Gifted

Chapter 7

“Come in! Come in!” and man with a southern accent said several minutes later, he ushered them it the tiny house. “You stay out there and you’ll get too hot.”

Rita didn’t say it but she thought that the shack’s thin walls and holed roof wouldn’t hide them from the sun too awfully much. The air on the inside was stuffy and filled with dust.

“Thank you sir.” Their driver said as the man handed them cold waters, Rita took hers and couldn’t help but think of how hard it must’ve been to keep them cold.

“Anytime, so, you just passin’ through?”

“No sir”, their driver said, “I’m transporting the subjects.”

The man’s face became suddenly serious, he looked them over and nodded at their driver.

“Follow me.” He said, his accent suddenly gone. He led them to a separate room, it was a small kitchen; a large fridge sat in the corner next to a stove. The man scratched his head muttering things under his breath. “Ah ha!” he exclaimed, rushing over to the counter where an empty jar sat. He undid the lid and put his hand in, strangely enough, his hand didn’t show through the glass, he rummaged around and his hand came out with a key. He noticed the two girls staring and began to explain why his hand didn’t show through the jar.

“It’s kind of like a one way mirror, you see. Tiny cameras are set up on the inside, they scan their surroundings and project an image on its surface so its looks empty.”

Rita nodded, trying to take it all in. She watched the man cross the room quickly to the fridge, he yanked out one shelf at a time, the food fell all over the floor, jars were smashed and foods were squished beyond recognition. The man continued until the fridge was empty, he inserted the key in a small hole at the bottom and turned it, then lifted it up to reveal a small ladder going deep into the ground.

“Bombs away!” Their driver hollered, he grabbed Amber’s suitcase and tossed it down the tiny hole. There was a thump and then a faint, distant voice.

“Toss the next one down!”

“Coming up!” He responded. Rita handed her suitcase to her driver who tossed it down after Amber’s.

“Come on down.” The voice called.

They all went down, one by one, Amber first, then Rita, and then the driver. From below her, Rita could hear Amber muttering under her breath angrily.

“I swear to god, this is a shed, the lab better be in better shape or I’m gonna quit.”

“I don’t think you can quit this.” Rita said down to her.

“Eavesdropper.” Amber growled to herself under her breath.

“Proud of it.” Rita said with a sly smile. They continued down the ladder in silence, above them, the hole was being covered, sealing them from the rest of the world. The hole was dimly lit with lights, strung through the ladders rungs, below them, there was a bright light and faint voices. Rita heard a soft thump that echoed slightly, then Amber’s voice.