Fadeout

Chapter 13: Silas

  The tray clattered from Malina’s hands to the floor scattering plates and forks in the aisle and under the table. The noise in the cafeteria didn’t quiet, everything seemed normal. Even their food portions were closer to what they used to be and Silas’ wasn’t sure if it was because the cafeteria lady who normally served them was not there or if it was because the people in charge realized how close things were to getting out of hand. Silas picked up the fork by his foot and held it out as he leaned his head closer to where Malina knelt.

  “Where have you been?” Malina asked. Her hands groped the floor, taking their time to pick things up.

  “The son of the owner wants someone to keep him company,” Silas whispered.

  “I thought they had taken you.”

  “I’m fine.” Silas wiggled the fork between his fingers.

  “I managed to talk to Cortez in the girls ward yesterday.”

  “You did?”

  “He might be willing to help us escape. He would open our doors and take us out of the wall for a price.”

  “What does he want?”

  “That’s the bad news. He wants five thousand dollars.” Malina reached under the opposite table and grabbed a fork.

  Five thousand dollars? Silas’ heart sank. They didn’t have money. He wasn’t even sure he would know what to do with it if he did. They might have to figure something else out and Silas wasn’t sure where to begin.

  “I’ll try to talk him down next time.”

  “Ok.” Silas shook his head. He didn’t think it would do any good, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

  She gave him a small flash of a smile and snatched up the last plate. Their moment was ending and he didn’t even tell her what he’d learned.

  Silas touched her hand and quickly blurted, “I was outside the walls today.”

  “What?” Malina’s voice was a tad too loud.

  “I was outside the walls,” Silas said even quieter.

  “What did you do?”

  “I played games with the owner’s son, Jamar. And now I know which way we should go when we get out.” Silas almost said ‘if’ instead of ‘when,’ but he caught himself in time.

  “What do you think of this boy, Jamar?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think he would help us get beyond the wall?”

  Silas hesitated. “I don’t know.”

  Jamar didn’t seem to notice anything that did not concern him. What would he care about two Carillians who wanted to escape his father’s business? Silas would have to know more about Jamar before he could trust him with something like this. But he couldn’t help remembering the way Jamar looked at him after the bear, as if he were seeing him as more than a piece of gum that could be disposed of. He’d have to wait and see.

  “Yesterday in the yard I saw Freddie remove his implant.”

  “Which one is Freddie?” Silas asked.

  “He’s a year older than me. The tall one with white blonde hair.”

  Silas glanced up at the older boy’s table and spotted one he recognized with blonde hair. “And a scar above his eyebrow?”

  “Yeah. He dug the implant out of Dan the guy eating next to him. Some of us older ones stood together to block the guards from seeing it. I saw it after they were done. The implant is only a half inch long and as thick as a twig.”

  Silas felt completely out of the loop. How long had he been away from the yard? Just two days? It seemed longer than that. He was glad that she’d been a part of another group that could keep her calm.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Aside from worrying about you, I’ve been fine.” Malina took the fork from Silas’ hand and walked away.

  Was she mad? It wasn’t like Silas could have done anything to tell her he was all right. Half the time he wasn’t even sure he would be.

  Silas watched Malina put her tray away. His eyes flitted from one guard to the next and settled back on the table with the older boys. Their back muscles seemed tense and although they brought utensils to their mouths it was too slow and robotic for natural behavior. Dan, the guy sitting next to Freddie, had his brown hair long and his shirt pulled high on his neck. Silas thought he could make out a dark spot on the collar that might have been blood.

  He turned back to what was left on his plate, a half eaten hamburger patty, no bun, and three soggy fries. In no time he finished them off and still felt hungry. It must have been all the sword fighting he did and the surprise with seeing a real bear. Everyone at his table seemed hungry too. He wondered if lunch in the cafeteria had been as bad as it was yesterday.

  The bell rang and everyone stood up and started to get in line. Dan and Freddie didn’t get up at first, but then they both stood, taking their time to step away from the table. Still they lined up and the boys’ line started moving into the hall. Silas was almost out of the door when he heard a guy yell. Someone bumped Silas’ shoulder and he turned to see Hugle being thrown against the cafeteria wall. The guard’s eyes were wide and he fumbled with the baton on his belt, but Dan didn’t let him have a second. Dan jumped on Hugle and began pounding him in the face.

  “Get the other one,” Dan yelled over his shoulder and Silas watched Freddie shove boys out of his way as he ran to where Westminster was last seen in the hall.

  Hugle tried to throw a punch, but it had no power and then his whole body when limp, although that didn’t stop Dan from beating him more. A piercing siren filled the air and some of the boys ran into their cell, others huddled against the wall.

  “Are you going to help?” Marcus asked as he jogged past Silas.

  “You’re crazy,” Patton yelled from right behind Silas.

  Silas nearly jumped. He’d forgotten Patton was there. Before he could decide what to do, Westminster rushed into the cafeteria. Boys scrambled to get out of his way, but Silas couldn’t move. Freddie and Dan ran at Westminster. He aimed a controller at them and pressed a button, but nothing happened. He didn’t even have time to glance down at the controller before the guys were on him. They knock him to the ground and began kicking him.

  Then Dan jumped the kitchen counter and began smashing the food dispensers. Freddie disappeared into one of the back rooms. He returned with his arms loaded with bread.

  “Here! The back is full of them,” Freddie yelled and threw whole loaves of bread at the boys. Stephen snatched one out of the air, ripped off the plastic and passed out the slices. Boys snatched them and began stuffing their mouths. Marcus jumped the counter too, grabbed some bread and rushed out into the hall where he began passing it out to the younger boys. There were some cheers as Dan pulled off the food dispenser’s door. But they never got to see what was inside.

  The siren blaring in the speakers stopped and there was a sharp click sound instead. Instantly Silas felt his neck and head explode with pain. A high pitched drone filled his ears and grew louder and louder until he couldn’t hear anything else. He grabbed his head and tried to press the noise away, but it didn’t help. Silas stumbled and hit the wall. He could see the boys left in the hall falling to their knees and writhing in pain. Only Freddie and Dan were still upright and they left the food dispenser to block the cafeteria doors.

  They didn’t make it there in time. The doors flew open and Tymas was waiting for them with a taser. It hit Dan in the chest and threw him into the nearest wall. Freddie turned to run and Tymas shot him in the back.

  The pain slowly began to fade from Silas’ mind, but his ears kept ringing. He couldn’t hear anything Tymas said, but it was clear that everyone was to go in their cells or else. Lloyd appeared in the doorway behind Tymas and walked over to where Freddie had fallen. He placed a collar around Freddie’s neck and moved to do the same with Dan.

  Silas could barely hold himself upright, but Tymas was not going to wait. He stomped over and started throwing boys into the hall. Panic hit those left in the cafeteria as all the boys scrambled to get back to their cells. Patton stumbled in
to Silas and pushed off of him so that Silas stumbled back into the wall. His head buzzed even more and he was seeing black and white spots as he groped along the wall for his cell opening. He could feel Tymas banging behind him and pushed himself to move faster. The more he moved the more spots he saw until he couldn’t see anything and his head felt like it was spinning.

  He managed to feel Patton dive into a cell and he followed. Fumbling to his left he found his bunk bed and slipped onto the mattress before he could pass out, but he felt so dizzy he wasn’t sure he would be able to stand up if he had to. The cell door slammed shut and Patton groaned from somewhere on the floor. He hadn’t made it to his bed.

  Silas closed his eyes and tried not to count the beats of his heart by the pounding in his head. There seemed to be nothing he could do but lay completely still for what seemed like hours. He breathed in and out willing his heart to slow back down and as it did he began to notice dull tingling in his fingers and toes. When his head hurt he must have blocked them out and now that his head was calming down other areas wanted the attention.

  This was the first time Silas had ever felt the implant and it was enough that he never wanted to feel it again. Patton tried to get up and climb into the top bunk, but he must have moved too soon. Seconds later he was emptying his stomach into their toilet. The sound made Silas’ stomach quiver and he quickly jammed his fingers in his ears.

  Think of something else quick.

  The light in their cell began to brighten and dim like a strobe light set to a meaningless Morse code pattern. The Machine was running. Silas wondered if it was Freddie or Dan, but that gave his stomach a new sick feeling. He curled up into a ball and rolled over so all he could see was the pitted concrete wall. With no other choice left he watched the lights as they cast looming shadows over and over again.