I blink, “What?”
Miranda begins pacing, “Nothing, nothing.”
“Why would someone need to save my life?”
Miranda just shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter. You’ll find out soon. You can’t say a word about this to anyone else.”
“Why?”
Miranda calmly responds, “Because that could result in your death.”
“What?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow.”
I press my teeth together in frustration.
Miranda takes a deep breath, “So you’re Claire and your number is 274, correct?”
I nod, irritated that she changed the topic.
“Do you have any roommates in the Unknown.”
I once again bob my head in agreement.
“Who are they?”
“Um, Sarah, she was sent here a year and a half ago. Then my other roommate was sent her when we were only six years so I don’t know her that well.”
“That’s okay, what’s her name.”
“Charlotte.”
Miranda’s eyebrows raise in surprise, “Charlotte?”
“Yeah, I think that was her name.”
“Red hair? Bubbly? Giggly?”
“Um, she didn’t have red hair, but she certainly was bubbly and giggly. That was what got her sent to the Unknown. She couldn’t be quiet,” I smile to myself at the memory.
Miranda seems confused for a second, but gasps, “Right, they dyed her hair. Did she have brown, really curly hair?”
“I don’t remember…we were only six years. Besides, her hair was in a braid all the time.”
Miranda types something into the black strap on her wrist, the same one that Harry had. She reads something on a hologram, before nodding, “Yeah, you’re roommates with Charlotte.; That’s great, she and I are good friends. I’ll have her come visit you. She’s an R.I., so I can arrange it so that she has you.”
“Has me for what?”
“Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself. There’s a lot to explain to you about the Unknown. We’ll get to that though once you’re feeling a little better.”
Miranda glances at the black strap across her wrist and stands, “I need to get going.”
I wordlessly watch as she strides towards the door. She turns back and flashes a mischievous grin, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Claire.”
She doesn’t look back as she leaves the room.
I swallow hard, unsure of what to make of her. She seemed sincere, but she didn’t seem to care too much about what I thought. She had her mind made up and I wasn’t going to change it.
Who would be trying to kill me?
Michelle reenters the room, the bright smile still on her face. “So, how was it?”
I shrug, not sure how to respond.
Michelle laughs, “She can be pretty intimidating, I know. Don’t worry, she’s a lot nicer than she first seems.”
I nod uncertainly. Miranda didn’t necessarily seem mean, just unreadable, unapproachable.
Michelle says, “Miranda told us that you had a lot of questions about the Unknown. She said she’s going to have a meeting with you tomorrow so you can ask your questions.”
When I don’t speak, Michelle smiles brightly, “Miranda’s always really involved with Rivies. That’s one of the things I’m going to miss.”
“Why would you miss it?”
“Miranda’s going to be a twenty year in a couple days. She’ll be sent to her death and we’ll elect a new Leader.”
“The Heads would kill their own Leader?”
“Oh, Miranda doesn’t work for the Heads. We elected her ourselves. The Heads have no choice as to who our Leader is.”
“But…how?”
Michelle grins, “This is my favorite part to tell Rivies and Eekes. The Unknown is the closest thing to freedom that you’ll ever get. There is not a single Official here. They honestly don’t care about us. As long as we do the jobs they give us, they leave us alone.”
“Wouldn’t they want to control you?”
“There are cameras all over. Well, there used to be. We’ve disabled all of them. We’ve kept a few up and play long loops of fake footage over them, so it looks the camera is still working.”
“Don’t the Officials know that you’ve disabled everything?”
“We don’t really know. Either they don’t know or they don’t care. Whichever way, we still are unmonitored.”
I can’t believe this. It’s too good to be true. The horrible Unknown can’t be free of Officials.
A person I don’t recognize sticks their head through the door, “Um, Michelle? Charlotte is here to see Claire.”
Michelle nods, “Tell her to come right in.”
A girl with fiery red curls bounces through the door. After she sees me, her face lights up, “Claire, I’m so glad you are here.”
She runs forward. I instinctively want to raise my hands to defend myself. After spending time with the Ecru, my natural response is to protect myself. My one arm is still strapped to the bed, but my other hand is free. I hold it up as Charlotte practically charges me.
Charlotte wraps her arms around me. After a couple seconds she releases me, quickly apologizing, “I’m so sorry. I forgot that, oh, I’m offie sorry. It’s an Unknown thing, a hug. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I give her a weak smile. She’s exactly and nothing like I remember. Her appearance is completely different. Where she used to have soft brown hair, there bright red curls around her face. Her hair isn’t even secured back into a braid. She’s nothing like the orderly Charlotte the Complex made her to be.
But her attitude is just the same. Her face brightens with smiles and giggles. Her legs bounce with impatience and excitement.
Charlotte smiles, “How’s Lillie?”
“Fine. We didn’t talk much after Sarah got sent to the Unknown.”
Michelle addresses the two of us, “I’ve got to check on another Eeke, so I’ll be back later, okay?”
I nod to show its okay.
Michelle exits the room, leaving just Charlotte and I.
Charlotte claps her hands together, “I’m just so glad you’re here. How’d you get sent here?”
Can I tell Charlotte about Bridget? Bridget never specifically said not to tell anyone. But, Miranda told me not to discuss too much with anyone or I could die. I can trust Charlotte though, can’t I? She’s my roommate.
She was my roommate. I haven’t seen her for nine years. I only knew the six year version of her. I have no idea how she’s changed. She could be a liar or horrible at keeping secrets. I don’t know if I can trust.
I remember my promise to myself. Trust no one.
“I took my hair out of my braid in the middle of Free Hour and ran away from Officials.”
Charlotte grins, “That, Rebbie, is offie fabulous.”
“Rebbie? Offie?”.
“Sorry, Unknown words. Rebbie means friend. It’s like rebel, Rebbie, Reb. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing to be called a Reb. Offie comes from Official, but it doesn’t mean Official. It’s kind-of like the word very or really. It used to be really offensive, but the meaning has loosened over the years. Almost everyone uses it.”
Will I ever use Unknown words? I try out the words on my tongue, but they feel foreign. If this truly was the trap of the Officials, would they go as far as creating dialect for the Unknown?
This couldn’t be a trap. How else would Charlotte, my old roommate from nine years ago be here?
Harry enters the room, looking preoccupied.
He sees Charlotte here and grins, “Hey Charlotte. Claire needs her sleep, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Sure, no problem.” A grin breaks across Charlotte’s face as she says, “By the way, Harry, I’m still waiting on that apology.”
Harry rolls his eyes, “You can keep waiting, Charlotte.”
Charlotte fake pouts as she leaves through the door.
Harry address me, “You’re probably disoriented as to what time it is, but it’s actually after Late Meal. You should get some sleep for your meeting tomorrow with Miranda.”
I shudder slightly at the thought of having to meet with Miranda.
Harry dims the lights and slips out of my room, leaving me alone. The numbness of my limbs pools into my mind. I float away into sleep.
˚˚°˚˚
I awake long before anyone comes to check on me. I have no idea what time it is. The floating feeling has disappeared, sharp pain piercing me instead. My head has returned to the repetitive pounding and aching. I can barely think.
Michelle quietly enters my room not long after I wake up. She fiddles with the dials and switches on the wall. The cold, numbness reenters my body, whisking away the pain. I sigh in relief.
I find that I’m no longer strapped down to the cot. I can move my arms and legs freely. They must have decided I wouldn’t harm myself.
Michelle says, “We aren’t going to be able to numb you forever. Hopefully the pain will be gone soon.”
Michelle continues fiddling with dials, moving things to my cot. “We have to adjust all your medical equipment so that’s its mobile. Your meeting with Miranda is going to be in her office.”
She rolls my cot out of the room and into the rest of the Unknown.
I stare trying to see as much as possible. The first hallway only reveals rows of doors. We exit two fancy pairs of sliding doors labeled Nurses.
Michelle whispers to me, “It’s pretty early in the morning, so there won’t be many people. We’ll take the less used hallways anyway.”
She pushes me rapidly through hallways. I to be stuck lying down, vulnerable. We pass by people, each sending me a pitying look. I don’t need their sympathy. I grind my teeth together but don’t say anything,
Michelle reaches a door and presses a button. The door slides open and she wheels me inside. Miranda calls out, “Claire, lovely to see you.”
I give her my best fake smile.
Michelle quickly leaves after pushing a button on my cot. It causes my cot to fold so I’m sitting upright.
I feel incredibly stupid half-sitting, half-lying feebly on a cot while a dignified Miranda sits behind a cluttered desk.
She smiles at me, “Would you like to meet the person who’s saved your life?”
I hesitantly nod, unsure what to expect.
Miranda calls out, “Piper, you can come in now.”