Lazaretto (Camren)

F I V E

"I desire the things that will destroy me in the end." –Sylvia Plath

CAMILA

I woke to the sunlight hitting my face, opening my eyes fully when I realized I wasn't sleeping on the couch. We all stayed up rather late talking about the facility and how Troy and Dinah managed to escape, claiming they wouldn't have been able to do it without Lauren's help. In the midst of it all, I was exhausted from running all over town (literally) and fell asleep on the couch within an hour of the conversation. Someone must have moved me in here. Usually I was a light sleeper, no thanks to the facility, but I must have been out cold because I didn't feel a thing.

Turning my head side to side to get a view of the room I was in, I noticed it was very plain. The paint was chipping off the walls, and the closet looked to be smaller than the one I had at the facility. I smiled when I saw a bay window to my right, complete with cushions and a blanket. I threw the covers aside and walked across the creaky floor over to the window, hoisting myself up and covering my bottom half with the blanket, resting my head against the wall behind me. The sun was just rising in the distance, painting a blushing skyline. 

I looked down at the cars and people below, and they seemed to be in such a hurry. Horns were honking, and some people were even running. I figured they would have gotten in trouble if they didn't obey their schedules, too. Glancing up at the skyscrapers, trying not to strain my neck and bother the cut, they looked like they touched the clouds. And that was when I saw it. My picture was flashing across an electronic billboard not far from the loft. It also had my height and approximate weight, along with a warning that I was a danger to society and should call the police or the facility right away if they had any information about my whereabouts. My mouth gaped open. I would never be able to leave the loft, I thought. I had escaped prison just to be put right back in.

"Good, you're awake."

I turned my head from the window to see Lauren walking into the room. Of course this was her room. She instantly saw the worried look on my face and furrowed her brows as she made her way over to me. She put one hand on the cushion and the other on the wall to steady herself as she looked out the window. As she leaned over my body, I could smell the soap she used in the shower that I assumed took place just minutes before. Then I looked at her toned arm that was right beside me only to bite my lip and swallow the nerves. She let out a deep sigh, and I realized she had found what I was so worked up about.

"Don't worry about it. It will be handled," she said as she backed away from the window. I didn't know what to say so I just silently nodded to myself.

"What time is it?" I asked after a few seconds. She didn't answer right away. Instead, she walked around the bed and pulled aside a sheet to reveal her tiny closet. She pulled a plain black t-shirt from a hanger to match the black pants she was already wearing and as she slipped the piece of fabric over her black tank top, I caught a shimmer of gold on her left shoulder in the sunlight.

"It's about eight-thirty," she finally answered as she pulled the shirt down over her body, the golden shimmer disappearing as she turned around to face me. I was going to ask, but I decided against it.

"Shouldn't you be at the facility?" I questioned instead.

"I don't have to be there until nine," she returned as she fastened a belt around her waist.

I turned back to the city to see a different advertisement on the electronic billboard where my face used to be realizing then that she only came to work early at eight to wake me, not because she had to be there. She grabbed her keys, her cell phone, and her cigarettes off of the dresser before exiting the room. She opened the door before speaking to me again.