The agents bring Drake into the compound on a stretcher.
One of them approaches me outside.
"Miss Ballestri, would you please take Strategy and Brains into your dorm for a bit? We would like to give Strength some time to recover in the conference room without them panicking. He should survive, but he needs some space."
"Of course," I say, making my way ahead of them.
I wait until they disappear, and then knock on both of their doors.
"Hey guys, we're back! Wanna go exploring?" I ask once both of them are in the hall.
"I don't know..." Gordon says. "I can't see much anyways." He smiles.
"I'll go," Salena says softly. "I've always wondered what's to the right of the bathrooms."
"Great!" I say. "Gordon, a walk is always good, we'll help you."
"Okay, if I'm not a burden..."
"Of course you're not a burden," Salena says, taking his arm.
I watch and smile. Salena's touching someone? Willingly?
She looks at me, smiling awkwardly.
"What?"
"Nothing, let's go," I say.
________________________________
We head down the hall, around the corner where Dillan kissed me, past the skylight where we watched the sunset, and further than I've ever been before.
"How are we going to find our way back?" Salena asks me quietly.
"We'll find it, don't worry," I say.
She nods and gives me the slightest smile.
I look at the walls. Every hundred feet or so, there's a different number spray painted to the wall. I assume they're more hidden rooms, or perhaps a way to navigate the halls.
"What do you see?" Asks Gordon.
"Same as earlier," I reply, " dim lights, gray walls and ceiling, cement floors, valves and numbers every so often."
"So still like a sewer?"
I chuckle.
"Pretty much," I say.
We walk for about five more minutes, turning a couple corners, until the lights begin to get even dimmer.
I hear Gordon stumble over a pipe and turn around. Salena helps him up.
"You okay?" She asks quietly.
"Yeah," he says, "just gotta get my footing."
As I turn back around, something catches my eye.
There's a number 6 on the wall, just like the one in the conference room. Except this one has the letters "ER" plastered above the top.
Curiosity takes over. I walk over and touch the small crevice in the middle of the cement wall.
"Why'd we stop?" Asks Gordon.
"Are you all right?" I hear Salena's soft voice ask me from behind.
"Yeah," I say. "I'm curious what's in here." I point out the similarities to the number that's on the wall outside the conference room.
"Well, take a peek," Gordon says.
Salena clears her throat.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea-"
But it's too late. I'm already in position.
Except the door doesn't open. I frown and try it again.
Then I turn my hands over, and the wall separates.
"It's a different code," I mutter. I step inside the room and look around, Salena carefully guiding Gordon behind me.
"What is it?" He asks. His words echo through the large space.
"It's a black room..." I say, "all that's in here is a chair."
"That's it?"
"Yeah... there's nothing else. No furniture, no counters... just black tiled floors, walls, ceilings, and the chair."
"Weird..." he says.
"What does 'ER' mean?" Salena asks quietly. I think.
"Emergency room," I decide. "This must be where they take us if we get severely injured."
"Why didn't they take Drake here?" Gordon asks. Salena looks at him.
"Drake? What happened to Drake?" I sigh.
"He got shot today on the mission... but he's all right. I'm guessing they didn't take him here because they had him stabilized by the time we got here."
Salena gives me a shocked look, but nods.
"This room is creepy," she says softly. "Let's go."
We leave the room and start heading down the halls. After about 20 minutes of being lost, we make it back to the crossroads the lead to our dorms.
"Thanks for taking me with you," Gordon says. "It was fun."
"Of course," I say, unlocking his dorm and placing the key back in his hand. He disappears and closes the door.
I turn around the see Salena still standing there.
"I want to see Drake..." she says.
"We're supposed to give him space..." I say. She looks down sadly, and I can't help but oblige. "but okay. Come with me."
We walk to the conference room and step inside. Drake lies on the table, a foam mattress underneath him. Salena approaches him delicately.
She reminds me of a fairy, fragile, innocent and sweet, dancing her way to everywhere she goes.
A big difference from the broken doll she had been when we arrived.
"Are you okay?" She asks Drake. He turns to face her.
"Yeah, kid," he says. "I'm fine. Worry about yourself why don't ya?"
Salena looks confused, and her voice turns soft.
"I just wanted to-"
"Well don't."
"But-"
"I said don't." Drake turns his head to the other side, shifting his entire body with a groan.
Salena looks at me sadly. I motion for her to come with me, and we leave the room together.
"I just wanted to check in on him," she says to me.
"I know," I say. "You did nothing wrong." I escort her back to her room.
"Hey, last time I was here, your covers looked untouched... do you make your bed everyday?" I ask her.
She stares blankly at me, then slowly nods.
"Oh, okay. Just thought I'd ask," I say.
"Don't worry about it. Goodnight," she says softly, closing the door.
I stand in the hallway alone. I don't know what it is about today. And not just that the mission went poorly.
Something's just not right.
YOU ARE READING
Flames of Revenge
Action"Why does so much change in a short period of time? One moment I was innocent.... Then I was a murderer." Join Alisha Ballestri as she takes you along on her journey of becoming one of the world's most wanted criminals. Except everyone assumes she d...
