The words sink in. If Sienna was sent to the Unknown, and she’s not here, than she is probably with the Ecru. What if she is killed, just like Josh and Seth?
Does Ellen know about our sneaking out at night? Is she killing off everyone that is involved? How long until Brinn is taken away? Can she kill me here, in the Unknown?
With shaking hands I type, She’s not here. She must be in with the Ecru. Another dead Eeke showed up today, Josh and Canton’s roommate. I’m afraid that they are killing everyone who is involved. Is Brinn still safe?
Brinn is still here. We’re worried about her safety as well. The Officials took Seth the night before last night. It’s possible that the Heads are ordering Officials to take one kid per night. If that is the case, Brinn would be next.
It sends shivers down my spine. Brinn could die too. Then it would just be Canton, Dana, Bridget and me alive.
Do you know why the Officials are sending us dead Eekes?
My Notice vibrates with the response, No, just because we are Officials doesn’t mean that the Heads tell us everything. Only the most trustworthy Officials know Ellen’s plans. We just follow orders.
I shudder at the thought. If it weren’t for the rebellious Officials’ plan, I would be training right now to become a Renewal Official. That’s all my future would have been, following orders. Is the Unknown better? I’m not even trusted here…
I respond, I just hope that Sienna and Brinn are safe.
We can guarantee nothing, we have nobody in the higher ranks. We can only hope. There is nothing else we can currently discuss. Get some sleep. Good luck tomorrow.
I don’t respond. Their words are printed across my vision.
We can only hope.
I try to relax and fall asleep, but it is impossible. Sienna and Brinn could die. Sienna may already be dead.
I drift in and out of sleep the rest of the night.
˚˚°˚˚
Once again, Charlotte shakes me awake. She doesn’t even have a smile on her face. All she gives me is a cold look. She informs me, “You can set an alarm on your Notice, so it’ll wake you up. You might want to consider doing that.”
Miranda most have told her about my ‘supposed’ lying. They do seem like pretty close friends, or ‘Rebs’. Is this how Charlotte is going to act towards me now? Have I lost another friend, just because Miranda thinks I’m lying?
I wonder what Charlotte thinks about me. I thought she liked me, at least before last night. But, does she automatically believe everything Miranda says? She doesn’t even give me a chance to explain, to defend myself? Can her opinion of me be changed so quickly?
I sigh and slide out of bed.
Charlotte leads me silently out of the bedrooms. I shower, change, and meet her in the Eating Hall. The tension between us is growing. I want to break it somehow, but I don’t understand Charlotte, I don’t want to break it the wrong way. I have seen the cheerful, bubbly Charlotte. But I have also seen the mean, cold Charlotte, the one that came out around Heather, the one that is out right now.
We fill up our trays with food and sit in the back corner, where there is no one around. I silently begin spooning the oatmeal into my mouth. Charlotte sits across from me. We purposely avoid each other’s eyes.
Charlotte breaks into tears. My eyes widen as I watch her quickly wipe away the tears. I don’t know what to do. Do I comfort her? Do I just watch? Why is she crying? Is it because of me? I thought she was mad at me.
After a minute or so goes by, she pulls herself together and wipes away the last of the tears.
I struggle to break the silence, “Charlotte….what….what’s wrong?”
Charlotte shakes her head vigorously, “Oh, I just, I can’t, I just, I mean, Miranda said, I…”
A few more tears stream down her face, “Oh, why can’t I control my offie tears?”
I try again, “Charlotte, it’s okay. I…I don’t know why your mad at me. Well, actually, I do know, but…”
It’s my turn to trail off. I start again, “Charlotte, I know you probably won’t believe me, but I was telling the truth. I don’t know how much Miranda told you, but I was telling her the truth.”
Charlotte gives me a sad smile through the tears, “I actually believe you.” She gives a small laugh, “I believe you, I really do. I just…Miranda can’t know. She can’t know that I believe you, okay? Don’t tell Miranda.”
“I won’t tell Miranda…but you really believe me?”
Charlotte gives me a small nod. I can tell by her eyes that she really does trust me, but why?
Someone is actually on my side. Charlotte believes me, someone believes me. Honestly, I don’t know anyone I would rather prefer to believe me. I spend every day with Charlotte, and she’s close to Miranda. Maybe, if someone here believes me, I can eventually get more people to believe me. Maybe, I could still get the rogue Officials’ plan to work.
Charlotte wipes away the last of her tears, “Sorry about that. The tension, the awkwardness, it was just killing me. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say.”
“I felt the same way. I thought you were angry at me since Miranda was so angry at me.”
“Don’t let Miranda get to you to much. She is probably thinking deeply about your story right now. She might even be convincing herself that it’s possible it could have happened. Just be patient, Miranda is not done talking to you yet.” Charlotte smiles mischievously at the last part.
Charlotte and I finish our oatmeal in silence, but comfortable, friendly silence.
Charlotte says, “Okay, the Pros of the day is R. I.s”
I smile, Charlotte seems pretty happy about this.
Charlotte continues, “So, what we are going to do is go to a Rivie drop-off room or two. We actually get to watch the Rivie Test. You remember that. Where you had to jump over the pit, the Ellen hologram…”
I smile at the memory. It was the first time I had to prove myself here at the Unknown.
Charlotte continues, “From then on, that Rivie will accompany us on the rest of our Pros tours. We still have the Vitas, Cleaners, Cons, Nurses, Odds and Kitchens. Actually, it depends. If we get an Eeke today as our Rivie, they will be in the Nurses wings, so we wouldn't have a very busy day. Some of the people that come here are in shock, they are absolutely terrified to be here. If we get one of those, we won’t have them right away either. They normally get a few days off to recover. And, of course, if they are under ten years, they don’t get a Pros tour, they just go to the Teachers. So, really, it depends on a lot of things…”
I nod slowly, somewhat confused.
Charlotte giggles, back to her old, cheerful self, “That’s the main thing about being an R.I. You have to deal with whatever the Heads throw at us.”
Charlotte waits for my nod, then continues to chatter, “Every time a Rivie is delivered to a Rivie Drop-off Room, which is where you woke up, our Council gets a message on her Notice. Then, Christy, the R.I. Council, sends out a message to whichever R.I. is free. Once we get the message, we take it from there. Christy will know whether it’s an Eeke or not, and tell us either way. If it is an Eeke, we have to go to the Nurses’ Wing, so we can bring a Nurse with a stretcher so we can medicate and help the Eeke as soon as possible.”
Charlotte’s Notice beeps loudly, “Oops, sorry, forgot to put it on vibrate…oh, it’s the message from Christy, it must be the Rivie we are assigned to…It says here that…”
Charlotte trails off. Her face turns a shade whiter.
“What’s wrong?” I voice my concern.
Charlotte takes a deep breath, “We have an Eeke. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, it’s just that…all of these Eekes have been arriving dead…and…what if? What if I’m the R.I. that sees the next dead Eeke? I’ve never even seen a dead person before and…”
Charlotte quickly stands, “Right, we better get on it. We don’t want to keep the Eeke waiting. Most likely, it will just be a normal, abused Eeke. I mean, what are the chances? We shouldn’t even have to worry about it…” She seems to be reassuring herself more than me.
Charlotte walks quickly out of the Eating Hall, I follow close behind her. I pretend not to notice her hands clutching the hem of her shirt, trembling. I can, by now, vaguely recognize the path to the Nurses’ Wing. We walk through the door, the stench, once again, greets me.
Camilla smiles sympathetically when she sees me. It’s funny how often I’ve seen the Council of the Nurses, just in the past few days. I suppose that happens when you know a lot of Eekes.
Charlotte smiles weakly, “We need a Nurse, we have an Eeke.”
Camilla becomes serious, “Of course, I’ll go get Harry. Do you think…”Camilla trails off, but we all know what she was about to say.
“I can only hope that it isn’t.”
Camilla nods curtly and strides away. She quickly returns with a boy who looks to be about seventeen, maybe eighteen. He has pale, pale skin, with black hair. He smiles slightly at Charlotte.
Charlotte smirks, “Hello, Harry. I don’t suppose you have an apology yet.”
Harry shrugs indifferently, but still has that slight smile on his lips. He talks as he opens up a closet and begins taking out supplies, “Charlotte, it was not my fault. You ran into me.”
Charlotte crosses her arms, “I will wait a long time for an apology, as long as I get one.”
Harry grins, “You’re going to be waiting very long time.”
The humor in the air disappears when another Nurse hurries over. “Camilla, I overheard that there was a new Eeke. We won’t have any open rooms left, after this Eeke.”
Camilla nods and leads the other girl down the hall, talking animatedly.
Harry sighs, “These days are very stressful for us Nurses.”
Charlotte says, “I can see why, I mean…with all the Eekes all of a sudden…Anyway, let’s get going. We have an Eeke to welcome to the Unknown.”
Harry rolls his eyes. He folds up a stretcher, grabs a bag full of supplies, and leads us out of the Nurses’ Wing.
He and Charlotte talk for a little bit more, but the air quickly turn serious. We all know what the other is thinking. Is the Eeke going to be alive?
Finally, Charlotte stops in front of a door. With shaky hands, she presses her Notice’s strap to the door’s scanner.
The door slides smoothly open. I see a figure strapped into the chair, just like I was. I can’t tell if the person is breathing or not. Their skin is covered in dried Ecru blood, and dappled in bruises.
Charlotte, Harry, and I all walk forward. I get close enough to realize who it is.
My heart stops.
Sienna.