Chapter 2

Heidi escorted them out the cell, up the stairs and down a hallway to a steel door. Outside the door was a porch that led out to a sandy street. As they approached the edge of the porch, Thomas saw that it was a dune reaching up to a second floor balcony. The entire street was covered in mounds of red sand. The buildings looked neglected and almost destroyed. The sun was setting in the far west and cast long shadows on the hills of sand.

Heidi stepped onto the sand and glided down the hill. They followed. At the bottom, she set off across the street and around another building. They ran for what felt like forever and after the fifth turn, Thomas stopped trying to remember the directions. They took a turn and headed towards the tallest and only maintained building.

It looked about ten stories high. It was on large support beams like a parking lot. In the middle underneath it was an open metal frame with a ladder leading into the building. A guy stood on the frame and watched them as they ran in under the building.

"Big bounty, Heidi." He said surprised.

"Let's hope these last." Heidi replied as she climbed the ladder and motioned for them to follow.

Newt went first and Thomas stayed behind as everyone climbed up. Once he was up, Heidi was gone. In her place stood a younger girl. This one had red hair, which she had bradded down her back. She looked to be twelve but had a stern look on her face.

"I'm Anna. I'll show you around." She turned and walked across the room. "This is the loading dock." She gestured to the almost empty room. The floor was cold cement and there were a few crates standing around.

Anna walked up to an elevator and pushed the button.

"You have electricity?" One of the boys asked, shocked.

"Yes. Limited to lights between lockdown and bedtime, water heaters twice a day and the elevator." The elevator arrived and they all got on. It was a rather large elevator with glass walls.

As it rose Anna gave them all a once over but said nothing. They arrived on the sixth floor and they walked across a small hall and into a dorm room that looked very much like an army dorm or a hospital room. Each bed was neatly made with flimsy curtains around the four-posters.

Anna pulled on Teresa's shirt and spoke to her, "Do you want to sleep in the girl's room, or are you fine with staying here with your brothers?"

Teresa looked at them for a second and then back at Anna.

"I'll stay here."

"Okay. You can all go to wardrobe on level eight in the morning and get new clothes, if you want. This is where you will sleep every night. It's not assigned beds, mostly because we didn't know you were coming, but please make your own bed in the morning because no one will do it for you." Little Anna instructed. She stopped for a second when a loud chime echoed in the hall.

"Girls shower at night after dinner, boys in the morning before breakfast." She continued as if the sound didn't faze her. Muffled clinks and crashes could be heard from the walls, the dim light outside seemed to disappear and the lights inside flickered on.

"Shower quickly because each shower turns to cold water after ten minutes. The showers are on level seven. There are regular bathrooms on each level. Cafeteria is on the third level where you will receive two meals a day. For the rest of the day we all have jobs and tasks to do. You'll probably get assignments tomorrow."

"What is this place? What just happened?" Thomas asked.

"We call this the Manor. That was just lockdown. To keep us safe."

"Safe from what?" Newt asked.

"Everything that is out there." She said as if it was a stupid question. She turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator. "Come on now. It's dinnertime. There might even be a party tonight."

As the elevator approached the cafeteria, they could hear music. Through the glass, they saw close to a hundred kids playing and running around. Boys and girls of all ages. When the doors opened, a hush fell over the room and was broken by an awkward applause.

"You can sit anywhere. The food's not bad. You make a line over there," She pointed at the far wall where a few teens were scurrying to set the food out. "Be civil and we'll all get along."

Anna walked towards a table and tapped on it. The boys sat down and stared around the room. They were being stared at too by everyone else.

Thomas saw the girl with the skew haircut sitting by herself. She had her nose in a book and ignored everyone else.

"Hey, I'll be back." He stood from his seat. The group watched him as he walked away. Newt murmured and shook his head, turning his attention to his friends.

Thomas walked up the girl and waited for her to drop her book. She looked up at him and motioned for him to sit. She closed her book and they stared at each other for a while before he spoke.

"Okay, okay. Um. I want to thank you."

"What for?" She frowned.

"For getting us out of that cell."

She smiled. She was actually really pretty. Her eyes were emerald green and she had dimples when she smiled.

"We wouldn't have kept you in there." She said. "It's not safe. And despite Heidi's attempts at dictatorship she has failed several times to take over."

"She has access to guns?" Thomas stated rather than asked.

"She's not dangerous. She's just as scared as the rest of us." She glanced over his shoulder and saw Newt staring.

"Your pretty friend over there doesn't like me. That's a problem." Thomas turned and caught Newt glaring.

"We're all scared too." He said with a catch in his throat. She studied his face and took his hand in hers.

"It's going to be okay, Thomas. I know how you feel. We all do."

Newt watched from across the room. Anna showed up with a cart of drinks and sat down next to him. As the table occupants hurried to get drinks, Anna followed his gaze.

"Who's she?" Newt asked her.

"That's Face."

"Her name is Face?" Newt frowned. "Why?" he asked no one in particular.

"Isn't it obvious?" Frypan stated as he indicated his face. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah..." Anna thought. "No, it's not like that, although it does fit that way, doesn't it? We call her Wizard too." The table watched her, waiting for her to explain. "She reads faces. It sometimes feels as if she can read your mind."

"Reads faces?" Minho mumbled as they considered the concept.

"Her real name is Sayde or something." Anna continued, oblivious to the fact that it didn't make sense.

"What do you mean she reads faces?"

"It means I can tell when you lie." Face answered Thomas's similar question. "Body language says a lot more than your words do. That's how I knew you were the leader, and that pretty friend of yours is the linchpin."

"How?"

"Everyone was looking between the both of you for guidance. However he was looking at you too. You were the only one who wasn't looking at anyone else. The girl was standing near you, which means she has a closer connection to you than anyone else. Everyone had a look of intense fear on their faces but you also had a strange look of purpose on yours. That's the same look Heidi had on her face when she turned the gun on me."

Thomas stared at her in disbelief.

"Furrowed brows, dark squinted eyes, a set jaw, tight face." She explained. She pointed at his current expression. "Right now you have trouble believing me. Slack jaw, open eyed, a frown between the brows."

Thomas relaxed his face and she smiled.

"Thomas!" Newt called from across the room. They had stood and were lining up to get food. Thomas nodded and stood.

"That's really cool. Useful." He said to Face.

"Sometimes." She pulled her book closer but remained seated.

"Can I come ask you some more questions later?"

"Sure."

But after dinner, when he turned back to her table, she was gone. Anna took Teresa to the shower hall and she returned smelling like soap, dressed in a sleeping gown. She had a new day outfit with her and she placed it on a small dresser next to an open bed. As the boys were running around the room picking their beds the lights went out. They all dropped on the nearest bed and fell asleep. Thomas, Minho and Newt had decided to take beds near the door just to keep the others safe.