CENTER 82 (RATION) by Christina J. Thompson

Author:Christina J. Thompson [Thompson, Christina J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-08T05:00:00+00:00

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Darren trudged down the stairs that led away from Lab Seventeen, muttering under his breath in frustration. He hated the morning injections. He reached up, rubbing his shoulder. The researcher had given him two shots this time, and the spot was already sore.

An overwhelming lethargy was slowly creeping through his body with every step he took, and despite the fact that he was used to it by now, it still made him angry. He heaved a sigh, glancing over the railing at the guards that patrolled the walkways below. Sabotaging the ration dome was supposed to mark the end of this misery, but thanks to Brian’s stupid idea, it was just another failed plan. He frowned, rolling his eyes. At least the idiot hadn’t followed through with throwing Amber over the railing that morning.

Darren paused when he reached the ground level. This was the moment of the day when he usually checked for a signal from Em, and a wave of bitterness rose up in his heart. Being cut out of the sympathizers’ future plans was almost as bad as the ration dome failure itself, but despite his disappointment, he couldn’t help bending down to look.

His eyes widened in surprise—two crumpled-up pages lay on the floor behind the staircase. This was the emergency signal, and relieved excitement instantly surged through his veins. Maybe Em wasn’t as upset as she had acted the night before.

He pursed his lips, contemplating for a moment. Usually the signal came at night, which gave him enough time to get Brian, but it was too early in the day for that. Brian was all the way on the other side of the facility, and there wasn’t enough time to make it there and back before his own shift would start.

Darren quickly grabbed the pages and put them in his pocket before hurrying towards the corridor that led to the manufacturing wing. It split apart into two hallways about halfway through; the one on the left continued on to manufacturing, but the other veered off to the animal preservation wing. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure he was alone, then he turned right.

The hallway was never used; its lights had died years ago, and because of the facility’s limited supply of replacement bulbs, it remained in perpetual darkness. A service entrance was located near the opposite end, and Darren reached for the handle, carefully easing the door open before slipping inside. He kept his hand in place as the door shut behind him to make sure the lock didn’t catch―this service stairwell was obsolete, and any log showing activity here would be noticed immediately. As long as he didn’t close the door all the way when he came and went, he wouldn’t have to risk drawing unwanted attention by using an access code to get back out.

Darren ran up the stairs as fast as he could, stopping at the eleventh floor and pushing the service door open. The old feed storage room wasn’t far, and he ducked inside, sitting down on the floor and nervously tapping his fingers against his leg.

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