Her Compound

Chapter 7

After stopping five times at five different rooms to drop off the baskets, we made our way down the rest of the sleeping quarters hallway and then made the left turn onto the long hallway where the cafeteria and training room were located.

I could hear the loud chatter coming from the cafeterias' open doors as we grew closer to the large room. The smell of fresh eggs and sausages wafted out of the room and made my stomach growl and my mouth water in anticipation as we rounded the corner into the cafeteria.

It was the exact same as how I had seen it the previous day. Four long tables, filled with laughing and chatting teens, ran from one wall to the other while at the other end and where another door was located, was two tables pushed together covered in different kinds of eggs, sausages, bacon, and toast.

As we passed by the two middle tables, heading towards the lineup for the food, many teens stopped their talking to inspect us, many of them nudging each other and nodding in our direction. I felt like I had a large pimple in the middle of my forehead and everyone was staring at that.

"This wasn't the welcome I was expecting," Logan muttered from behind me.

"Oh, come on," Matteo said on Logan's right. "This is a lot better than what I was expecting."

Willow looked over her shoulder and then turned around after we all came to a halt at the end of the breakfast line up. "What were you expecting?"

"Y'know..." Matteo said, glancing at all the the staring teens, "the murdering welcome. With guns and knives pointed at our heads."

I nodded and looked down at the ground, wishing that Willow hadn't braided my hair so I could let it fall like a curtain, shielding me from everyone stares. The reality of what was actually happening surprised me immensely. I wasn't expecting this kind of outcome either.

"Everyone grab a plate," Zack said once we had made it to the beginning of the table, gesturing to the four stacks of plates on the edge.

Willow and I were the closest so we picked up a few of them and passed them back to everyone else before grabbing our own. We then all followed Zack further down and then started loading our plates with all sorts of food, all while I could still feel the stares of everyone on the back of my head.

Once we were all done with getting our food and after picking up the wrapped cutlery, we followed Zack to the furthest table to the right side of the hall where a larger gap was located. I sat down on the side closest to the wall while Willow sat to my left and Logan sat in front of me. Matteo sat in front of Willow and beside Logan, and then I watched as Zack sat down next to Logan.

I looked down at what I grabbed; scrambled eggs, a sausage, a piece of bacon, a scoop of fruit, and a slice of toast, and then unraveled my fork and knife out of the disposable napkin. Our part of the table was silent for the most part, just the sound of scraping metal against our plates and people eating were the only things that could be heard.

"Zee!"

I looked up from my half empty plate and could see the same man from yesterday with brown hair walk along the table, heading for Zack.

Zack swallowed his piece of toast and looked at his friend. "Hey, Alex."

Alex stopped just in between Logan and Zack, and looked at each of us before staring back at Zack with an arched brow. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never eat with the newbies," Alex pointed out. "Never."

Zack shrugged. "I thought this group would need some more time getting comfortable." He then took another bite out of his toast.

Alex stared at Zack with squinted eyes until he came up with a conclusion and resumed his eyes to their normal shape. "Alright, I guess I'll see you later."

Willow and I both glanced at each other before resuming to eat the rest of our breakfast. Alex left back to where he came from and another minute went by before the silence was broken once again.

"So, what do you have planned for us today?" Matteo asked, leaning around Logan to look at Zack.

Zack swallowed his last bite of toast and then picked up his fork once again. "We'll just be having a discussion with the person who... runs this compound, and then we'll have lunch and I'll let you guys have a slower day today until dinner and curfew."

"Are you guys going to always keep us trapped in our rooms?" Willow asked.

I looked at Zack for his answer while eating my last piece of food; a grape.

Zack shook his head in regards to Willow's question. "Like I had said before, we don't want any of you hurting yourselves. As soon as I can trust you, we will be turning the locking system off and you will have free access to that hallway."

I placed my fork onto my empty plate and then watched Zack swallow his last bit of food before finally asking him the question that had wanted to be asked since I had first met him. "Did you have to go through all of this as well?"

His grey eyes met with my brown ones and he went to open his mouth to respond to my question when his watch beeped and he immediately looked down at it, reading whatever was written there. He then looked back at me apologetically before standing up from the table and looking at all the finished teens in our group.

"She is ready for all of you," he said. "Just leave your plates and follow me."

I raised my eyebrows for why he didn't answer my question but obliged to his command. I'll just have to remember to ask him later I suppose.