by S. E. Meyer
Everybody has a job and we're all paid the same, with time earned. That bag of flour costs twenty minutes, not twenty dollars.” The man gave Anna a broad grin. “You see? Everything has a value based on labor. It keeps wants and needs in check.” The man slapped his thigh. “Brilliant right? Can you imagine back in the city if you told someone they had to pay five-thousand hours of labor for a new vehicle, or a hundred hours for a new I-phone thirty?” The man's chest shook as he roared into laughter. “It keeps everything in perspective.”
As Anna studied the man, she contemplated how such a system could work. “What about skilled labor, or doctors? Everyone is allotted the same time for their work, regardless of their education?”
“Absolutely,” Brian said.
“How is that fair?”
“Fair? It's completely fair. Time is a precious, limited commodity and nobody knows how much they have left. Who is to say one person's time is worth more than any other's?
Anna nodded, returning the man's smile. “Now that's a system that makes sense.”
The shopkeeper removed a sandwich from the display case in front of her. “Here, if you just arrived, I'm sure you're hungry. It's on me.”
Anna took the sandwich with a smile. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome. We are all thrilled here, Anna. I'm sure you will be too.”
Anna took a bite of the sandwich as Sheila escorted her into the street. The meat was smoked, the cheese was soft, and the bread was unlike anything Anna ever tasted.
“Let's head back now,” Sheila urged.
Anna finished eating in silence as they made their way back to the house.
Everywhere she looked Anna could see happiness and joy. People laughing, smiling and giggling. She stopped the mayor at the front door. “So why is everyone so happy? What part of living here gives everyone so much joy?”
Sheila held Anna's gaze. “The people here have taken on the responsibility of this town and its residents. With acceptance of responsibility, comes purpose and meaning, and purpose and meaning brings joy. Something the world out there could use more of don't you think?”
Anna followed the mayor into the house. “I'm not letting you put the cuffs back on,” she said.
Sheila nodded. “Okay, no cuffs. Are you ready to tell me what you were doing out there, or why you don't have Fleishmans?”
Anna shook her head.
The mayor let out a breath before tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Well, you will have to stay locked up in here until you are willing to cooperate. My Police Chief is out on patrol, leading a foraging mission. When he gets back, he'll decide what to do.”
Sheila turned to leave.
“Wait, I can't stay here. Just give me back my gun and I'll be on my way.”
“That's most likely what will happen if you decide to leave, Anna. But just wait here a bit longer, okay? We're not going to keep you a prisoner.”
Sheila flipped the light switch next to the door and a small LED illuminated the room. “There's some light. Hopefully, you will be so kind as to shed some on your situation for us.”
Sheila left the room, locking the door behind her.
Anna waited several minutes before trying the door handle.
I'm not going to stand around here waiting. I need to get back to the fence and find Atticus.
She inspected the knob. It was a standard door knob with a keyed hole on the inside of the room.
This shouldn't be that hard to open.
Anna tugged on the strike side of the door's stop. It was loose, moving freely away from the jamb to expose the latch. She slid her finger behind the doorstop and pushed the latch in with her fingernail while putting her weight into the door with her shoulder. After three tries the door swung open and Anna fell sideways into the darkened living room.
She stood, tiptoeing to the front door. Anna peered through the door's window to scan the street, finding it deserted.
She took a deep breath and crept out into the front yard.
Night had fallen and the town buildings were dark, except for a church towards the far end of the street. She made her way to the building and moved to the back side of the church, ducking under the windows. Anna stopped lifting her head just high enough to look inside.
The small church was full. Anna guessed it was a gathering of a few hundred people. She ducked and made her way towards the front of the church where she found an open window. Anna strained to hear the voices inside.
It wasn't a church service. It appeared to be a town meeting.
“So what are we going to do with her?” A man in the front row asked.
Sheila was at the front of the church near the pulpit.
“We will wait for our Police Chief to get back. He can make that decision.”
“Did you talk to her? How is she not sick?”
“She wouldn't give me any answers.”
A woman three rows back raised her hand.
“Yes, Joline.”
“What about the man who was with her?”
Sheila nodded. “He is in custody at the jail.”
“What are we going to do with him?”
“We're out of cures, all we can do is wait.”
A man towards the back raised his hand.
“Yes, Jeremy,” Sheila said.
“I think the main question here everyone wants the answer to is what are we going to do with the other one? The scarred man?”
Anna sucked in a breath.
They have Atticus.
Anna heard a sound behind her and whirled in the noise's direction. A man with a gun pointed at her stood a few feet away.
“You're not supposed to be out here.” The man turned his head. “Hey! She got out!” he yelled.
There was a commotion inside the church and Anna tensed, ready to attack.
“Don't do it. I will shoot you.”
Several townspeople, followed by the mayor, jogged around the corner of the church. Two more men pulled out handguns.
“What do you want to do with her?” the man standing next to the mayor asked.
Sheila took a step closer to Anna. “I'm sorry, I tried to treat you as a guest, but now you are a threat.” Sheila turned to the two men with guns. “Put her in jail with the other two for now.”
After being cuffed, they escorted Anna to the jail. The guard pulled her inside by the arm before snatching a set of keys from the wall. He opened a barred doorway leading to individual cells, the first of which held Atticus.
Anna's eyes widened. She jumped at the door, holding the metal bars with bound wrists. “Atticus.”
“Anna, what are you doing here?”
The guard pushed Anna's shoulder while the second man held his gun at her back from a safe distance. “Keep moving.”
“I waited for you. I waited and waited.”
The guard grabbed Anna's arm, dragging her away.
“I'm sorry Anna,” Atticus replied, pushing his face into the bars to look at her. “We have to get out of here.”
The guard pulled Anna around the corner and down another hallway. He unlocked a second set of doors and escorted her through. There were five more cells in this area, one of them occupied by Richard.
Anna shook her head as she studied his features. His cheeks were crimson and spittle hung in the corner of his cracking lips. “Anna. You're okay.”
“Looks like I'm doing better than you are.”
The guard placed her in the cell next to Richard with only bars separating them. Anna's cell had a small barred window near the ceiling. The guard exited Anna's cell, closing the door and locking it behind him. “Put your hands through the bars,” the man ordered. Anna did as instructed and the guard removed her handcuffs. He turned, disappearing down the hallway, leaving Richard and Anna alone.
Anna shivered. “It's cold in here.”
Richard pointed up at the window in Anna's cell. “The glass in the window is broken. Nothing to stop the cold from pouring in.”
>
”I have to get out of here. What the hell are we going to do?”
“I don't know. You're the only reason we're in here.”
Anna looked into Richard's reddened eyes. “Why are you blaming me?”
“I told you not to light that fire, and you know I was right. Anna, what happened to you?”
“You happened.”
Richard shook his head. “I've known you a long time and you've changed. You used to be the smartest one in the room, making decisions on common sense and gut feelings. Seems like you've been going in the opposite direction. You need to get your head on straight.”
Anna glared at Richard. “Oh, I need to get my head on straight, do I?”
Richard nodded. “You're just angry all the time.”
Anna slapped the bars between their cells.
Richard jumped. “See? That's what I'm talking about.”
Anna growled. “You don't think I have reason to be fucking angry, Richard?”
“I didn't say that, but you are letting it get the best of you.”
“I don't know what's going on in that thick skull of yours, Richard, but it's your fault. You're the one that makes me so mad I can't think straight.”
There was a noise outside Anna's cell window. She turned to see Shadow poke his nose through the opening in the broken glass.
Anna stretched her arm up towards the window. “Shadow. What are you doing here?”
The wolf looked at Richard and raised his hackles while letting out a low growl.
Anna turned her head. “See? He still knows an asshole when he sees one.”
Shadow put his paws through the window and pushed on the bars.
“Be careful boy, you’ll hurt yourself,” Anna warned.
“I'm still not sure why I make you that angry. Do you hate me that much?”
Shadow jumped, dropping his weight into the bars.
They moved.
Anna's jaw slacked. “They're loose. The bars are loose. Good boy, Shadow.”
Anna pulled the hair away from her neck and rubbed her hands together preparing to jump. Richard lowered an eyebrow, seeing her exposed skin. “What's on your neck?”
Anna jumped, grasping the bars. She hung from the metal frame while shaking her arms. The bars pulled away from the concrete window.
“I don't know, a bug bite or something.”
Anna let go, dropping to the floor.
“I don't think that's a bug bite, I've seen-”
Anna cut him off. “Shut up, Richard. Mr. know everything. You keep asking why I hate you. You can't seem to get it through your thick skull that I will never forgive you for killing my mother.”
Anna jumped again, this time pulling the metal frame down into the cell. She set it up on the floor, giving her a step up, jumping a third time from there.
While grasping the concrete window well, Anna pulled herself through, avoiding the broken glass. She turned to take one last look at Richard.
“Anna, the thing on your neck, it's-”
“I guess it wasn't enough that you killed your own mother with that thick skull of yours, so you killed mine too!”
Richard looked up at Anna with red eyes, his cheeks turning blood rose.
He shook his head, taking a moment in thought as the anger boiled his bones. “Go to hell,” he spat.
“By the looks of you, you're going first.”
Anna disappeared from the window.
Richard clenched his jaw. “By the look of your neck, I wouldn't bet on that,” he whispered through gritted teeth.
CHAPTER XIII
Four Years Earlier
Richard slipped through the basement doorway from the ballroom and headed to the lower level. The basement was another part of the house off limits to him, but he heard the staff talking about Margaret. Two personal guards that work the Chamber shift, discussing her capture, and forthcoming torture.
He wondered if it was possible. Would Grandfather try to hurt Anna's mom?
He had to know.
Richard heard his grandfather's voice inside his head. 'Curiosity kills the cat, boy.'
But satisfaction brought him back.
That's what the kids at school say.
He hid in the alcove below a table that held a vase. It was the maid's attempt to brighten up the dark concrete corridor, stuffing the Ming with dried eucalyptus to mask the smell of mildew, without success..
Richard waited until shift change. He remained silent as the guards passed by before ducking out from the table and creeping to the Chamber room. As he slipped inside, Richard’s eyes widened at the sight of Margaret lying on a table. He moved closer, reaching out to touch her hand.
Her flesh was cold.
Margaret twitched, a moan escaping her lips.
Richard retracted.
He stared at her motionless frame as his love for Anna and his fear of Cornelius battled each other in his thoughts. His affection for Margaret’s daughter won the round and Richard balled his fists.
I have to do something.
Richard moved to the head of the bed and pulled out Margaret's IV.
While scratching his head, his gaze wandered over the control panels. Not knowing how to operate the Chamber, he chose to disconnect several wires and tubes from the machine, hoping it would help.
Margaret began to stir, her eyelids fluttering. She opened them to see Richard standing before her. “Richard.” Margaret squinted. “What are you doing?”
Richard rocked back and forth on his heels, checking the time. “I’m getting you out of here, but we have to hurry, Mrs. Morton,” he whispered, helping Margaret to a sitting position.
Richard led her out through the chamber doorway and into the corridor. Margaret turned left towards the stairs, but Richard pulled her arm in the opposite direction.
“Where are we going?” Margaret asked.
Richard gestured towards the stairs. “The guards are coming. I know a better way out.” He took her hand and brought her to the end of the long corridor. They passed several doorways until Richard stopped in front of the bricks at the corridor's end.
“It's a dead end,” Margaret breathed, scratching her head while brushing the hair from her neck.
Richard touched a brick at eye level and the wall moved aside. “What's on you neck?” he asked.
“Cornelius injected me with something. I think it's a tracker. As soon as I get out of here, I'll have it removed. Your grandfather has gone insane, Richard.”
They scurried along a tunnel that led out to the courtyard. Richard stopped at a ladder. “Climb up. The grate at the top swings open. You'll come out just the other side of the gate.”
Margaret nodded. “Thank you, Richard.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and then pulled him into an embrace. “You saved my life,” she added, pulling away to climb the metal bars.
CHAPTER XIV
Anna's Present
Jax stopped in the middle of a six foot high tunnel, scanning the map on his tablet. “Okay, it looks like we'll need charges on the ceiling right here,” he said pointing with his index finger. “The north wall is directly above us. We need to hurry.”
“I still don't understand how they found us.” Isabelle said.
Jax let out a deep breath. “I have something to tell you both. Damarion left his phone behind. I picked it up and saw the call history. There was a call to Cornelius only minutes before they found us. I think we have a traitor in our midst.”
“Do you really think Damarion is helping Cornelius?” George asked, pressing a block of C4 into the crack where the concrete ceiling met the wall.
“I don't know,” Jax replied. “Atticus has been cautious. He blew the whistle on getting Atticus out.”
Isabelle shook her head. “You guys are talking about my father here. He did what he did to get me out and he waited long enough so there would be enough time.”
Jax pursed his lips. “Barely,” he said, pressing a block of C4 into place. “All I k
now is he has been in contact with Cornelius and that makes me nervous.”
“Is that all of it?” George asked after setting the detonators.
“That should do it. We need to bring the remotes for the detonators back with us and set them up where they'll be safe.”
They made their way back to the maintenance room where everyone was waiting. Jax cleared a shelf and set the remotes in a row along its edge, the switches facing out. He held up a box and set it on the end. “This is the receiver for Atticus's signal. When this light turns on, it will emit a tone. That's when we need to detonate.”
The group walked out in the main area where Steven, Sara and Delores were seated on the floor.
“So what do we do now?” Jax asked.
Damarion let out a breath. “I hope Anna and Atticus are on their way back. Cornelius found the hideout. I'm sure it won't be long before he finds us down here. All we can do now is wait for the signal.”
Sara shivered. “It's cold down here.”
Delores stood. “And I have to pee, Dearies. Where would you suggest I do that?”
Damarion and Jax glanced around the room. Damarion shrugged.
Jax's eyebrows shot up. “Wait, there’s a storage closet in the small room with the shelves.” He walked into the shelving room and pulled the closet door open, revealing a mop bucket. “This will have to do, I guess.”
Jax turned and called out to the adjacent room. “Delores, come in here.”
Delores stepped passed George and entered the smaller room to their left.
Jax cocked his head. “I'm sorry, it's not much, but at least there is a door for some privacy.” He shrugged. “No toilet paper.”
Delores nodded. “I'll be fine,” she replied, entering the closet and closing the door.
Jax stepped back into the maintenance room. “There, we now have a makeshift toilet.”
Isabelle shook her head. “I hope Anna and Atticus hurry, I'm worried we don't have much time.”
Damarion nodded. “And the timing has to be perfect. We have zero room for error here.”
Delores stepped out of the closet. She turned and closed the door five times while counting.