“I wasn’t exactly counting,” the same voice replied. Clearly I wasn’t going to get him on board.
“We can’t do anything,” a different female said. “They are too strong. All we can hope is that the Department will find us. They have to come looking for us when we are all reported missing.”
I would have laughed if I wasn’t so scared. I didn’t like to tell her the Department probably wasn’t going to come and rescue us. They had wiped their hands of our safety. If they lost fifteen members of Project Integrate, perhaps that would be considered collateral damage. After all, there were still enough members left to continue on with the project when they deemed it important enough again.
After my dismal attempts to start up a conversation, I kept quiet. It was hard planning for anything when you were sitting in complete darkness anyway. Perhaps when we arrived at wherever they were taking us, we would get a chance to fight back. They probably wouldn’t kill us straight away, they’d want to milk us for information first. It would buy us some time to fight back.
All I knew for sure was I wasn’t going to let them kill me without making it extremely difficult for them. If they thought all aliens were horrible and evil, then I would show them exactly how bad I could be. I wasn’t going to go without making an impact.
Time seemed to stand still in the back of the truck. I wasn’t sure if enough time had passed since I was taken from the park for Lochie to alert my parents to my kidnapping. I was pretty certain he would tell them straight away, even if we weren’t supposed to be hanging out together. I told my parents I was studying with friends, hopefully he would back up my lie.
It felt like forever travelling along in the bumpy darkness. The rocking was starting to make me nauseous, but it could have been the worry too. Either way, I wanted it to stop. It was torturous not being able to see anything, I couldn’t even tell if my eyes were open or closed. It made no difference either way.
It felt like hours had passed when the truck came to a stop and the engine turned off. I instantly pulled myself into a crouch, ready to move if I needed to. If I got an opportunity, I would fight them and run. It didn’t matter where I was or who they were, I was going to get the hell out of there.
Metal scrapped upon metal as the padlock was removed from the door. A moment later, it flew open with a loud screech. The light assaulted my eyes, I had to close them and squint just to see anything and stop the pain shooting into my brain.
As I looked around the large expanse beyond the truck, I was certain I wasn’t in Portview anymore. I was far from home and that wasn’t a good sign.
CHAPTER 2
We were taken from the truck and lined up, marched across the enclosed garage and funneled through a doorway. Once we were inside, the realization of where we were started sinking in. We joined the queue of those waiting to enter the main building, there had to be a hundred seventeen year olds in front of me. I would bet each and every one of them was from the planet of Trucon.
It wasn’t the Originals that had taken us all. I had been to the building only once before in the middle of the night so I couldn’t say exactly where it was. It was owned by the Department, run entirely by the Federal Government. The people ordering us about were Special Agents, most likely with security clearance of the absolute top.
In a way, finding out we had been taken by the Department wasn’t of any less concern than if it was the Originals. The only difference was that this was legal. As my previous handler, Special Agent Robert Bower, had once reminded me, we belonged to them. We were federal property and were, in essence, at their mercy.
What wasn’t clear was why they had to kidnap us to get us there. They could have issued an order to our parents to supply us and they would have had no choice except to drive us out there. Or at least deliver us to the Department building if they wanted to protect the location of the place. The hours of distress and fear in the darkness of the truck could have easily been avoided.
But that was the Department for you. They didn’t entirely view us as people, just like the Originals. We were a commodity, a means to an end. They didn’t consider our feelings in any of their plans. Chess pieces were a good way to describe us.
The line was moving pretty fast. From what I could tell, we spoke into a little window at the end. They handed something over and then we were allowed to enter through another door. I guessed a welcoming committee wasn’t on the other side.
The others from the truck didn’t seem happy to be there either. Nobody really spoke, just looked around at the other faces and probably wished they were elsewhere. Back home where they belonged would have been a good start.
My turn finally arrived at the window. An Agent was standing there, her crisp navy suit and sensible short bob screaming of the Department.
“Your name?” She asked curtly.
“Amery Jones.”
“Your number?”
“Nine-two-one.” It was wrong to be identified by a number, right? I wasn’t just being sensitive?
“Here are your allotted goods.” She handed over a clear plastic bag of items. It looked like some clothes and toiletries. “You are in room two-thirteen. Go there and await further instructions.”
“What are we doing here?” I asked, fearing it would be the only opportunity to do so.
“You will be briefed in due course.”
“Can’t you tell me now? How long will we be here? When can I go home?” The questions flowed from me, there was no way I could stop them.
She stared down her nose at me, unblinking. “You will be briefed in due course. You’re holding up the line. Go to your room.”
It had been years since I was told to go to my room. I had just been a child then and I felt like one now. I took my bag through the slot in the bulletproof window and went through the door. What greeted me on the other side was a long corridor that stretched out in both directions.
A hand-painted sign told me rooms 201 – 250 were to the left. I made my way down there, having to go nearly to the very end before finding my allotted room.
I opened the steel door and took a look at the small space. There was a bed, a desk, and a few small shelves – presumably for my clothes. I dumped the bag and headed for the desk where a single piece of paper was waiting for me.
It was a schedule for a full day with my number printed on the top. I was to have breakfast at seven a.m., recreational time until lunch at noon, kitchen duty at one p.m., educational studies at three p.m., dinner at six, more recreational time, bathroom and personal care at eight, and then lights out at nine p.m. I guess they covered everything – except when I would be going home.
I picked up the bag and shook out the contents onto the already made bed. There were three pairs of beige trousers, three white blouses, eight pairs of underwear, two pairs of pajamas and a bra. Also in there was a small pouch of toiletries; a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, and sanitary pads. Apparently that was everything I needed to survive.
I checked my watch – 3:20. The small frosted window at the end of the room told me it was night time. It wasn’t the kind of window that opened, I would bet it was bulletproof too. I could smash the desk against the glass and it wouldn’t even make a dent. I would probably only hurt myself.
We had travelled for nearly ten hours since I was taken from the park. We could have gone anywhere in the country in that amount of time. It felt overwhelmingly lonely being so far away from home. Away from my parents, away from Lochie, and Lola too. They were a world away from the sparse room.
Suddenly I couldn’t stand not having any answers any longer. I wasn’t going to wait for a briefing that might never come. I was tired, hungry, confused, and angry. It wasn’t a good combination.
I stuck my head out the door, trying to find someone who wasn’t an alien. Dazed teenagers were still appearing through the doorway and shuffling down the corridor to their rooms. They wouldn’t be able to help me, I needed a Federal Agent. And I needed one now.
> “Hey! I need to speak with someone,” I yelled out as loud as I could. My voice echoed down the corridors making every head turn my way. When nobody came, I tried again. I kept repeating myself until finally a man in a black suit came rushing my way.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, puffing a little.
Where did I start? “I want to know how long I will be here. When can I go home?”
“I can’t tell you that, you’ll have to wait for the briefing.” He waved his hands at me like he was trying to placate a child – or a dog.
“I want to know now. You kidnapped me, hurt my friend, and threw me in the back of a truck. I want answers or I’m leaving.”
“You can’t leave,” he said quickly.
“So I’m a prisoner here?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer. Rob’s words kept ringing in my ears ‘You are Federal Property’.
“You can’t leave,” the Agent repeated, which was as good as confirming my fears. I wasn’t allowed to leave until the Department said I could. Which meant I was a prisoner, even if they didn’t want to say the words to my face.
I stood my ground, staring the Agent down. “I want to speak to someone who can give me some answers.”
“You’ll have to wait-”
“For the briefing. Nope, not going to happen. I want to speak with someone right now. I’m not waiting.” I crossed my arms over my chest, I would have stomped my feet too if I thought it would convince him to appease me.
He stared at me for a few moments, weighing up his options. I didn’t blink the entire time, refusing to. Eventually he took a few steps back and spoke into a walkie-talkie attached to his shirt. I couldn’t hear what he was saying or the reply he received, but he did nod down the corridor when he was done. “Come with me.”
Relief flooded through me, finally I would be able to get some answers. I was led down the long hallway and through a door at the end. It took two flights of stairs and another impossibly long corridor before I was told to wait outside. The Agent disappeared inside a door. He emerged a few moments later, beckoning me inside.
The room was an office. Plush furniture and a heavy oak desk filled the room. Bookcases lined an entire wall, all full of thick and no doubt heavy books. Behind the desk sat an older man, his hair spattered with grey and white. His eyes said he had seen a lot in his years, his calm demeanor a little unsettling.
The Agent left us alone. I felt like I was two inches tall standing there in the middle of the room by myself. I tried not to lose all my confidence.
“I am Special Agent Lionel Harrison. And you are?” He introduced himself, gesturing to one of the two empty chairs across from his desk. I took one gladly, fearing my legs might not hold me up for much longer.
“Amery Jones.”
“Agent Harvey said you had some questions that couldn’t wait until morning?” He drilled into me with his gaze and I could easily see how he had earned his position. I was ready to raise my white flag and slink back to my room. Almost, anyway.
“I want to know why we are here and how long until I can go home,” I replied, trying to keep my voice loud and clear. I had demanded to come there, I shouldn’t leave without my answers. Despite how small the imposing man made me feel.
“You are here for your own safety. The time period is indefinite.”
“Our safety? You threw us into the back of a truck. You punched my friend.” One thought of seeing Lochie on the ground clutching his jaw was enough to inspire me to continue. “You could have just summoned us. We would have had to come anyway.”
“And then there would be no guarantee you weren’t followed,” Agent Harrison said calmly. “We had to take all measures in order to ensure a clean getaway. You will see we have acted in your best interests.”
“How is keeping us locked up in our best interest?”
“Because those that wish to harm you won’t be able to find you.”
He was talking around in circles, making my head spin. I had to shake it to organize my thoughts. “You haven’t cared about our safety over the last four weeks. Why all of a sudden do something about it?”
“We have always cared about your safety,” he replied, moving his hands to form a triangle underneath his chin. “By keeping all the members of the project under one roof, it means we can watch over you more effectively.”
“You mean cheaply.”
“It is cost effective, yes.” Of course it would all come down to money, I should have known. They didn’t have the budget to supply us all with the individual protection we needed. By keeping us together, our safety could cost a little more than a few dollars a day. It didn’t matter how we would feel being separated from our lives.
“What’s going to happen to the project?” I asked while I was on a roll. The project was still on hold indefinitely the last I had heard. I was disgusted by the way they had abandoned the people of Trucon when it became too costly to continue on. Meanwhile, the planet was counting down the days until the asteroid barreling towards it blew them all to oblivion.
“The project is still on hold.”
“So we’ll be in here forever?”
He took a deep breath through his nose, it whistled just a little. “You will be here for as long as it takes. Now, Miss Jones, it is late. Everybody has had a long day. I suggest you go back to your room and get used to your schedule. It will only be a few hours before you are to rise and have breakfast.”
He spun his chair around to face the bookcases, effectively cutting me off from any further conversation. I slunk out of the office in a state of shock. Agent Harvey was still waiting for me. He made sure I got back to my room and closed the heavy steel door behind me. It closed with a considerable thud, sounding ominous.
I fell onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling, remembering how I had looked up into Lochie’s face the last time I had laid down. Everything had felt so perfect then, like anything was possible in the future. Now, as I stared at the stark white ceiling with strip lighting, it felt like I had no future.
I missed my own bed and my parents too. Over the next few weeks I started missing my school and being able to have freewill. I missed arguing with Lochie between kisses and trying to convince Lola she should wear another color besides black. I missed doing my chores around the house and rushing to be home before nightfall. I missed everything about my life.
Every day in the complex felt like it was the same, mainly because it was. The schedule I had been assigned on day one never changed. I ate when they told me to, wore what they gave me, and was trapped in my room when I was told to sleep. I wasn’t allowed anywhere in the complex where my schedule said I didn’t need to be. Even recreational time had rules and strict regimes.
None of us were allowed to call home and no mail left or arrived for us. We were entirely cut off from our families, constantly being reminded they weren’t really our families. They were merely our hosts, Agents ordered to accommodate us for the duration of the project. If they were just hosts, then why did I feel like crying when I thought about them?
The days all merged into one, we were treated as robots rather than people. We didn’t have to make any decisions or choices, everything was told to us with no room for arguments.
The girl in the room across from mine cried nearly every night, I could hear her soft sobs through the vents in the doors. Sometimes I asked her if she was okay by whispering through the gap. She always told me she was. When I saw her in the daytime and tried to strike up a conversation, she would just tell me she was fine and cut off any attempts I made to comfort her.
After three weeks in the complex, I think it finally sunk in that they expected to keep us there for the rest of our lives. Better to have us controllable than out in the open where we could expose the project, right? When I realized that, I also realized something else. If I was going to leave the place, I was going to have to escape from it. There would be no departure date where they would merrily wish us well and on our way.
&nbs
p; It was at that moment I started studying everything around me. As I went through my schedule every day, I watched the guards – assuming they would have to be working to a schedule too. If I could find the weakness in the complex, I could find a way to escape. No place was impervious, criminals escaped from prisons all the time. There was no reason why I couldn’t figure out how too.
So as I went about my routine, an eye was always on the guards. I noticed everything from the fire escapes to the time the shifts changed. I looked for items that could be used as a makeshift weapon and places where I might be able to hide. Everything became a possible resource for me to use in my escape.
I didn’t discuss my plan with anyone, I couldn’t trust any of them. I had grown up with loving parents that never made me feel like an alien, unfortunately I couldn’t say the same about everyone else. Some grew up in unhappy homes, feeling completely disconnected from humans. They might be all too eager to thwart my attempts to leave and possibly cause harm to the project.
Still, I knew my chances of escape would probably increase if I had someone to help me. Even if they were just a lookout, I needed someone to confide in. I wasn’t sure if I would find a friend, but I kept my ears open for someone that might be as appalled as I was. If I could find a kindred spirit, my plans to escape might turn into a reality before too long.
On day twenty-two, I found myself sitting in the recreation room with a group of people. The guards were by the door but they weren’t paying us too much attention. We were talking about nothing in particular, just passing time.
The conversation seemed to get deeper the longer we sat there. One of the girls, Cecily, weighed in on the discussion we were having about our home planet. “I think it mustn’t be very nice or they wouldn’t be going through all this to leave it. I’m glad I don’t live there.”
“They’re not choosing to leave,” Markus, sitting on my left, pointed out. “The asteroid heading toward them is making the decision for them. For all we know, it might be a utopia, a perfect planet to live on.”
Project Integrate Series Boxed Set Page 23