Hide and Seek

Chapter 4 - Sick

It wasn't long until he came back. I was already up exercising when he walked in. Jax was holding a tray of food and a glass of water.

"What did I tell you about resting?!" He placed the tray on the bed and came over.

"One more time I have to tell you-" I waited for him to finish.

"Sorry." He lead me back to the bed.

"Just eat this, you need to get better." I munched on the bread he brought.

"Thank you Jax but I have my duties tomorrow. I can't stay here." He leaned on the drawer.

"I know, that's why you need rest. You can't be doing exercises while you're resting. You're always working, you don't need to work when you don't need to." I stared at the clock. It was getting late.

"Sorry, I have to go back to my room." I finished my food and grabbed the tray.

"Leave the tray, I'll put it back. Just promise me you'll get some rest."

"I promise."

"And if you don't feel well, tell me. I don't need everyone else getting sick." I nodded before leaving.

I walked to my room, still feeling hazy. All I need to do is rest, I'll be good by tomorrow. I reassured myself before pushing the door open. I saw Aya pacing around.

"Delilah!" She ran over and tightly hugged me.

"I heard you threw up! I got so worried." I didn't hug her back but she pulled away.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just need to sleep." She let go of me and pushed me towards my bed.

"Right, get in bed now. Get lots of rest!" I slipped into bed and closed my eyes.

Total silence filled the room. I tried sleeping but I couldn't shake the events that transpired today. I got to meet Jax again and I saw Aya with one of the older leaders. I make a sour face from the thought. I eventually let my thoughts drift elsewhere and I fell asleep.

The next day I was in the washroom after breakfast. I washed my face. I've been getting a lot of pimples lately. It's extremely bothering. I went into one of the stalls. I sat down and looked around. Of course playing hide and seek was horrible but at least the washrooms were clean. I grab the wipes I had until I heard some girls talking, it caught my attention. I listened carefully from my stall.

"Have you heard? Some of the leaders have been sneaking kids out."

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know, but words has been going around, I hope I can escape soon. They're lucky."

"Yeah, but have you heard about some of the people that are going to get evaluated this year?"

"What about them?"

"There aren't many. I heard there's only 49 left out of their 250 or something like that. I've heard different numbers but all of them have been under 60."

"Oh... what kind of chance do we stand then? If they have that many left how many will we have?"

"I don't know..."

I finished up in my stall and flushed the toilet before walking out. The girls were wide eyed at me. I washed my hands before walking out. I caught another glimpse of their conversation.

"That was Delilah number 1001. She's one of the alleged 49."

"No way... she looks tough. No wonder she made it this long."

"We'll have to last longer if we want to make it out of here."

I hope they make it. They seem so bright and high spirited, it's too bad that will be broken soon. I made it back to my room and got ready for classes. While I was sitting in math I was looking outside of the window. It looked gloomy today, it might even rain. I noticed I've been really good when it comes to predicting the weather. The window is all I look at anyways, escaping this place is the only thing that matters.

I didn't really pay attention in math. I had a small quiz on the material not too long ago and the teacher was handing it out. She faced it down when I received it, I wasn't too sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I turned it over to reveal my marks. My teacher never placed the percentage on the top like my other teachers would, she made us do it on our own. If my calculations were right I got a mark of 75%. I didn't really mind because last year my average for mathematics was 84%. I'm glad I didn't get a bad mark. My next goal is to have an average of 90, but I'm still trying to take small steps.

"Delilah, what did you get?" I looked around the room.

She was a few years younger than me so she wouldn't even be in the same class. I moved my head towards the classroom door and she was poking her head in. My brows furrowed.

"Aya! What are you doing?! Get to class! You're going to get in trouble!"

"But I want to know what you got!"

"I'll tell you later! Get going!" She hurriedly left before the teacher caught her and I sighed.

If she gets me in trouble I'm going to beat the shit out of her.

Classes were finished and I was walking to my room to get ready for my duties. I didn't even bother twisting the doorknob. I just kicked to see if it would actually open. I made sure no one was around. If someone caught me they would tell the leaders. The coast was clear and I lightly kicked the door, it opened. I quickly opened my drawer and pulled out my apron and working clothes. I was about to change when I heard something behind me. I spin around to see someone hiding inside of Aya's wardrobe. I could see their eyes glinting in the light.

I was exhilarated and burst my lungs out. Making the loudest shriek I could to gain as much attention as possible. Three leaders patrolling the area ruptured the silence and came into my room. They quickly looked around with shaken faces. I pointed to the wardrobe.

"Someone's hiding in there!" Two of them pulled the man out while the other shielded me.

They forcefully dragged the man hiding in the closet out of the room, it was their problem now. As he struggled in the leaders grasp I locked eyes with him. I recognized him, he was the man Aya was kissing in the conference room. He wasn't wearing anything other than his boxers. I shivered, I'm glad I didn't change. The leader protecting me nodded at the others.

"Are you okay?" I nodded.

"You don't have to worry, we'll take care of this." I stayed silent in their presence. There wasn't much to say anyways. I didn't know any of them on a personal level. They took their leave.

"Number 1001." I faced his direction.

"Sorry that happened, we weren't doing our jobs the way we were suppose to. We'll give you another sincere apology another time. We'll go deal with this." They left and I slumped onto my bed.

Why was he here half naked? This is messed up. I stared at they small key in my hand and walked to the door to see if the key would fit, the key was too big. So, why did they give me this then? Confused, I put the key around my neck. It was a just a key with a chain, whatever it's used for I better take good care of it. They might ask for it again, or I might need it. I made sure the door was locked before changing. When I finished I unlocked the door and Aya breached through.

"What happened?!" She held my shoulders.

"A man was in your wardrobe." I studied her reaction. She looked sad.

"Oh... must've been just a creepy leader.." She sat down on her bed and turned away from me.

That was all the proof I needed. She was definitely in a relationship with him, and not just as friends. I brushed it off and went to do my tasks. I need to be careful, I've been too carefree lately, I think Aya has a lot to do with this behavior. I need to stay focused. I can't let anything else affect my performance. I'm going to get out of here.