The Sector

Chapter Six

Frasier's voice tore Seth away from the hell that was roiling inside his head. Blinking, he tried his best to collect himself, squaring his shoulders and following the Officers from the room. He did all he could to act as though everything were normal, but his paranoia told him that they were going to notice that something was off. Anxiety constricted his throat.

His mind raced as they made their way back to his Residence. That was blood. He knew it. And it wasn't old blood either. 

Something about this place was wrong; there was no denying it now. It hadn't been his paranoia speaking to him but instead his instincts.

They drew nearer to the courtyard and Seth began to panic. If they took him up to his Residence, he wouldn't be able to get back out without an Officer. But he couldn't just stay there either. He had to figure out what the hell was going on here.

"Do you guys have any gum?" he asked in his most casual voice. His heart hammered hard against his ribcage. He almost thought he might faint. 

The light-haired Officer looked at him for a second, then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a strip, offering it to Seth.

"Thanks," he said, forcing a polite smile.

The Officer grunted at him, then continued out of the corridor and into the courtyard.

As quickly as he could, Seth tore open the wrapper, put the gum in his mouth, and chewed.

The Officers led him up the first flight of stairs, then the second, and stopped outside room nineteen.

Seth took the gum from his mouth just as the dark-haired Officer opened the door for him.

"Thanks, guys," he said, stepping into his room, his hand resting on the door frame. He used his thumb to force the chewed-up gum into the small slot that the lock clicked into. It stuck out the end a little bit, but as long as the Officers didn't notice, that was probably a good thing. The harder it was packed in, the better it would work. "Do you know when someone will be back to pick me up again?"

"You've passed all of your examinations so tomorrow you'll begin your official Testing. Two Officers will come to collect you in the morning. They should arrive by nine."

Seth nodded and the Officers turned to leave, letting the door swing shut behind them. Seth listened closely for the click of the lock, but the sound never came.

Perfect, he thought.

He waited until he could no longer hear the Officers' footsteps, then rushed to the window and watched them cross the courtyard and disappear from sight.

The rest of his day was spent pacing. His final examination had taken almost two hours and while it was lunch time, he found that he'd lost his appetite.

Every four hours, the Officers would switch shifts. Two of them would leave, there would be a thirty second gap, and then two new Officers would arrive.

By the time it was dark, Seth's stomach was rumbling. He tried to eat but it just made him sick. He settled for a glass of water instead. At least, he reasoned with himself, it was better than nothing.

Eight o'clock came and went, the Officers switched shifts, and Seth waited. He would leave his room at midnight and sneak into the building in the time between the first Officers leaving and the next ones arriving. From there, he'd have four hours to find some answers before the Officers switched again. He needed to be back at his Residence before dawn.

Time passed slowly. All Seth could think about was the blood on the wall and how it was at the perfect height for Patrik's head. He wrestled with his mind, trying his best not to picture what it must have looked like before they had cleaned up—though they clearly hadn't done that very well.

He hadn't been particularly close to Patrik, but they had still grown up together and Seth's gut twisted as he thought back on how his voice had sounded when the Officers had come to collect him that morning.

What he couldn't wrap his head around, no matter how hard he tried, was why they would kill him. Patrik was a picture-perfect Occupant. He'd always been polite, never stepped out of line; never gotten himself into any kind of trouble at all, actually. Hell, he'd never even risked climbing a tree—something that Seth had done a hundred times over. Granted, Patrik had been soft-spoken and he wasn't necessarily as bright as some of the other Occupants, but he was still one of the kindest people Seth had ever met.

So how could he have done anything so wrong as to warrant being murdered?

Time passed slowly. Seth watched and waited until eventually the small clock on his nightstand displayed 11:59 PM and the Officers in the courtyard below readied themselves to leave. 

Without a sound, Seth pulled his door open, tiptoed out of his room, and hurried down the hallway to the stairs. He was down both flights in no time and there, by the bottom step, he waited in the shadows.

One of the Officers checked his watch impatiently, waiting for it to tick over to 12:00 AM so they could finish their shift and leave.

It didn't take long.

As soon as they'd retreated into the main building, Seth moved out into the courtyard, a cool breeze rustling his hair as he moved, staying close to the buildings, hiding in the safety of the shadows wherever possible. Moonlight glinted softly off the tall glass windows. Not a single light was on inside.

He got to the entrance of the main building and listened until the last echoes of the Officers' boots had faded.

He held his breath as he slipped through the door and down the first hallway.

He almost got to the end of the corridor before he heard the echoes of more footsteps. The next Officers were on their way, he realized. In a panic, his head turned this way and that, searching for a safe exit. Finding none, he looked to the nearest room, checked the small gap between the door and the frame, found that there was no light on inside, and prayed that it was unlocked. His stomach twisted as he reached forward for the handle, and the breath left his lungs in a gush when the door swung easily open, inviting him in. He hurried inside, closing it behind him and letting the room fall into darkness.

Not willing to risk knocking anything over, he leaned back on the door and waited.

As the Officers drew closer, his ears pricked to the sound of their voices.

It was difficult to make out through the thick walls between them, but he thought he heard faint laughter and jesting.

His heart slowed to a normal pace. They hadn't seen or heard him.

As soon as they were out of earshot, he slipped back out of the room and peeked down the hallway. Darbee was nowhere to be seen. The room was dark and empty, his desk left unoccupied, and a cold chill hung low in the air.

Seth hugged the walls as he moved around the room, staying silent and out of sight.

As he neared the corridor leading to Frasier's office, he heard the whispering of voices.

He froze.

***

Author's Note: 
Hey guys, I just quickly wanted to say that I'm doing my best to get a chapter up every day but due to a family situation at the moment, I don't have as much time for writing as I usually would. I'll still be writing at every chance I get and I'm still hoping to get chapters up at least every other day, but please bare with me if it takes a little longer than usual. 

Regardless of anything, thank you for any and all support - I appreciate it more than any of you know. I love you guys to the moon and back. :)