Behind Locked Doors

Chapter Seven: Undercover

Cause my echo, echo

is the only voice coming back.

Shadow, shadow

is the only friend that I have.

Alice POV:

If anything had improved this week at all, it would have to have been my sleuthing skills. I had successfully honed in on the blonde and the brunette from the previous night and had also acquired their names and dorm room numbers. Strange enough, they shared a room with my own sister. Talk about two birds with one stone.

Dakota, the blonde, knew practically nothing of Rebel activities, or at least that’s the show she put on. Except for Rolin, she didn’t really associate with anyone. Although she did come across as widely popular and it was no secret that she had a boyfriend, James, she didn’t really set of my radar. I knew she wasn’t a Rebel, so of course my interest fizzled. There was an oddity about her though that I couldn’t quite place. 

Rolin, on the other hand, seemed to be brimming with Rebel knowledge. Since I had discovered her secret, I had followed her very closely. My analysis drew that she was the epitome of fake. She pretended to be so cut off and socially awkward, which she probably was the latter, that it drew a person away from her. Perfect coverup really.

 If I ever really needed an ally, I would turn to her. In fact, I was inwardly debating at that very moment to give myself up. If I let her know I was in on it, she could put me to use somehow. It was getting awfully boring just following in others’ footsteps. I wasn’t the most social being on the planet but talking to yourself only gets you so far. Despite all the good things that could occur from telling Rolin, something inside my gut argued at that, and I had long ago learned the essentiality of listening to instinct. Besides, the only thing I had going for me was my ability to blend in. Just a face in the crowd. Once that was lost, all my major talents were, unless they needed someone to calculate long division or find a simile.

Presently, Rolin had taken a special interest in a certain Justin Davery; naturally, I took an interest as well. I shared numerous classes with him and was very curious as to what would peak such an appeal. I soon found out he was a Rebel, due to his poorly applied makeup and general characteristics. The numbers were adding up; that made at least four Rebels now. I was sure that it didn’t stop there either.

During my next class, I compromised a list of everything I knew about this school and the members therein. It only filled half a page, but I would add more as information piled on. Not to mention the fact I hadn’t included my sister or myself for safety purposes. I highly doubted it would go so far as to get into the wrong hands, but according to the precautionary system: It is better to be safe than sorry. After looking this list over repeatedly, I folded it and placed it into my purse’s zipper pocket.

I didn’t have any more classes today, but I did have a mandatory meeting. It didn’t start until about half an hour, so I had some time to kill. I couldn’t exactly take a stroll through the park with the security guards lining the halls and barriers everywhere. It’s not like I was going to try to make it break for it. Even I understood the idiocy of that idea. Blame couldn’t exactly be place on them though, because if there was any way out, Natalie and I would be gone like the wind. 

I scurried down the hallway like a mouse, unnoticed by all. A quick exchange was given between Rolin and Justin, and I stopped to survey. Dakota was with them, but I could care less. I squinted in my wide rimmed glasses at them, noticing that something was off. I almost missed Justin’s slide of hand and the paper concealed. Rolin’s reaction to his touch only confirmed my suspicions. They soon went their separate ways and acted friendly, though I sensed something hostile.