Project 27

The warm grip around my wrist mercilessly dragged me through the blackness. I stumbled forward, guided by nothing except the direction of the person leading me. The only reason why I didn't jump back, why I didn't pull away, was because the voices of the guards were echoing behind us.

It was about thirty seconds until I saw a sliver of light ahead, which then opened up into an empty doorway leading to the outside. The shadow of the unknown person ahead of me was barely visible, but I had no time to pay attention as I hurried as fast as I could to keep up. The guards were closer now; not quite on my heels, but very close. In moments, we escaped the blackness, the light spilling through the dark and awakening my sight.

My heartbeat was the only thing I could hear as I was pulled farther and farther. I gasped, the blood rushing to my head as my vision blurred.

As soon as we were outside, the person in front of me jerked me to the left until we were running along on the side of the building, heading to the back. A small scream slipped through as I tripped over my own feet, throwing me to the ground and knocking the wind out of me. The person in front of me--I was too dazed to see them clearly--wrapped their hand around my forearm and pulled me up firmly.

Within the few seconds that had happened, we had lost our lead and the guards had almost rounded the corner. Suddenly, as soon as we had turned again to the back wall of the gigantic structure, we stopped and I was pushed against the wall. My eyes widened as the person--who was a girl that looked barely any older than I was--flattened herself to my right, a gun in her hand, and her face turned away from me.

In a rush, the guards rounded the corner, and chaos erupted. The girl fired at the shoulders of the guards, knocking them down as the echoes of the shots vibrated in the air. There were five or six of them, but only two did she shoot; the rest she knocked out with her gun.

I gasped, breathless, and was amazed at how she did that. One girl against five guards. Five elite guards viciously armed and prepared with a lifetime of training. It couldn't be real. Even with a gun like hers, it couldn't be real.

She didn't even glance at me as she pulled me again, and we continued to run. They would send more and more until they found me and killed me. Where did she think we could hide? Where had she been hiding all along?

But...who was she?

The questions buzzed in my head as I continued on, my hair whipping in my face as I did so. We ran around to the other side of the building until we came upon a door, and she opened at and pushed me inside. It was a dark office, with one solar computer on a desk. It looked ancient, like it hadn't been used in years. Inside, there was a closet, and the girl pulled the doors open to reveal yet another tiny door on the floor. With several tries, she finally got it to open and pushed me in, breathless, to climb down the wooden ladder.

I had so many things to ask her, but my first instinct was not to trust her. You couldn't assume anything, not in such a strict community. There had never been news of another child that didn't attend school, unless their genes were altered for elite force in working for the government.

I climbed down the ladder, and she locked the door above as we stepped down. When I dropped to the ground, I turned around and stared in wonder at the sight before me.

It was merely an underground hallway, dimly lit with solar candles. It was a mix between a messy tunnel and a corridor. Everything ran on solar energy these days. Electricity was almost unheard of besides the use of it in the homes of the unwealthy. Instead of running, the girl let go of my wrist and walked quickly. She didn't spare a glance at me, yet again.

"Wait a second," I said, stopping in my tracks. The girl turned to me and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said. "Sorry."

She stuck out her hand, looking serious with a hint of brightness on her face. "I'm Violet Kensington."

I shook my head. She can't just expect me to introduce myself like we would now be friends. I had no idea who she was, had never been outside school grounds before this whole fiasco, and she had to be working for the government. There was no other way--we would have heard about another person breaking out of school.

"Who are you, and what is this place? You work for the government, don't you?"

Her eyes narrowed. At this point, I noticed her slightly vague appearance. She looked a little conservative--her dark brown hair fell in waves against her heart-shaped face, and her golden-brown eyes seemed to stare straight through me. She had exceptionally high cheekbones and a broad build, which seemed to make her look sharper in comparison to her conservative appearance.

"No, I don't work for the government. And I just said who I was, didn't I?" she seemed to spit this out, but as if it wasn't directed towards me.

"I don't care what your name is. Who are you? There has never been another kid who hasn't gone to school. You have to work for the government."

She rolled her eyes and turned around, continuing down the hallway. I followed her, but kept my distance for the width of the tunnel.

"I forgot that you guys don't hear anything besides what goes on in your schools," she said, her tennis shoes clicking on the floor. "I don't work for the government. My parents smuggled me from the hospital into the care of some of the refugees, and I've lived here ever since."

I chuckled bitterly. "Funny story, but I'm not buying it. That's never even happened before."

She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ears. "You don't have to believe me now, but you're going to later, because I just saved your life."

I stared straight ahead as she looked back at me, a slight smirk on her face. Before I could respond, we reached the end of the hallway into a wide opening of a large room.

The room was big compared to the dorm rooms that I slept in. It was simple, with a stained, worn-out mattress topped with a dusty pillow and blanket. Books scattered the floor, and so did clothes. It was unkept, but it didn't seem like a terrible place to live. Again, it looked like an underground room, with sand-colored rock for the walls, but seemed sturdy like it would be in a home.

"Do you live by yourself?"

"Everyone else died. They got caught trying to steal food and water upstairs, in the rest of this building."

I stared at her. "So how do you get all this stuff? How do you not get caught?"

Violet sighed and picked up a maroon-colored book, flipping through the pages and then tossing it onto the floor. "One of the older men who were in here was friends with another man who works upstairs. They went to school together, and before he died, he made him promise to take care of me so I don't get caught and die like they did."

I was about to ask more, but it was as if a little voice had popped into my head. What are you doing? You're wondering about her life story while she's probably a worker for the government and can kill you any second?

But yet, she seemd trustworthy. She knew how to fight, and it seemed like she was just trying to help me. Still, I couldn't take my chances.

"Why should I trust you?" I hissed. After the plainly curious questions, she seemed startled and turned to stare at me.

She squinted, peering at me closely from where she stood next to me. "Because I'm the one who just saved your life, which makes you the luckiest person in the world right now. You'd be dead right now if I hadn't happened to go upstairs."

I sighed. She was right. I couldn't outrun those guards, even if I was fast. At this point, I was extremely lucky, and I had no option but to trust her. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go.

Suddenly, a muffled voice was heard from above. Violet gestured for me to follow her as we turned and headed back down the hallway. "What is it?"

She turned and glanced at me. "It's one of the news reports. This place gets them occasionally if there's big news happening. It's probably because of your escape, and more because they haven't found you and killed you yet."

When we reached the ladder, she climbed up quickly the top. The voice had ceased when we were jogging through the hallway, but it was clearer now and low-pitched.

"We've just received news that a student at Connors' School has just escaped, and has not been found yet. Armed forces have told us that sixteen-year-old Juliet Hastings was last seen headed throughout an ECP building there, while the career choosing was taking place."

My eyes widened, and Violet turned and smiled crookedly at me. Some inaudible dialogue was heard, and then silence. I dropped down from my spot midway in the latter and we walked back to her home.

What have you gotten yourself into, Juliet?