Operation Sector 17

Chapter 9:

I ripped the white sheet off my lower body, and pushed myself off the uncomfortable mattress. I tried to make my way to the window to see how far up I was. My room was about fourteen feet above the ground, and on the first floor above the ground level. Great, I thought, looking around the room. I had no rope or any other tools, just an injured leg. Then, an idea popped into my head.
    I pulled on the window, and a harsh wind greeted me. I looked down and saw the hard, stone concrete below. If I dropped, I would most likely die, but I had to try.
    I pulled my leg over the window and looked around for a ledge to rest my foot on. I found one a couple feet below the window so I put my first, uninjured foot down. Then, I pulled my other leg out of the window and rested it on the ledge with minimal pain shooting through my body.
    Why do I think of these things? I thought while I held on to the window ledge for my life. My lightly colored hair whipped around in the wind, blocking my view of other ledges. 
    I released my injured leg from the ledge I was standing on and bent my other leg so I could place it on the ledge below.  Tapping my foot around a couple times, I found another ledge to stand on and transferred my other leg onto it. I was only six feet off the ground, so I tried to bend down, keeping one hand on the first ledge, and put my other hand on the ledge beneath it. The ledge was too short, and my leg fiercely protested. I took a risk and let my injured leg dangle down off the ledge, and bent my other so I could place my hands on the ledge. Then I gripped the ledge so now both of my  feet dangled off the last ledge. I dropped onto the hard concrete, landing with my legs bent so I didn't get hurt any more than I already had. 
    I winced as pain pinched, and ran throughout  my leg, but I had made it out of my hospital room! I straightened both of my legs and started hobling to Cio's house. I just needed to see him.   
    I didn't really know where I was, so I walked aimlessly to find a recognizable store. 
    It only took me a couple minutes until I found Atancio's favorite restaurant, StrongKnot Servers. I personally hated it, but he really liked it. It was only a couple minutes away from his house, so I was in luck! 
    Once I passed the restaurant, I saw so many familiar landmarks that made my journey so much shorter.
    When I finally made it to his house, I was completely exhausted. My leg throbbed like there was no tomorrow. I still managed to hobble over to the door and knock twice, then a third time. No one answered, but I knew there were cameras around their house so I hobbled back around the house by Atacio's window, to see if he was home alone, to my luck and saw a faint light. I knocked on the window, and I saw Atancio's smiling face! I signaled him to open the window, and thankfully he did.
"Cat, why do you look so winded? And what happened to your leg?" he asked, firing questions at me. 
I wondered if I should tell him the real story or the fake one for a minute before I answered, while plopping on his cloud like bed, "I ran here, and I was in the hospital because I was shot in the leg."  Then Cio leaned towards my face, his hot breath whispering in my ear.
"How did you get shot in the leg?"
"I can't tell you," I answered, as he moved his head slightly away from mine.
I saw gears turning in Cio's head, but then something clicked and he said, "You were in the group of rebels, weren't you?" While he said it he ran his fingers through his gelled hair and looked at the wall, sighing.
"I don't want you to get in trouble, Cat. But answer me. Did you break into the Board of Trustees office?"
I struggled to find an answer, but he already knew there was nothing I could say to deny it, so I just nodded. Atancio just stared at me with sad, empty eyes. Like he had just watched me die.
But I couldn't bear to see his sad look, so I changed the subject and said, "Who were you talking to the other day, when I came over and you ended the call in panic?"  Atancio blushed, and didn't answer.
I pressed again, "Who were you talking to?"
"I can't say."
"WHO WERE YOU TALKING TO?" I said, pulling myself off the bedspread, and sitting next to him.
This time, he just pulled me into a hug and said into my ear, "This might be the last time I do this as your best friend."
I hugged him back for a second, my ears against his chest, hearing his usually steady heartbeat quicken. But then the message sunk in and I shoved him away, almost knocking him off the bed.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my face twisting.
He didn't answer until I asked him again.
"I mean that the person I was talking to was an officer at the B.O.T..." he said hesitantly.
"Why were you talking to the B.O.T?" I asked, wondering why it was so hard for him to say. 
"Well, I was threatened into spying on you for the past four years..." he said, tears now in his eyes, but my eyes matched his.
"Why would you do th-" I stuttered.
"You didn't let me finish," he said, interrupting my thoughts of betrayal and sadness.