NUMB

Day Forty-Five (pt. 1) - Elyse

The next morning starts off with the normal breakfast alarm bell being replaced by a high pitched ringing noise. Edie nearly rolls off her bed when she moves to cover her ears. I have my palms pressed hard against mine and am already stumbling out of bed. We are not the only ones up and out of bed to investigate what is going on.

In the hallway, there is a group of Threes gathered, watching as Wardens drag others out of their rooms. Some of the ones being dragged out are red-faced and screaming, much like the other Numb who have been pushed over the edge by the drug. The sight makes my stomach twist uncomfortably. This feels different than every other day where there were incidents.

A few of the Wardens take the Threes to the elevator, while the others are taken to the stairs. Another Warden yells at the rest of us to get back in our rooms. After a few minutes the alarm stops and Edie and I lower our hands.

"I think I have gone deaf," I say.

Edie looks over at me and asks, "What?"

I shake my head and pull her back into our room. Even though the alarm is gone, the ringing sticks in my ears. I rub at them to no avail. Edie shakes her head back and forth quickly a few times and then presses the heel of her hand against her forehead.

"Ugh, bad idea." She massages her temples and meets my gaze. "What was that?"

"I don't know," I say just as the ringing stops and the normal silence of our room washes into my ears. I sigh and sit on the edge of my bed. "Do you think they set it off on every floor?"

"I would think so, but even if they didn't I'm sure the other floors heard that. It was so loud. My ears feel like I have cotton stuffed in them."

"They took them, those kids. Where do you think they are taking them?"

"Down to the infirmary? Maybe? Those Wardens knew which kids to take though. How could they know who to take?"

I shake my head. None of this makes any sense. How would the Wardens know who to grab and who to leave? They would only know if, somehow, the nurses in the infirmary were able to track who was being affected by the drug, and who was not. Then someone would have had to give the Wardens the list.

"Elyse?" Edie shifts on her bed, draws my attention.

"Sorry, I was thinking."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I do not know." I shake my head again, stare at the ceiling for a moment before dropping my gaze to Edie. "Tasha has a plan to stop the weeklies though."

"She does?"

"Yes, she is going to try to go through with it during lunch today. I think we should be there in case she needs help."

Edie nods in agreement and we decide to fill Krysta in when we see her. When the alarm sounds again, it is back to the regular breakfast alarm. Edie and I get dressed and head down to the cafeteria. Krysta is already waiting at the table when we arrive.

"Did you guys hear that alarm this morning? They pulled a bunch of Twos from their rooms."

"They did the same to us," I say as I sit and slide my tray onto the table. "We were wondering how they knew which of us to grab."

"I was wondering the same thing." Krysta says through mouthfuls of food. "I mean, the alarm went off and they just stormed in like they knew exactly where to go. They grabbed my roomie." She sets her spoon down finally and sighs. "I wasn't too close with her, she was kind of moody for a Two, but I've been with her for four years now. She didn't even show any signs of being affected by the drug. I didn't even know she had been until they came in and she tried to attack the Warden."

"I thought maybe they were taking them to the infirmary," Edie says. "But I'm not so sure now."

"If they knew who to take, why didn't they take you, Edie?" Krysta asks.

We all exchange looks with one another, think about why they left Edie.

Edie shrugs, pushes her food around in the bowl. "The only thing I can think of is the fact that I've been hiding the change from the nurses. I don't think anyone aside from you guys knows that I've been affected."

I wait a moment and then say, "I was thinking that the Warden's knew who to take from the files in the infirmary. Someone must have given them our records so they would know which of us had been showing signs."

Krysta nods, twirls a strand of her hair around her finger. "That would make sense. But who would give the records to the Wardens?"

We sit in silence for a while, thinking about who would do that or how else they would know who to take. The arrival of Quinn stirs us from our thoughts. He plops down next to Krysta and looks at each of us. His face is blotchy again and he swipes a hand across his mouth before he speaks.

"They pulled a bunch of us from our rooms this morning."

"We know," Edie says. "They pulled kids from every Level."

"Then you know where they took them, right?" Quinn asks, his eyes darting around the table as we all shake our heads. "Sixth floor. Took 'em all straight up the stairs."

Krysta's eye widens and for the first time she looks terrified. "Seriously? How do you know?"

"I saw them. I watched them get walked up. They didn't take many of us, but the stairwell was full of you guys." Quinn gestures towards Krysta. "Isaiah was in there."

"Isaiah was?" Edie visibly pales and looks around the cafeteria. "I hadn't seen him this morning, but I figured he was just taking longer to come down here." She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and fidgets in her seat.

I reach out and put my hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright, Edie. Isaiah is going to be alright."

"Yeah, Edie." Quinn says, reaching across the table to pat her hand with his. "Isaiah has this ability to talk his way out of everything. I'm sure they're just doing some extra tests up there. Harmless stuff."

Edie releases her lip with a shaky breath and nods. "Yeah, okay. And if he's not alright, we'll help him, right?"

"Of course," I say, rubbing my hand up and down between her shoulders.

Krysta casts a wary glance in my direction and I return the look. If they took Isaiah, then that pushes our theory of the records being leaked out. Isaiah was complicated when he showed up, it would be difficult to prove whether or not it was the drug making him act the way he does.

Getting him out of the sixth floor will be difficult though.