ꜛꜜ𝓐𝓵𝓽𝓲𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓮ꜜꜛ

ꜛꜜ𝓢𝓲𝔁ꜜꜛ

"Did you know," I begin over a bowl of room temperature oatmeal, "If you're being chased by a swarm of bees, you actually shouldn't jump into water? They'll just wait for you until you come up. You have a better chance of surviving if you just run."

Finch and I are seated at one of the many round tables scattered across the massive mess hall in the Saferoom. Now that I think about it, it's less of a Saferoom and more of a huge bunker.

"How do you even know something like that?" Finch asks. I hold up the survival book I was reading earlier and flip to a creased page. I set the book on the table and push it towards him. He skims the page and nods, raising his eyebrows. "Impressive."

"Mind if we join you?" A somewhat familiar voice asks. Finch jumps up and hugs the shorter of the two people standing near our table. They both have matching red trays with a bowl of steamy oatmeal.

"Of course, Syra!" Finch exclaims, returning to his seat across from me and scooting down the bench so he sits beside me instead. Syra and Nathan sit across from us. Nathan gives me a look and turns to Syra.

"Anyways, so this one time, I was cleaning out my desk, and I found this super old phone. Can you believe it? Obviously it didn't work because of that big Flare thingy, since the chip was fried and all, but it was so cool." Syra nods excitedly.

"I absolutely love computer science. A big part of being an EA is learning how the water is distributed to all the plants around the island. That's why we also collaborate with a lot of Water Workers too." She gushes on about old devices, and Nathan has that familiar spark in his eyes. I can tell he's plotting something, and I don't like it one bit.

"How'd you sleep last night, Nathan?" I challenge. He narrows his eyes.

"I slept wonderfully last night, Aspen, what about you?" He fires back. We stare at each other for a moment.

"I couldn't help but think of that... interesting fire from yesterday," I say carefully, "don't you think the way it started was a little suspicious?"

"I don't follow."

"It almost seems like someone started it on purpose. Don't forget, I studied Massfires last year. I know how they typically work." He smiles.

"If that's the case, then I say we get to the bottom of who could have done something so terrible." He frowns slightly. Syra gasps.

"I forgot about that fire! All this lukewarm oatmeal distracted me," she jokes. She looks at Nathan and smiles. "Anyhow..." They continue their conversation on electronics and classes while I turn to Finch.

"You ok? Your face is a little pale," I comment. Syra turns to me and narrows her eyes. She reaches over the table and feels his forehead.

"He's just a little warm. He'll be fine." She says dryly. I pat him on the back and finish my now cold oatmeal.

"I'm going to go throw this out and head back to our sector for morning classes." I say, rising from my seat. Finch gets up and trails behind me, drinking the rest of his oatmeal before discarding the bowl and replacing the tray in the collection slot. I head down the main hallway, passing the primary entrance. The doors are barred off and blocked by chains.

"Doesn't that seem a little extreme?" I whisper to Finch as he trails behind me. He nods and stays silent. We retrace our steps from the first time we entered the Saferoom to the winding hallways further down the tunnels to the back room. "How come you followed me so quickly? You didn't even say goodbye to your sister," I say in a low voice. For whatever reason, speaking full volume feels wrong surrounded by these echoey walls.