Moon Angel

Chapter 27: Em's Journal

I sit back from the screen and rub my face with my hands. There was so much to take in. The USB contained comprehensive files of the projects that Omega had completed. But not the versions that I had been a part of. I didn't know how much of it was the truth. I couldn't believe that Mr Carter and the other Omega officials would do this, not to us. They cared about us. They wouldn't get us to kill innocent people. But then if it was only false then why would Em have been so scared? The only person who knew the answer was Em herself, but she was no longer here to ask.

A thought came to me. Em kept a journal. She like to keep detailed reports on everything that happened. Perhaps she had written these secrets in it. The problem was it hadn't been given to me with the rest of her things. Had they destroyed it to keep their secret? The same way that they had destroyed Em? But then again, Em knew how to keep a secret. She had hidden the memory stick. She must have hidden the journal as well. Since it wasn't in the box, it must still be in her room, if it was there to find.

But the room wasn't Em's anymore. It was Natalie's. I needed to get into that room and look around. But I needed a distraction. I couldn't have Natalie coming back while I was snooping in her room, and I couldn't look around while she was in there. She would want to know why. She would want to know what I was trying to find. And those weren't questions I was willing to answer just yet. Not if Em's life had been ended because of it. I didn't know if I could trust her. I didn't know if I could trust anyone anymore. I would just have to sneak in.

I knew that the other girls in the team had a training at 2. I looked at the time, 1.45. That meant that Natalie would be leaving her room any minute to get to training on time. Lateness was frowned upon.

I waited five minutes before leaving my room. I knocked on the door of Natalie's room. I didn't know what I would say if she was still in there. Luckily I didn't have to think of something because there was no reply. I pushed the door open slowly. It was unlocked as I had suspected. Nobody ever locked their doors, even though we were able to. We had never had anything to hide from each other. Until now, that is.

Looking behind me to check that the corridor was clear, I stepped inside the room and closed the door behind me. The room looked the same as it always had. All the rooms at Omega looked the same- the same beds, wardrobes, sheets, carpets. Em could still be living in here. But she wasn't. She would never stay in this room again...

I shook the thoughts out of my head. I needed to find the journal quickly and get out before Natalie returned. I searched thoroughly, being careful to place everything exactly where I found it.

After about five minutes I still couldn't find anything. I was about to give up the search when something in the corner of the room caught my eye. A piece of carpet had come away from the wall and had started to fray on the edges. I bent down to investigate. Normally we would tell Mr Carter or Miss Dunn about damage like this and it would be repaired, but Natalie hadn't, or rather Em hadn't, since the fact that the carpet had frayed meant that it had happened a while ago. Was it possible that Em had pulled the carpet away herself? I pulled at the carpet with my fingertips, and as I expected it came away with ease, peeling back to reveal the floorboards beneath it. The floorboards seemed normal until I saw a line, about 10 cm from the wall, where the wood had been cut through. I peeled back the carpet further to find a full rectangle of wood had been cut. I pried it loose, picking up the piece of wood and placing it to one side. Underneath was a rectangular box, slightly smaller than the hole that had been cut. I lifted the box out of the hole, opening the lid. Inside sat Em's journal, among some other more personal things. I closed the box placing it on Natalie's floor. I replaced the piece of wood back into the hole in the floor and rolled the carpet back into place. I could see how nobody had found it yet. When the carpet was sitting flat, it was hard to see. I don't think I would have found it unless I had been looking. I picked up the box, standing and walking back across the room, looking to see if anything was out of place. I was about to open the door when I heard Ben's voice shout, "Nat!" She had obviously come back. I dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed, ignoring the protest of my ribs and arm.

I heard Ben's voice continue, "I thought you girls had training."

"We do," Natalie said. "We're doing strategies today but I forgot my notebook."

"Better let you get back to that then. See you later."

"See you," she replied. I heard the door open and watched as Natalie's feet crossed the room, stopping in front of her desk. She rummaged through some papers, before slamming the draw shut and running out of the room. I breathed out, not aware that I had been holding my breath. I rolled out from underneath the bed and lay on the carpet for a minute, realising how close I had come to getting found out. I waited until I was sure no one was in the corridor before I opened the door and went straight to my room.