Somewhere in the Trees

eight

They drop Declan, Alice and I into an underground room of some sort. The three of us fall to the ground, hard, unable to catch ourselves with our hands tied behind our backs.

It's pitch black inside the room and there's a very earthy odor. I can hear more heavy and labored breathing from the other side of the room. I pray that it's the rest of the class and Professor Kitt, though it doesn't seem loud enough.

The man jumps down after us, landing on his feet, holding what looks like a battery-powered lantern that's currently turned off. There's a strip of moonlight coming from the entrance to the room and it shines down on the man like a spotlight on a stage. I watch from the floor as he looks up towards the opening, where I notice the two women are both looking down at him.

"Scott, do you think you'll need the gun?" one of the women asks. So that's his name.

Scott shakes his head. "No, don't think so. I'm gonna get them all situated. I'll let you know when to drop the ladder down," he tells them.

Scott walks towards me. He grabs onto my arm and forces me up to my feet, where he then shoves my back up against a wall. He grabs Declan from the floor and lines him up right next to me. My shoulder brushes against him.

My fingers reach to touch the wall behind my back. It feels dirty and gritty. I roll some of the grit between my fingertips, trying to determine what the substance is without seeing it. It feels like mud.

Scott fumbles with the lantern in his hands, and suddenly it flicks on, igniting part of the room in a warm dim light.

Immediately, I notice that the breathing belongs to Zoe and Kiran, who are both against the other side of the wall, their hands also tied behind their backs. They are wearing the same clothes as us - blue linen.

My chest instantly deflates with relief as I lock eyes with Zoe. But if it's only them then where is the rest of the class? Where is Professor Kitt?

"Thank god," I hear Declan whisper under his breath from beside me, probably upon seeing that Kiran's okay.

Scott stands in front of us now that we're lined up against the wall. Slowly, he places the lantern down on the floor.

"Can I ask you something?" I say suddenly, my voice shaking.

Scott immediately looks at me, his tiny blue eyes watching my every move. At first I think he's going to yell at me, but instead he says, "go for it."

"Where... where's the rest of our class? Our teacher?" I ask. "We..." I look around at Declan, Alice, Zoe and Kiran. "We came as a class. There're still four others."

Scott stares blankly at me, as if he has no idea what I'm talking about. "There were others?"

"Yeah, three other students and our teacher."

He snaps his fingers and nods. "You know what, I do remember them saying that actually. I'll tell you what probably happened: they must've woken up while being moved. You know, we can't have anybody seeing where we are, just in case. If they happen to wake up, that's their fate," he says.

My mouth goes dry. I woke up while they were moving me. Scott strangled me back to unconsciousness. Flashes of his eyes, of his clenched teeth, all swirl through my mind. "I'm doing this because I like you," he'd said. "You're welcome."

"What do you mean?" I ask, panicking. "What happens when someone wakes up?"

"Well," Scott says quietly, "they're dealt with accordingly."

"Are... they dead?" Alice asks hesitantly from the other side of Declan. I can hear panic in her voice as well.

Scott shakes his head. "Oh, sweetheart. We don't say that word here. Life just... took them elsewhere."