by Martha Adele
After pulling me out of the comforts of my isolated room, she walks me through the large hallways, allowing me to stretch my legs much more than I could in my isolation. Like a lost puppy, I follow her around, enjoying having empty hallways to roam in. After I was being tied down to the wheelchair for weeks, followed by being trapped for days and tortured, being able to walk around is nice. So nice that I never want to stop.
One of the pluses of having her for my nurse is she knows I don’t want anyone to see me. So she is making sure to take me down the hallways that no one else is in. The hallways she takes me down seem to be very open, almost as if they were meant to have a lane for two hospital beds to roll down at once. I look to the walls and find that the bottom half is a light-brown wood sort of design while the top half is a light-green paint. For what reason they decorate this place this way, I don’t know. I originally pictured the hallway to be dark and gloomy with a guard lurking in every corner.
But it’s not.
It is much friendlier than I expected.
The two of us walk for a while, ignoring the pain of the wind on my skin, and finally make it to our destination. Elloise opens up a door to another room with her code; and just before I head in behind her, she stops me. “Hey, I need you to stay right here while I grab you something, okay?”
I look around the hallway to make sure no one is coming and give her a quick nod. She smiles at me and disappears behind the locked door, leaving me feeling exposed and anxious to see if someone will get to see me after all.
If they see me, what will they think?
At least, while I was in a wheelchair, I was a monster who couldn’t hurt them. But now? A free beast who can terrorize people as he pleases? Who wouldn’t be scared?
Just as I look down to my fingers where my nails used to reside, Elloise comes out of the room with a box. She gives me one big smile and waves me to follow. “Come on. Let’s head back to the room so I can give you this.”
Immediately, I brush off the intense need to rub my fingernails and follow her. I look around the halls as we walk and realize the pattern on the floor is like a checkerboard. I watch the pieces fly by as I walk over them and cause myself more pain.
There is a gray tile where a white tile should be. The pattern is made up of off-white and light-gray tiles. I look around the whole room to find this is the only tile out of place. It puts the pattern out of order and somehow drives my brain to twitch. I force myself to speed up and continue following Elloise as I try to forget the tile and end up focusing more on the wind hitting my skin.
When we make it back to the room, I am relieved that the air-conditioning vent seems to have turned off, and I take a seat on the bed to give my legs a rest.
Elloise sets the box down beside me and gives me one big smile before opening it to reveal a dark fabric. “Are you ready, Logan?”
I peek over and into the box as she pulls it out. A long dark suit made of some sort of spandex material. I reach in and grab the final three pieces to find two gloves and a mask.
I look to her and allow my gravelly voice to speak, “What is it?”
“It’s your new suit.” She waves for me to stand up. When I do, she holds it against my body and gives me another smile. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
I hold the gloves in one hand and the mask in another. When I spread the mask out enough to see the face, I find no eye holes or anything. It seems to be just a big sock.
“Go ahead. Try it on.”
I give her a confused look.
“You can see through the fabric. It was made just for you so that you can walk around without the pain of the wind on your skin.”
I look back to the mask. One of my hands finds its way to my face, and it rubs my skin gently to feel the shriveled spots and reminds me of the pain I’ve been through. If I would have just kept my mouth shut when talking to Amanda, I wouldn’t have had this happen to me. It’s my fault; and if they are offering something to help me, I need to take it.
I slide the mask on over my bald head and find the silky substance providing me with instant relief. I can see through it, just as I can see normally, and breathe through it, just as I could a moment ago.
“How is it?” Elloise asks me with a giddy look on her face.
I can’t help but smile a smile I doubt she can see from under the mask. I take a deep breath and give a hoarse chuckle. “You had something to fix my legs. You had something to help my skin.” I take another breath. “Do you have something to help the wheezing?”
Elloise immediately bursts into a small fit of laughter at my joke. Though I was holding on to a small amount of hope she would offer me something to help, hearing someone laugh with me was all the help I needed.
She helps me take my clothes off with the least amount of pain she can and slide the suit on. It is one that is loose on my body, seeming to be about two sizes too big, until I press a button for it to tighten, making it much easier for me to get into compared to a suit that fits like this with no stretch. Once that button is pressed, the entire suit sucks in and outlines my body as if I wasn’t wearing any clothes at all, making it one of the most comfortable and soothing things I’ve worn in a long time. I hadn’t realized how bad the pain my skin was going through really was until I put this suit on. The relief that spreads through me makes me want to just dive into the bed and lie on my back, sprawled out and letting the air-conditioning blow on me as it pleases. The relief makes me want to go back out into the hallways and sprint off, not caring how much wind hits my skin.
With the added cover of no one being able to see what I look like under here, this suit somehow brings me more joy than I ever thought I would feel again.
And it is all because of Elloise.
I look to her as she continues to smile at me. “Thank you,” I tell her.
She gives me another little smirk. “It was my pleasure.” After a moment of silence between us with only the sound of my wheezing to listen to, her eyes and smile grow. Elloise reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small bag. “I almost forgot!”
She drops Sam’s necklace into my hand. “I smuggled this out for you. They forgot to give it back when they brought you in here.”
My fist tightens around the gem as I think back to Sam. Someone I miss so much that I have to force myself not to think about him. I spent weeks grieving and am still hurting more than I’ve ever hurt before.
But just because I don’t want to think about him doesn’t mean I want to forget him.
Just before I can tell Elloise thank you, she takes a look at her watch; and her face jumps with surprise. “Well, look at that.” I try to look at the time as well, but she lowers her wrist and points back to the bed. “It’s almost ten o’clock. It is getting pretty late.”
I follow her finger and look to the bed. After a moment, I look back to her as she stands there awkwardly.
“I need you to, um, go to bed.”
I tilt my head at her, not completely sure what she will do if I don’t get into bed; but I kind of want to see.
She lowers her arms down and gives a small unsure sigh. “Um, please?”
I snicker and take a seat on the sheets.
Elloise smiles at me. “Thank you, Logan.” She makes her way over to me and rolls up my sleeve. I stop her halfway by grabbing her wrist. She looks back to me and grabs the rolling table in the corner. “I have to put in your IV for the night. This will give you some more medicine to make sure you get some sleep and to make sure you don’t have too much pain in your legs.”
I stare into her eyes as she seems to stare into mine. Her brown eyes remind me much of my mother’s, not in the sense of color but in the sense of their kindness. I release her wrist and allow her to insert the IV. After putting me back into bed, she asks me, “Can I leave you for a moment to go and get you some food? Or should I wait here with you and ha
ve someone else bring it in?”
“You can go.” I wheeze. “I’ll wait.”
She smiles at me and gives a small pat on my knee. Elloise exits the room and leaves me to watch the fluids and medicine drain into me. It takes about ten minutes for her to come back in with a tray of white foods that I can’t identify and a water bottle.
I lift up the bottom half of my mask and eat for the first time in days. The feeling of food in my mouth is one that I have missed, along with water going down my throat. I finish all my food and drink within minutes and have Elloise take my tray.
“All right Logan.” She comes over to my IV line and adds a small vial to the line. “I will see you in the morning. If you feel up to it then, we have a great simulation room that you can begin practicing on.”
I look to her as she clips the vial in place and watch the blue liquid drain. “Thank you,” I tell her. She gives me one final nod goodbye and leaves me to rest.
Zane
I sit at a table and wait. A table in a cafe, like the Marvelous Cafe, only, this one is subpar. It doesn’t even have a place where you can get a book to read.
I sit at a table and wait. I wait like I used to do for Mac; but this time, I wait for another woman. As she walks in, she gives me a small nod of acknowledgment and sits across from me.
Van pulls an envelope out of her jacket pocket and hands it to me under the table. “This is to get you through the next few weeks.”
I take it and slip it up my sleeve. “Thank you.”
“Have you run into any trouble recently?”
I shake my head. Last night was the final night I could stay in the little safe room in the woods. Once I got out, I had to lock the entrance, to which I have completely forgotten what the code is with the branch.
“That’s good to hear.” Van looks behind me with a curious expression. “I have an assignment for you.”
“Yeah?”
She takes my hand and gives me an odd smile. I can’t help but try to pull away, but she won’t let go.
“What are you doing?” I ask her.
She rises to her feet and pulls me out of my seat. With a singsong voice, she continues, “We need to go.”
Her eyes flicker behind me, and I take her hint. We walk out of the shop, hand in hand, avoiding a confrontation with two policemen.
“Werner’s picture has been plastered in every police station in the country,” Van tells me. “I know we changed your look and your code, but that doesn’t mean test your luck.”
I nod, and we continue walking down the road. “Understood. What is the assignment?”
“There is a sewing and fabric shop called Fabric Room that we run. This will be where you and your new partner will be working.”
“Partner?” I look to her to see a smug smile on her face. “Who is he? Is he coming from the bunker?”
Van nods. “She should be arriving here from the bunker today.”
We take a right and continue walking through the city, dodging every police car or officer walking we can. “What’s her name?”
“June Dawson.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
June
After making it through the woods over the course of two days, I still haven’t been told my guide’s name. We enter into Frieden through an underground pathway, taking us into some woods right on the outside of Kern, and hike into the city from there.
He continues to lead us in silence, leaving me to watch our surroundings anxiously. We pass through the same part of town where Ms. Page and I saw the dress that she made for me for the inauguration ball, causing me to have to force away those memories.
My name is June Dawson. I was a Bloot. My parents, Gary and Sharron, were both killed in the revolt.
Mavis?
Mavis Walmsley?
She is dead.
She died the same night her best friend did.
I shake my head and force the memories out. If I go down that road and think about the past, I will be proving Janice right in that she doesn’t think I am ready.
But I am.
I am June Dawson. I was a Bloot.
My guide and I make it through the town, down a few backroads, and to a dark-purple brick building named Fabric Room.
“Consider this your new home, June.” My guide opens the door for me, a bell above the entrance rings, and I walk in to see a familiar face speaking with Van behind the cashier counter.
I turn back to look at my new guide, only to find that he has disappeared.
“June?” my old guide calls out.
Looking back to her, I nod. “And you must be Van.” We shake hands as she gives me an impressed smile, obviously remembering who I was.
“Well, June Dawson, please meet your new partner.”
The man from the bar the night the bomb went off at the Palace shakes my hand. Though his eyes and hair are a different color, I can still tell it is him.
“Zane West,” he tells me. We shake each other’s hands and share a stare and a slight smile. I have a feeling he remembers me too. “It’s nice to meet you, June.”
We turn to Van as she gives us a small chuckle. “What? Have you two met before?”
“No,” we answer casually in unison, not helping our case.
Van squints at us both, not believing the lies, and backs away. “Okay then.” She heads to the door and opens it, causing the bell above to ring. “I have to go. June, you have the assignment?”
I nod.
“Go ahead and brief Zane. I will let you two handle this.” She closes the door and disappears just as my guide from earlier did.
I turn back to the man whose real name I can’t remember and take a seat behind the counter. “Is anyone else in the building?”
He shakes his head and types something into the hologram to pull up the security cameras. The building is as empty as it is dull.
“So I have received word that Chancellor Oswald will be going to the Capitol Park gardens today.”
With my hands resting in my coat pockets, the sudden chill that comes at random points at the end of spring has returned. I sit on one of the park benches and look around, enjoying the beautiful view of the grass becoming green, the flowers slowly coming back to life, and the random person every now and then strolling by. For some reason, the garden isn’t as full as it usually is. Today seems to be a slow day for this area, which actually gives me a lot more of an advantage.
I watch each individual who strolls by and find that it is mainly older women. I can hear the sound of the children screaming with joy in the background of the rustling leaves over by the playground. Though I am happy that they are enjoying themselves, I much prefer the sound of nature and light voices speaking to one another over the hyena screeching that comes with adolescent joy.
When a man wearing a long tan trench coat with black gloves emerges from the gardens, I scan him over. After noticing that he appears the same height as the six-feet-and-two-inches-tall Chancellor Oswald, I immediately rise to my feet. I pull a book out of my jacket and open it to a random page.
With my nose buried deep in the book, I find myself spoiling the plot twist of the stepfather being the killer. I pull away for one moment to reread the first section of the page and end up bumping directly into the man, somehow getting my foot caught in between his and knocking us both over.
He wraps his arms around me and spins us both, forcing me to land on his front side while he takes the brunt of the fall. We both grunt as we hit the ground and slowly realize how close our faces are to each other’s.
After a moment of slight awkwardness, I force myself up and begin apologizing profusely, “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I was just reading and—”
In the middle of my apology, I realize he is reacting the same way I am. “I am so terribly sorry. Oh no! It is not yo
ur fault, dear. I wasn’t watching where I was going. I mean I—”
We pause at the same time and find ourselves staring at each other once more. A slight chuckle from us both relieves the tension and allows us to breathe much easier. Chancellor Oswald gives me a small smile followed by a shocked expression. He reaches down to pick up the book, brushes it off, and hands it back to me. “I really am sorry. I know how it can be when reading. It’s like nothing else around you exists.”
I titter and quickly flip through the book’s pages like a fan, and I am hit with that beautiful almond, vanilla, and grass smell. “To be honest, I am not that much of a reader. I accidentally just kind of spoiled the book for myself by reading ahead, and it caught me off guard.” I hold up the book and point to the cover. “But now I can tell you, if you want a good read, this book seems fairly decent. You’ll never see it coming.”
He chuckles back to me and looks around the park. My eyes follow his, and I see dozens of secret service men standing by, seemingly wary of my presence. “I’m sorry about them. It took me months now to get them to let me walk by myself, let alone get this close to someone without them around.”
“Well”—I reach up to fix his jacket collar and bend it the right way—“you and I did get a little closer than either of us expected.”
He looks to me with a new expression, one that I am not used to seeing. His smile almost seems shy, but it doesn’t make sense. He is Chancellor Thomas Oswald, the first leader of Frieden. The great speaker, the great mind, and the great man. Why would he be shy around me?
The both of us look into the gardens, watching a few of the men in suits come closer to us. I pull away nervously and earn a sigh from Oswald. “Again, I’m sorry about knocking you over.”
“No, no, please, don’t be.” I take a step away and hold the book with both hands. “It was one of the best trips I’ve taken in a while.”