Into Ruin

Chapter 22 Learning

Gunnar and Matt had been released into a small apartment for the week with a couple of beds so small that Gunnar had to curl into his, along with a sink and a table that stood upright most of the time. Gunnar traced some of the battle wounds on the cheap, wood table with his finger. He had asked to stay with his sister, but the higher-ups didn't think it was a good idea. It was probably for the best; otherwise, it would have been hard to keep in touch with Matt.

"Do you really think they'll let us leave?" Matt asked as he settled onto the bed. His feet didn't hang over the edge like Gunnar's did.

"Play dumb about that weird stuff ya told me about at work and they might. But I bet if we leave, they'll track us."

"They didn't track --"

Gunnar shushed him in case someone was listening in on their conversation.

"They gonna watch us real close."

A loud rap on the door caused Gunnar's shoulders to tense. Matt's eyes grew wider and he sat up straight. Maybe they'd overheard and he and Matt would both be beaten for information. When Gunnar cracked the door open, Melinda stood there with a few books and papers.

"You lost?" Gunnar asked and pressed himself between the doorframe and the scarcely open door. "I ain't Travis anymore."

"Clearly," Melinda said looking over the ratty sweater he'd carried around since his quiet cabin days and the stubble overtaking his face. The itchiness made him long for his cabin-fever beard. "I've been assigned as your tutor."

"No offense, but shouldn't I have like a teacher who went to college and all that?"

Melinda stood tall and puffed out her chest. "I just finished my first year of college and I spend a lot of time working with dyslexic students." Gunnar gave her a vacant stare. "Do you want help or not? There are plenty of other things I could be doing."

Gunnar bit the inside of his lip. She had been helpful with lying about their motivation earlier, but that was probably just to get Travis out of trouble. There was no way this reading thing was going to work anyway.

"I think I'll pass."

He took a step back and began to close the door.

"We don't have to work here. We could go to the library."

Gunnar's chest tensed and his grip on the door tightened. There was no way he'd show how dumb he was in front of all those people. He'd nearly closed the door when Melinda's small hand on his stopped him.

"Or there's a table in my apartment we could use. I imagine you'd rather start this in private." Her little smile made Gunnar think she was either genuine or making an effort not to overdo her charm.

This would be a chance to actually get out of the apartment, take a look around the part of the facility they occupied, and see what Melinda was all about. She was probably a spy, but the fact that he knew this meant that could put on a bit of a show for those watching and get that much closer to seeing Aida.

"Yeah, that'd be better."

"Great," she said.

They walked down the halls attracting a number of whispers. Gunnar still had enough bruises that people knew he was the fake Travis that got beaten up in the cafeteria. He wondered what else they'd heard, but then stopped himself. It was better to keep his head down and get through this week.

The security force duo eyed them as they passed. Melinda kept her eyes down and her shoulders slumped a little. Maybe Travis didn't know about this little project of hers, or maybe the whole thing was his idea. His eyes followed the attached hallways to see if he could figure out what lay at the end of each one, but there were no signs. Even if there were, he couldn't read them anyway. Maybe the old man had a point. To function here he needed to figure out those letters. Though when they realized he was a lost cause he and Matt might be out of here that much faster. Either way, he and Matt won, to a point as long as they could grab Aida on their way out.