In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

He was trapped somewhere big and metallic. He convinced himself that this was Sector 1, that they were holding him somewhere. He was chained to the ground in the darkness and he was struggling. Matthew gasped for air, pulling with all of his might against the chains that bound him, when he heard footsteps. Not far off, somewhere just beyond the big metal door locking him in.

The door swung open in one long push, revealing the walls to be ten inches thick. Last cast down in a long yellow ray over Matthew, and in the center, a shadowy figure: ten feet tall and inhuman in its stature.

Matthew was stricken with terror, rendered speechless and equally immobile. Where he was previously pulling with all of his might, he found he could not move at all. It was a feeling of total helplessness.

The figure advanced on him quickly, wasting no time. As it walked forward, he reached out for Matthew, leaning down to his level. He struggled to see his attacker, squinting hard against the darkness -- and then, where its face would be, the glow of three blue lights...

Matthew sat up in bed, soaked in his own sweat. He pulled away from the bed -- his sheets were tangled around his legs and he kicked fiercely to get free. He was frantic, gasping for air. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, putting his feet firmly against the ground. He sat there in the morning light, head between his knees, forcing air into his lungs. In and out, slowly, returning his heart rate to normal. The sun felt hot on the back of his neck, and he was flooded with awareness. A vague, confused thought made his heart skip a beat -- reluctantly, he brought his eyes to the face of the alarm clock by his bedside.

It was 9:45 AM, exactly an hour and forty-five minutes into the school day. Matthew's heart dropped, and he stood up, without the faintest notion of what to do next.

They weren't allowed to skip school, in any of the sectors. There weren't any excuses -- all school functions were mandatory in their being intermingled with fixtures like inspection, assemblies and the like. Even sick leave without early notice was considered open for federal investigation. Matthew had never missed a day of school in his life.

His heart started to drum in his chest when he remembered the last time he was almost late, and his mother had woken him.

Matthew sped out into the open living room, bombarded with quiet and filled with dread. He ran to his mother's door, pushing it open without warning. His mind was flooded with thoughts of his father and Fran, he just needed to know that she was there--

She wasn't, but neither were her work things. Matthew stood alone in the front room. Silence resumed, but this time, the space was occupied by the hundreds of thoughts running through his head. First and foremost, Mom is going to kill me. The last thing he needed was a truancy on his record. The last thing they needed were Bots at their door.

What will happen if I go now? He asked himself, having never been confronted with the situation. The big iron gates would be closed, he imagined, so how would he even get in? Running out of options and equally frightened by the idea of being alone in the apartment, he put on his uniform, grabbed his backpack, and decided to set out for Main Street.

If anything, he could spend the day walking around, end up somewhere close to the school, catch up with his friends later.

He put his hand on the handle of the front door, turning, just as the knock came.

Solid. Thud, thud, thud.

Too heavy to be the hand of anyone he knew -- not Olive, not his mother. He cursed the fact that they didn't have a peephole.
Hello, the voice came from beyond the door. Soft, confusing in it's fluctuations. A Bot tone, almost coaxing. Vaguely, incomprehensibly familiar.