274 (Complex Series, #4)

Chapter Three

My eyes fly quickly away, back to straight ahead. I force my face blank as I slowly sip my water.

Did she see my smiling as Marie ran along the tables?

I force myself to take slow breaths through my nose. It’s most likely just my imagination. The Official was probably looking at someone behind me, or looking at no one at all. Maybe she wasn’t even paying attention to what she was looking at, lost in her own thoughts.

I dismiss my previous idea almost immediately. Officials are always paying attention to what they are doing. They are never unaware or caught off guard.

Morning Meal ends with the Teaching Bell ringing from the walls. I obediently carry my tray over to the conveyor belt that takes away our dishes. I place it on there and follow the flow of the crowd to my first Teaching, History Lecture.

I slip into the correct row and sit on the chair with my number printed across it. My eyes land on a sit several rows in front of me, the only seat that isn’t filled. Seat 242.  Marie’s.

Tomorrow we’ll all be shifted over one seat, completely covering up the fact that Marie ever existed. Her number will disappear from every surface it was ever on.

There’s a huge stage directly in front of us, but most of the time a giant screen dominates the room. We normally watch an informative video on what the old world was like, before the gracious Windsors saved us.

It’s always the same story. The world was already going downhill. Humans put too much dependence on things they couldn’t control, oil specifically. Eventually, the Disease came along, slowly killing everyone.

The Heads built this Complex to keep us safe from the Disease, taking thousands of uninfected kids in to save. The Heads, singlehandedly, saved the human race.

I don’t know if I really believe it. The Heads seem too strict and cruel to selflessly use their precious money to save us all. They probably only do it for the power or the joy of terrifying us all.

My heart starts beating faster after I spot the same Official who was staring at me earlier today, directly to the left of the screen.

She’s staring at me again. Our eyes meet, my muscles tensing up. She shows no emotion, her eyes drilling into me. Then, she looks away first, her eyes traveling down the rows of seats.

The whole scene only lasts a couple seconds. Why did she look away first? That’s a sign of weakness and surrender, something Officials never show.

I spend the rest of the day, worry and fear eating away at my stomach. The Official seems to be in every Teaching, always making eye contact with me at least once.

I walk slowly back from Free Hour, trying to figure out whether I should be worried or not. Will I be dragged away tonight to the Unknown?

I change into my night clothes as the door slams shut. With shaking hands I crawl into bed and await sleep.

It doesn’t come.

My heart beats too fast, my pulse pounding through my ears. I fidget, my hands folding and unfolding themselves.

I freeze as the door slides open. I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep, but not before I catch a glimpse of a silhouette of an Official standing in the doorway.

I hear the door close again. Did the Official leave?

A footstep echoes inside my room.

A flashlight blinks on and shines brightly against my eyelids, turning them a bright red. I struggle to keep them closed. I pretend to sleepily roll over on to my side, away from the light.