Fortuna

9

Along with the hail came rain as well, and then a flurry of snow. It started off slow - we watched from my bed for an hour or so until we became bored. We replayed the contents of the disk for Max and after that, we decided our best course of action was to resume with our regular activities until the storm got significantly worse. We would act like nothing had happened and lay low until the timing was right. Imara went back into her poor hiding spot while Max and I went to the gym like we originally planned. Max was surprisingly quiet throughout the whole ordeal.

The way to the gym was through a concealed side door near the end of the hallway which I likely missed previously. It made me wonder though - why did they treat us so well? I mean, really? A gym?  

I felt Max's hand push against my chest as he stopped me when I placed my hand on the door to push it open. "Honest question, Hayden. Do you think we can trust her?"  

"Imara? Yeah, of course," I started, moving forward, only to have him stop me again. "She wants to escape too, after all."

"No. I mean Sally," he uttered with a tone of impatience. "Why would she, of all people, help us?"

"To be completely honest with you, I don't know, Max. I really don't know. I just think that she's our best option. What would she gain if she harmed us?" I reasoned with him and thought back to when she was dragged away from me back at the hospital. I was thankful that she was now safe. "We don't have much to rely on, do we?"

I assumed he didn't have a good response to that because he stopped talking.

We entered and saw Marco and Kenji, sweat beads dripping down their foreheads as they performed reps on the various equipment. We joined them, Max and I going on the treadmill-like machines first. Ten minutes hadn't even passed before Max pulled me aside to the corner abruptly in the middle of my routine. Man, I was just getting started. 

Seeing his troubled face, I feared for what he was going to say. He took a quick glance at the others, making sure our conversation was secret and then he whispered to me. "I'm going to tell Marco and Kenji about all of this. I can't just leave them in the dark. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

I knew it!

"But it'll be so much harder for us to sneak out and escape with a large group of people," I replied, trying to level out the guilt I also felt in keeping our escape plan from the two. It was akin to knowing the answers to a test beforehand; unfair for others but if everyone knew the answers, the teacher would get suspicious. You can't save everyone, right?

"Only them two," he looked at me pleadingly. "I promise."

I knew that he would have told them regardless and asking me was just a courtesy. A part of me wondered why Max cared so much for the other two; they only knew one another shy of two weeks. "I swear Max, if they tell others..."

"They don't have any other friends here," he reassured me with a pat to the shoulder and then did his charismatic wink, walking over to Marco and Kenji who were taking turns doing bench-presses.

I watched from my corner as he spilled out our secrets, their faces changing expressions - from confused to angry, and from angry to hopeful, and from hopeful to determined. Marco looked over to me at some point and gave me a thankful nod and I returned it halfheartedly, wondering if we were putting ourselves at a greater risk than before.

And just like that, we added two more weights to our boat that was doomed to sink from the beginning. Max came back to where I was standing and the two continued their bench-presses. I was probably a bit more pessimistic than I should have been but given my streak of luck, I'd say it was pretty reasonable. I rolled my eyes at Max who gave me a cheeky smile and then I went back to my treadmill.