Rebel Heart

Chapter 5 Restrictions

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Michelle wanted to make a call," Jett said. Michelle lowered her face. She didn't want to start blushing at the sight of Brook.

"No phone calls around here. No internet, no texting." Brook came near and snatched Michelle's phone from her hand.

"Hey!" She tried to take it back but he held it high above his head out of reach.

"I'll be keeping this. You can't use it anyway."

"What? No! Give it back!" Michelle tried in vain to reach it.

"Yeah I mean, she could keep it. It's not like she can use it."

"Someone might try to track her," Brook said, slipping the phone into his jean pocket.

"Right... I didn't think about that." Jett said, rubbing his face.

"But you just said it was a dead zone!"

"There are exceptions. If we can make a radio work in a dead zone, who's to say other people can't?" Jett explained.

"But there's no one out there for miles! You said so yourself." Michelle argued.

"Look, don't make such a fuss about it. You'll get it back, I promise. Why do you want it so bad anyway? Can't you go a day without texting your friends?" Brook asked. Michelle frowned at him. Sometimes he infuriated her; but that only meant he knew how to get under her skin. And that was a sign of defenselessness on her part which she didn't like.

"It's not that," Michelle said, eyeing her phone.

"Then what?" Brook asked. Michelle sighed.

"Forget it," she said before walking off towards the exit.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" Brook asked, running after her.

"For a walk. Is that a crime?" she asked without turning back.

"You can't go outside," Brook said. He caught up to her in three strides and stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"I can't stay in here forever," she said, facing him. He studied her eyes for a moment.

"You're right." His voice softened. "You can't stay in here forever. But you're supposed to be resting after a major accident. Please, just stay inside." He took her phone from his pocket and placed it in her palm.

"Fine, I'll stay," Michelle said, calming down. Brook didn't let go of her phone.

"Promise me you'll keep that turned off. Never ever turn it on." Brook's eyes were piercing as he spoke. Michelle nodded.

"I promise."

Being locked up in an underground base wasn't as difficult as Michelle thought it would be. She had forgotten how used she was to sitting alone while writing music. Of course, she missed her guitar and the freedom of walking around to clear her head after hours of mulling over scores. But on the whole, the quiet of the base was conducive to her writing. She also took the extra time to write in her diary – something she hadn't had time for since high school. What with all the extraordinary things that happened in less than twenty-four hours, she thought it a good idea to record everything. It would be like reading a deviation from normal life where she crashed headlong into a strange adventure – and she didn't know how it would end yet. Also, since she couldn't talk to her friends, she might as well pour out her feelings in her diary. She felt she might go crazy if she didn't voice it out somehow.