The Resistance

Chapter 4

Ben felt sick as the door closed behind Gills. What was he doing in the barracks with a knife and rope?! At this late at night too, when everyone else was asleep?

Ben climbed dizzily out of the hole. He had to find out what was going on. But he needed to escape too! There was only one way either of those could happen, and thankfully following Gills was not included!

Cautiously, Ben jogged to the nearest rock mound, his eyes carefully trained on the outer walls. So far, so good. He decided to pick up his pace. Thunder rumbled above him, and the moon was swallowed up once more by packs of thick dark clouds.

It was too dark to tell specific details, so Ben relied on his earlier knowledge of the yard and the shadows he saw now. He made out the lighter color of the stone pathway against the darker earth surrounding it. He followed it between several mounds before he saw a light.

It was a small candle resting in a crooked window, just behind the previous mound of earth. Ben silently congratulated himself for making it to Gills's hutch unseen. He crept closer and peered through the window.

Beyond the candle was a lopsided desk covered in papers. Two more candles lit up the small space, revealing a closed door to another room, a table covered in dinner remains, and a wooden stool. Ben ran a hand along the wall of the hutch until he found the door handle, and pulled gently. The door came open easily, and Ben cautiously slipped inside.

The second Ben was inside, his nose was assaulted by a horrible smell. It smelled like a herd of barn animals had lived there, leaving behind the stench of feces and rotting food when they left. The floor was covered in greasy stains, and the table had at least a good inch of dust covering the top, blanketing an old tin cup and a plate with something shriveled and black on it, (which might have explained part of the smell). The desk was overflowing with papers, some dangerously close to the candle flames. As Ben passed by it to inspect the closed door on the opposite side of the tiny room, a certain document caught his eye.

It was a bright white paper, crisp and clean and still warm from the printer. Words were printed on it in black ink, in the form of a letter with a list on it. Something about it drew Ben closer and he began to read.

To: Master Gilliss,
I have new orders for you. Some of the workers are getting a bit too vocal and aggressive for their own good. Take care of it. I trust you have the implements needed to silently remove the problems. I don't care how you do it, as long as their gone. I've included a list of the trouble makers below.
•Worker D-5.66
•Underdog 7
•the resident of room 349
•The Twins
•the hostage
The last one must be executed at all costs. They are all located in the barrack C-wing.
Get it done, or else.
--G◇💀

Just below the signature was a symbol that looked like a mini volcano. Chills snaked down Ben's back.
Gills was a killer.

He was going into the barracks to take out some so called, "trouble makers".

Ben couldn't believe it. He read over the list again. Workers had numbers? What was his? Was he worker D-5.66? Who was the person in room 349? What did they do? And what hostage? Wait, Ben thought. Twins...?

Springtime and Winter were the only twins in the yard, Psych had said. But that meant....No. No no no no no!

Ben stuffed the letter in his pants pocket and raced out of the hutch and across the yard towards the barracks. The air was thick and tense, the calm before the storm.

Ben didn't care. He needed to get to the twins. Yeah, he only barely knew the twins. But they didn't deserve to be "taken out." Ben would help...maybe? Where was C-wing? Ben raced up to the barracks door and listened. Total silence. He took a deep breath. Okay, let's think this out.