Sakir

When we finally come to a stop, the landscape is drastically different. The trees have been completely cleared, and a bare expanse of dry dust greets us. The men and women come down and jerk us out of the bed.

I turn back and pull Mya out before I turn to follow the rest of them.

The wall around Compound 4 juxtaposes our wall back at home in every way possible. Ours is a solid sheet of metal, twenty-feet tall, and lined with warm white lights that blink in the darkness for transfer trucks at night. The guards that stand atop the barrier at home wear jeans and tan button-up uniform shirts and carry guns strapped onto their backs. They lean casually back in chairs and play card games to pass the time.

Here, though, a solid concrete wall stands in front of me. It looms over us, twice as tall as the one at home. Curled barbed wire lines the top of the wall, riddled with sharp knots and razor-blade like slivers. The guards have the door open, which left heavy indentations from where it was drug through the dry ground.

Even the guards look different. Each of them wear gray uniform pants, white button-up uniform shirts, and thick leather jackets like the people who escort us in. Heavy boots cover their feet and leave footprints in the dust as they stomp over towards us. The guns they carry seem much bigger and more threatening, and it doesn't help that they have extra straps of ammo on their person.

The group who captured us herd the five of us towards the open door and through the center of two rows of armed guards.

"The President said to take them directly to the headquarters, Maria," a guard wearing a suit with medals and ribbons pinned across the chest says.

Maria jabs her gun in my back again and urges me forward.

"Yes, General. I'll take them there right away."

"Nice work, tracker."

So that's why they could follow us so quickly and easily.

"Wait, what about Mya?" I blurt, forgetting who I'm talking to.

"What about her?" Maria snaps.

"She needs to see a doctor!"

I lift my arms and wag Mya's legs around in the air.

"An infected chewed on her ankle," I explain.

"And I'm supposed to care, why?"

Her response elicits a glare from everyone in my group.

"She'll die if that wound isn't properly sanitized and sewn up," Athena interjects when she sees my fists clench under Mya's body. "It will get infected."

"Again, why do I care? President Ashford gave me orders to deliver the five of you to him, not to take one to the hospital."

"Do you always follow his orders like a dog?" Jay snaps.

Isaac glares at her, but her face is already turning red.

Am I about to see a famous Jay tantrum? It's been a while.

Maria wheels around and slaps Jaelyn across the face. Isaac and I both wince as the sharp popping sound echoes around the empty space. Jay staggers backwards, and when her hair clears enough for me to see, a bright red hand-shaped mark stains her cheek.

Tears brim her eyes, but within seconds, her entire face burns the same red as the mark.

"You have no right to talk to me like that, do you understand?" Maria growls, grabbing a fistful of Jay's shirt. The blonde glares at her, and for a moment, I think she might spit in her face.

"Says who?" Jay taunts.

"Jaelyn Nicole Price," Isaac warns, and I fight back a snicker at his use of her full name. Papa does that when I'm in trouble.

Jay doesn't even spare him a glance as the standoff continues.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you," Maria warns as she brings her pistol to rest under Jay's chin. "Don't make me kill you before Ashford can do it himself."

"I would like to see you try," Jay whispers, but her voice holds a whimper uncharacteristic to her facade.

Maria senses it and smirks. She shoves the still glaring girl towards Isaac, who catches her as well as he can with his hands cuffed behind his back. The two of them stumble backwards over one another and run into a guard who grumbles and shoves them away.

"Maria," one of the original trackers says. I think his name is Dan, but I've forgotten. "Ashford will be mad if we let any of them die on our watch. He wanted them alive."

Maria glances at Mya in my arms.

"Fine," she says after a long thought. "Take the girl to the hospital wing of HQ, Dan."

So, I was right about his name.

Dan steps forward with a nod and slips his hands around Mya.

"Absolutely not," I say in a low voice and take a step back.

"Either I take her, or we let her die," he says with little to no emotion. "It doesn't matter to me."

"We stay together," I say, clutching Mya. A moan escapes her lips, and her eyes flutter behind her eyelids. If she wakes up, she's going to start hurting.

Something slams into the back of my knees, and I buck forward. Dan catches Mya from falling out of my hands. Using my now free hands, I catch myself. Dirt scatters as I do, forcing me to close my eyes.

A boot plants itself in my spine, and I'm forced onto my stomach. The impact drives the breath out of my lungs. Two pairs of hands grab my arms and jerk them behind my back. I feel the metal of the cuffs slip around my wrists before I can even catch my breath.

The same hands hoist me to my feet. Dirt clings to the front of my shirt, and I glare at Dan and Maria.

"Go ahead, Dan. We'll be right behind you," she says with a smirk.

Dan doesn't answer. He turns on his heel and walks deeper into the compound. The armed guards drive the rest of us along behind him and allow the trackers to walk ahead.

We weave through tall brick buildings with metal ladders hanging from windows and empty storefront windows. The streets are narrow but empty, and the buildings cast dark shadows over them. People hang out on the ladders with their legs dangling over and watch the scene with curious eyes.

There's no trees. Nothing green at all. Everything is either brick red or concrete gray. Even the faces we pass seem to be gray and empty.

I've never appreciated how bright our compound is until all the color is gone.

We turn around a corner and a silver skyscraper rises into view.

Dan enters ahead of us, but we follow close behind.

Four silver elevator doors line the far wall. Dan enters the first, and I grimace as the doors close behind him.

"Walk, Patel," a voice hisses behind me. I glance ahead to see that the third door has slid open, revealing a black and white tiled floor and brightly lit silver box. Taking a deep breath, I walk in and situate myself in the back corner against the wall.

Maria and the other trackers pile in as well, and I crane my neck to see what floor we're going to.

Sixteen.

My stomach drops out from under me as the elevator pushes upwards. Jay closes her eyes and sways where she stands. Isaac just stares ahead, unblinking.

When the doors open again, we face a long white room.

I expected to see jail cells complete with metal bars from floor to ceiling. The picture in my mind was medieval, down to the concrete block floor and wood bench in the cell.

Instead, in the center of the room stand five glass boxes. The translucent material shines in the white lights overhead.

Maria moves towards a control panel and pushes a few keys. The first box lifts off the ground, and she motions for the guard holding Isaac.

"Doesn't matter who goes where. Just put them in the cages."

The guard nods and begins to escort my friends into the display cases. Even Jay walks quietly where she's told to go. After they're placed in the center of the white platform at the bottom of the glass, the walls lower again, encasing them.

While I wait for my turn, I look around the room.

Along the wall to my right is a sleek silver window revealing a second room on the other side.

A guard escorts me to my cage and stands me in the center of the platform. I watch the walls descend around me. When they seal into place, a tiny click breaks through the space. My cuffs pop open and fall to the ground with a clatter.

Isaac presses his free hands up against the glass. Jay stands motionless in the center and stares straight ahead at the guards. The color deserted her the moment she was put on the pedestal.

"The president will be in to see you soon," Maria says with a nasty grin. One by one, the guards file out, leaving us alone.

"They know," Isaac says, but the glass muffles his voice.

"Know what?" I ask, raising mine.

"That we can escape average jail cells. Ashford is making sure we don't get out of this."

With a loud groan, Jay sinks to her knees, burying her face in her hands. Isaac kneels down facing her and begins to whisper to her. His words get lost in between Jay's box and mine.

"What are they going to do to us?" Athena asks as I look over at her. She's standing very still, and her face doesn't show fear. Only worry.

"I don't know," I say, pressing my hand up against the glass.

A/N: What do you think they're going to do to them?