Imprisoned (Parallel Series Book 2) (Parallel Trilogy) Page 2

  “Kiera will be here in a moment to take you to your room. It’s getting late and you must be exhausted.”

  I didn’t feel at all tired—too much anxiety flooded my body, making me wide awake.

  Someone knocked at the door. Dr. Bradley opened it and a girl a little older than me walked in. The first thing I noticed was her hair. Short and spiky, it was dyed a vivid magenta.

  “You must be Morgan.” She walked straight to me, a smile on her face.

  I nodded, still feeling out of place and unsure of myself. Not to mention terrified. I set the cold compress on the exam table.

  “I’m Kiera. I’m going to show you the ropes, explain the rules, stuff like that.”

  I found her confidence comforting. She didn’t seem to hate me like the Enforcers and Tammy did. And she seemed genuinely nice, unlike Dr. Bradley, who had jammed a tracking chip in my arm without my permission.

  I rubbed my arm in remembrance and I noticed Kiera watching me, a slight frown on her face.

  “Grab your shoes, doll.” She motioned with her head toward my feet.

  Obediently, I climbed off the table and put my shoes on my sock-covered feet.

  Kiera turned to Dr. Bradley, who was stationed next to her monitor. “Okay if I take her now?”

  “Yes, she’s all set.” Dr. Bradley handed a card to Kiera.

  Kiera turned back to me. “Okay then. Let’s go.”

  “Good luck, Morgan,” Dr. Bradley said.

  I looked at her and she seemed earnest. “Thanks,” I muttered, wondering how many other people she’d chipped like animals.

  Kiera opened the door and I followed her into the hall. The Enforcer who had brought me in was nowhere to be seen. In fact, I didn’t see anyone around. I could run. But then I remembered the chip in my arm. Kiera must have read my thoughts.

  “Don’t even think about it. They’ll know right away.”

  “What?” I asked, acting confused.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” She paused. “It’s the same thing I thought when I first got here.”

  Her admission shocked me. She seemed perfectly happy to be here—not like someone who would want to leave. “Do you have a chip too?”

  She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “We all do.” We reached the end of the hall and she turned right, then stopped next to a bank of elevators.

  I noticed there were no buttons to call the elevator. Rather there was just an electronic card reader.

  Kiera waved a card in front of the reader. That’s when I noticed the lanyard around her neck where the card was attached. A moment later the elevator doors slid open silently and I followed her inside. Instead of buttons to press, there was a blank screen with a card reader beneath it. After Kiera waved her card in front of the reader, several numbers appeared on the screen, but the numbers seemed random: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9. She tapped the number six and the elevator doors slid closed.

  “Why are some numbers missing?” I asked.

  She reached into her pocket and held out the card Dr. Bradley had given her. “Your card will allow you to access the floors where you need to go, but none of the others. Even though I have more freedom than you, I’m still limited to what floors I can access.”

  I took the card from her and examined it. Both sides were completely blank, just an unbroken canvas of blue.

  “Tomorrow they’ll put your picture on it.”

  I nodded, then slipped the card into my back pocket.

  The elevator came to a gradual stop and the doors opened to reveal a small foyer. To the left and the right were hallways with doors every ten feet or so. It reminded me of a hotel, except I’d never been in a hotel where they checked you in under armed guard and then jammed a computer chip into your arm before they’d let you visit.

  “You’ll be staying in room seven,” Kiera said as she took the hallway on the right. She stopped in front of a door with the number seven painted on it and knocked three times before opening the door.

  Why is she knocking? I wondered. Is someone already inside?

  “Alyx? Are you in there?” She paused, then walked into the darkened room. No one answered. She flipped on a light and I saw a room that looked very similar to the pictures my mom had shown me of a college dorm room—she’d been trying to motivate me to take some college prep classes and I guess she’d thought if she showed me the fun times I could have at college, I’d agree to take the classes. It had looked kind of fun in the pictures, but now that I stood in this room, all I wanted was to go home to my own room. I didn’t even mind sharing with Amy.

  “That will be your bed.” Kiera pointed to a neatly made bed with a thin blanket and lumpy pillow. “And you’ll use that desk and that closet.” She paused. “Your roommate is Alyx. Alexandra. She’ll probably be back soon.”

  I stared at the empty closet. “I don’t have any clothes with me.”

  “Your caseworker will ask your family to bring some things for you.”

  My heart lifted at the thought of seeing my mom and I spun around, smiling. “When can I see my mom?”

  Kiera frowned. “You won’t be able to see your family.”

  Keen disappointment shot through me. “Why not?”

  “Those are the rules.”

  Frustration pushed my thoughts to my lips. “This whole thing is ridiculous, you know. I haven’t done anything wrong. I can’t believe I’m even here.”

  Kiera’s face softened. “I know exactly how you feel, but you have to accept what’s happened.”

  “Why? Why should I accept it? Why do you accept it?”

  Kiera glanced over her shoulder as if she expected someone to be listening. For all I knew, people were listening to every word we spoke. “Look. I’d rather be at home too, okay? But I’m serving my time, just like you’re going to be. It’s better to just make the best of it.”

  I looked at Kiera more closely. She was very slender. I wondered if she committed some “crime” too. She certainly didn’t look like she needed to lose any weight. “Why are you here?” I asked her.

  Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. “This isn’t about me. What you need to focus on is following your regimen, following the rules, and doing your time.”

  “My regimen? What regimen? What are the rules?”

  “Your orientation is tomorrow. You’ll meet with your caseworker and he’ll go over all of that with you. Now, let me show you where the bathroom is and then I’ll let you get settled.”

  She led me out of the room and down the hall to a community bathroom.

  “The boys are on a different floor, so it’s just girls that use this bathroom. There are three other bathrooms like this on this floor, but this is the one you’ll use.” Kiera opened a drawer and took out a small toiletry bag. She opened it and I saw a new toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, comb, and shampoo. “This is complimentary, but if you need more it will come out of your budget.”

  “My budget?”

  She sighed. “Your caseworker will explain, but the short version is that you’ll be assigned a work assignment and some of the money you earn will cover the cost of supplies. In other words, these first supplies are free, but when you need more you’ll have to pay for them, so don’t waste anything.”

  “Okay,” I murmured, feeling uncomfortable with all the rules I didn’t yet know. I liked to know what to expect and right now I felt very much in the dark.

  “You can keep your personal items in here if you want,” Kiera said. “But most people like to keep them in their room.” She closed the toiletry bag and handed it to me, then she opened a cupboard which had two stacks of neatly folded white, thin towels. She took one from the top of a stack and handed it to me. “After you shower, make sure to hang on to your towel. You only get a fresh one on Mondays.” She paused. “Any questions?”

  I actually had a lot of questions, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to answer them, so I shook my head.

  “Okay. Let’s go back to your
room and see if Alyx is there yet.”

  This time when Kiera knocked, a voice called from inside. “Just a minute.”

  A moment later the door opened and a girl about my age stood in the doorway. “Hi, Kiera.” Her gaze flicked to me before settling back on Kiera.

  “Alyx, this is your new roommate. Her name’s Morgan.”

  A smile briefly lifted the corners of her mouth. “Hi.” She wore sweats and a tank top and her face was flushed, as if she’d just finished working out.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  Kiera turned to me. “Stick with Alyx and someone will come and get you after breakfast so you can meet with your caseworker.” She looked at Alyx. “See ya.” Then she walked down the hall toward the elevators.

  As I watched her go, a feeling of panic swelled within me. I was just starting to get used to Kiera and her funky hair and confident manner. Now she was leaving me with a complete stranger who would be sharing my living space.

  Chapter Three

  “Are you coming in or what?” Alyx stood in the doorway watching me watch Kiera disappear down the hall.

  I turned toward her. “Yeah.”

  She held the door open and I walked in, my toiletry bag and towel in my hands. I set them on a shelf in my closet and frowned at the pathetic emptiness of the space. I hoped Mom would be able to bring some of my things soon. I wondered if there was any way for me to see her.

  “Let’s get one thing straight right away,” Alyx said.

  I spun around to look at my new roommate, surprised at the hostility in her voice.

  “I’m set to leave this hell-hole in three weeks and I don’t want anything to screw that up.”

  My gaze travelled up and down her body. She looked like she was in great shape. I wondered what she’d looked like when she’d first arrived.

  “Yes, I know I look good now.” She’d obviously noticed me looking at her. “I just reached my goal weight, and once I’ve maintained that weight for three weeks, I’m out of here.”

  “I don’t understand how I could screw that up for you.”

  “I know you just got here and you haven’t heard all the crap rules yet, but here’s a newsflash for you. If you mess up, it’s on me too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What does it sound like? They treat roommates like they’re the same person. If you’re late for work, our room gets docked, not just you. If you skip a workout, it goes against me too. Get it?”

  “But why?”

  “Why do you think? So that we’ll make sure no one slacks. No one wants to be held accountable for someone else’s mistakes. They figure one roommate will push the other to do what she’s supposed to so that the innocent roommate doesn’t get punished for the slacker being stupid.”

  “Oh. I guess that makes sense.”

  “Yeah, except it sucks for people like me. They always put the newbies with someone who’s going to be leaving soon so that the short timer will make sure the newbie follows the rules.”

  Even though I felt bad for her, I really didn’t give a rat’s behind if she had to stay here for the rest of her life. The only thing I cared about was getting out of here and getting back to the tunnel, and then if all went as I hoped, back to my real life.

  “You’re not going to cause me any trouble, are you?” she asked.

  “Why do you ask that?” I wondered if she was somehow able to read my mind.

  She gestured to my face. “You tried to run, didn’t you?”

  I touched my swollen lip and flinched. It was still very tender.

  “There’s no point in trying to run, now that they’ve chipped you.”

  My hand moved from my mouth to the tiny lump in my arm, and I frowned.

  She nodded. “It sucks, I know.” The hostility in her voice had lessened.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Four months, one week, and three days.” She smiled. “Not that I’m counting.”

  I smiled back, glad she was being more friendly. I didn’t know if I could take having a roommate who hated me. Even though I planned to escape in time to reach the tunnel, I was realistic enough to know it might take a little time and it would be useful to have someone on my side who knew the ropes. Maybe she could help me speed up the learning curve enough so that I could find a way to escape before it was too late.

  “Well, I’m beat,” she said. “Breakfast is at seven, so if you want to shower beforehand, you should plan to get up early.”

  I glanced at the clothes I wore. “I don’t have any pajamas or clean clothes.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “That sucks.”

  I stared at her. I didn’t know what I’d expected her to say, but that wasn’t it.

  “Look, I can go find Kiera and see if she can find you loaners.”

  Loaners weren’t my first choice, but I didn’t know what else I could do. “Thanks.”

  Alyx sighed. “I’ll be right back.”

  A few minutes later she came back. Kiera was right behind her and had some clothes in her hands.

  “Sorry, Morgan,” Kiera said. “I should have told you I was getting you something to wear until your family brings you clothes from home.” She handed me the clothes.

  “Thanks.”

  “See you in the morning.” She smiled and left.

  “I’m going to get ready for bed,” Alyx said. “I suggest you do the same.”

  A short time later Alyx and I were in our beds. After changing into a clean pair of pajamas and freshening up, I felt a little better. “What time do you get up?” I asked.

  “Five-thirty. I like to beat the rush to the showers.”

  “Oh.” I hated getting up early.

  She told me good-night, clearly not interested in any conversation. I closed my eyes but had trouble falling asleep as I replayed the events of the evening—the phone call from Anne warning me about the Enforcers coming, the knock on the door, my terror when Dimples and Hansen had walked right in to my house, then tasered me and dragged me away. And of course my attempt to escape when we’d arrived here—then when I’d shoved my knee into Hansen’s groin and run, but had been body slammed by Dimples. It all seemed like a terrible nightmare, but as I reached up and touched my tender face and then the lump in my arm, it was all too real.

  I wondered what my family was doing. Were they worried about me? What about Dad? Was he sleeping in a room like this? Was it possible he was in this F.A.T. center? Maybe I would be able to see him. The thought buoyed me up and I was finally able to drift off to sleep.

  The next morning I woke to the sound of Alyx blow-drying her hair.

  “What time is it?” I asked over the sound of the hair dryer.

  “Six twenty. You should probably get up soon. We don’t want to be late for breakfast.”

  I lay in bed a few more minutes, calculating how long it would take me to get ready, then decided I didn’t want to cut it too close on my first day. The last thing I needed was to anger Alyx by making us late for breakfast. Sighing, I threw back the blankets and forced myself to get up.

  I trudged over to the closet and dug through the clothes Kiera had given me. I found a package of new underwear and pulled out a pair, glad at least those weren’t loaners. I shook my head at the ridiculousness of this whole situation as I grabbed a clean shirt, a pair of sweats, and my toiletry bag and towel.

  As soon as I opened the door to the hallway, I saw several girls hurrying toward the bathroom. I followed them down the hall and into the large space and stopped at the back of the line. There were two girls ahead of me waiting to use the row of four shower stalls. As I waited I wondered how many girls were on our floor. Five minutes later I was at the front of the line and no one was behind me. A few minutes after that, one of the shower stalls opened and a girl walked out. Glad it was my turn, I took one step toward it but stopped when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned to see who was holding me back and saw two girls glaring at me.

  “New girl goes la
st,” the girl gripping my shoulder said.

  My gaze went from her face to the face of the girl next to her. Both looked mean and both were bigger than me.

  “Fine,” I muttered as I got in line behind them. Furious that I would have to wait longer, I glanced at the clock nailed to the wall and saw I had half an hour before breakfast, and Alyx had made it clear that we shouldn’t be late.

  I watched as shower stalls opened and both girls in front of me were able to take their turn. Five minutes later I was able to take my turn. My face ached as I gently washed it. I ran my tongue over my lip and felt the swelling there. A short time later I dried off—the towel was rough and scratchy—then dressed and hurried back to my room.

  “About time,” Alyx said, frowning.

  “There was a line.” I wasn’t about to tell her that a couple of girls had bullied me, pushing me behind schedule. I wondered how long I’d be thought of as the new girl.

  “Let’s get going.”

  “But I haven’t done my hair.” I hung the towel on a hook in the closet, then set my pajamas and toiletry bag on the shelf.

  “What exactly were you planning on doing with it?”

  “Uh, drying it.” Anger at being bossed around filled my voice.

  “Using?”

  My anger deflated as I realized I had nothing but a comb, compliments of my toiletry bag. “Could I use your hair dryer?”

  Alyx sighed. “I’d let you if there was more time, but we need to get going.”

  I turned my back to her and rolled my eyes, then pulled the comb out of my bag. “Can I at least comb my hair?”

  “If you hurry.”

  The comb caught on the tangles, but I worked it through. I turned to face her. “What’s the big deal about being late for breakfast, anyway?”

  “I just don’t like to be late, okay?”

  I finished untangling my hair and set the comb aside. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Good. Let’s go.” She paused at the door, a folded sheet of paper in her hand. “Don’t forget your card.”

  I grabbed the card, which I had left on the closet shelf, and slid it into the pocket of the sweats I was borrowing, then followed her out of our room and toward the elevator. She waved her card in front of the card reader. A moment later the elevator doors opened.