Little Secrets

Ember: Roommate

I nearly had a heart attack when I finally woke up. I didn't know where I was, and I had a pounding headache. At first, I thought I was waking up in my bed back at the hotel, but then I remembered what happened at the restaurant and I sat up so quickly it sent a shot of pain through my skull. I was in a bed placed in a small room painted completely white. There was not a speck of darkness on the walls. Let me tell you, nothing is worse on the brain than being in a brightly lit white room after being drugged.

The room had no windows and was brightly lit by many fluorescent light bulbs. I was sitting upright in the bed, which also was plain white. There was a door in the far corner of the room, but I noticed right away that it did not have a doorknob or hinges.

Great, I thought. They've brought me to an insane asylum... whoever "they" are.

Ignoring my aching head, I pushed the covers off my feet and had a moment of shock when I realized I was not wearing my own clothes. Instead I had been dressed in- you guessed it- white flannel pajamas. My feet were bare, but as I started to stand up, I found that a pair of fluffy white slippers had been set out for me.

I had just slipped the footwear on when the something made a small beep! and the door slid open. I looked up to see a man standing there. It was hard to look at him at first because he was wearing a dark black suit, but after my eyes adjusted to the change in color, I took him in. He was tall and broad-shouldered, had skin the color of coffee beans, and short, dark, military-style hair. His face was rather square and his jaw was set. He had soft eyes, though, and they were the color of a burning log. "Miss Johnson." His voice was deep and gruff, but it was also kind and soothing at the same time.

When I didn't respond, he continued, "I'm Agent Emerson Hathews. I-"

"Where am I?" I interrupted. I hated not know where I was. It just brought back bad memories of after the accident that killed my parents.

A smiled tugged on the man's lips. "I thought you might ask that. Before I answer any of your questions, why don't we go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat? You look hungry."

I was angry that he hadn't answered my question, and I was about to tell him off and protest that I was not hungry and I wasn't going anywhere until I got some answers, but my stomach and legs rebelled against me and I found myself following Agent Emerson Hathews down a long hall lit by more bright lights. Like the room, the walls were painted white, but as we kept walking, I noticed that the color was gradually changing to gray.

The hall branched out in several other halls, none of which Agent Hathews took, but out of the corners of my eyes, I could see other people milling about, holding stacks of papers and mugs of something sweet that made my stomach rumble.

Finally, we reached the end of the hall and it branched out left and right. Agent Hathews turned right and I followed suit. About thirty yards ahead of us was a pair of doors that were propped all the way open. Lots of laughter and loud voices were coming from the room inside, and I got the feeling this was the cafeteria.

When we reached the doors, I peered into the room and saw hundreds of... kids. I had been expecting adults with military cuts and camo clothing eating dull, flavorless food. But what I found was hundreds of kids whose age ranged from six to sixteen eating rich foods that sent pleasant aromas through my nostrils. The younger kids were throwing food at one another and yelling in loud voices. The teenagers were much the same, just louder. They were all dressed roughly the same. Some kids were wearing T-shirts and jeans; others were wearing dresses or basketball shorts. They all had something in common, though: a red circle with an X through it. I spotted it on the side of T-shirts, the fronts of hoodies, and belt buckles. I even saw a little girl with golden curly hair wearing a red sundress with the X-circle as a hair pin. In the back of my mind I wondered if I had the same symbol on my back where I couldn't see it.