TIM, Defender of the Earth by Sam Enthoven

Author:Sam Enthoven [Sam Enthoven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RHCP
Published: 2012-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

THE SECOND VISIT

‘NOW,’ SAID THE guard, ‘I’m just going to lock this door.’

‘What?’ said Chris. ‘You’re going to lock us in?’

‘This is one of the most secret locations in the country,’ the guard pointed out. ‘I can ’ardly risk letting a pair of kids like you just go wandering around in the night, can I?’

‘But what if we need the toilet or something?’

‘There’s a button to press by the door. Though come to think of it, I’m not sure if it’s ever been used before,’ the guard added nastily. He grinned. ‘I ’ope it’s connected to something for your sake.’

‘Great,’ said Chris. ‘Terrific. Thanks a bunch.’ But the door had shut. He heard the snick of bolts. Then silence.

The room Chris and Anna were standing in looked not much different from an ordinary hotel room. Two single beds lay along two of its walls, separated by a small chest of drawers with a lamp on it. The walls themselves were painted a fairly unappealing shade of beige. The room also contained a mirror, an armchair, a table, and a wardrobe that stood at the foot of one of the beds. The only thing that made the room different, in Anna’s eyes, took a moment for her to figure out.

There was no window. Of course not: they were deep underground. And that made the room feel like a cell. Anna shuddered.

‘Well,’ she said, breaking the silence, ‘I guess that’s it for us for the night. We might as well try and get some sleep. Which bed do you want?’

‘You choose.’

‘Fine,’ said Anna, pulling back the bedspread on the one facing the wardrobe. She grimaced. ‘Do you know,’ she said, ‘I think that guard was right. I guess they keep the beds made up just in case a war breaks out or something, but you’d think someone would give the sheets an airing once in a while: these are so musty. Think I’ll sleep in my clothes,’ she added, taking her shoes off. She got into bed – and looked at Chris, who was still standing by the door like a spare part.

‘Would you mind getting into bed yourself and turning off the light?’ she asked him. ‘It’s been kind of a long day.’ Without waiting for an answer, she turned over to face the wall.

‘Oh . . . sure,’ said Chris. Awkwardly he got in his own bed and reached for the lamp. ‘Well . . . night, then,’ he said.

Anna didn’t reply.

For a long time Anna lay in the dark, listening to Chris’s breathing. Anna didn’t have any male friends or relatives apart from her father; this was the first time she’d shared a room with a boy before, and truthfully, she felt more than a little uncomfortable about it. Anna’s own breathing sounded very loud in her ears, and she kept wondering if Chris (for his part) was listening to hers. But gradually his breaths became more even, if a little louder, and she realized that he was asleep.

The room was so dark that it made no difference whether Anna’s eyes were open or shut.

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