Within These Walls

Chapter 3

"Please," I choke out.

Marcus is on his feet now. He stands there silently, studying me.

Oh, God. "Marcus!"

"Relax," he says, dropping to his knees again. "I'll pull you out. Give me your hand."

I drag my arm across the stone floor, straining so hard my head feels like it'll explode. I can't reach the doorway. It's too far away. If Marcus wants to help me, he'll have to reach back inside.

"Wait," I gasp when he starts to do so.

He's using the hand with the bracelet. "Your other..." My mouth is excruciatingly dry. I swallow. "Hand. Hurry."

Marcus switches hands and grabs my wrist, then gives me a couple of powerful tugs. I'm out of the block. The beeping stops. I hurt everywhere, but I'm also languid with relief, soaring above the world.

I crash back down to reality when Marcus leans over me, wearing that smirk I'm coming to hate.

"God, you're so—" I cut off and fight to compose myself. Insults won't help, even if I want to call him every kind of idiot.

"Earlier when you were trying out different things with your hands, you were checking to see how the bracelet works?" he asks.

At least he's not entirely dumb. I sit up straight, groaning when my body aches in protest. I wriggle the bracelet up a couple of inches. There's a red bruise on my skin. Seeing it makes it hurt even worse. "I wanted to see if the bracelet becomes activated when it passes through the doorway. It looks to be that way."

Marcus's eyes trace the metal frame of the doorway. "Why go through all this trouble to keep us out? What are they hiding in there?"

"Do you know what a cattle grid is?"

"Do I look like a farmer to you?"

"It's something they put over roads or railways to prevent livestock from traveling beyond a certain point. To keep them right where the farmers want them." I take another deep breath. My chest still feels funny. "They want us out here. Together."

"So they can do whatever they want with us," he concludes.

"Exactly."

Marcus gives me a hard stare. "How do you know all of this?"

"I'm just putting the pieces together." I roll my eyes. "I don't know who put us in here more than you do. You know this, so stop pushing my buttons."

"Either way, I don't make a habit of trusting people who can fuck me over."

"Finally. Something we agree on."

He jumps to his feet and starts walking away. "I'm done being agreeable. I'll be keeping an eye on you, Rose."

I watch as he walks away, telling myself I should probably do the same.

The bottom floor is overcrowded when I get there. It's an area about the size of the average high school cafeteria. There are evenly spaced metal tables with chairs arranged on either side of them.

The stairway from the blocks descends into the center of the huge space. Bare and windowless walls open to form two wide hallways on either side. Down here, the ceiling looms over us at an impossible height, held up by what seems like nothing but the firmness of this concrete structure and our uneasy prayers.

At first, kids move from one section of the facility to another, searching and exploring, hoping to find some way out. About half an hour later, most of them give up on the search and gather at tables, trading first words. I'm debating picking a crowded table at random and hoping I don't stick out when I spot Alec near one of the TVs mounted on the cafeteria walls.