We Lay Strangers

Chapter 8

Carter rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. 

The dormitory was almost pitch black, the only light coming from the outline of the door. She rolled over again, trying to get comfortable on the mattress. Part of her didnt want to sleep though.

She didnt want to see them again.

Not, that she didnt want to see them again, of course she wanted to see them again, she missed them so much it was driving her insane, she hadnt seen them in over two months. She just didnt want to see them like that.

Carter sighed, getting up out of bed. It was pointless, trying to sleep. She wouldnt be able to, and it was just making her think about them.

She walked over to the door, flipping on the lights. The dormitory was washed in harsh white light. She really hated this place. It always seemed so cold and sharp compared to the warm homeliness she remembered of the Base.

Something clanked in the vents under her bed.

Carter knelt down, pressing her ear against the grate. The noises sounded heavier this time, and she could hear faint whispering. The noises retreated though, and she couldnt make out the whispers anymore.

But she had an answer now. It was a person. Two people, probably. And if they were going somewhere, they were coming back.

~~~

Carter was patiently waiting next to her bed, ready to slide into the vents as soon as she heard the noise again. She had taken the grate off of the opening, propping it up against an empty bunk. 

She had turned the lights off, thinking she would have a better chance of surprising whoever it was if they couldnt see her coming.

Sure enough, the rumble came up from the vents. 

They sounded heavier than before, like whoever it was didnt care about someone hearing them this time.

They were close.

Carter took a deep breath and shimmied under her bed, sliding down into the vents. She dropped down, hitting something soft.

Someone cursed.

"Thomas, come on!"

"I cant, there's someone- who are you?"

"Irrelevant. Why are you guys in the vents?"

"Why are you in the vents?"

"To ask you why you're in the vents."

"Thomas we gotta go!"

"Alright, Im- move will you?"

"Im coming with you."

"Wha- no youre not!"

"Where else do you want me to go? To Janson? Tell him youre-"

"Fine. Hurry up."

Someone, Thomas, presumably, pushed Carter from behind. She started crawling through the vents, following the sound of the other boy in front of her. They scrambled through the vents, heading away from Carter's dorm. 

From what she knew of the building, it seemed like they were staying near the dormitories. 

And then suddenly, the boy in front of her opened a grate, rolling out into a room. Carter followed, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Carter?"

Frypan was standing there, next to another boy. A quick glance around the room revealed that this was the group of boys that she had sat next to yesterday.

"Hey Frypan." She said. 

"What;s going on?"

"Thomas what-"

"They're coming. Come on. We gotta go." Thomas said. Carter moved to the side of the room near Frypan. 

"Hold, on. Who's coming?" A boy Carter didnt recognize asked.

"Paige. She's still alive." Thomas continued. He was rapidly pacing the room now, heading toward the door.

"What happened in there?"

"Aris, what happened?" The question was directed at the other boy who had been in the vents. Carter thought he looked familiar, maybe from the cafeteria.

"She's still alive." Thomas said.

"Who's she?" The blonde one, Newt, asked. "Teresa?"

She leaned over to Frypan. "Teresa's your girl?" Frypan nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Frypan asked. "I thought-"

"I heard something in the vents, I didnt know it would bring me back here." Carter said. 

"Will you just turn around and talk to us?" Newt forced.

Thomas spun around. "It's WICKED! It's still WICKED. It's always been WICKED."

The room was silent for a beat.

"Thomas. What did you see?" Newt asked.

"That selection at dinnertime? Fake." Thomas said, still pacing the room. "They dont let you leave, they kill you."

Glances were traded.

"No one ever really leaves this place." Aris jutted in. "They hook you up to these... machines. They draw your blood. They have a room full of us. They're barely even alive anymore."

"It's Ava Paige. Janson lied to us, he's been working for her all along." Thomas said.

"But she's dead." The Asian boy, Minho said.

"Lies. All of it." Thomas continued. "And they're coming for us, so we have to leave. Like, right now."