The Lost Ones

7 - Lela

I got the full tour of the house the very next day. It was Peri, of course, that volunteered to take me. She showed me every single place there was, including a full tour of (both!) bathrooms, that is, until the boys chased us out. Peri still wasn't perturbed. 

"I should probably show you the most important parts now, seeing as you'll be joining them pretty soon." She opened a door to reveal a room full of people - training?

"These guys are the fighters. They launch the attacks on the hospital and they go out hunting for food. They're the best of the best of the best." Peri giggled, then looked up shyly. "That's why I'm training to become one of them."

"You're... joining them?" I say, surprised. Peri seems too young, too vulnerable to join these hardcore fighters.

"Yep! I've been training for three years, since I got here. Gemma made a rule that you can only join when you're thirteen, and I'm thirteen in a week, so I've nearly finished!" She says happily enough.

"So... anyone can join?" I croak, still worried.

"Of course not! Gemma's very strict about these things. No, you have to train for at least a year, even if you're thirteen, and then you have to stick to all these rules and eat certain things and train every single day from 7.00am to 5.00pm. Then you have to take one big final test, and pass it. It's not easy, but it's worth it!" Peri pretends to flex her muscles, and for the first time in a while, I laugh.

I feel a little bit more relaxed about the whole thing as we go down the stairs towards the basement. However, instead of going into the hospital area like last time, Peri leads me into a separate room. A boy about a year older than me walks around the room; he inspects students who seem to be studying the anatomy of a dummy.

"That's Mitchell. He's teaching them how to work in the hospital area, like Riaja." She leads me around the room.

"How long has he been doing this?" I ask. He doesn't look much older than me, yet he has the air of someone with wisdom.

"Five years, next month. The hospital was the first thing here, because there were too many ill people and they were dropping like flies. People were dying everywhere, I remember, it was horrible." Peri shuddered. 

"But it's a lot better now, right?" I look at the students. They are genuinely interested and eager to learn. Maybe civilization does have a hope, even if it starts from a small house in the middle of nowhere.

"Well....yes. In a way. There are still people dying. Like Mindy. She's in a stable condition and can come out of hospital, but she still needs daily treatment seeing as she's pregnant." Peri sighs, but puts on a cheery smile all the same.

We walk out again, back to the ground floor where Gemma is waiting for us, with another boy.

"Hey Peri, hey Lela. Lela, this is Drew. He works with me in leadership." Drew shakes my hand politely and chuckles.

"To think, six years in leadership together and she still won't go out with me!" I laugh, and so does Peri; Gemma rolls her eyes and sighs.

"It wouldn't be professional!" Drew pretends to be heartbroken, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. He reminds me painfully of Adrian. 

"Anyway, Lela, is there anything that really stands out to you? You need to make a choice quite soon, unless any of the, uh, quieter jobs would suit you better?" Gemma asks.

I think of Adrian in the hospital, being tortured. I want to find him; I want to make sure he's okay. So, inside, I think I've made my decision. I know what I'm going to be here.

"I want to join the fighters." I say. Drew looks impressed, Peri looks surprised. Gemma actually smiles.

"Good choice. It's going to be difficult, though, Sure you can handle it?" Gemma raises an eyebrow.

"I'm sure. It's worth it in the end." I remember Peri's words earlier.

So I am given some new clothes to change into, then am lead into the training room. We run around a track for half an hour, and if we slow down then we have to run two extra laps. It's gruelling, but I have to remember it's all worth it so that I can find Adrian again. In the first few days I am frustrated by the inertia, but gradually I see some changes. I'm getting stronger, and I'm learning new things for once. 

"You're doing well, Lela. You'll be a star student in no time." said Peri during dinner one day.

I was slowly getting used to life here, but I had to remember why I was going through all of this. I was doing this for Adrian, so that I could find him. We hadn't been separated for ten years, so it was like I had lost a limb. I had made some new friends, including a member of the class called Will who had arrived a little bit earlier to the house than me, but I still have one friend that I wanted to see more than anyone else. My friends still didn't know the full story about Adrian; I doubted I would tell them any time soon. I didn't mind them not knowing.

I was going to pass my training, no matter how long it took me. Nothing really happened for a few days, until it happened. The note, pushed under the front door. Written in black ink that trickled off the page. A picture of Adrian was attached, his face crossed out in red ink.

Bring the girl, or the boy dies.

M