They carry me down the hall for several minutes. My instincts scream at me, begging me to open my eyes and fight, but I keep my eyelids shut and my muscles loose.
My feet drop to the ground, my heels slamming against the floor. Someone lowers my bottom to the floor, so that I’m propped upwards against the wall.
An Official ties something soft over my eyes and around my head, yanking it to tie it tightly in a knot. The light in front of my eyes dims. I hesitantly open my eyes a sliver, seeing nothing but black.
I widen my eyes, my eyes swiveling frantically, trying to see anything, something. Nothing.
I realize that they must have tied a black piece of fabric over my eyes, making it impossible to see.
A sharp pain pierces my wrist. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out.
My hands are yanked behind my back and I feel a rough fabric being tied around my wrists as well.
I’m once again picked up. I hear the whoosh of a door opening. I’m swung forward. I fly through the air for half a second before landing hard on my side, my right arm taking more of the impact. I bite my tongue as pain slices through me.
I rock back and forth, struggling to sit up. The floor offers no type of leverage, but I’m able to push myself into a sitting position, my legs partially folded beneath me.
I bend and stretch my fingers, but I can’t untie the thick cloth keeping my wrists together.
I can’t shake the ominous feel that seems to cling to wherever I am. It’s full of deafening silence that seems to have crawled inside my throat, taking away my breath.
A scream rips through the air. It’s sounds far away, echoing across walls.
At least I know there’s another person nearby. Maybe I can find her and she can help untie me. If she’s okay. Something must have happened to her, why else would she have screamed?
The air returns to its previous silence, the traces of the scream lingering in the air.
Is this the Unknown?
I hear the pattering of footsteps somewhere in front of me, growing louder as the person becomes closer.
This could be my only chance to be freed of these knots. I shout, “Hello? Could you help me? I’ve been tied up. Please?”
I listen closely, waiting for a response. No sounds ring out. Even the footsteps have stopped.
Did they leave? Why wouldn’t the person help me? Was she an Official? Does she just not care?
Maybe, in the Unknown there are a lot of rules, just like in the Complex. Maybe if the person had helped me, she would have gotten herself in trouble.
But how can Officials punish you if you are already in the Unknown?
Something lands on my shoulders, sending me flying backwards. My head crashes to the floor, sending jarring pain shooting through my skull. Sharp fingernails dig into my shoulders. I wish I could at least see who and where my attacker is.
I impulsively lash out at the person holding me down. I buck up my body and slam my knees into their back. The person doesn’t respond, doesn’t flinch, or even attempt any type of self defense. They allow me to pound my knees into their spine as something scratches up and down my skin. Tears prickle into my eyes.
I need to get this person away from me before they do any serious damage.
I twist my body. I feel the person’s weight shift. I take the opportunity to send my knee smashing into where I think their head should be. I make solid contact, splinters of pain tracing down my knee. The person lurches forward even more, sliding off my body.
I push myself away and back up on my knees, staring blindly into the dark cloth. My head darts around, trying to figure out where my attacker is, but I see and hear nothing.
I hear the echoes of a voice call out. I’m not sure if it came from my attacker or someone else. It did seem farther away, but it feels like my head is stuffed with cloth.
The sounds of pounding footsteps fill my ears. I tense, waiting to be assaulted.
The air fills with shouts and screams. A chilling screech pierces the air. I shudder.
What is going on?
The tapping of footsteps rings out and then fades away.
The cloth rips from my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to figure out what I’m seeing. Almost complete darkness, a soft glow coming from the floor.
Two silhouettes stand directly in front of me.
A girl complains, “Grace, we don’t need another person to protect.”
The other girl, presumably Grace, walks over and crouches behind me. She begins working at the ropes tying my wrists together, “So we’re supposed to just let her be attacked by the Things?”
The first girl folds her arms over her chest, “Well no, I guess not, but we already have to protect each other. We can’t save everyone.”
Grace yanks against the cloth, “Maybe not, but we can at least try.”
The first girl sighs and strides over closes to us. She sits next to me, the glow illuminating her face even clearer. Her braid frizzes, strands falling out. Dark smudges and smears decorate her face, giving her a crazed look.
She asks, “Is your hair out of its braid…?” Her voice trails off in slight awe.
I grin, “Yeah, it’s a long story, but yeah.”
Grace laughs, “Nice, you can tell us later, we’ll have plenty of time. First of all, I’m Grace and this is Christina.”
“I’m Claire.”
Grace gives the cloth one last quick pull before it falls away from my wrists. They’re slightly sore from the tightness of the cloth and Grace’s rough release. “Thank you so much for helping me with that person who attacked me and untying me.”
Christina and Grace share a glance, but don’t say anything more.
I nod uncomfortably, “Well, I guess I’ll be, uh, going my own way then.”
I’m hoping they’ll ask me to stay with them. I don’t want to venture off alone in these dark hallways. That person who attacked me might still be out there. Even with my hands untied, I don’t know what the attacker is capable of. I really need their help, but don’t want to force them to assist me. Etiquette Teaching has engrained manners into my behavior.
Grace looks between Christina and I before saying, “Look, Claire, you can stay with us for awhile. Just until you, uh, find your own alliance, okay?”
Christina sighs, but doesn’t say anything.
“Um, what do you mean by ‘alliance’?” I ask.
Grace explains, “Everyone in here sticks together in groups of two. They’re the best for protection, food, and water. Anymore attract the attention of the Things, and you certainly don’t want to be all alone, so everyone teams up. I’m sure we’ll find someone who doesn’t have a partner.”
That’s the second time I’ve heard her refer to something called ‘the Things’. I’m not sure what she means by that, but I’m too scared to ask. I think I’d rather not know.
Christina begins walking, “I think we should get away from here. Let’s go scouting for food.”
Even though questions are burning inside me, I keep my mouth shut. I’m pretty sure that Christina doesn’t want me to be here. I don’t want to be a problem or an annoyance, but I really don’t want to be alone out here.
Christina leads us quickly down the dark halls. Shivers run down my spine as another scream rings out. Is that someone else getting attacked? Is there more than one attacker?
Why are there girls attacking us to begin with? Are they Officials, not girls? I know that the Officials aren’t exactly sympathetic and nice, but they don’t go around randomly tackling people.
But, this is the Unknown.
Maybe, if I hadn’t rebelled so blatantly, the Officials wouldn’t have taken me here. I maybe, just maybe, would have been able to stay in the Complex.
Bridget said that they were coming to take me, but Bridget might have been lying or simply wrong. I might have been able to spend my whole life in the Complex.
My head still pounds from smashing on to the floor and I think my arms might be bleeding from where the person scratched me.
I want to sit down and cry. Maybe just curl up in a ball.
I force those thoughts out of my head. This is my future now. This is where I’ll be spending the rest of my life. I need to toughen up and realize that this is my new reality.
I can’t focus on the past or the what if’s. I need to focus on now.
I follow Christina and Grace through the halls. The hallways split and turn, curve and loop back. Christina and Grace seem to know the halls flawlessly, confidently striding through.
A new realization fills me with hope. Marie must be in here. She undoubtedly got sent to the Unknown after her little stunt. I need to find her. Even though I barely know her, she’d at least be a familiar face.
Besides, she got me into this mess by messaging me. She deserves to at least help me out.
Far away, I can hear a repetitive banging noise. I don’t know what it is and I’m not sure if I want to know. It seems like the Unknown is filled with horror after horror.
After a couple more paces, the banging sound becomes much clearer.
Christina hisses, “We need to run, fast.”
Grace and Christina break into a sprint. I struggle to follow. I run after them, my breath coming out in short puffs. With each stride, they grow further away. My head throbs from my earlier fall. I can’t keep up with them. They’re nothing but shadows in the dim light that quickly disappear.
The pounding noise gets even louder. Whatever it is, it was scary enough to make Christina and Grace run away.
My vision spins too much for me to run, but I stride as fast as I can, attempting to ignore the pain.
I glance back, trying to figure out what I’m running from. Shapes move in and out of the dim light, too far away to be clear.
I hear a voice shout out, “My, my, what do we have here?”
They are at me before I can even react. Hands grip my elbows and arms, fingernails digging into my skin.
A face leers in my vision, “Welcome, my dear, to the Unknown.”