The Real Ram

Chapter 29

 "Ow!" I say as I land on the cold, metallic floor. I get shivers from it right away. Maud suddenly lands on his feet right by me. I gasp and retract my hand from his nearby foot. 

His orange hair stands straight up as he smiles looking down to me, "The first trip is always the worst." He holds out a hand and helps me up.

"So this is the Shadow compound?" I ask looking around. He nods, "It could use more light."

He laughs, "Well it is underground."

"Really?"

"Yeah, not like you haven't been living underground for the past month or so."

"What do you mean?"

"The Omega compound. It's underground too."

"No, it has an entrance to a huge building."

"It slowly declines," he frowns, "You really think they could fit that much in the little space they own?"

I shrug, "Never really thought about it."

"Come on, let me show you around," I follow Maud through the hallway. It feels different than the Omega's halls, like I'm trespassing.

We encounter our first person. She looks at Maud and frowns. "You." She gets off the wall and storms to us. She has dark green hair with bright green highlights. She's wearing an off the shoulder black shirt and gray jeans.

Maud holds up his hands in defense, "Mia, just give me a second—"

She pushes him and he bumps into me by accident. I move out of his way and Mia backs him up more, "You think you can just ditch me like that?"

"Mia—"

"We were supposed to go prank..." She eyes fall on me and she scoffs, "If you think you can ditch me for another girl, you should get a new brain." She faces me, "Who's this chick anyways?" She takes a step towards me and I cower. She may be small, but I have no doubt she can take me right now.

"That's Zoey," Maud says stepping in between us. I relax a bit.

Mia eyes bug out, "But Spirit said—"

"Spirit didn't try hard enough," Star's voice sounds stern. We look and see him coming around a corner. "Zoey, come with me. I'd like you to meet some people."

I tentatively follow and so does Maud and Mia. The dark hallways are quiet. I can imagine not too many people live here considering how selective this group is. I still expect some sound though, not this dead silence.

"Hey Zoey," Mia calls. I look back and wait for her to continue. "What happened to your face?"

I look forwards again, eyes shooting to the ground, "Oh, I was hit," I respond softly.

"What happened to your sides, then? Were you hit there too?"

Star stops and turns around, "What?"

"Bruises. All over her sides and front," Mia squints, "Wow, an almost ruptured spleen too?"

"Mia," Star says sternly.

She shrugs, "What? Just telling you what I feel."

Star's eyes fall to me, "Not a big deal? You just got a punch?"

I look down and say nothing.

We continue waking and Maud says, "Where are we going?"

"The meeting room."

"Is everyone there already?"

"Should be."

I feel nerves, "Who's everybody?"