DEFEATISM

14

Callie is up early. Both sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful. In the winter, the sun sets before Callie usually makes dinner, and so on the best days, she gets to experience both. In the morning, she puts on music while she showers. She curls her hair, does her make-up, and puts on clothes. She paints, every so often glancing out her window. Through the snow, she cannot see the sunrise. She is sure it happens though, since the dark storm slowly becomes grey and then white. The sky looks thick, perhaps even white. When the wind makes the windows shake, she decides to go downstairs and put on the kettle.

In the basement, she pauses in the kitchen doorway. Callie pauses, her feet together, her nose not passing the doorframe. The kettle is on the counter, squashed between the toaster and the microwave. She can see from the window under the handle that it has enough water. Her mug and tea are in the cupboard. It's a race.

Callie pushes her way inside. She grabs and opens the cupboard, her hands racing. With a mug in one hand and a box of tea tucked under the other arm, she pulls the cord of the kettle out of the wall. Only once she is safely in the office does she slow down.

She hasn't been in this room in a while. As she brews her tea, she sees the writing on the whiteboard, smiling a bit to herself. She pulls out her phone, hoping the Wi-Fi is back.

It's worse. She's got no cell signal.

~~~

Elodie wakes up because someone is pounding on her door. She throws on her housecoat and makes her way over, grumbling to herself. No one here seems to recognize sleep. If her throat didn't feel so dry, she'd yell. The heater is working overtime, and so are they, in a way. Finally, she opens the door.

On the other side is Benedict. He's dressed. Underneath his large sweater is the collar of a button-up. Elodie thinks no one in their right mind would wear a collared shirt for their own amusement. She looks at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Can I help you?"

"Do you have service?" he asks. He is trying not to pace on the spot. The building was claustrophobic, but now it is strangling him.

"Room or cell?" Elodie leans her forehead against the doorway, hoping the cold metal will soothe her headache.

"Not funny," Benedict replies.

Rolling her eyes, Elodie goes back to check. She turns on her phone screen and looks down. She cannot help but shake her head. No cell service. As if the week could not get any worse.

"Doesn't look like it."

Benedict's hand twitches, "well, meet me in the office in thirty minutes. I'm going to get the others down there. We need to make a plan."

She brushes him off. Since Benedict is running off to alert all of the others to his plan, he doesn't notice that Elodie crawls into bed.

~~~

In forty-five minutes, they are all gathered downstairs. Most people were down at the thirty-minute mark, but Benedict had to make the trek back up to his floor to drag down Elodie. It's the fifth floor, and it would have been reasonable to take the elevator, but he just can't do it. Benedict likes a walkable city. It's a building, not a city, and Benedict isn't usually willing to compromise. In this situation, he knows that he is resigned to the circumstances that have been presented before him.

Unlike most of the others, Elodie is still in her pajamas when she enters the room. There are two Fs written on the whiteboard underneath a request to write more, which she does think is a bit odd. They are worried about cell service; the Wi-Fi isn't on her radar anymore. While she'd like to ask about it, she holds her tongue. The only open spot is between Marcellus and Darlington. At some point, she might have to talk to him. Not here though. Her spot is across from Maverick too. She doesn't want to look him in the eye. Today is no good, very bad.