our tablets?' We take them with us of course." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

  He lets out a small sigh. "Seriously, you haven't figured it out yet?"

  "Figured out what," Claire interjects.

  "Figured out that the tablets track your every move." Alec says. He continues, "Willow, how on earth did you think I would know that you help Claire and Connor when you run? Hmm?" He asks me. He doesn't wait for my response before he starts tapping into his tablet. A map pulls up of the facility with a bunch of red dots that are moving slowly across the screen. "Now, I only have access to the runners under my direction, but there's a large map in headquarters that has all of the residents of the entire facility being monitored simultaneously. Yeah, kind of creepy, I know." He puts his tablet back in his satchel that he carries and waits while we all brainstorm.

  Out of nowhere I hear this guttural laugh coming from Claire. We all stare at her like she's lost her mind. She puts her hands on her knees and continues to laugh for a moment longer until she settles down enough to speak. "Sorry," she says between breaths. "Okay, I think I have an idea." She looks around her to make sure the coast is clear then huddles closer. "So, Alec, you say that they track us by our tablets so we can't really leave them anywhere right? I mean, that would look pretty obvious if we sit in the same spot for several hours." Alec nods his head and she continues, "So what if I could guarantee that we'd leave them somewhere and they would move around throughout the day?"

  Alec furrows his brows, "I'm listening."

  "Okay," says Claire. "What if we found a way to tape them to the bottom of something that gets moved around all day." We all nod our heads waiting for the punch line. "So, I say we put them on the bottom of say, a maid cart, or the cafeteria tray carts?"

  Connor begins jumping, "Claire, that rocks!" He pulls her into an excited hug and keeps jumping. Claire's body stiffens and her hands remain at her sides. Connor must sense this because he stops mid bounce. He clears his throat. "Sorry 'bout that. Just got excited." He looks down at his foot and I try and stifle a small laugh.

  "So anyway," I say trying to change the subject. "Claire, I think you're onto something. Alec what do you think?" We all look to Alec for final approval.

  "I think it's go time." He says with a smile on his face. "Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to go into the office and grab a roll of heavy-duty tape and meet you all back here. Then we'll each go our separate ways, tape up our tablets and then meet by the elevators in the commons area. Sound like a plan?" We all nod our heads in agreement.

  "Wait," I interject. "I mean, it sounds like a fail-safe plan, but how are we going to find our tablets when it's all said and done?" I hate to sound like a killjoy but it's a valid question.

  "Good question, Willow." Alec responds. "All I have to do is retrieve mine first and then I can pull up each of your tablets locations. Maid carts and tray carts don't move that fast; I'm pretty sure we can manage to track them down. We all good with that?" Alec asks everyone.

  "How are you going to find yours?" I ask.

  He smiles at me. I feel a flutter in my stomach. "I'm going to be earning extra credit by working on my only day off. I'll just tape it to the underside of my desk."

  "Clever." Connor says.

  We all nod our heads in unison. "Okay, hands in." Alec puts his hand out in the middle of the circle. We each stick our hands out and put them on top of the other. "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three..."

  I'm not sure what we're supposed to do so I just stand there. We look at Alec a bit awkwardly, "Were we supposed to say something?" I ask Alec.

  He just rolls his eyes and removes his hand. "Oh, never mind. Let's meet back up in half an hour." We agree and disperse to find our secret hiding spots.