Room 93 (FIRST DRAFT)

Day 19

I shiver, my cheek pressed against the cold white floor and my legs tucked up tightly, covering the ghastly scar running across my abdomen. The cold. It's back and worse than in the other room. I open my eyes slightly, ever so slightly, and peer across the room. It's bright and looks warm, I don't feel the warmth though. Just the cold.

Silhouettes stand side-by-side across the room, at least two centimetres between them. I keep my eyes almost closed and refuse to stir or alert them of my consciousness.
'You care about her a lot.' Samantha. She shuffles a few centimetres away but remains comforting to the other person, I can feel the connection.
'I do.' The voice belongs to Eric. He seems distant and guilty. I consider waking and comforting him but I want to hear. I want to know what they're saying.
'Why?'
'Because... She doesn't know yet.' I don't know what? What is he talking about?
'Oh, not this again. Eric, please-'
'You all remember. I know it. She's the only one who doesn't know what I did.' I don't understand. What are they talking about?! My ears prick up and I listen intently. 'If she finds out then I'll lose all my friends. She's the last one I have. She's the last one I'll ever have.
'Look, I know what you did was bad-' Samantha's voice shakes. She sounds upset. Worried about something, probably linked to their conversation.
'Bad!? It was worse than that.it was evil. No one will ever be able to look at me again.'
'I can look at you! No one here hates you - or at least not as much as you think - so stop acting like it.'
'Fine.' Eric sighs and I hear him begin to move away.
'One thing though, while we're on the topic: what was her name?' Samantha sniffles. My eyes strain to open and my brain attacks itself, maddened by the riddle my life has become. Secrets, lies, riddles, rule, fears, tricks and snares each woven within our existence. No one it born pure. To be born pure is to be born dead. Only the dead can be pure as they cannot trick and deceive, cannot kill, maim or destroy.
'Her name was A-' he is cut off by a huge thundering roar. The room trembles the walls and floors shaking as if being shaken by a giant or hit by an earthquake. I widen my eyes and sit up, terrified by the situation. I could die. We could all die.

'Laya! LAYA!' Maggie screams, her eyes watering, 'Where's Laya?'
'I dunno.' Astra appears her hair messy and her eyes bagged. She looks rough. She must not have slept well at all. I doubt anyone did.
'She must be in the warehouse with the food. We better get down there and find her!' Maggie cries and rushes to the warehouse trap door, dragging a groggy Astra behind her.

I approach Eric and lay my hand on his arm. Normally this would comfort me. Knowing there was a friend, someone still standing to guide me but now it rises the bile to the back of my throat. I want to run away but I can't now, no matter what I feel towards him.
'You okay?' He asks. I shake my head.
'I'm terrified.' I close my eyes and try to imagine the memories. They're the only thing I can use to distract myself. His eyes are closed in concentration. His secret. What is it? Why won't he tell me? Me of all people! My mind still fixated upon his betrayal feast upon me. I force myself to ignore the stabbing pains of betrayal sprouting mp within me but I can't forget his words. He's hiding something!

I draw away and listen to the crumbling around us. Everything is shaking so much that I am feeling dizzy and my bones ache from being mushed together. I am fiercely clutching my own arms so their vice grip might drill some sense into me. The fear is flooding around us and soaking into puddles. I can almost see the puddles or terror pooling around my ankles. Samantha, Eric and me, huddled in a tight circle while the walls pound away at us, chipping down and down and down. Whittling us down into all humans really are. Fear. Fear of life, death, the future, our past and most of all: ourselves. What we could become given the chance.

My hands go clammy and my veins throb more than ever before. Death. Oblivion and uncertainty. The future. They're all merging into one. Maybe my future is my death, maybe I don't have a future. Samantha goes ridged and stiff beside me, her eyes glassy and her voice scratchy as she screams for Astra, Maggie and Laya.

'ASTRA! WHATS GOING ON YOU GUYS!' Her voice echoes slightly as the walls, floor and ceiling rattle around us. As her words fade away everything ceases. All movement, sound and fear. Everything falls still so that our heartbeats can be heard. The calm before the storm. Every twitch bounces about the empty room, the harsh buzzing of white noise slowly crashing in around us. At first I think it's me but then I notice Samantha jabbing her ear uncertainly, her face contorted. The door to the warehouse springs open and a limp Laya appears, her body being held up by a deathly pale looking Astra and blood stained Maggie. Eric takes a few hesitant steps then falls over, the energy sapped out of him. I copy his actions - my legs buckling beneath me as I make a feeble attempt at helping. The only on still on her feet appears to me Maggie with her defined features straining to drag Laya along. Desperate for the safety of her friend.

'Ma...' my words slur in my mouth and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open. Astra is well out of it on the floor beside the trapdoor, her hair covering her face and her torso sprawled across the floor. Samantha looks much the same, her hair is tucked out the way though so her closed eyes are visible. Eric is still fighting for consciousness. He is slowly crawling towards Maggie, who's blood stained top gives me an eerie feeling. Who's blood is is? Hers or Laya's - or someone else's entirely.

I don't try to speak again but I watch Maggie and Laya - who has just begun coming around - as they fumble on their weakened limbs. Maggie is first to slip, her jaw colliding roughly with the marble floor. A sharp crack filters through the s**t in my brain and I wince at the sound. Eric seems to have collapsed too, his small frame mimicking Samantha and Astra's. I am just beginning to wonder how long I can remain awake when the odd chill and heavy feeling drops away like nothing more than a bad dream.

Laya looks at me startled. Her sleek hair plaited over her shoulder but with flecks of blood covering it like a grotesque polka dotted material. We watch one another as the light begins fading. I slowly shuffle towards Laya not wanting to be separated from the only other conscious person in the room. Not wanting to be isolated any longer. My long thin fingers brush against Laya's slightly thicker ones. My fear dies down and I feel the knot of tension ease away. I am not alone. I am not alone! Not now! I have Laya.

'What's going on?' I sob slightly not even trying to choke down the tears.
'I don't know,' Laya seems even more distraught than I am, her tears choking her slightly.
'At least we're not alone,' I almost laugh at my weak attempt at optimism. I always thought I was a bit of a pessimist.
'At least...' she draws her gaze to the far wall, her eyes zoning in on the wall like a predator to prey. I turn around slowly, anxiety and curiosity battering for centre stage. The far wall is darker than I remember. The entire room seems darker. It is darkening already. The room melting from morning sunlight to twilight. Darker than twilight in fact. What you'd call pitch black.

A rustle circles us. I try to feel for Maggie who was extremely near not twenty seconds ago but I can't feel her anywhere near. Maggie whimpers and fresh tears stream down my face. Fear of death. All humans have it. Mine is raging like a beast, roaring, tearing and screaming within me. All I can do is whimper and cry like a wounded puppy. One thought continues to linger within me. We aren't alone. Even though I had told Laya that it was good we weren't alone I am backtracking on what I said.

Alone is good. Alone is safe. This is not.