Elite || Marhinki

•Chapter Twenty-Six: Quartz•

I wake up far too early the next morning. It soon becomes obvious that I'm not going to fall asleep, so I turn on the T.V. Nothings on but fashion shows and a bunch of talk shows gossiping about people I've never heard about before in my life and don't care about. Eventually, I just turn it off and stare at the black screen. A hologram box lies on my bedrest, but I don't touch it.

A cleaning woman comes in at some point with a change of clothes. It's the usual Elite outfit. On her way out, she looks at me like I'm crazy. I don't blame her.

I quickly get changed. Yesterday's outfit is draped over a chair. I grab it, open the window, and chuck it out. It was very satisfying, watching it float through the air and pull the wig off the women it landed on. I shut the window with a smile.

An hour or so later, which I spent looking out the window, head rested in my arms, my watch buzzes. No one else joins me in the hallway or the elevator. As I ride down the floors, an annoying song plays. I find myself wanting to punch the speaker.

The check-in room is empty. There are some brochures in a case against one of the walls, and I busy myself with looking at them. A few minutes later, Mari and Wes join me, before we make our way to the bus.

The drive to the train station is short, the walk to the train even shorter. Jenna is working behind a ticket station and waves at us. Mari and I are the only ones who wave back.

Everyone files on the train, and soon, we're off. Wes, Mari, and I sit in silence for a few minutes.

"So," I asked awkwardly. "Are you ready to see your home?"

"My District was the poorest one," Wes replied. "We're definitely not going there. We'll probably be going to Boze's."

"Ah," I respond. "But, still, it won't be that different."

"No," Wes sighed. "It won't be."

The rest of the trip was spent in complete silence. I looked out the window, but all I could see were green pastures, which got incredibly boring after awhile. Eventually, I ended up staring at Mari's reflection in the glass. It didn't look as pretty as the original, but it was enough. She was far more beautiful than any grassland.

After an hour, we arrived at our destination. Everyone clamoured out of the train.

We found ourselves in a boring grey room. Grey ceilings, grey walls, grey floor. It was the dullest room I'd ever been in, and that was counting the ones back home. Shayne, Olivia, and Noah looked genuinely disturbed.

A man walked through the door a few seconds after we arrived. He had short black hair and glasses and was wearing a grey tracksuit.

"Are these the Elites?" he asked Mr. Lee Yang. His voice had a tint of nasalness to it, but it wasn't unpleasant.

"Yes," Mr. Lee Yang replied.

"Good," the man turned to us. "Hello, Elites. I'm Mark Fischbach of barracks five, and I'll be your tour guide today."

His voice was completely monotone. Every other tour guide had at least some aspect of personality to them, but this guy was just... boring. He had a joyful face, though. There was no way this wasn't an act.

"Follow me," he said, and we did.

The halls were painted the same shade of grey as the room we'd come from, and the main room was as well. There were very few people there. The few that were had the exact same posture; upright, shoulders square, face hard. All of them wore the exact same clothes as Mark. None of them even glanced at us.

If there was one word that could describe the atmosphere of this place, it was hostile.

Mark led us outside. Unlike the other four times, there was no bus waiting for us. All that lay ahead of us was a blank road.