Alex
Is it morning? I cannot tell there are no windows in this strange place, almost as if we are underground. Never the less I wake up. Alia is still asleep beside me and the men with guns are still at the door. I can tell they are different men from the previous night, which means they take shifts. This is our first step in escaping.
Alia, I think softly.
She stirrers in her bed, Alia!
She bolts up, startling the guards, Calm down!
I am just about to speak again when the door bursts open revealing the woman from before.
“Good Morning!” she says in a happy voice that doesn’t suit her dark demeanor, “Are you two ready for some breakfast?”
Alia looks at me, Something is wrong, she’s too happy.
I give a small shrug, Lets go, she’s going to give us food, plus we need to find out more about this place.
A few minutes later we are dressed in matching grey sweat suits and are being led down a corridor to an unknown destination. The guards’ boots clack noisily against the concrete floor as we follow the woman down a darkly lit hallway.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To eat.” The woman replies.
“Are there more people in this place besides us?” Alia asks.
There is no reply from the woman but I can hear her pace begin to quicken.
We round a corner and suddenly a wave of sound sweeps over me. We stop in front of a thick door and the woman calls a guard to open it.
Alex, my sisters voice come into my mind, There are hundreds of people on the other side of this door.
I give a small nod, I know, but for some reason the walls are sound proof. Somehow we can hear all the noise but they don’t mean for us to.
The large door swings open and the noise becomes overbearing. We are shoved into the large room. The door closes behind us and locks.
The room is filled with at least a hundred people. All of them are of different ethnic background but all are wearing the same clothes, almost like a uniform. A few are wearing black sweat suits and hold themselves with more authority. They must have jobs here.
I feel Alia tense up beside me and suddenly I feel it too. Someone is watching us, but not a guard.
Who is it? I ask my sister.
Not a guard, I know what their stare feels like and this is not like it. Someone wants to talk to us. Perhaps we should sit down and let him come to us.
I nod, After we get food.
Together we walk through the cafeteria line and get a meager plate of food. As we walk around to find a table we receive strange glances and glares. We quickly sit down at a round table and immediately the other three people sitting at the table get up and leave.
Obviously they know something about us that we don’t I say to Alia.
Alia shrugs and begins to eat her hard biscuit and we eat in silence for a while.
He’s coming, Alia says so suddenly I almost choke on my water.
The tables weight shifts and he is sitting in front of us.
“So tell me your secret and I’ll tell you mine.”
I stare at the man, Tell me your secret first.
He doesn’t respond for a while and gives me a strange look. Then I realize I didn’t speak aloud.
“Tell us your secret first.” I say.
The man smiles, “I am a dangerous person. Alright, your turn.”
Alia shakes her head, “Explain what you mean; we don’t just give things away for nothing.”
The man leans forward points to the wall, “Do you know that beyond those walls there is a war going on? I know you don’t, so that was a rhetorical question but the one thing I know you know is that this place isn’t safe. I am a dangerous person because I could get you killed . . . I could possibly get you out of here. You want to get out don’t you? The war beyond these walls is all because of you two, you need to get out.” He sits back and folds his arms over his chest.
I glance at Alia, “Thank you for all you have told us. We will meet you here tomorrow at the table four rows down.”
Together, my sister and I grab our trays and get up.
“Wait!” The man stands up, “You haven’t told me your secret.”
Alia smiles at me, We can speak to each other without opening our mouths. I hear her say.
“Well?” The man says impatiently.
I join Alia in her smile, “We just told you.” I say, “Have a nice day.”
