Unplugged: The New World (#1, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Sixteen

"I think we've learned enough for today, don't you, Enna?" He asks. I'm jolted out of my train of thought and people snicker around me. I nod, sick to my stomach. "Alright. You're dismissed."

I get to my feet shakily amid the crowd of stretching people. Leah grabs my wrist and walks with me all the way to the Dining Room.

"He's just trying to get your goat," she soothes. I wish I could believe her. That video was just a further, unwanted reminder that my face is on every Member's television. That I'm officially labeled as an anarchist. Maybe hiding out underground has made me forget how dire the circumstances are. I wait in line for a bowl of potato soup.

"I hope so," I mutter. Once I receive my food I take a seat at an empty wooden table. Leah sits beside me.

"I, uh... I wonder why I wasn't mentioned in that video," she says nonchalantly.

"Like you said, you planned out your escape so well. You didn't make a scene like I did."

"Yeah, I guess..." She mumbles. "I'd think that they might have noticed my absence, though, that's all." I stare at my friend; the tightness of her hands, the carefully leveled gaze. I have a feeling that, deep down, she's jealous of the attention I received today.

"Can we sit here?" I turn my head to face Oscar, who taps the table with his finger, holding a tray aloft in the other hand. Josh stands behind him shyly.

"Sure," I say. They take the seats in front of us.

"Why not?" Leah grumbles to herself. "It's not like we were having a conversation or anything." Oscar chuckles and turns to look at me mischievously. I feel like I know what he is going to say, and I send warning daggers with my eyes.

"Everyone! Here she is! Enna Price! I found her, I found her! She's safe; come take her away!" He begins to laugh uncontrollably, banging the table with his fists. Leah pours her milk into his soup. Josh and I snicker behind our hands; my stomach hurts. When Oscar pulls himself together and sees what Leah's doing, he knocks her hand out of the way and roars.

"Geez, you got milk in my soup! I was starving!"

"Leave her alone, alright?" Leah demands. Oscar looks at me wide-eyed, as if to say "What did I do?" I try to communicate through gestures and facial expressions that Leah was in a bad mood already. Then I twist in my seat.

"So, Josh," I begin, eager to change the subject. "How are you doing?" He shrugs.

"I guess I'm okay."

"How did the fighting go? Did it get any easier?" He gives me a hopeless look, and I know it didn't.

"I just... I've always been shy, and I've never been any good at standing up for myself. It doesn't help that my dad doesn't understand how hard it is for me."

"Have you ever tried to explain to him that fighting isn't your thing?"

"Kind of." He shrugs, staring at his full plate. "I've never been good at confrontation, either."

I nod sadly, not sure what else I can do to help him if he won't help himself. I don't even know how to fix my own problems!

Suddenly, fear and determination circle me like hungry buzzards. How can I just sit here while I'm being targeted; while we are all being targeted? An uncontrollable new yearning--a yearning to live above the ground again--floods through me. Being totally controlled is no way to live, but neither is this. I stand quickly and shove my chair back.

"Are you okay, Enna?" Leah asks, worried. I nod, face flushed.

"I'm fine. I just need to walk around." She lowers her voice.

"Is it the video? It's bothering you, isn't it?" I nod, not knowing how else to explain my feelings to her. I turn and leave the Dining Room, beginning to walk down the tunnel. I don't know where I'm going: I just let my legs carry me. After a few minutes I look up and, to my surprise, realize that I had walked to the Security Quarter again. Trepidation quickens my breaths. I know I shouldn't be here, but here I am all the same. The door has a note on it, reading "Off Duty". I slowly open it and search the room with my gaze. No one is present. I slip through the door and close it silently behind me. The hundreds of screens stack up to the ceiling and I feel a power that I've never felt before. I can see everything that each of these people are doing. Every step, every small gesture... Who knows: maybe my mother sat in this very chair, watching me!

For a moment I watch Leah cast quick, guilty glances at Oscar in the Dining Room, and then I turn my attention to the screen that reads "Depot Entry Hall". As usual, I don't see anyone. Sam had said that the Entry Hall is the only entrance or exit to the Depot. The only people who move through there are probably... Luke? I rub my eyes, but the screen hasn't changed. I watch as Luke surreptitiously begins to climb the steps leading to the trapdoor. What is he doing? Certainly someone who digs tunnels wouldn't have permission to leave? Filled with a new energy, I get up and run towards the Training Facility.

* * *

I must have been at the Security Quarter longer than I thought. When I reach the Training Facility, small groups of Trainees diffuse to their bedrooms. I burst into my dormitory, gasping for breath, and Leah stares at me like I grew an extra head.

"What happened to you?" She asks.

"I was at the--" I gulp for air and sink down onto my bed. "I was at the Security Quarter and--"

"Wait! Why were you at the Security Quarter?" Leah splutters.

"It doesn't matter. Just listen: I saw Luke leave through the Entry Hall!" She looks at me blankly. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Of course I did. Why does it matter?"

"Don't you think it's a bit strange that someone who isn't a Trainee just happens to sneak out of the Depot when the security guards are off duty?"

"Hey," Leah hisses, jumping to her feet. "He wasn't sneaking!"

"Oh, so you know what he was doing there?" I snap, my face reddening with anger.

"No, but I do know that he's not like that!"

"How?"

"I... Well, I..." I got her. I smile cockily at her, the way she always does to me. "That doesn't matter."

"I don't get why you are so adamant about defending Luke. You barely know him! He could be risking the Depot's security, and--"

"Believe it or not, you don't know every single thing about my personal life," Leah whispers dangerously, her dark eyes narrowed in anger. They water with unshed tears. "So why don't you leave me alone?"

"Fine," I retort, more surprised than angry. What the heck is going on? Leah storms out of the dormitory and slams the door behind her. I hold my palm to my forehead then curl up on the bed, listening to my blood pound angrily. I hate to quarrel with the only friend I have, but I also hate the fact that my only friend won't take me seriously. Knowing innately that Leah won't come back tonight, I click off the lamp and lie still in bed, unable to sleep.