Tech 7

Chapter 3

Ellie woke up in a pitch black room. Her eyes scanned the area as she frantically tried to make them adjust to the dark. The only sound coming from the room was her heartbeat thundering in her chest. The no noise seemed to be suffocating her and Ellie started to breathe heavily. A trail of sweat trickled down her brow as her panic attack worsened. She tried to free herself from the chair she was attached to, but she had no luck at all. After about five more minutes the lights came on and she squinted, being blinded for a moment. Ellie heard a door open and footsteps approach her. "You're okay Ellie, take deep breaths..." she heard Christopher say calmly. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she glared at him while trying to steady her breathing.

"Why did you do that!?" Ellie yelled angrily. Christopher held his hands up to her.

"That is part of your training. Citizens of Tech 7 are trained to be able to problem solve in a, well, sticky situation." Ellie went quiet and took a few deep breaths. Christopher unhooked her from the chair she was strapped to, and she immediately sat up. "Report to dinner. Phillip should be waiting for you outside." He said before adding, "oh, and when you are finished, come to headquarters. It's time we had a talk about what you have in your bag." He said before walking through a different door. Ellie watched him leave before quickly leaving herself. Phillip leaned against the wall outside of the door, looking unhappy about something. When he noticed Ellie, he smiled a bit even though Ellie could tell that it was fake.

"Ready for dinner?" He asked lightly. Ellie nodded and he held his arm out to her. She put her arm through his and they made their way into the dining pavilion. As before, people were either sitting down or getting food, but the mood wasn't as cheerful as this morning. Ellie and Phillip got into line and grabbed their food before sitting down. Neither one of them talked as they began to eat. After about five minutes Joel sat down along with Chuck and three other people. They didn't talk at first but then Joel cleared his throat.

"Guys, this is Ellie. Ellie, this is Jake, Alexis, and Diana." He explained. Ellie nodded and they exchanged greetings before eating. Phillip started up a conversation and they ended up getting into a huge debate on wether cars had minds of their own or not. Ellie and Joel stayed out of the discussion. She picked at her plate lost in thought. Joel noticed she was acting a bit off and he nudged her. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly. Ellie glanced up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said before getting up and scraping her plate. The rest of them looked at her with worried expressions on their faces. Joel watched her for a moment before wiping his face with a napkin and getting up, following her out of the dining pavilion and down the hall. Once he caught up to her Joel lightly grabbed her arm and turned her so she was looking at him.

"What's up with you? Is it because of the attack this morning?" He asked slowly. Ellie looked at him with a pained expression on her face.

"I guess that's part of it..." she mumbled wrapping her arms around herself. Joel raised an eyebrow before gently pulling her down the hall. He stopped in front of a door that had a 24 above it before opening it and pulling her in it. The room was another sleeping quarters that was identical to hers and she guessed that it was most likely his.

"What's the whole thing? And don't tell me it's nothing because that look on your face says otherwise." He said. Ellie looked at him and sighed a bit.

"What you guys call training is literally the worst thing ever. I'd rather get stabbed than be trapped in a pitch black room. It's terrifying." She said uneasily. Joel looked at her wide eyed.

"Your dad already gave you training sequence ten!?" He asked. Ellie looked at him confused.

"Training sequence ten? That's not the first training sequence?" Ellie asked. Joel shook his head and rolled his eyes.