Mia stepped closer to Dreya as James walked past Lark to stand beside Katrina.
“Maybe we should just let the community decide.” Lark turned to face Brett and Anthony again. “Tell everyone that we need to have a group meeting after lunch. We are going to have a court session to decide what to do with these troublemakers.” He walked away laughing and his friends followed.
“So much for playing the game, eh Katrina?” Dreya gently touched Katrina’s shoulder.
“It was bound to happen eventually,” Jayden said giving Katrina a sly smile. “I just didn’t think it would come from you first.”
Katrina straightened her shoulders and walked back to their room without responding. What the hell did I just do? she thought.
*
James didn’t go get his own food for lunch. Instead, Katrina shared her food with him. Willow was furious when she came into the room.
“What is wrong with you guys?” she scolded. “This is so embarrassing coming from my roommates. I feel like I am constantly standing up for you all and you are just the most selfish group of people here. Why can’t you stop and think about anyone else or how your actions go against the community that we are trying to build?” Willow’s face was red.
“Because we don’t even want to be here!” Mia shouted. “Why can’t all of you just see that and leave us alone?”
“We have already been over this.” Willow stomped her foot. “We don’t have enough people as it is to defend this place if we were attacked. You guys are some of the strongest ones here. We literally need you in order to survive. Plus, it would be too risky if one of you got captured and told people who could hurt us where the shelter is at!”
“Ugh.” Mia put her head into her hands. “You can’t make someone stay if they don’t want to. We are…” Dreya cut her sister off.
“We are sorry.” Dreya gave Willow a soft smile while putting her hand on her little sister to keep her quiet. “We just don’t like Lark and that makes it really hard to put up with him or to follow his orders.”
“Well at least he cares about the rest of us and is trying to do something to help.” Willow stormed out of the room. Ethan quickly followed her without saying a word.
*
Once they finished eating, James stood up. “Well,” he said extending his arm to help Katrina to her feet. “Might as well get this over with.” They walked to the common room as a group and found everyone else already seated waiting for them. The middle bleachers were empty.
I guess that is where we are supposed to sit, Katrina thought. They made their way to the seats.
Lark and Becca were standing somberly at the front. Lark started speaking, “I don’t want to be in this position. Heck, I don’t even want to be the one making all the calls. I just saw a need for someone to step up to help organize so that we can build a strong community that will survive whatever awaits us on the surface. However, this should be a democratic society and in that, the majority should rule.”
Everyone began clapping and he waited for the applause to die down before continuing. “It seems that there is a small group among us that doesn’t care about the rest of this society. They keep causing trouble and going against the flow. They wouldn’t even put all of their stored food in the pot because they didn’t think it was fair to get rid of their shares.”
Lark quieted down the “boos” with two hands. “Now, now. I completely agree with you all. What could be fairer than giving up the exact same amount that we all have given in order to support the common good. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. All I can come up with is that this particular group is selfish, and they don’t want to be a part of this society. Unfortunately, we need them just as much as we need every single other person here to make this place safe and to eventually thrive. So, I put this decision to the collective. What are we supposed to do with them?”
Furious whispers erupted throughout the crowd. Katrina sat there dumbstruck. How did this group mentality spread so fast, she wondered, and how had she ended up in this position with her fate cast on this angry mob? She had a brief moment where she almost got up and ran back to the room. She could feel herself locking the door and shutting everyone out with that heavy latch. Then all she would have to do was wait. Katrina almost stood up until she looked over and saw Mia’s panicked face. Dreya was holding her sister’s hand tightly but gave Katrina a soothing smile when she noticed her looking. To her other side, James sat staring straight ahead but pushed his leg against hers, to comfort her or himself or them both. Katrina sighed but she stayed seated.
Throughout the room, the word punishment got louder. Lark said, “I agree. They need to be taught a lesson to help change the behavior. What should the punishment be?” The whispers started again.
Becca interrupted them, her voice cutting through the crowd. “Separation,” she said.
Chapter 19
The whispers stopped. “Separation,” Becca said again louder. “Like when kids are acting up in class while sitting next to their friends. You change the seating arrangement, so they can’t sit next to each other anymore. We should separate them into different rooms.”
“Hell no,” Jayden yelled as the rest of the kids began screaming out in agreement.
“I think hell yes is the correct response,” Lark said laughing.
“Wait!” Dreya called out, “Don’t we get a chance to defend ourselves or even speak? You can’t take my sister away from me.”
“You know, that’s the problem,” Lark said smirking. “All you guys think about is yourselves and what you want. This will teach you a lesson and maybe if you behave then you can earn your freedoms back. Grab them.” He directed the military group to restrain them.
“What?” James jumped to his feet, ready to fight, as Jayden started pushing Dreya and Mia off the bleachers. The crowd began to rise and rush toward them. Katrina could feel their aggression. It seemed that the walls were closing in with a blur of grey shirts and arms reaching around her. In another instant, they would be buried under the “society”.
“Stop!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, letting her voice ring out through the room and down the tunnels like she once did as a little girl in the mountains. Everyone froze at the ear shattering scream. Katrina walked to the front of the room to face the crowd.
“Just stop.” All eyes turned toward her. “This is all my fault,” she said lowering her gaze to the ground. “I’m the reason that James didn’t join the military group. I begged him not to leave me. I’m the reason Dreya argued that some of us would want to leave because she knew that I wanted to go, and she was standing up for me. I’m the reason we didn’t give up all our food because I told them it would be a bad idea and they listened to me. And I am the reason that this court session even began because I pushed Lark over the edge with my cruel teasing. I’m the one who is selfish and the one you should punish. Just separate me. The rest of Room 3 will act much differently if I am not there to instigate.” Katrina looked up and locked eyes with James. Thankfully, he sat silent as if he could read her stare begging him to.
“I think she is right,” Becca said to Lark. “She even tried to start something with me when we first got here. Just separate her for now and see how that goes.” Lark rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment and then smiled, nodding to Brett and Anthony. They both went to grab her arms.
She shrugged them off saying, “Thanks gents, but I can walk.” Katrina saw James step forward, but she shook her head no as she was escorted out. He didn’t follow.
*
In Room 6, Anthony took Katrina to the far wall and tied her leg to a bed frame with a rope made from braided strips of torn sheets.
“Clever,” Katrina said. “I can’t help but get the feeling that you guys were expecting something like this.” Anthony just smiled as Katrina sat down on the floor. “Who were you planning to tie up? It couldn’t have been me.” Anthony walked to the door without answering. He stood on the inside w
ith his arms crossed while Brett walked down the tunnel to stand guard at the end.
Fine by me, Katrina thought. I just have to shove one guy out now and lock that latch. Then I can wait it out by myself in here while they all go nuts out there. Except the thought of leaving her friends alone- and let’s face it, they are my friends now- was troubling to her. Katrina laughed to herself. Her dad would be so mad to hear that she had ended up in this situation, tied to a bed post in an underground bunker while trying to save a bunch of kids that she had only met eleven days ago. James was out there. Katrina wondered what he was thinking and worried about his reaction.
Sighing, Katrina rested her head back against the wall. She was tired of thinking. The rope would be easy to split if she had to. She had a plan. Now there was nothing left to do but wait.
*
“You tied her up?” Becca asked after walking into the room with the rest of her roommates right before dinner was served.
Anthony shrugged. “She seems like a runner.” He opened the cabinet door and grabbed a meal for himself and everyone else took their own out after him. “Plus, we needed to test the ropes.”
Lark grabbed two meals before walking over to Katrina. “Here,” he said handing her a packet. “You can have your boyfriend’s dinner.”
Katrina set it on the ground beside her. “Is this the plan then?” she asked. “Am I just going to stay tied in your room?”
Lark smiled while ripping open his bag. “Nah. If you behave then I might take you to a movie tomorrow.”
Becca threw her unopened food pouch on her bunk and stormed off to take a shower.
*
Lark, Anthony, and Brett stayed in the room with Katrina instead of going to the movie. The boys were laying on their beds playing Never Have I Ever when someone started knocking on the door.
Brett got up to answer it. He stood blocking the entrance as he called back over his shoulder, “Hey boss. They brought her a mattress.”
Lark sat up. “Tell them to leave it in the hall.”
James started yelling, “Katrina! Are you okay?” She could see Brett struggling to keep the door closed. Lark and Anthony went to stand up.
From her corner, Katrina yelled back, “I’m fine. Thanks for bringing my bed.” Brett stood there for a few minutes until they had walked away and then pulled the mattress in from the hall. He slid it across the room and slammed the door.
“Thanks for keeping the peace,” Lark said while pulling the mattress the rest of the way across the room to where Katrina sat on the floor.
“Yeah.” She pulled the bed against the wall and laid on top of it. “It might have made them pretty upset to, you know, see me tied up like this.
Chapter 20
Katrina stayed awake most of the night, slowly pulling at the fraying strands of the knotted sheet rope that was tied around her ankle. She waited for Brett to fall asleep while he was on guard duty. When he woke Anthony up for his shift, she closed her eyes knowing she wasn’t going to escape that night. She opened them a few hours later as Nanny’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Welcome to day 12 in the shelter.” Twelve days felt like a lifetime already.
Becca stood guard while Katrina showered. Neither of the girls spoke to one another. Then Lark and Becca left the room for the morning. They came back for lunch. Katrina was getting anxious because the time was moving so slowly. Plus, the song that never ends kept creeping back into her mind no matter how hard she tried not to think about it.
After lunch, she heard James and Jayden knocking at the door again. This time Lark answered. “You know, if you guys cared half as much about the rest of the community we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he said laughing.
Katrina could hear James’ voice rising again. “Seriously guys. I’m fine. Leave me alone.”
Lark closed the door. “Good job,” he said walking towards her. “I think I can untie you now if you promise to not do anything stupid. You can even clean this room up if you want something to do.”
“Sure.” Katrina shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going nuts being this bored just sitting here.” She spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning. The bathrooms in the room looked like they hadn’t been touched in the past two weeks. When Lark came back, he commented on how nice it all looked. Becca rolled her eyes.
After dinner, Lark made good on his promise to take Katrina with them to go see the movie. Katrina sat down quietly between Anthony and Brett on the bleachers while keeping her eyes forward. Once the movie started, she chanced a glance over to where Room 3 usually sat. She couldn’t see James there but Dreya was staring at her. Katrina quickly looked back to the screen.
Moments later, she had the feeling that someone was right behind her. Katrina leaned back slowly into the bleachers and stretched her neck just enough that she could see James sitting alone on the top row again. He was looking at her and she turned her attention back to the movie. The bluish glow from the projection hid the blush that was rising in her cheeks. He looked the same as when she first saw him. Except, now her heart fluttered when she thought about how much she missed him even though it had only been one day.
When the movie was over, Katrina took another look his way while she was standing up. He was still staring at her intently. She sent him pleading eyes, hoping he would get the message to chill out. She could handle this.
He didn’t get the memo.
*
They tied her up again before bed as a precaution. Katrina was laying quietly in the dark loosening the rest of the frayed braid of sheets that she had started earlier. She was making the rope weak enough in one spot so that she could break it when she needed to.
Anthony had taken the first shift of the night on guard duty. She could see him yawning already as he leaned against the wall by the closed door. The door was shut but it wasn’t latched. She had just finished breaking the last string and silently retied the rope in a slip-knot that would easily come undone when she heard the banging on the door.
Her heart pounded faster. She knew it was James trying to be a hero. Cursing him for being an idiot, she released the knot that she had just tied. Lark jerked himself awake and Anthony jumped to his feet. Becca and Rubio were still snoring. Katrina lay quietly and pretended she was also asleep.
Lark got off his bed and told Anthony to check who it was as he ran to wake up Brett. Anthony barely cracked the door and James threw it wide open by pulling from the other side. The red glare from the hallway lights spilled into the room. He yanked Anthony through the open door and disappeared from Katrina’s line of sight.
Lark yelled, “What the hell?” Katrina figured it was time to get up and make a run for it. Lark was shaking Brett awake but he turned just in time to see Katrina moving past him. He grabbed her around the waist before she made it to the door.
The momentum of his arm crashing into her stomach caught her off guard for a second and the air whooshed out from her gut. Instinct kicked in and she inhaled sharply. She focused all her strength into slamming her outstretched elbow into his face. Katrina felt the bones in his nose crack and he quickly dropped her. Lark staggered backwards putting his hands to his face to control the bleeding that came pouring from his nose. She rushed out of the room.
In the tunnel, James was on the floor wrestling with Anthony. Jayden punched Anthony in the head and his eyes rolled back as he slumped forward. James threw the limp body to the side and jumped up wide eyed to see Katrina coming through the doorway.
“Run,” she told him as she took off down the tunnel. James and Jayden quickly followed her. Dreya was waiting for them at the end of the hall but turned and started running too when she saw them coming. Katrina’s heart was pounding in her ears and she ran faster than she had ever run before. They rounded the bend down the tunnel which led to Room 3. All four of them slid into the room at almost the same time and Dreya slammed the door shut after them before engaging the latch.
They dropped to the floor, panting h
eavily, and leaned back against the wall. Before they had even caught their breath, Katrina started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” James asked her with his eyebrows raised. A smile began to form on his face.
Katrina put her head to her knees. “Their door was unlatched,” she said giggling. “You could have tried to open it quietly.”
“Are you complaining about your rescue?” James asked still smiling. He looked down at the bottom half of the rope still attached to her leg. His smile faded. “Did they tie you up?”
“Yeah,” Katrina said sighing. “I just finished loosening one of the knots so that I could make my own escape when the time was right.”
“So, you are saying that I had perfect timing?” James laughed. Katrina started giggling again.
“Guys, I hate to break up the reunion,” Jayden said. He was smiling too. “But what do we do now? You think they were following us?”
“Oh, they are coming.” Katrina leaned back against the wall. “I broke Lark’s nose on the way out.”
James’ jaw dropped in surprise. Just then, the knocking on the door behind them started. Willow, Ethan, and Mia woke up.
Chapter 21
Mia groaned as she leaned over the bunk to see her sister’s empty bed. “Dreya?”
“Over here by the door,” Dreya reassured her.
“What’s going on?” Mia sat up on her mattress.
“Seriously,” Willow huffed pulling the blanket over her face. “Keep it down.”
“Is someone knocking on the door?” Ethan rubbed his eyes.
“I don’t think it is going to stop any time soon,” Katrina said.
Willow threw the blanket off and sat upright. “What are you doing here?” she screamed. “You are supposed to be separated for a while! And what are the rest of you doing on the floor? Who is knocking?” Willow climbed out of her bed. “Open the door. Like right now.”
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