Here to Stay

Small time skip as Velise adjusts

Three days and two Serum shots later, and I was ready for my first attempt.

It turns out that Casey hadn’t been lying about what he said. The Medics had come up with a Serum given through shots that majorly sped up the healing process. My hand’s bruises were already gone, and the clear fractures in my fingers had fixed themselves, though they were still sore. Now all that was left was my leg, though even that had improved. I could put pressure on it and walk again, but it got sore and tired quickly, so I had to rest it often.

But… It was still good enough to move. And I’ve been here long enough to understand the routine.

Every morning- or what I assume is morning, with no sunlight to go off of- an alarm goes off, signaling that it’s time to get up and get ready to go to work. Every morning, about fifteen minutes later, Casey will go to the door, knock three times, and an Enforcer will open the door and escort him away. If I can just match that schedule, and knock right after everyone else leaves, maybe I can get out. An Enforcer will come to open the door, and I can slip out without worrying about several more guarding the area. Because they’ll all be taking the people to their jobs.

But I need a distraction. Something to get the Enforcers attention after the door is opened so I can slip out without immediately being stopped. Like a fire, or a… flood.

Yes, that would work.

I’d turn on the sink and shower full blast and block the pipes with my old clothes. It would work. I’d flood the place, knock, have the Enforcer open the door, frantically explain that the pipes are busted, and slip out when it turns to investigate.

I’d have to be quick, but it was a good plan.

Granted, I still didn’t have an exit strategy, but at least I knew how to get the elevator to work, thanks to lunch and dinner with Casey the last few days. The Enforcers were directly connected to all the doors in the facility, according to him. They basically acted as mechanical keys.

Which meant, I’d rush to the cluster of people all leaving to their jobs, sneak onto the elevator with them, and I’d count the seconds until I was sure I was on the lowest floor they’d stop at. Then I’d get off with the crowd, hide from view, and then sneak off to find an exit. Hopefully, I’d get lucky.

And if I didn’t, at the very least I’d get a better idea of how the place worked. I’d consider it a learning opportunity. And so, as Casey left, I put my plan into action. I knew I’d have to make it quick. Thankfully, the bathroom was small, so it would flood quickly.

I had water leaking into the main room within two minutes. Perfect. Then, I knocked on the door three times, nice and loud. Sure enough, the door slid open, and an Enforcer stared blankly at me from the other side. I threw on my best panicked look.

“T-The pipes in the bathroom busted! There’s water leaking everywhere!”

It took a step into the room and turned to look. That was all I needed. I slid past and felt a thrill run through me. Okay, first part done. I was out of the room. Now, I needed to start running.

I couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto my face as the world blurred around me. This was the first time I’d gotten to run since I was injured, and it felt amazing. I felt like myself again. Like a piece of me had shifted back into place.

It was fairly simple getting to the elevator, I just needed to go left from my door until I got to the familiar 601 number. It was directly across from there. I slid into the lift, relieved to find it was already full and I blended into the background perfectly.

But that was as far as I got.

A loud screech started going off, and the yellow light of the elevator shifted abruptly into a flashing red. I paled as the Enforcer turned to me, knowing immediately I’d been caught. I couldn’t even run off because the elevator had already closed.

“Human 1974332997, you are not authorized on this vertical transport. You are meant to stay in your chambers until further instruction is given. Please move in an orderly fashion as we escort you back.”

The door opened, and before I could bolt, the Enforcer grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me back to my room. I debated fighting it, but considering how that went last time, and that I was just starting to recover my health, I thought against it.

It was humiliating knowing that I hasn’t even made it off this floor before getting caught. And it was even worse not knowing why I’d been found out. What had tipped me off? As we made it back to the room, the other Enforcer was inside, looking unbothered that it had been tricked.

“Do not put foreign material inside of the pipes again. It can cause damage, and doing so will result in one point going forward. "

Point?

“You are given one pardon for your actions today. Please do not repeat this behavior going forward, or points will be tallied against you.”

And with that, I was pushed inside the room, while the two Enforcers left and closed the door behind them. I was seething when they left. Both from the disappointment of how quickly my plan had failed, and also the frustration of not knowing why.

But… I did have one good piece of data from this.

Getting out of the room was possible. And surprisingly easy. Which meant, I could do it again.

�-��-��-�

It was several hours later before Casey came back to get me for lunch, and I already had a list of questions in my mind to ask him.

And I wasted no time starting when we sat down with our trays.

“So what do points mean?”

He paused, his sandwich held in midair as he looked at me, his jaw clenched in a twitch of annoyance.

“You tried to get out, didn’t you.”

“Just answer my question.”

He rolled his eyes and plopped the sandwich back on the tray, as if he lost his appetite.

“Points are given to mark the amount of trouble the individual had gotten into. The more points you have, the more they up the security for you. Go a certain amount of time without a slip up, and your point amount goes down slowly. And so does the security.”

Huh. So I’ll have to be more careful than I realized. The more I mess up, the more difficult it’s going to get for me to get out. The Enforcers mentioned something about no points being added since it was my first offense, so that’s good at least.

“What happens if you get too many points?”

I paled at the thought of what an Enforcer could do if they wanted to.

I was starting to tune out his sighs now. It seemed a habit for him to let out some sort of sign of disappointment when I opened my mouth to say something.

“Again, they just up the security. They just keep doing that again and again and again until you’re basically under constant watch. By that point, you don’t really have an opportunity to mess up anymore.”

I frowned. That didn’t make sense. Not from a logistical point.

“Why not just execute the human with that amount of offenses? Won’t that take less resources? I mean, clearly they aren’t against it if the Uprising has anything to say.”

He finally took a bite of his sandwich, but I suspected it was less out of hunger and more out of avoiding the answer. My pointed look said I saw through that. Besides, he’d run out of food soon enough and have no excuse left to not answer.

His jaw twitched again when he finished his bite. It seemed my message got across.

“Regardless of how ridiculous the method, the machines claim everything they do is for the ultimate betterment of humankind-”

I went to rebuke that but he put his hand up to let him finish.

“I’m not saying it’s right. And you’re right, there were a lot of casualties during the initial Uprising, but once someone is placed here, there’s almost no chance that they’ll execute a human. Not unless the human tries to harm another human. You could try to leave for decades, and they’d still just up your restrictions instead of pulling the trigger.”

He paused again to take another bite. Chewing thoughtfully.

“Granted, that’s probably also because of the resources they have at their disposal. They’re constantly making new versions of themselves. Which means there’s never a shortage of guards to keep an eye on us. If they ever get too thinned out, who knows. That standard might change.”

I sat for a moment, processing this new data. He’d answered the questions I’d asked, but in doing so, he’d only left me with more to ponder over.

“…Then why the hell don’t you try to escape? Why do you just accept things as they are?”

“Velise-”

“No. I understood before, even though I didn’t agree with it, because I thought you were doing it out of a sense of survival. Worried about dying if you resisted. That kind of thing. But you’re telling me that death isn’t even on the radar of possible punishments, and none of you bother trying to escape?”

“You don’t-”


“And to top it all off, the points aren’t even permanent? Be good for awhile and they go away? It’s ridiculous- no- it’s utter bullshit that you are just complacent sitting here on a thirty minute lunch break before going back to helping them catch more of us!”

I didn’t even plan on standing up until I had, my voice raising a bit more than I had meant it to.

He was quiet for a moment. Too quiet. His eyes looking at the wall, but seeing something else in his mind. Physically, he was here. But the look in his eyes suggested he was in a different moment, a different time. And then those eyes met mine again, and I saw that look again. That look that said he was far older than his age. That look that said he’d been through lifetimes, while I was puttering through my first.

“Velise, you’ve been here less than a week. Some of the people here have been here since the start. Are you really so arrogant that you think no one has tried to escape? That you’re the first? I want you to listen to me when I say this. Hear the words coming out of my mouth, and take them to heart. No one, gets out.”

He said each word slowly, like he was really trying to make sure I understood them. My face burned in my usual tell of anger. Before I was frustrated, now I was pissed.

“Well maybe if you all hadn’t given up, you could’ve found a way! Maybe the reason no one has ever gotten out, is because everyone stopped believing they could!”

He laughed, a bitter, dry, sound that suggested he knew far more on the subject than I. I hated that sound.

“Yes, because if you just believe hard enough, a portal will magically open up out of here. Sorry if you got the wrong impression, but this isn’t a kids movie. There’s no happy ending. There’s no ending at all. It’s just this. Forever. And it may take a month, it may take a year, but you’ll learn that eventually.”

Oh he really shouldn’t have said that.

“Excuse me? Do you think survival outside of the facility is a f*****g picnic? This is the first time I’ve had fresh meat in six years. You have food! You have shelter! So don’t act like I’ve been living in some utopia and don’t know what I’m talking about. I had to fight for every second of my freedom out there, just like I’ll fight to get it back in here!”

“Oh? Well if out there is so awful, why do you want out so bad?”

“Because my freedom matters more to me than my fears! What’s your excuse to stay!?”

The Cafeteria had gone quiet. I’m not sure if it was because they were uncomfortable by my argument, or if they were trying to get in on the drama of what was happening, but regardless, now my face burned with a mix of anger and embarrassment. I plopped my napkin on my empty tray and stormed off to the bathroom. I didn’t want to be around anyone right now. I certainly didn’t want anyone looking at me right now. I’d just wait in here until lunch was over and I’d be taken back to my room.

I hadn’t meant to be so loud, but I… gods I had been so unbelievably furious by what he said.

I had always thought that the reason no one ever left the facility was because people were killed before they ever got a chance to make it out. Only to learn that death wasn’t even a threat for the people here?

That death wouldn’t have been my parent’s fate if they hadn’t fought for me… That my little sibling would exist in this world by now, would be seven by now, if they hadn’t fought…

I tried to shake that thought from my head, though it rattled me more than I wanted to admit.

I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm. And after a few minutes, the excess blood left my face, the what ifs and angry curses left my mind, and I could think a little clearer.

I won’t be like them. I won’t be like Casey. I won’t sit around and just accept what’s happening. I don’t care about the stupid points or the overbearing security. I don’t care if it takes me a month or a year! I’ll make it out. And I’ll do it all by myself if I have to. After all, I’m used to being alone.

Author's Note

Does Velise's motive seem clear? Also, does she come across as a bit unlikable or over the top? I want her to be a bit rough around the edges because she really develops as the book goes on, but at the same time, I don't want her to be impossible to like, you know? I want her immaturity and drive to feel a little relatable, but not entirely justified.