The Freaks

chapter six

"I'm ready now," I announce as I swing the door open, moving out of the room. Serena and Nox lead the way as I close the wood behind me, following them on their tails, my heart pounding inside my chest, the pain strangling me.

The voices around the Ghetto are different today—carefully chosen words passed between each of the Freaks in whispers. There is hardly any laughter today. A part of me wonders if it's because of this Sigma's sudden appearance somewhere around here, or if it's because it's early in the morning, and all they are seeing are the dull walls and dim lights dotted around the place and nothing else until they wake up fully.

But I think that's just how I'm thinking.

I rub the sleep from the corners of my eyes as I continue to follow Serena down the hallways, passing a few Freaks who look about ready to keel over. One Freak is whistling as he comes towards us down this hallway, a slight hop to his step as his arms swing from his sides.

"Good morning," he says too cheerfully with a smile, quickly pointing in our direction as Serena and Nox offer him a half-hearted greeting back. His whistling echoes around the space as he walks away, the sound following him wherever he's going.

I turn my head slightly to look over my shoulder, watching the Freak's retreating figure. "There's something seriously wrong with that guy," I whisper, my voice still thick from sleep. "No one is that cheerful in the morning."

Nox and Serena both laugh at that, the sound echoing down the hallway. But it's Nox who replies, saying, "He's just a morning person. Leave him be."

We don't pass any more Freaks as we walk up a few flights of stairs, the air turning slightly cooler the higher we get to the surface. We are underground, caved in with a bunch of rubble so we cannot get out and no one can get in. Which means, whatever fresh air is coming in, it's coming in as slow as possible.

We are safe here, is what they tell me. No one will be able to find us.

The three of us enter another long hallway, this one not leading anywhere except a large door at the end of the passage. As we get closer and closer to it, I notice it has the same symbol etched across it. The ∑ is much larger and bolder than what it's like on all the other doors.

Despite never being in this part of the Ghetto before, I can already tell Sigma is behind this door. And my heart seems to know that too, as it hammers repeatedly against my chest, threatening to burst out at any given point.

All too soon, we are in front of the door, the ∑ painfully larger than all the others—much larger than my head. It's a lot bigger than I had expected when walking down this hallway.

What the hell does this symbol even mean? And why does Sigma have it etched into her door? Why is it etched into all the doors? What's its significance?

I want to ask the question aloud to Serena or even Nox, but he taps three times on the door and steps back a few paces, waiting for a reply. After a few seconds, we hear the faintest "Come in" on the other side, so quiet I'm not sure if it was even real. But as Nox turns the handle and steps into the room, I know I wasn't imagining it.

The leader of the Ghetto was not what I was expecting when I walked into the room. I don't even know what I was expecting, being honest. An older woman, perhaps, despite there no longer being any? Someone with so much knowledge that she would be able to tell a thousand stories? Those were the things that I was thinking when I first heard of Sigma, but looking at her now, she's not what I thought.

Sigma stands up from the desk in front of her, her dark brown hair brushing over her shoulders in waves. She's young, maybe a few years older than myself. Her skin is a warm brown, slightly darker than mine, with brown eyes that look both delirious yet sharp at the same time. A white T-shirt and black trousers is all she's wearing, but I can't see what's on her feet as the desk is blocking the view.