Inexplicable

12. Aiden

How could she be so reckless? It's almost as if she's here to mock me. Rolland or anyone else that's with us could have killed her if I hadn't recognized her. What was she even doing here? I raise my hand to cover my eyes and to clear my head.
Me and four-now five, thanks to Sadie-people are in the middle of a room that belongs to an elite scientist who enjoys to torture people in their free time, and the room is filled with confidential government documents that could get us all killed for even knowing they exist.
And the day isn't even over.
The tall girl with light brown skin walks up to the now unconscious Sadie.
She tilts her head. "I say we kill her. She knows too much." She says it without remorse. Who are these people, really? Big guy starts to shuffle up, but I get in front of him.
I set my jaw. "No one is killing anyone. She may know something about this place."
Rolland speaks up. "It's only a matter of time before someone notices she's gone." He curses to himself and takes a deep breath. "Okay. While Adrian is finishing downloading the documents, Aiden and I will get the girl, and Maddox and Kräne will erase any sign of us being here." For a moment everyone is frozen in fear. "Now." I've never seen Rolland so serious. The girl-Maddox-leaves with big guy-Kräne. Adrian is still on the computer.
"We have less than one minute and twenty-two seconds until it is done." He pushes the rim of his glasses up and runs his hand through his brown hair.
Rolland looks at me.
"Did you tell her to come here?"
"Of course I didn't. I have no idea why she's here or how she even knows about this place."
"Sure thing, mate." He doesn't sound convinced. "Get the bag."
What? "You're putting her in a body bag?"
He picks her up which makes me feel uncomfortable. "Would you rather carry her in your heroic arms all the way home?" I throw the bag at him.
Adrian gets up. "It is done." Maddox and Kräne come back in and look at Rolland.
I pick up the bag with Sadie, carefully. It's surprisingly light. Rolland opens his mouth but gets interrupted. Someone is outside. A red-haired lady is calling for Sadie. Shit. Maddox curses. Rolland starts moving. "Through the back." He mouths. Everyone follows and I tail behind, tugging Sadie along with me. I want to laugh. I left her at the Transportation Center so she wouldn't have to be apart of all this. Now she has no choice, because fate decided this would be a great turn of events.
We're outside now, with only the darkness and bare trees to protect us. Rolland walks on the balls of his feet to keep from crunching the dead leaves. I have never thought of him as a leader, but these people, me, look up to him. The voices are getting louder. He breaks into a silent run. And so we follow. After what seems like ages of crossing empty roads and streets, we reach the crooked building. That seemed easy. Almost too easy. I shake the feeling of uneasiness off and jog up the steps. My legs are sore but it doesn't matter because we're all here in one piece and have what we need. Rolland opens the door and lets everyone in. He pushes me inside and shuts the door behind him. Marly and Daniel meet us at the door.
"Did you get it?" Daniel asks Rolland. Rolland points to Adrian, and so they begin to uncover the files. Marly stays quiet. I haven't heard her talk. Maddox turns to her. "Guess what's in the bag?" She grins. Marly looks at me with a questioning look. I set the bag down and unzip while Kräne cracks open a can of some soda. Marly inhales sharply when she sees what's in the bag. "She isn't dead." I clarify. She seems to relax a bit. Rolland is off with Adrian and Daniel, while Kräne, Marly, Maddox and I are sitting around Sadie. We have no idea what to do. "It'll be a couple hours until she wakes up." I look around.
Kräne sets his soda down. "I say we pat her down and see if she has any weapons." He stands up. No way in hell is he touching her. "I'll do it." I look for a phone to call or text her family, while trying to avoid making too much physical contact. I sigh, "No phone." Maddox turns to Marly and Kräne. "You two should go and hack into her phone and tell her family she's fine." Marly turns, her brown ponytail bouncing below Kräne's shoulders. Maddox moves into the light. She has light freckles that complement her hazel eyes. She is wearing a sleeveless shirt, exposing her right arm that is covered in tattoos. "Why doesn't she talk?" I ask her.
"Marly?"
"Yeah."
"A couple months ago, scientists had done 'studies' on her vocal cords. Rumor has it, she had a beautiful voice, before, but now it comes out cracked and uneven, so she doesn't really speak." I look down at Sadie. These scientists have scarred us all. "I'll take her to my room." Maddox walks passed me, but stops at my shoulder. Her breath touches my ears. "You can sleep in my room." She winks and leaves. "Tempting." I call out. A door shuts in response. Maddox is pretty, but I would never go for her. It doesn't feel... right. I set Sadie on the bed and fall asleep in the chair next to it.