Eleven

Even though Seph’s legs are longer and he could probably smoke me in a foot race, he hangs back, and I have enough room to run out the door before him. Together we yell at Clara and Ruthie, “Go!”

They don’t hesitate, turning and sprinting back to the beginning of the corridor. I zip around corners and dart down long stretches before making it back to our original meeting spot.

As I slow down with everyone else to catch my breath, Clara asks, “What was—”

“It was so disgusting” I say.

“Those legs,” Seph says.

“Those eyes.”

“Those tails.”

I scrunch my eyebrows. “Tails? What? Spiders don’t have tails.”

“Spiders?” Seph looks just as confused as I feel. “They were rats.” He tries to hide it, but his whole body shudders.

Clara throws her hands up. “Hold on. How did you see two different things?” Her question is the same one running through my head.

And then I remember that this isn’t the only time I’ve seen those creepy little critters. “What did you see when we were suspended above the boys’ room in that tube?” I glance at her and Ruthie.

“A horrible spider,” Clara says at the same time Ruthie says, “A snake.”

Then we’re all quiet looking back and forth at each other. This doesn’t make any sense.

“Also, before I saw all the hallways you didn’t. I thought maybe something was wrong with me, but now I’m not sure,” Ruthie says.

Seph rubs his neck, and I’m wondering if he’s thinking the same thing I am—how is any of this possible? How can we be in the same place and all see different things?

“Where’s the bag?” Ruthie spins around.

I turn, looking for it…except… No. I spin around again. It can’t be. “It’s gone.”

Clara searches, too. “Are we sure we’re in the right spot?”

“I’m positive. This is exactly where we all split up,” I say way too loud.

Ruthie crosses her arms. “I bet Trip took it. He probably waited until we all left and came back for it. And you know what else? I bet he isn’t coming back.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Clara sounds hurt. “Why would he want to be split up from us? There’s safety in—”

“He doesn’t believe that,” Ruthie says. “He didn’t see that dead guy. Trip probably thinks he’s got a better chance on his own. Lezah didn’t want me to come, remember?” She points at me, sounding more furious than just annoyed.

Clara flushes then looks at her shoes, not at Ruthie and the growl etched on her face. For a small girl she sure has a big attitude. She’s also right. I didn’t want Clara to come at first, either, and then I assumed bringing Ruthie along was a bad idea. My first thought was that going solo would mean less chance to get caught. It annoys me to think I’m glad now that she came, and it pisses me off even more knowing Trip will probably be the only one to succeed because he was able to do something I couldn’t. Screw everyone else.

And why shouldn’t he succeed? He has a bag of supplies and a head start. The only thing to hope for is that he finds the wrong way before we do. Like Dwayne. Maybe it’s an asshole thing to think, but so was he for leaving us.

Seph takes a long breath. “Well, we know what’s down that way.” He points to where we just came from. “And Lezah and I didn’t get far before we came back. So we can either keep going that way or follow Trip.”

I chew on a loose piece of skin near my thumbnail. It’s down to a fifty-fifty chance. Follow behind the traitor, or choose our own path.

Ruthie hits her palm with her fist. “We could go after Trip, kick his ass, and leave him with nothing like he did us.”

What purpose would that serve? Sure we’d have water, but I’m not like Trip. I’d never do what he did to us. I just wish we could have our fair share. He could’ve left us with something. But it isn’t worth it. Screw Trip. “Forget it. Let’s go the other way. What do you say, Clara?”

Her brows are still drawn together, a sad look on her face. I’m sure she doesn’t have any interest in kicking anyone’s ass, either. “Sounds good.”

With that, it’s decided, and as a group, we head back down the path Seph and I had originally set out on. I should feel better that we’re all back together, but something rolls around in my gut. A feeling or apprehension, I’m not quite sure. Everything looks the same from the last time Seph and I ventured down this corridor, but at the same time it’s different. The walls haven’t changed, and the doors that were here before still won’t open. But something is off, something about the air, like it’s shifted, and I don’t think it’s the fact that Trip isn’t with us. Clara and Ruthie walk ahead a few paces side by side. Every few steps, one of them bumps into the other and smiles. There’s something in the way Ruthie moves, like her body’s on a continual loop recycling over and over. It’s so natural and yet at the same time feels thoughtfully planned out.

A steady hum interrupts my thoughts. Or not really a hum exactly; it’s more of a low, steady bass that bounces off the walls. “Do you hear that?” I stop moving.

Everyone else stands still, too, and together we all listen.

“What do you think it is?” Clara asks. And as suddenly as it started, it stops.

“Let’s just keep going,” Seph says. But as soon as we move, the sound is there again.

I stop and spin around. On the ground is a black orb that looks to be made of glass and most likely has a camera pointed directly at us. “This can’t be good.”

“What the hell is that?” Clara asks, backing away.

“We should run,” Seph says as Ruthie brushes past me and toward the object on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Clara asks, but Ruthie doesn’t answer. She walks up to the ball, plucks it off the ground as if it weighs nothing, and stares at it for a few seconds before she wrenches her arm back and chucks it down the hall. The thing sails through the air, then with a crash, shatters on the ground. For a second, I think I imagined the whole thing, like it couldn’t possibly have happened the way I swear I just witnessed.

Clara rushes up and grabs Ruthie’s arm. “What did you do?”

Ruthie turns to Clara, and a beat passes before she says, “What?” There’s a clear look of confusion on Ruthie’s face.

“You just threw that thing. What was it?”

Ruthie shakes her head. “Wait. What just happened?”

I rub my eyes. Did we all just see the same thing or is my brain playing tricks on me? Is this like the spiders? Or is there some way someone is making us see or believe what they want us to? “Do you all think—”

“Hey,” a small voice yells.

I spin around and suck in a breath. Down the hall stands a boy, staring at us. Not Trip, he’s too young. His dark hair hangs long over his forehead, and his hands are tucked inside the pockets of his clean blue jeans. Noah? He looks just like my brother, but that’s not possible. And there’s something off about him, too, although I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the way he’s able to stay stark still, or how the red of his shirt is too bright, or how his shoes are crisp and white. I scratch my elbow, praying he doesn’t sprout two heads and come charging after us, or something worse.

For a moment, everyone’s silent. Static fills the air, and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

“Do you see a little boy?” Seph asks as he steps closer to me, and I nod because I can’t talk or I don’t want to break the spell or whatever it is that has my little brother so close. “This is wrong. You have to feel it, too.” Seph’s arm presses against mine.

He’s right. This does feel all wrong, but at the same time, I don’t want it to end. Noah. I miss him so much.

The boy smiles so big a dimple creases in his left cheek, and then he takes off, sprinting away from us and around a corner. I’m frozen as the patter of his feet slowly fades, and then he screams. A sound so familiar I can’t stop myself, and then I’m running, too.

Running in the direction the boy who looks like Noah went. Around the corner and he’s not far, but he’s increasing speed, and the distance between him and us grows. Ahead, the path splits again. The boy glances back. There’s a strange smirk on his face as he darts to the right.

And maybe it’s because I’m scared shitless. And it’s because he looks so much like my brother. The one I’ve let down. The one I left behind. And there’s this strange need to not leave him again. Or maybe it’s because he’s the only thing I can focus on right now. But I follow him. My head’s screaming at me to stop, to slow down and think about what I’m doing. But my heart’s beating against my ribs, pushing my feet forward.

The boy dodges around a corner, and I chase after him. The others are right behind me. The sound of their pounding feet thuds in my ears. A surge of adrenaline floods through me as I turn another corner and trail him inside a room, then stop. A chill races up my spine, or maybe it’s fear, because I’m sure I saw him come in here.

In another second, Seph stands next to me. He tries to catch his breath as he gazes around the empty room. Maybe he feels it, too. How the air smells different, like dirt and death.

I take a tentative step forward. “I thought—”

There’s a loud bang. I spin around and swallow hard. The door is gone. All that’s left is a solid wall even though I’m sure I just ran through a doorway. Even though it isn’t logical for it to disappear. And now we’re trapped in a room with four concrete walls.

Am I hallucinating? Oh, Holy Mother Mary. Is this what happened to Dwayne, too?