Deceived

Chapter Seven

The Special Forces shuttle sets down mid-morning. We've already had breakfast, and everyone quietly exchanges glances and keeps an eye on Luuk. He's talked to anyone who could hear him, and they all arrived at the same conclusion I did:

He's crazy.

An agent enters through the back door, fully covered in black gear and a helmet. We all stiffen where we sit. Unlike the other agents, he carries a rifle in his arms. I assume it's probably a tranquilizer, but since I'm not trained in security, it's hard to say.

"Line up," he demands, making a small motion with his gun to where we're supposed to stand. "Move quickly, move quietly, and follow orders."

Luuk scowls, slipping to the middle of the group as we form a line by the door. I end up taking the rear, though I almost wish I was at the front so I could get this over with.

The agent presses something on the side of his helmet. "Cleared to go." Then he tilts his head as if listening to someone before stepping back. The cargo bay door descends with a hydraulic hiss. Our shuttle shudders as the hatch connects with pavement. Dry heat floods the bay. I cringe. I was actually able to eat breakfast this morning, and the constant need for water has faded, but I could do without the dryness of the air.

Another agent stands in the clearing between us and a gleaming white building. A pale sky rises over faded, sandy red mountains in the distance, no sign of city life or the suburbs, and a mirage of shimmering heat ripples from the pavement in a far cry from the cool autumn winds I've grown used to.

I swallow hard. We're definitely outside the Community now.

"You will follow Agent Rahal," our agent instructs. "Proceed."

The girl at the front of our line nervously inches forward, and then scuttles after Rahal. I'm directly behind Luuk, unfortunately, but at least he's silent. It takes a few minutes for us to cross the pavement to the sprawling complex, but something yowls in the distance and we all freeze.

A shiver crawls up my spine. There's something both human and inhuman about that scream, almost like a cougar's roar, and several angry screeches erupt before they all abruptly fall silent.

"Keep walking." Agent Rahal twists at the waist as he walks, addressing the lot of us as if he suspects we might run. Luuk glances over his shoulder at me, a dark glare in his eyes. My hairs prickle on end. He's crazy, and so is whoever made those sounds.

But we'll be cured. Even if it takes years, the Community will cure us.

The Community is efficient...

I hope.

The agent herds us into a long, sterile hallway with low, metallic ceilings and floors. Light fills the corridor with a stark, bluish white glow. Another line of students, all my age or slightly older, enters the hall from the opposite direction. There's at least ten of them, maybe more. But before I can study them or try to guess which part of the Community they come from, Agent Rahal ushers us inside a small commons room filled with another dozen patients.

My breath leaves my throat. So many people...

We all have theophrenia?

I take a deep breath, crowded, my arms bumping into whomever is next to me. But the building is most definitely air conditioned, and it keeps the room from getting too hot.

How can so many of us be infected? Has there been an outbreak? Shouldn't we have heard something if there was? That would be how the Community keeps us safe. They would tell us to be on the lookout. Give us a warning that the pills aren't as effective...