hollow promises

02

SHILOH JONES

Scout had demanded that I build him a tower to destroy no less than six consecutive times. Time after time I stacked up the large red blocks until they reached a height taller than him and he would hurdle his body through them with gleeful giggles. Two other boys Scouts' age, Dame and Ross, sat nearby and raced cars in circles around the tower as I built it. Dame had almost knocked it over once and I think I would've cried.

Marcy made her way over to build with me after handing Pippa off to a fourteen year old called Ashlee. "Six hours and thirty-seven minutes to go," She had whispered in my ear as she kneeled down on the hard floor.

"Saying it only makes it go slower." I chimed in return.

"You know that's not how it works, right?" Marcella replied with a raised eyebrow. I opened my mouth to respond when a muffled bang sounded from outside the sealed door. Instantaneously, the room went silent—save for one crying baby boy and the boy carrying him— and heads shot towards the door. For a moment the entire room held the silence, it only broke after one boy sneezed and then the talking erupted all over again. If anything was amiss then the adults would let us know, I was sure of it. Marcella wasn't as sure as I.

    "What the fuck was that?" She whispered too loud so I elbowed her side for her choice of language before replying.

"Probably just the walls settling." I lied through my teeth. I had no idea what it was. The underground didn't 'settle', it didn't make any noise. It was a fortress.

"Hm." She hummed, unconvinced.

A few more minutes passed as Marcy and I stacked up brick on top of brick while the boys talked about their favorite type of toy car. Ross was getting very frustrated over trying to explain why purple cars were better than the blue cars, I didn't make any effort to tell them that they were the exact same toy only in a different color. Scout was not waiting patiently.

    Just as we finished the tower and took a step back from the tower, another loud noise sounded from outside the door. The sound this time had sounded similar to a chair toppling over, only much louder. The impacts were instant, the entire room shook. A shiver ran up my spine as the intensity of the tremble knocked over Scout's tower.

    "What the actually fuck?" Marcella cursed. I didn't bother to scold her for cussing, my blood had ran cold and I was moving out of instinct. A second tremble came as I was standing and my was nearly knocked down as my body froze from shock. A crumbling noise rang in my ear like a church bell.

    "Get under something!" A older boy called out as he grabbed little hands and began to shove them into small spaces. The room broke out into chaos and I grabbed Scout's hand as fast as I could. Marcy grabbed Dame by the wrist and Ross followed closely behind as we hurled our bodies into the kitchen.

    I opened and closed cabinet and cabinet until finding a completely empty one, I pushed Scout onto his knees as tears ran down his face. Another tremble shook the room, this one was different. It came from the door, something was trying to break the seal before the timer would open it. "It's going to be fine, Scout, don't move until I come and get you."

    Marcella ushered the other boys in there and as she began to pull me towards the next open cabinet space my eyes searching the large room for Pippa. "Oh my god, where's Pip?" My voice cracked.

    "Ashlee probably has her somewhere safe, we need to get safe too. Please." She shook my shoulders roughly. I nodded against my better judgement. I knew I couldn't convince Marcy to get hidden until I was hidden as well. I managed to convince part of myself that Ashlee had hidden Pippa somewhere good, maybe until the couch or in the dress-up wardrobe.

    I let Marcy tug me into the pantry alongside her. It wasn't a walk-in like the dining hall had, instead it was just a tall cabinet with shelves. The shelves took up most of the space so we stood upright with our bodies pressed into each other. I didn't mind it anyways, our arms had ended up around each other's bodies and I pulled her closer than the space had required and our chins tucked into one another's necks.

The underground is a fortress, I reminded myself. I chanted it like a song set on repeat, begging my mind to believe my words.

I was the older twin. I was supposed to be brave, I was the daughter of the president and the eldest of the Jones children. I was a prodigy. I was born to be brave.

Another bang sounded against the door and I cried out. I could feel hot tears slide down my face and land on Marcy's shoulder. The bangs became repetitive. Outside of the cabinet I could hear the underground quite literally crumbling.

I had felt scared plenty of times. I had broken bones, embarrassed myself, had major exams, all of which was scary. Until that moment I wasn't aware that I had never felt fear before. It was such a level of intensity that I had never felt before and it made me want to crawl into a ball. Marcy's tears — and possibly snot — drenched my shoulder and I was sure I was doing the same to her.

The banging suddenly stopped. I held my breath for a moment, praying I would wake up from the cruel nightmare and return to the fortress that was the underground. A whirring noise started up in its place and I clutched my ears tightly. My arms tangled with Marcy's as she did the same. My head ached from all that was going on.

    "I love you, I love momma, I love daddy, I love Scout, I love Pip, I love Travis, I love Zuri," I whispered. amy voice was trembling so heavily that for a moment I wasn't sure if she had heard me list our loved ones to her. The whirring grew in volume and I let out a choke before starting again, I need her to know.

    What surprised me was when she said it with me. "I love you, I love momma, I love daddy, I love Scout, I love Pip, I love Travis, I love Zuri."

    The whirring only continued to grow up until it abruptly stopped. Only a millisecond passed before a earth-shaking and eardrum-popping slam sounded. I knew what had happened without even looking. Someone had invaded the Underground and broken into the White Room, which housed the most vulnerable Moles; children.

    A voice spoke from outside in the eery quiet, "Inej, attulistine catenas?"