The guard is quiet as he leads me through the halls of dema, I'm hungry and I can smell the food in the lunchroom where that's where he is probably taking me. I have mostly memorized all the paths in dema I know this isn't the one that leads s to my section 'goners' that's what mine is called,
"ar- are you one of them?" the guard asks interrupting my thoughts "one of whom?"
"come with me" the guard signals to a small janitor room on the inside everything seems normal cleaning supplies a few brooms and mops, he pulls on a shelf revealing a whole entire room hidden behind it on the walls there are pictures of men and women dressed in olive green clothing with yellow stripes placed on shoulders arm the 'leader' presumably by his stance has two yellow stripes that cross his chest and a yellow bandana .
"banditos" the guard says inviting me to sit on with him on a couch. "they know the way out of here some in here are banditos or well, were, of course, they have been brought back they say once you make it trench, you are free, no more silence, no more pain no more loneliness,"
"look," he says opening a box, "just like the one they took away from you" he hands me a yellow flower just like the one I found in the kid's pocket.
"they don't like yellow, as a matter of fact, they can't see it," he says motioning towards a piece of paper that had been well worn that says 'they can't see fce300' the same thing that had been sketched on my wall
"there is a way out?" I asked unsure of what else to ask
"yes you just have to go east toward the 1st set of neon gravestones and then keep going east eventually you will find them or more like they will find you and they will lead you to trench," he says handing me a map of dema.
"if it's that easy why haven't you left then?" I asked looking at it there was something written very tiny almost unreadable more like dots.....
"I've tried but the west wall, it's blocked-"
A loud piercing sound comes through the intercom meaning it's time for a meeting.
The guard looks at me a shocked expression
"let's go," he says getting up off the couch rushing towards the exit of the hidden room. "what's your name?" I ask realizing how well hidden the room is. "Clancy" he seems a bit worried I can't figure out why well I knew in these meetings they sometimes 'sacrificed' the escapees could it be, no, not him-
"over there!" another guard shouts pointing our way. No not him, please he is my only way out.....
within a flash he is gone just as fast the other guards tackle him to the ground "THEY DON'T CONTROL YOU, THEY DON'T CONTROL YOU, GET OUT THE COMPASS LIES!-" His screams are muffled by the guards.
"you are the new Clancy, " Clancy says as he passes by me dragged by the other guards. a wave of numbness takes over my body before I know it I'm walking towards the assembly room, just like everyone else following the same tired rythm something in me screams that i should be worried I should feel some type of strong emotion but I don't the familiar numbness that I've grown so used to is the only thing i feel.
