Rebirth

Chapter 4

"Come on" Raguel says leading us away and back into the moving room.  Both Abarita and Danny seem relaxed and unfazed by the horrible shifting ground.  Raguel stays completely still facing the door, until suddenly he flips a small silver disk at me.  I follow it with my eyes and catch it between two fingers.  It's not that I was trying to show off; I just know it's bad luck to drop anything.  I look at the disk quickly, there seems to be an engraving on it.

"I believe you dropped this." I say handing it back to him, he is smirking again and it's starting to grate on my nerves.   We are going up this time, and it seems to take forever.

"We're here" Raguel says as I stumble outside.  The sky is dull gray as always casting a pale light down.  I take a deep breath, but the smell is wrong.  It smells like metal and people crowded together.  I look up and see the sky is locked off by invisible walls.  Raguel steps in front of me.

"It's amazing isn't it?" he says "It allows light in but doesn't let in any of the dangerous air."  I turn to look at him; he is smiling up at the invisible wall like it's the best thing ever.  Dangerous air, sure, I've just been breathing it for twelve years.  "Anyway, this is what we call the Yellow room.  It's where all children and newbies stay" He says as he starts walking.  I look to Abarita, she just shrugs and starts following and I fall in step behind her with Danny behind me.

As we walk he points to certain areas, saying that they are for things like food and showering.  I'm starting to wear out now and I am finding it hard to focus on what he's saying.  I do notice that in the middle of the room is a structure with many children all over it.  Raguel doesn't slow and takes us down a seemingly random path that eventually brings us to a smaller room with many couches and chairs and people in different stages of relaxation.  Some are playing some sort of game with cards others are having soft conversations, and others seem to be basically asleep staring at the ceiling.

"Hello" say a tall girl standing up from some sort of game.  She has very black hair and tan skin.  "What are your names?" she asks in a sweat voice.  She is dressed in green and yellow, and her smile seems weak.

"My name is Lucy." I say quite tired of all of this.  I've been dragged miles from home without rest and I've been given no time to absorb what I've lost.  "I would really like to sleep now" I say, trying to sound calm. 

The girl smiles "This way."Abarita follows behind me, smiling.  She takes us on another winding route to a room filled with drawers.

"What's your Number?" dark hair asks, something about the way she says it makes me believe that it is number with a capital N.  I look at her for a minute.  Number, number, when did I get a number?  Did I get a number?  No I remember getting a number somewhere.  Then I remember, I shed my yellow shirt and look at the shirt under.  The sticker is still attached, falling off on the edges.

"4139417" I read off remembering what mom taught me about symbols.

"This one's yours" the girl says pointing to one of the boxes.  I open the top one, it's small,  it's empty.

"What's are these for?" I ask pulling on the bottom drawer.

"Stop!" she says putting her hand on the door.  "This one" she says tapping the bottom one "Is your bed.  It will immediately extend once you open it.  The one on top is for your personal belongings."  She then removes her hand and walks back to Abarita, but she keeps looking at me.  I dump my yellow cloths in the top drawer along with my boots. 

Then looking purposefully over at Dark hair I step to the side and pull on the handle of the bottom drawer.  It opens at the speed of frozen molasses. Inside the box is light blue tubes and nothing.  The drawer is only about a foot wide and a foot tall but at least 6 feet long.