986 (Complex Series, #1)

Chapter Nine

Dana grins and I fall into step with her. He leads back the way we came, towards the Sleeping Rooms. Away from where Josh waits to meet with us.

If we were to leave the boy, would he follow after us? What does he want with us anyway? Why hasn’t he said anything, or questioned why we are here? Did he know we would be here? Was he sent by the Officials?

He couldn’t have been sent by the Officials after he helped us hide. Unless that was just to get us to trust him, to fall for the trap.

He leads us into the maze of the Sleeping Room halls. We cut off from the normal path, into a hallway I don’t recognize. I only know the hallways that I need to know. I know how to get to my Teachings, to the Eating Hall, to Renewals. If I get outside of those paths, I’m lost. Like I am now.

Where are we going? It’s where all the other girls are, where we are supposed to be. Is the boy try to return us to our Sleeping Room? If he is, he’s going the wrong way.

I stare at the hallways as we walk past, trying to figure out where we are. The doors of Sleeping Rooms no longer line the walls, instead there’s a single door every several paces. I don’t think I’ve ever been to this part of the Complex before.

The boy stops in front of a door, entering a code into the keypad along the side of the doors.

How does he know the codes? Not just to this door, but the Renewal door?

The door slides open, light spilling to the hall. It’s not quite the normal brightness, but it’s brighter than the hall.

What are we doing? What’s in this room? Officials? I squint, my eyes unadjusted to the brightness. There’s nobody inside. The boy pushes us forward, closing the door quickly behind us.

He’s definitely a boy, and not old enough to be an Official. Green eyes search the room, the light defining the hundreds of freckles scattered across his face. He’s wearing the same outfit Josh was. Knee length shorts. Short sleeved shirt. Both loosely fitting and the same monotonous gray.

Dana opens her mouth to ask something, but the boy quickly shakes his head. It must not be safe to whisper.

There has to be a way to escape. The room is small, only five paces wide and long. But, the boy stands between us and the door. To get to the door we have to go past him. There’s another door on the other side of the room, but where does that lead to? We’d escape only to be lost. Maybe there are Officials outside that door. Is it worth the risk?

The far door abruptly begins to open. I swallow hard, backing away, towards the boy. There’s nowhere to hide.

Josh steps out. He smiles when he sees us, jogging over. “I thought I might not make it out of there. And I’m only one person. I was worried about all of you;” He whispers.

I thought it wasn’t safe to speak. Guess not.

There are millions of questions I want to ask. Who’s this boy? How do they know each other? Can we trust him? Does Josh trust him? What is this room for? Where does that door lead? Where are we in the Complex? Are we safe here? How did the boy know to find us, when we weren’t even close to Circle Room 8? Were they watching us? If they were, where were they hidden? How did he know the codes to the doors?

“What…who?”  I can’t get a whole sentence out.

Josh seems to remember that we don’t know each other. “This is my roommate, Canton. Canton this is…well I don’t know. They never told me their names.”

Dana and I glance at each other. Should we tell them our names? If they are going to turn us in, they would have already. Besides, they already know what we look like. Our names mean nothing here.