The Sleep Part I: The Fan & The Things That Hit It

Chapter 10: We Went in a Hand-Basket

I run up to the guy in a panic, furiously trying to decide which way to play this. Do I scream and yell like a nutcase, or do I act calm and balanced?

"Hi, can you put him down, NOW! Please?" It's a combination of both.

He snorts, hawks his throat and spits at the ground near his feet. Gross.

"I think you should come inside," he says.

"No, I don't think so," I say, sounding firm but fair, "We have somewhere we need to be."

Sierra storms up beside me. The dude notices her for the first time. "What the absolute fuck are you doing?" she snaps, right in his face.

He smiles creepily, checking her out, "I think you should definitely come inside."

"As if I am going anywhere with you!"

A dozen more guys in orange jumpsuits come running out of the building. I make a grab for Darcy but don't even get close. Someone pulls me from behind, picks me up and drops me onto the concrete.

I see stars.

*

My head throbs and I'm dizzy.

Sierra is shaking my shoulder. I wish she wouldn't. "Evie, Evie are you like, dead?"

"Yes, Sierra, I'm dead," I moan.

Alfonso comes over and licks my face. I open my eyes slowly, and the room comes in to focus. It looks like a staff room, there's a sink, a bar fridge and a sad plastic table in one corner.

"What happened? How long have I been out?" I ask.

"A few days," Darcy says.

I sit up quickly. "What?!"

"Don't joke Darcy," Sierra looks back to me, "you've been out for like five minutes Evie. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Oh, right," I say, rubbing the back of my head. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"I don't really know. We were dragged through the food court of the gas station and down a corridor. I counted like, thirteen guys, all wearing jumpsuits. And do you want to know like the most random thing? There's a guy in full uniform in the burger joint. Taking orders like it's a regular day."

"Sierra, I think the most random thing is that of all the service stations in the world, we picked the one a bunch of prisoners have moved into."

"Whatever Evie. What are we going to do?"

"Get out of here, somehow," I say, getting up off the floor.

We look around the room and try to find a way out. There are no windows, garbage chutes or secret passages. I climb onto the table and lift up Jin. He pushes against the ceiling, but disappointingly, it's not made of those little panels that sit there waiting for movie stars to pop through - its solid concrete.

Frustrated, I pick up a chair and slam it against the door. "Let us out!" I scream.

"Evie, you're just going to make it worse," Sierra says.

"Do you have a better idea?" I snap. "Anyway, I read somewhere that if you behave like a total psycho then criminals will give up on you."

"That sounds like, totally retarded," Sierra moans.

The door opens forcefully and a tattooed giant walks through. "Fucking stop that shit or I'll throw the chair at you!"

I sit back down, and stare at the floor.