Escaping Elysia

Chapter 7 - Out

Evita

I do my best to avoid Dale over the next few days, only enduring his fierce stare during meals and in the Solar Room. I've figured out that our job is to clean the solar panels and mirrors, though not from him. He hasn't spoken to me since my first morning here. I've watched how he cleans the mirrors, spraying a solution on them and then rubbing them with a soft, clean cloth, in circular motions, until their surfaces are streak free. Simple really, just like cleaning the windows at home.

The panels are a little more difficult. Dale uses a large squeegee to clean them, sometimes pulling out a small brush to clear dust from the edges. It's become our unspoken agreement that I will clean the mirrors while he does the panels. There's only one squeegee anyway, so it works out well.

Each morning when I've arrived he's been working on a new section of the panels, though I'm not sure how he chooses which section to work on each day. I would think it would make more sense to move from panel to panel, following a logical pattern, but I don't question it. I figure I won't be in here for much longer, anyway. Sheer comes to Elysia on Mondays. Today is Monday. As soon as I'm able to talk to Sheer this will all get sorted out.

We usually finish cleaning before lunch, so I've had the last few afternoons to explore the facility. It turns out that I was right, the double doors next to the clinic are the only way out of the facility, but until I can figure out how to get this bracelet off I won't be walking through them. The library, where I'm currently parked on a couch, is the only room besides the Solarium that I enjoy visiting. Floor to ceiling shelving covers the walls, overflowing with books. Real books, made of paper, so that you can smell the trees if you press your nose against their pages.

Next to the library is a screen lab, stocked with tablets and even a few older laptops. Sometimes I see researchers inside, typing reports. They wear stiff, white lab coats, a stark contrast to the thin grey sweats and t-shirts the test subjects wear. Of course, guards and researchers are the only ones who are able to access the screen lab. This is the first time in my life I've gone more than a few hours without a phone or screen, and my fingers are itching to glide across the smooth surfaces.

It's hard not to feel depressed here, when all I have to look forward to is a sunny place to lounge and books that smell like trees. I remind myself again that this is only temporary.

I get up to head to the girls' bathroom. Through the library window I see a woman walking down the hallway with three of the senior researchers. They're talking, and one of the researchers takes notes as the woman points to things. I recognize the short, blond bob, carefully curled under. It's Sheer.

My pulse jumps and hope swells in my chest. I dash to the door of the library, and find myself running into Dale as he enters.

He narrows his eyes at me, his normal reaction to my face, but then his expression changes to curiosity as I try to duck around him. He looks behind him at Sheer, and a knowing look comes over his face.

"You don't want to do that." He's still blocking the doorway.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I say, stepping to the side. He moves too, blocking me again. I step back and cross my arms. "I don't need your help. Besides, don't you hate me?"

A shadow passes across his face. "Thanks for reminding me," he says, then pushes past me. I barely hear his response as I race out of the room. He's wrong, I know it. Sheer was so helpful and kind after the shooting. She even sent me that pie. She'll be able to help me.

"Secretary Sheer," I say as I approach them, and she turns around. When her eyes meet mine she smiles, and as confident as I was, I still feel relieved.

"I'm so glad to see you," I say, and Sheer tilts her head. One of the researchers she was talking to smiles, as if he found what I said amusing.

"Are you now? And why is that?"

"Well." My voice falters. "I tried to tell them that I wasn't supposed to be here but nobody would listen. They wouldn't even let me call you and sort this whole mistake out."

Sheer's smile broadens. "There was no mistake."

My heart plummets. "What?"

"I told them to bring you in." The florescent lights, dreary compared to the light in the Solarium, flicker overhead.

"What? I don't...Why?"

Sheer sighs. "Don't look so shocked. You were asking too many questions. I couldn't have you jeopardizing everything I've spent the last five years working for."

Asking too many questions? All I wanted to know was how the gun got into my purse. Sure, I saw the document on her tablet, but I'd had no idea what it meant.

"I didn't do anything-"

"Not yet." Sheer cuts me off. "But you would have." Another researcher checks his watch, then pats Sheer on the elbow. The bright white of his lab coat is distinct against his skin, brown with cool jewel undertones. His eyes are a warm brown above his wide nose, and the library lights glint off the top of his bald head. His name tag says Dr. Ellis, and recognition crackles at the edges of my mind. This is who Weston assists.

Sheer reaches out and lifts my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes. "Cheer up, Evita. This place isn't so bad. You'll get used to it." She laughs and drops my chin, resuming her conversation with the researchers as they walk into the library, leaving me to stand alone.

I can feel the others' eyes on me. I don't know if their stares are of pity or amusement, and I don't care. I glance through the window and there's Dale, leaning against the wall and staring at me. I hold his gaze. Go ahead and gloat, my expression says. I won't let it affect me.

Among his usual glare, however, is something else. His mouth is still twisted, and his arms are crossed tightly against his chest, but his eyes are softer. There may even be a glint of sympathy in them.

I don't need his sympathy. I break away from his gaze and walk back to the girl's dorms.