I walked through the empty hallways, losing myself in the blur of white panels and my footsteps giving off a muffled echo in the silence. But a strange sound reached me this time through the great hollowness. It was a child—a child crying—and I was growing closer to it. A panic moved my legs more quickly, and in another moment, I turned a corner and found her. I froze there at the corner, with one hand still on the wall of the corridor I’d just left. Leether was there with his back turned to me. He looked down at the child while two guards held her arms.
“Keep the child in this room under double guard,” Leether directed. He seemed angry, though he kept it well contained. “I’ve sent the message that her release is dependant upon her father’s surrender. I do not think she will be here long.”
“Yes,” each guard snapped back.
“I want my daddy!” the child screamed. “My Daddy will come and get you for this!”
“I hope he will,” Leether said calmly with a sigh. “Be still until then.” He watched them pass through into the room beyond. The hall was immediately silent again. Leether permitted his eyes to close for a moment before turning and seeing me. I was still looking at the door but looked quickly down. I nodded and began walking past him as quickly and calmly as I could.
“Hello, Mara,” he said softly, the hint of anger gone, replaced by something else. I murmured a hello and kept walking. He watched me as I walked past hundreds more white wall panels. The hallway was long, and I could feel him watching me. It was a relief when I reached the end of the hallway and walked down the stairs and out of his view.
I walked into our suite and heard laughter.
“I don’t know how to use a stove!” Delia declared between laughs.
“How can you not know how?” one of her friends laughed.
“And how would you do cooking over an open fire?” Delia answered.
“All right, I can’t argue with you there.”
I stepped further into the room so they could see me. “Hi,” I murmured.
“Oh, Mara! You’re back!”
“Yes, but I have work waiting,” I answered.
“We are trying to cook!” Delia said. “Will you want some?”
“Maybe later,” I said as I turned and walked into my room.
They were already laughing again as I closed the door. The sound muted, and I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Music, guitar,” I whispered, and the System started the music I had been listening to the night before. I sat still and tried to breath. I couldn’t feel anything, but I knew I should have been able to think something
The child was scared. I was scared. I breathed deeply. I shifted to the chair and opened a document that I had been reading. I couldn’t focus on it, but I read the empty words anyway and breathed. In a moment, there was someone at the door.
I already knew it was Sala, and I wondered what excuse she would have. Delia was talking with her, but I could not hear the words. I slipped into bed. Would she let me sleep? But it was too late. She was at my bedroom door. I sighed and stood up again.
“Hello, Sala,” I said, looking at the floor.
“Mara, how are you?”
“I have a bit of a head ache,” I answered. “I was trying to work but couldn’t.
“Perhaps you should see a doctor?” she asked.
“No, I have had many headaches.”
“I came to invite you to a small gathering,” Sala said.
“Now?” I asked, startled.
“No,” she answered with a gentle smile. I think it was the first gentleness I had seen from her. It disarmed me. “We are organizing it. Several young people similar to yourself—people who are less comfortable with groups. We think it might be good to have some of you together. What do you think?”
I knew that this was an excuse, but she would make it happen. I wondered, were there other people like me? Atasha was a little like me. But there were others? What did it mean to be like me? I wondered. I could not say anything, but she had distracted me. I shrugged. I played my part and eventually Sala left and let me go to sleep. Delia was still laughing with her friends as my bedroom door closed, and I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Nadine Of The Cave 