The Remaining

Chapter 8

Opening my eyes slowly, it takes a while for me to even figure out where I am until I see large figures marching around the room. I look around and see Alec and James still asleep. How are they still asleep when the soldiers are making such a racket?

I see Connor,  the soldier from yesterday, swaggering towards me. "Oh good you're awake. I'll just wake you're friends up then." I nod my head. "Err...actually. Can I just ask you something? " He says,  his eyes shifting to James, Alec and then around the whole room. I nod my head again and give him a small smile. "So...are you and..err...James...y'know...together. I..I was just wondering." Connor stifled out nervously. I'm a bit confused as to why he asked this as he seems like such a strict person but I answer the question anyway. "Well, not exactly no, but not exactly yes...its complicated...I mean, I haven't known him for long but at the same time I feel like I've known him for a while." He looks at me with wide hopeful eyes and I kind of get lost in them until he says, "so I might be in with a chance then..." Looking at him confused,  he smirked and walked away. Well that was weird..."What was that??" asked Alec,  shocked and I just shrugged my shoulders and got out of the uncomfortable bed.

When we got to the cafeteria James, Alec and I got our cereal and sat down at a deserted table and began to eat our breakfast in silence, alienated from the people and the place. People's eyes were shifting towards our table and staring at us as if we were some alien creatures they'd never seen before. I started to feel really self-concious and panicky. James looked into my eyes and gave me a reassuring smile which put my disrupted mind at ease. All of a sudden Connor sat down at our table opposite me. He was munching on his cereal noisily, purposely disrupting the silence. Alec glared at Connor, and in return he smirked with a mouth full of cereal. "So how's everyone this fine morning?" Connor asked gulping down his food. I looked at Alec who looked at me blankly. Dropping his spoon into his bowl, Connor sighed tiredly. "S-sorry" I said, feeling bad for us ignoring him, "I think we're just a little wary of this place and all of the soldiers." He smiled at me and James said, "Or it's just the lack of sleep from those uncomfortable 'beds'." and we began to laugh, enjoying the small moment of laughter we had. "So you've got another interview with Chunky Charles today...that's his nickname by the way." I let out a nervous breath and nodded my head, smiling inside that that was his nickname. We put our bowls away after breakfast and two soldiers directed James and Alec to a room and Connor led me to the interview room. I am so nervous, my legs are twitching and I feel like crying right now...but it has to be done. 

I sat in the same dim-lit room from yesterday and waited for 'chunky' Charles to enter. Tapping my fingers on the metal table, I hear a click noise but I'm so nervous that my muscles have frozen and I can't turn around. I see Charles come into the peripheral vision, then he takes a seat in the chair opposite me. "Hello Athena... So today, to speed things up, I think we should just try to go through as much as we can, so we can learn more information in a short amount of time." I nod my head, "Uhh sure. So what do you want to know?" He thought for a moment and replied, "Tell me your story, from beginning to end, with all of the details...But just remember, we know when you're lying..." I take a deep breath in and out. It feels like there's no oxygen in the room. Like 'chunky' Charles has used it all up. I steady my heart rate and continue to tell him my story, from beginning to end, with all of the details...