Thieves (Camren)

Chapter 3

Lauren was woken up by a high pitched noise ringing in her ears the following morning. Her body jerked up making the manual that was lying on her chest fall to the wooden floor while a sharp pain shot through her whole body. The ringing didn't stop and the noise started to make Lauren's head hurt, so she had to hold her hands over her ears until it was finally over. She slowly took her hands down, fearing that the noise would come back, but it didn't. She rubbed her eyes and let out a loud yawn before she looked at the clock, which showed her that it was just past 8 am. She assumed that the noise was a general alarm clock which went off for everyone so she got up from the couch and started to stretch her limbs, feeling once again an uncomfortable pain going through her body, before she went to her bedroom to get changed into a pair of jeans and a comfortable black hoodie she found in the back of the closet. When she was dressed she trudged to the bathroom and went through a small morning routine which only involved washing her face, brushing her teeth and her hair. After putting the latter  in a bun, she went into to kitchen to check whether there was any food but then there was a loud knock on the door.

She let out a slightly annoyed sigh because the last time she ate was almost twenty-four hours ago and now something or better said someone unknown held her up from it. She didn't know who this might be considering she had only met doctors and an engineer so far but she doubted that one of them would show up at her door at this time, especially since she had her appointment with Dr. Cabello at 11 am.

She rubbed her eyes for the last time, feeling even more exhausted than she did before she went to sleep, due to the fact that it was a disturbed sleep and she woke up several times that night. There was no way that she would get more rest for today, though, so she opened the door and forced a friendly look on her face where a strange woman was waiting, smiling at Lauren the moment her face got revealed. "Hey there, I'm Dinah," She introduced herself. Unlike the others Lauren had met so far, she didn't reach out her hand but stayed where she was, which Lauren appreciated.

Although Lauren wasn't as nervous as the times before, she could gladly refrain any kind of body contact with a stranger. This woman didn't make her feel intimidated but rather comfortable. There was something warm and soft about this smile which gave her a good feeling. "I'm not saying that my eyes and ears are everywhere but my eyes and ears are everywhere," She joked and it eased Lauren a little more. "So, I noticed you're new here and I'm guessing you have no one to show you around, that's why I thought I should volunteer if you want me to," She offered.

Lauren hesitated at first because her actual plan was to figure everything out by herself. It was something that had always helped her,however, she thought that maybe it'd be a good idea to make a friend. She was going to stay in the facility for a long time and loneliness would only prolong this time. "Yes, that would be great," She eventually replied and returned a smile. It surely wasn't the most sincere one but it was the first smile she wore in a long time.

She closed the door quietly and followed the woman in the direction she came from when Camila brought her there. "I think the best way to start this tour is with showing you where the cafeteria is," She winked at Lauren, who let out a soft laugh. "But wait, you have been there before, right?" She asked and Lauren shook her head. "God, that must mean you're starving," She dramatically grabbed Lauren's hand and forced her to go a step faster.

Lauren felt a little overwhelmed with the situation, but she didn't say anything and just kept following her, scanning her hand whenever they stepped into a new sector, unable to keep track. It took them a few minutes to go through all the sectors and Lauren slowly started to feel the impact of not eating for a day. She couldn't wait to get something to eat once they were finally there and she could smell all the food. Dinah could see Lauren eye the buffet that was at the end of the huge cafeteria, so she used the time and started to search for her friends in the crowd.