Nonconformity | Henry Creel

To be Slaughtered

The man merely narrowed his eyes. Silence followed.

"And we don't have a mother figure," Six piped up, "So..."

Stupid.

"Yes," I barely restrained the urge to elbow Six in the ribs for such a pointless interjection, "Six has a particularly difficult time with that bit, and so she's really reliant on Papa for emotional counseling. He usually encourages us to talk to him when we're feeling anxious. And he would probably be upset if he found out we were denied our much-needed emotional support," I frowned, "You wouldn't want to upset him, right?"

A few more moments passed. The man stared over my head as though I weren't standing right in front of him. There was a clenching of his jaw, a soft exhale, and then he stepped aside. Six and I exchanged a look as we walked passed the guard-- hers of surprise, mine of smugness. Once the door closed behind us, I grinned.

"Told you so."

"I'm going to laugh in your face when Papa sends us back to the Rainbow Room."

"That's precisely why we're not going to ask him," I grabbed her wrist and pulled her with me down the hallway.

She dug her heels into the ground, "What do you mean we're not going to Papa?"

"Well, he'll just say no," I shrugged.

"Sixteen, you know I love sneaking out as much as you do, but maybe you should think this one through," She frowned and gestured towards the corner of the hall, "The camera. Papa will know we left."

"Look closely," I said, "It's turned off."

She narrowed her eyes when she realized it was, indeed, turned off, devoid of its typical red dot. "Why?"

I grinned, "Because I turned it off. No one will know we even left, I just have to keep shutting them off as we pass."

"How did you turn it off?"

"I've been practicing," I glanced towards the light overhead. It flashed. Once, twice, three times in rapid succession, and then it stopped.

"Impressive, Sixteen," She looked as though she were on the verge of agreeing, and then a frown creased her lips, "Won't Papa notice when all the cameras are shut down?"

"I can turn them back on when we're out of view,"

She was silent.

Guilt twisted in my stomach when I realized I probably went too far. Six wasn't so quick to defy Papa's orders, and I should've been more conscientious of that. My lips formed a soft smile, "You can go back to the Rainbow Room if you want. I totally understand why you're nervous, I won't be mad. Don't want you to feel pressured if you really don't want to come."

"Oh, no, I want to come," She muttered, "I just feel like this could backfire in a million ways."

"Oh, it definitely could," I said, "If we get caught I'll take full responsibility. Deal?"

She smiled, "Deal."

We navigated the hallways for about twenty minutes before I stumbled upon what I assumed was the correct turn. I used the term 'labyrinth' to describe the lab before, but it was when I truly took the time to navigate its milky white confines that I realized how accurate that description was. The hallways were utterly indiscernible from all the others which proceeded it. Metal doors, tiled floors, harsh overhead light. The purr of the a/c was maddening as it grew in an ear-splitting crescendo, ever-present no matter which turn we took, never too far behind.

I was just about ready to give up and attempt to find my way back to the Rainbow Room when I paused. We stood at the beginning of a hallway that had three doors on the left side and one door at the end. From that distance, I could barely see the black ink labeling it '001.'