The Truth Will Set You Free

Graveyards, Escape Attempts, and Four Square

-Peter-

            The sunlight delicately shone through the windows, dancing over the covers. I had fallen asleep after a while, but the warm covers almost smothered me and made it hard to get comfortable. Meridith poked her head into the room, sporting a full bed head. “Wake up,” she grumbled. “You have to eat breakfast before going out to the meadow.”

            Hector slowly rose from his bed beside me, almost like a zombie. “The what?”

            “The meadow. You know, where the younger kids play? Right. You’re from the counties. Forgot. Anyways, my mom says I have to take you there today or whatever.” She flicked a light on and left, and the bright yellow light almost stung.

            “So do we get other clothes or…” Poppy slowly woke, her hair in messy knots. It was the same color as mine, a mixture between dark blonde and medium brown.

            “I guess not,” I murmured we stumbled out of the room.  Once we found the kitchen, we found three plates with eggs and bacon sitting on the low, blue table. Meridith and her mother were already sitting criss-crossed around it. Poppy and I reluctantly started to eat, as Hector scarfed it all down in a matter of minutes.

            “Sorry,” he said, a mouthful of meat in his mouth, “I haven’t had this much to eat in a while.”

            “That’s what they all say,” Meridith mumbled as we all continued eating. I slowly started to eat quicker as the flavorful eggs melted in my mouth. Maybe it wasn’t so bad here after all….

            I quickly snapped myself out of it. Right. The meadow. I kept my fingers crossed that it was the same meadow that we had appeared from, that we could sneakily go back and just lie to Mom that we had been at a friend’s house or something. Sure, we would get in trouble, but what else were we supposed to say? “Sorry we didn’t tell you before we left, but we found two dead bodies, discovered a brand new civilization, and got kidnapped by its confused inhabitants?” Yeah, right.

            “Come on,” Meredith said, standing up and walking towards the door. “We’re going to miss the air train if you all don’t hurry up.” We jumped up and climbed into the elevator with her, the glass door slowly sliding shut. The ride down was even more gut-wrenching, making it look like we were about to collide with the rubbery ground beneath us. We stumbled out and quickly walked along the side, following Meredith until we made it to the train we had gotten on yesterday. “You two,” she groaned, pointing at Hector and I as the white train effortlessly slid into the stop. “Get in one of the compartments. Me and the girl here will get in another.”

            Poppy grumbled as she walked towards the right compartment, and I stepped into the left one, the train dipping down slightly as I did. Hector started to walk in before he stuck his head out. “Wait,” he said, looking nervously at the buildings in the distance. “Where are we going?”

             Meridith bit her lip. “To the fields,” she breathed, and I could tell she was trying not to add an “idiot” or “stupid” to the end of it. “Leisure activities. You can play four square or run around or something.”

            I poked my head out too. “Can we go into the woods?”

            She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess. But no one ever does.” I breathed a sigh of relief before falling back into the compartment, just as the white door slid closed. I sat across from Hector, who was looking out the window.

            “Sorry,” he breathed. “I just wanted to make sure they weren’t taking us back to the Compound. I don’t want to go back, you know?”