Area 9

ELIZA [3] ☽

☽

He has too much power,

and I have none.

☽

For the rest of the night, I got the most sleep I'd received in what felt like my lifetime. With no windows to let the illuminating light in, Lana had to turn on the lights to signify that it was time to get up.

I lay staring at the bed above me, happy with the new knowledge I had contained, but disappointed that I'd lost my mother's necklace. I would usually fiddle with it in the mornings- I shoved the thought to the side, there's no time to get emotional again. I've got things to do.

Lana rushed over to my side, sitting down at the edge of the bed. I could tell there was a lot on her mind; that she most likely had a ton to tell me, so I prepped myself for all the information.

"Listen, okay?" she started. "This is officially your first day here, and so this is when your testing begins. All you need to remember is not to get into any fights with anyone, and don't draw any attention to yourself. You'll blend in and they won't take a second look. That's how we're still alive."

"Don't draw any attention to yourself?" Dom laughed from the corner, with a smug smile on his face. "You do remember what you did when we arrived, don't you?"

"Really, you bring that up now?" Lana rolled her eyes, then focused them back on me . "Seriously though, Eliza, what you pulled yesterday can't happen again- ever."

"You're making it sound like we're going to be here for ever," I concluded- a bit shocked by her sudden attitude towards escape.

She shrugged at that. "I'm just saying that making it out is... rare. There's no way to break yourself out, so you have to earn it."

"Earn a way out? How are we supposed to do that?" I leaned forward, ready to take on whatever the challenge was. I wasn't going to leave Jonah and Kenzie alone much longer, and was almost to the point of doing anything I had to.

"Lana, please don't tell her," Dom made his way over to us. "She's one of those determined, yet reckless types- and that's not good! She'll want to do it! Don't you dare-"

"Tell me," I said in a terse voice. "And you-" I pointed to Dom, "need to calm down, Novi."

He crossed his arms, "I'm not a Novi."

"My family is back in my cabin in Area 8," I told her, my eyes widening to show that I truly cared about these people. I needed her to have pity on me. I needed her to give me the information I was not provided with, "and I need to get back to them. I need to."

"Well..." she began, " First, you need to do really well in your tests- I mean, extremely well, which is exactly what I told you not to do. Then, don't make any rude comments to those in charge, and they'll offer one final challenge- chosen by Commander Taelum."

"Why haven't you guys done that!" I exclaimed the question, "You could've easily gotten out of here years ago! Your minds are different- the nine on your wrist means so much more than oh and you get some magic power!"

Dom shook his head poorly, suppressing a sigh. "Don't you get it? It's clearly a trap to sort out new members of Area 9 from the others."

"You don't know that-"

"But it makes sense," Lana cut in. "Where do they go? Back to their Area? Of course they don't, because they've seen the inside of this place. Where you go after chosen wouldn't be a secret. Get it?"