Don't Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor

Author:Jordyn Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2021-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

Ten

Connie

“Rise and shine, survivors. It’s time to show me what you practiced yesterday. Five minutes, and I want you lined up at the back.”

Mr. Kraus blows his red whistle, and I leap out of bed like the mattress caught fire. Across the shelter, the others jump to their feet too. Bobby salutes Mr. Kraus. After helping Craig roll the curtains out of the way, he’s the first to the bathroom and the first to line up on the back wall. It’s bizarre to see Bobby Tackett acting so . . . obedient. It’s so different from his usual antics. He must be trying to make a better impression than yesterday. Maybe this whole experiment will be good for him.

I slept better last night, probably because I was exhausted from not sleeping at all the night before. Steve’s freight train snores still woke me up a couple of times, but all in all, I feel rested. As fast as I can, I unzip my toiletry bag, spray deodorant under my arms, and drag a comb through my tangled hair. I use my finger to rub toothpaste over my teeth and wash it all down with a swig of water. A shower would be nice, especially after yesterday’s physical activity. Only two more nights to go.

At the scream of the whistle, we speed in formation through the beds and into our seated circle at the front. It’s easy as pie, after what Steve made us do yesterday: course after course, each one more complicated than the last. By the end, we were splitting into pairs and seeing how fast we could carry the metal cots from one side of the shelter to the other.

“Well, well, well. Twenty-one seconds. I am very impressed.” Mr. Kraus paces around the edge of our circle with his hands clasped behind his back. “I think you’re ready to move on to our next training principle. Ms. Walker, please bring me my briefcase.”

Betty scrambles to her feet, grabs Mr. Kraus’s briefcase, and meets him at the shelving unit. After she hands it over, she races back to the circle to fill her empty space. Meanwhile, Mr. Kraus takes out his hammer and a new piece of paper. We watch quietly as he nails it in below the first one, so now the signs read:

ORDER

UNITY

This time, we know better than to pipe up with questions. If my stomach is rumbling after a day and a half with only flavorless crackers to eat, I can’t imagine how the boys are feeling; nobody’s going to risk losing their next meal.

“Unity,” Mr. Kraus says as he wanders back over to the group, “is our next key to success in this turbulent time. I ask you: When you’re up against the forces of evil, what difference could any one of you make on your own? Individually, we fall; together, we rise. We must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to our cause. We must—”

Mr. Kraus abruptly stops speaking.

Helen’s hand is in the air.

“Ms. Honeyman,” he resumes, “this is your warning.

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