Flames of Revenge

Chapter 30: Games

The days go by slowly with nothing to do. Sometimes, we gather in one person's dorm room and play a card game.

Although, there are no actual card games, we simply draw the cards out on the sticky notes that used to cover the conference room.

Game nights are entertaining with The Six and Diane, but eventually we're all ready to get back to work.

Except for Diane.

"It's so boring when I'm the only one here with some strict goons," Diane complains. "One time, one of them came in and watched me because, apparently, it's not 'good for the building' to swing as far as you can across the room on top of the punching bag. What else am I supposed to do?! Read a book?!" I laugh a little at her.

"I've got a great book in my backpack," I say, "it's called 'Not Rebelling: For Dummies.'"

"Oh, haha, very funny," she says.

We finish our handmade card game in Heneya's room and clean up.

"Can I talk to you real quick, Loyalty?" Dillan asks me. I nod, stepping into the hallway. Diane follows.

"Ahem," she says, sticking out her hand. I reach into my pocket and hand her the room key. "Great, now you two have fun!" She tries to slip me the switchblade as she passes, but I shove it back into her hand. "Fine then, hope you don't get killed," she mutters.

"I'm... sorry about her," I tell Dillan once she's out of sight. "So, what's up?"

"I found the coolest place last night," he says, "wanna come check it out with me?"

"Sure," I say.

He leads me down a dimly lit hallway, the opposite direction of the bathrooms.

I think back on Heneya's words the second day I was here.

"Don't go down this one, I almost got lost."

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" I ask.

"Yes, now shh, I don't want to get caught. I don't think we're supposed to know about this," he says.

We take a few turns in the low lights until we come across a steel ladder. I look up, seeing a circular shaped window with a handle.

"Ready for this?" He asks me. I nod. He climbs the ladder and pushes the handle outward with force. It opens slowly, letting the cool evening air rush in.

"C'mon," Dillan says, climbing out of the hole. I gingerly step up the ladder after him, peeking out into the open night.

I can see the fields, stretching out over the horizons. It's beautiful, like what you would see in a movie. The setting sun touches the valleys and red sand ever so slightly, giving them a radiant orange glow.

I step up the ladder and onto the roof of the compound. Dillan closes the door after me.

"Isn't it amazing?" He asks me. All I can do is nod. I close my eyes, taking in the breeze and the sweet smell of the open air.

I begin to imagine that I'm home, and all is well. I'm standing on the porch with my sister as she asks me to play a game with her.

The daydream turns into a memory.

"Let's play Marco Polo!" Anabelle says. "You're it!" I cross my arms and close my eyes.

"Marco!" I yell. Her soft voice and giggles come from somewhere in front of me.

"Polo!" She says. I start walking towards her, searching for her in the crisp air.

"Marco!" I call again.

"Polo!"

She's just in front of me now, I can feel it. I smile and run forward. I've almost reached her when...

Strong arms grab me and drag me back. I fight and scream for Anabelle, for my sister. We never got to finish our game. She's still out there... somewhere.

Waiting for me to find her.

I snap open my eyes to find myself on the ledge on the roof, Dillan's arms around me.

"Do you have a death wish or what?!" He yells.

I look around, shocked.

"I- I needed to find her..." I say. "She was waiting for me to find her..." he looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Alisha, you almost ran off of the roof," he says, "whoever you were trying to find, I'm pretty sure they're not on the ground beneath us. And I'm pretty sure they'd want you to find them while you're alive." I feel myself begin to tremble.

"Come here," Dillan says. He slowly backs up, his arms around my body, ushering me slowly back to safety. Then he sits down, forcing me to sit with him.

"Are you okay?" He asks me. I blink.

Am I okay?

How do I even begin to answer that?

I shake my head.

"That's okay," he says, "you don't always need to be. Are you ready to go back inside?"

I take in a breath of clean air and shake my head again.

"All right, let's just stay here then. I'll stay with you until you're okay, if that's fine with you."

I nod.

"On the bright side, I think I won the 'life' game," I say.

"What do you mean?" He asks me.

"When you were upset, you put our entire plane in danger, but I only put myself in it," I say, smiling up at him. He laughs, shaking his head.

"I still beat you at cards," he says.

I smack him lightly.

"I will push you off of this roof," I say.

"I'd like to see you try."

I turn around with a smile and try to get up. Dillan grabs me, pulling me back down.

"HEY!" I say, laughing.

"Nope nope," he says. "Neither of us are dying today. Stay here."

I relax against him, looking out over the fields.

The best I've felt since I arrived at the compound lies in this moment.

But as the last light of the day fades, I feel guilty.

Is this really what I want?

My confusion burns inside of me, beating faster than my heart.

I separate Dillan's hands and set them aside so I can get away.

I stand up, leaving him sitting alone on the roof.

"Going in?" He asks me.

"Yeah," I say. "I need some sleep."

He gives me an odd look but nods, standing up and opening the hatch.

I climb down the ladder without looking at him.

What do I do now?