Radiation Point

Eight

"Who are you?"

There was something in Ellen's eyes I hadn't seen before. Perhaps I hadn't really looked-the mom jeans and the sob story enough to convince me Ellen was nothing more than a sad mom. But beneath the panicked glances was the prowess of a predatory cat.

She tugged on her button down shirt and straightened her shoulders, "I'll find you girls later and explain. But stay here and keep outta trouble!"

She fixed a smile on her face and turned to walk away. She paused before she left, "And for god's sake, try and act normal!"

I watched in amazement as Ellen walked down the isles of cots, smiling and chatting with people as she went.

Mia crumbled onto her cot, her duffel bag falling to the floor with a thud. She looked as dazed as I felt.

"Who did you become friends with?"

Mia shrugged.

"I don't know."

I sat next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. I knew this phase for Mia. This was when she shut down; at the first sign of threat.

"You have to be strong," I whispered. "We're going to make it out of this, even if we go out fighting."

Mia bit her lip.

"Right, fighting."

"Here," I said, setting her gun on the floor next to her, "You have this ready if you need it. Do you have your knife?"

Mia nodded silently and patted her pocket.

"Good. Now go to bed."

"What?" Mia asked incredulously, snapping out of her stupor. "Didn't you hear Ellen? They want to kill us!"

"We're ready if they try. But we need our energy to fight. Go to bed."

I watched as Mia curled up in her cot, her back to me. Then I fell back into my own cot, falling into a restless sleep with my knife cradled close.

When we walked into the mess hall the next morning, I instinctively looked around for the commissioner. He normally sat at a table in the front of the mess hall, along with other military personal. Today was no different.

He sat with two soldiers on each side of him. Leaning across the table, he was talking animatedly to the soldiers. Several guards stood on either side of the table, their guns glinting under the florescent lights.

"Did he always have that many guards?" I whispered to Mia as we waited in line for our food.

"No, I think he normally just has the two."

"Me too," I agreed. "Something big is going on."

I stopped talking when we reached the food counter, and slid my tray across the cold metal. A plump woman with a fish net on her head plopped oatmeal in my bowl and slid the tray down, where the next woman added a small danish.

I thanked the women and made my way to our usual seat in the far corner of the room. It was as far away from other people as we could get.

"You don't think this has anything to do with us does it?"

"Oh, this has everything to do with you, Sugar. It always has," a voice said from behind me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, turning to look at Ellen.

Ellen slid down next to me, setting her tray down with a plop.

"Honey, what do you think it means? It means that the commissioner has his eye on you."

I let my spoon slide down into my bowl, my appetite fading.

"How do you know so much?" I asked accusingly.

Mia kept her head down, playing with her oatmeal. She hadn't looked at Ellen since she sat down.

Ellen looked like someone caught in a trap. She stared at her untouched breakfast for a moment, before finally looking up at us, determined.

"I'll tell you everything, but you need to promise to hear me out," Ellen said, searching my eyes.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms. "We'll hear you out. Right, Shadow?"

Mia glanced up, looking cross. She shot Ellen an accusing glance, but nodded silently.

Ellen sat forming the words, tearing at a napkin in front of her nervously.

"First of all, I was telling the truth about my past," she said looking at Mia earnestly. "But I might have left a minor detail out."

With an unapologetic sigh, she glanced around at both of us.

"I'm a renegade."