Unspoken

Chapter 19

Paul and Jonah trail me as I wait for the elevator door to open. They say nothing as they stand behind me. The entire hallway is quiet. I can feel eyes on my back.

As soon as the door opens, I step forward. My body collides with someone else. I jump back and find Xander in front of me. "I was just coming to find you, Taeo." He laughs. His eye looks much better today. The swelling and bruise have improved significantly. He even looks less tired; why does everyone down here always look so tired?

"I can take him from here, guys." Xander steps back into the elevator. I glance at the men. They each nod to me as I follow after Xander. The doors close to leave us alone.

Xander is quiet until he picks our floor, one I haven't been to before, floor three. "I found something while I was working today. I want to show you."

The look on his face doesn't match the tone of his voice. His words come out rigid and dark, something more serious than I have encountered thus far. But his face is passive, as if he's not talking to me at all. His eyes remain their usual, calm selves.

He knows how to manipulate his emotions well.

He says nothing for the remainder of the ride. We hurry through burnt orange hallways; I have to jog to keep up with him. We don't stop until we make it to the end of a hallway. The light here is completely out, making the walls look like they hardly have any color at all. The only thing I can make out is the outline of Xander's body and the glint from the doorknob in front of him. "This is one of the offices they had me working in today," he informs, putting a key in the knob and turning it. The door opens easily under his hand. "I found a file and I had to show it to somebody. You're one of the only ones down here I trust."

I nod; I'm ready for what he wants to show me. My nerves start to pulse. What's so important that Xander feels he needs to show me?

"This office is in charge of information used for converting people from the Movement. They study methods, rates, and reactions to conversions. There's this file, though, that doesn't look as favorable. I think the study's going too far."

This room is dark, all black besides a small light bulb sticking out of the ceiling. When Xander turns on the computer screen, it illuminates him blue. "We're trying to study an aspect of the Movement they already use and capitalize it. But we're using it in the Movement, as weird as that is." He turns in a swivel chair to face me after typing through the files. "Have you noticed anything strange going on lately? I mean, you're father's in charge of the Movement. Did he just... let something slip? Or you saw something for yourself?"

I shake my head. My father may be in charge of the Movement, but never in all of my years has he told me anything beyond what the public knows. And I haven't noticed anything strange, no.

"This is it!" He clicks on the file and begins scrolling through, reading to himself. He's quiet for a while as he figures out the important factors of the file. He starts to speak as the door behind me is hurled open. The edge hits my back and pushes me forward. I shift to find Michael looming in the doorway.

His face is darker than the missing light around us. He could be a black hole, draining everything around us of any instance of joy and color.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he demands. He crosses to Xander and pulls him out of his chair by the collar of his shirt. "You're not regulated for this room. You may have cleaned in here today, but that doesn't mean you rummage through my files!"

He drops Xander back into the chair and scans the file on the screen. His eyes widen as he reads the words. Quickly, he closes it and turns sharply. "You saw nothing, Alexander."

Xander's face pales. He jumps from his chair and is out of the room without a word.

I stand my ground. Michael turns, his cold eyes landing on me. "You leave too, Taeo. If you know what's good for you, you'll forget all about this."

I stare at him for a while before slowly following after my friend. Michael closes and locks the door behind me so fast he clips my heels.

Xander's so far up the hall that I have to sprint to catch him. He doesn't react to my presence, so I shove him.

What had been in that file?

He still doesn't say anything until we get to an elevator. No one's around us, but Xander looks over his shoulders as he presses the call button just to make sure. "You've been lied to a whole lot worse than you think you have, Taeo."

As he says the words, the elevator door slides open.

I move to step in with him, ready to pass him an inquisitive look. But my eyes fall on someone in the elevator. A girl, with short, brown hair and large, green eyes.

Someone who looks more familiar than anything I've seen since I arrived.

Merda.    

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A/N:

Whaaaat? I told you guys things were going to get interesting! More is yet to come, so keep updating by adding Unspoken to your Library. Remember to leave a vote and comment. I LOVE all your feedback!

Alisha :)