Because We Were Different – Part 28

I can’t believe I’m almost done with this story! If I stay on track, the last part should come out in August or September, and I’m not quite sure what story I’ll do after it, if anything. If you all have any ideas or concepts/prompts you’d like me to do, let me know in the comments below and I’ll definitely consider them!

If you’re new, thanks so much for reading! You can find the previous parts by clicking on the Short Stories button in the menu or sidebar if you’re interested in the full story. ~ Kay Adelin

Part 28

I walked down the shiny halls of the Kachinoan Military Post for the first time in five years feeling light-hearted. I nearly skipped on my way to Remington’s office. When the Kachinoan military sighted us before landing, I’d spoken to Remington, saying we’d been successful in our mission, but not in the way he’d thought. I’d told him I’d speak to him about it when we arrived, after cleaning myself up.

So after changing into a fresh outfit, I’d left Raidon napping on his bed, saw Natalia off to her quarters, and went to see Remington. The quicker I accomplished this, the quicker he’d free Mai, and the quicker I could work out a way to escape from this place.

I hurried into the front of the office, where a new secretary sat at the desk. When I told her who I was, she nodded towards the door. “You may go in. Mr. Remington will be right with you.”

I entered the meeting room and sat down to wait. The candy bowl still sat in the middle of the table, and everything looked exactly the way it did when Remington last called me here. I kicked my feet as my gaze studied the room. The chandeliers, oaken table and chairs, even the red cushion on Remington’s seat, nothing changed. Maybe the number of candies in the bowl diminished a bit, but I couldn’t tell for certain.

I then noticed the door at the end of the room. Remington had entered that way before. Would he come in the same way? I walked over to it and peered through the glass pane. The tinted color to it made it impossible for me to see anything beyond it, so I turned the handle.

Honestly, I expected nothing to happen. But to my surprise, the door allowed me to pull it open, and I peered down the hall.

A coldness hit me, and I froze. The hallway had cement floors and gray bricked walls with a few lightbulbs hanging in the narrow walkway. Though it curved, leading out of my sight, I didn’t wonder where it led. I knew.

Five years before, Remington had brought me down those very halls. Of course, he hadn’t led me out here, rather it’d been the application office I’d first seen, but this hallway clearly led to the same place whence I’d come.

I shivered, but stepped into the hallway. Maybe I could find an escape route down here somewhere, to use after I freed Mai. I started down the hall, recalling the winds and turns the place had as I went along. Yet then, as I took another turn, I spotted a metal door aligning the hall. Was this the room Remington had first questioned me in, when he’d given me the assignment to find the Shiarizian princess?

I pushed open the door, entering the dark room. I slowly stepped inside and felt something tickle the side of my face. The string for the lightbulb!

The light flashed on when I pulled it, revealing a small room surrounded with filing cabinets. A desk sat in the middle of the room, with files scattered across it, and I frowned, sitting on the desk chair. What was with these military people and leaving their desks a mess?

My brows raised, however, as I saw the two files resting on top of the junk were none other than mine and my sister’s. I opened mine up to see my picture, a list of all the training I’d gone through, and my personal details, even down to the food I liked. I flipped through several pages of this, my frown growing as they even had a record of the strange oddities I kept in my desk. Did they know I kept them for invention materials?

With annoyance, I flipped open Mai’s. If they kept my file in such pristine, up-to-date order, hers had to be the same. What did my sister like and dislike now? Such knowledge would be useful for the future, when I found her again after escaping.

But the moment I flipped hers open, my blood ran cold. On a sticky note pressed over her picture were the words: Termination scheduled – Next Tuesday.

Termination? Did that mean… death? Had Remington lied to me? How did he think he would get away with it without me knowing?

I flipped the last page in mine again, my eyes wide. At the very back of my file, there was a schedule of my daily activities. And over them was another sticky note, reading the same as my sister’s. Termination scheduled.

Remington was going to kill us! That was his version of freedom! My hands shook as I slammed the files shut and jumped from my seat. I had to find Mai and get out of here!

Just as I reached for the door handle, it flew open, narrowly missing hitting me in the face. I stumbled backwards, staring at the man smiling at me. “Well now, if it isn’t Occupant 342.”

342. My previous cell number. I clenched my fists. “You won’t get away with this, Remington. I won’t tell you anything!”

Remington continued smiling. “We’ll see about that, 342.” He waved to the soldiers behind him. “Take him to join his sister.”

As they advanced towards me, I grabbed for the paperweight lying on the desk. No matter what the outcome, I wouldn’t let them take me without a fight!