Static

CHAPTER FOUR

*Alice on the right and Bethany on the left above*

The day goes by exhaustingly fast.  When they finally show us back to our room, I don't even bother to change into the provided night clothes left on my bed.  I just collapse on the mattress and bury myself under the sheets.  It feels warm and safe there, like nothing could ever touch me.  I hear Taylor's familiar snores that used to fill the silence in the night back at the zone.  But I don't lie awake for long, I'm out almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.  But I do dream.  I can remember little things about it when I wake up.
It was the same nightmare that I always had back at the zone.  The same one where I'm running and running and running with so much fear in my head and sweat dripping down my forehead in the dark.  But there's nothing chasing me. 
       Only, this time there's someone, not running after me, but next to me.  They aren't the threat and I can't tell who it is until for some reason, their face lights up in the dark. It's Taylor.  She looks just as panicked and out of breath as I am.  I don't mean to, but I wake up before the dream is over.  I wake up breathing hard and terrified for no reason.
       "Good morning, sleepyhead."  Taylor says, she's sitting on her bed, new clothes on consisting of black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt with a bleach stain down the front.
      "Morning."  I say, still trying to wake myself up. 
      I make my way to the bathroom and where another pile of clothes sits on the sink counter.
     "Bethany brought new clothes in the middle of the night.  That girl is like an owl, didn't sleep a wink last night.  I heard her up and walking around all night."  Taylor said, standing to slip on her boots from yesterday.
     I decide to shower in the morning, it's an odd feeling since we were never aloud to back at the zone but it wakes me up.  I wonder if Taylor had stayed up all night.  How else would she have heard Bethany up?  But I don't let it bother me, she seems fine this morning.
     When I finish and leave the bathroom changed into my new clothes, a neon orange jacket that fits like a second skin and a pair of black sweatpants, I find Blake and Taylor conversing in the room with Alice standing at the door.
     They don't look to particularly pleased.
     "What's wrong?"  I ask, drying my wet hair on the towel.  Simultaneously, all of their heads snap in my direction, like they hadn't expected me to be here.
      Taylor looks more confused than anything and Blake and Alice have blank expressions that are impossible to read.
     "Did you hear?"  She asked, her voice trembling as she tried to keep it steady.
     "Hear what?"  I said, throwing the towel onto my bed and plopping down next to it.
     Blake took over for Taylor to further explain what they had been discussing.
     "Order's not safe, not anymore."  I squinted at him, trying to find the right thing to say in reply.  Didn't he just tell us that this was the safest place we could be? 
     "What do you mean it's not safe?"  I don't stand up.  He sighs and rubs a hand against his forehead.
     "There's a mole.  Someone inside Order is relaying information to the government, classified stuff.  I was worried they'd send out our location sooner or later so I talked Alice into coming over here to discuss it with you."
     A mole?  Someone's selling Order's secrets?  Great, just great.  This is exactly what I need right now.  When we finally get somewhere new, finally aware from the dangers of the zone, and now this happens.
     "Well who is it and what are we gonna do about it."  Blake shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
     "See that's the problem, we don't know who it is and Ms. Daniels refuses to let us conduct a thorough investigation because she doesn't want to worry the younger members."  Alice rolled her eyes with an irritated sigh.  So I guess I wasn't the only one who disliked Orders leader.
     "Well we can't just sit around and wait for the monitors to come and find us!  We'll be lucky if they even bother to send some of the younger ones back to the zone.  If they show up here, we're all toast.  They have no mercy for our lives."  My little speech had no effect, Blake was still stressed out, Taylor still fidgeting nervously in the corner and Alice still leaning against the door frame like she'd given up.
      "We can't tell anyone though, about the mole.  If we do, they won't believe us.  You and Taylor are too new and me and Alice don't exactly have the best, most trustworthy reputation."  He sat down on Taylor's bed and held his head in his hands.
       "Well, you can tell me about your plan killing backstory later."  I said, still running through options to expose the mole in my head.
       "We could still try, just see if they believe us."  Taylor mumbled.  She new we'd shoot her down but she had felt obliged to say it anyway.
        "No can do, Ms. Daniels would deny it and reassure everyone that there is no traitor hidden in our ranks to keep everyone from flipping out.  It's her word against ours and I don't like those odds."  Alice said, shifting her weight against the door.
        "So we came up with a different plan.  One that involves just us four."  Blake said slowly, trying to ease his words out, like he was testing us to make sure we wouldn't be utterly appalled by the very thought of it.
        "You see, we won't be able to get everyone out and even though Ms. Daniels isn't telling the rest of Order now I'm confident that as soon as things get too bad she'll let them know so they can prepare."  I could tell where Blake was going with this and I didn't like it.  But, I let him finish nonetheless.