Exchanged

Ch. 11

The dread was tearing me apart as I waited for the ding! When it would be my turn. I watched the screen in the elevator as one floor rolled down another. Three. Four. Five. My floor.

My heart sank. Hesitantly, I shoved through the crowd, attempting to burst out of the endless sea of grievers. As I seemed to reach an opening, two metal doors closed. Great. Missed my stop.

I decided to wait for the next opportunity to descend back to floor five. We all stood silently in that cold, unforgiving tin box. Some stared miserably at their feet. Others gazed at the florescent light shining above. I continued to stare at the screen of falling floors.

We finally reached level twenty-five, the top floor. Almost automatically, as the ding sounded, the swarm of victims bolted out the elevator, carrying me with them. I tried to resist the force, but the crowd was too strong. After elbowing several strangers, I pushed my way out of the crowd. As I glanced around my surroundings, I realized where i was.

An immeasurable hallway lay before me. The shadows of open doorways were drilled into the walls. Faint neon lights shown through the darkness of the doorways. This led to the conclusion that I was on the Control Floor.

The Control Floor was where the technology employees of the Needle worked to view executions through security monitors to ensure everything was running smoothly.

I creeped down the hallway slowly, peeking through each room. I checked each security monitor, searching for any executions involving Dad or Mack.

As I peered through a particularly dark room, a massive figure stumbled over me. I lay on the ground, overcome by shock, when a hand shoots at me.

"I apologize, dear. Please, allow me to assist you."

I looked up and saw a tall, emaciated man staring at me waiting for a response. But I couldn't respond. I couldn't breath. The words were ripped from my throat. His cherry-red hair, bright yellow eyes, thin curled lips. I put the name and the face together.

"No, I can get up myself, thanks," I said as I scowled at the menace. The insane, violent tyrant. My region's Master. The creator of Exchange Day.