Ro tripped over the table leg. "Tojeo!" she swore.
"Language," Laura sighed. Although Laurea was only vaguely familiar with some Scrixs vocabulary, Ro knew that she knew that tojeo meant shit, after all, she used it enough.
"Sorry." Ro picked herself up and dusted off her silky pants. "You know, I kinda miss jeans."
"I don't," Laura laughed. "I'm enjoying the silk-only wardrobe."
"Well, you were pregnant."
Laura gestured to Sonya, sleeping in her arms. "I couldn't have guessed."
Ro hopped over to Laura and sat on her bed. She cooed at Sonya for a moment before saying causally, "So, I was thinking—"
She was cut off by a loud whirring sound that pounded in her ears. BRRRNG. BRRRNG. BRRRNG.
She waited for them to stop, but the sirens sounded over and over again. Ro got up and tried to peer out the small window in the door. She clasped it tightly and rose on the balls of her feet. She could see the tops of the heads of the employees dashing around in a fury of panic.
"What is it? What's going on?" Laura asked as she tried to rock a crying Sonya back to sleep. "Sh, baby, it's okay."
"I don't know. I think it's bad, though." Ro stood higher on her toes and squinted her eyes in an attempt to see past the slightly cloudy glass. She saw Lii guards racing down the hall, herding the employees toward an exit. Then, the guards turned around and raced back down the hall. A few stayed behind, watching the doors carefully.
Eventually, sirens grew softer and lime green lights descended from tubes in the ceiling, whirling and flashing and making everything look green and yellow.
"Come back over here," Laura said a bit fearfully, as if she were speaking to a toddler close to danger. Ro complied and sat on the bed. For thirty minutes, they waited for something to happen. No one came to get them, no one even opened the door. Ro stood up and inched her way back to the door, hoping that she would see something new. As she was closing off the last two feet between her and the door, the glass in the window exploded. Glass flew into the room as Ro tried to cover her face. She felt something warm trickle down here cheek, and cut her finger when she touched the wound.
"Ro...." Laura's voice quivered.
"I'm okay," Ro replied. She pulled the glass out of her cheek, and used her nails to take another out of her arm. She was covered in scratches.
The movies lied to me. Glass really does cut you.
"Ro? Laura?" a voice yelled. "Are you in here?"
"Ethan?" Ro exclaimed. She started towards the door, stepped on a piece of glass with her bare feet, and backed back up.
"And Kenna!" Kenna shouted.
Ro shook her head, trying to understand what was going on. "What are you doing—? How are you—?"
"We'll talk in a sec," Ethan cut in. "I'm going to break down the door."
"That's not very smart!" Laura instead from the bed. "It's a really strong door."
Ethan didn't reply. A few moments passed in relative silence. Then, a small hole began to appear in the center of the door. It grew bigger and bigger and eventually the door melted away.
Ethan and Kenna stepped in, and Ro was surprised at how much they changed. To accompany the burn on her face, Kenna had a fresh burn on her arm, and a bandage (made from...leaves?) peaking out from where her shirt lifted up. Her brown hair was knotty, not as shiny, and tied into a low ponytail. Her bare legs were dirty, as was her face and her hands, and the pretty and peppy clothes had been replaced with hiking boots, cutoff shorts, a once-yellow t-shirt, and a brown hiker's vest. A knife hung by her side, and a bag (also made from leaves...) was slung over her shoulder.
