Outside the Box - Chapter 15

15

Dying sucks. I don’t know how else to explain it. 

Dying once is normally enough for somebody, but dying twice - no matter who fake the deaths may be - is terrible. 

Pain spreads from my neck to my head and my lungs. 

And then I open my eyes. 

Aspen must have completely fixed the Sphere if I’m alive. For a second there, I thought I actually died. How silly of me, really. 

There’s a sharp poking sensation all over my body as tiny wires recede from my skin. My entire body hurts, especially my neck and my head. And my stomach - it growls in hunger. My parched throat begs for water. 

The entire world seems to be shaking around me. 

Maybe because it is shaking all around me. Still racked with the pain of my “wounds”, I spring to my feet. The building must be under attack - which means it could collapse on us. 

By us I mean Miguel, Ezra, Aspen, and I. And everyone in the city who doesn’t deserve to die.

My first instinct is to call out for someone - mainly Aspen. But I know that no one will hear me, and my best bet is to escape first. I glance around my room but there are no visible doors. Just the table I’m sitting on and the light dangling from the ceiling. 

The walls are made of white padding, I guess so I can’t injure myself. 

Just as I’m about to run at the wall to see if I can affect it in any way, there’s a tiny click and a whirring sound. One of the padded panels flips upward, forcing me to stumble backwards. 

I’m immediately forced against a wall and for a second I attempt to fight back. But then I realize I’m not in danger. 

Aspen wraps her arms tightly around my chest, sniffling. Ezra and Miguel follow her into the room, rolling their eyes. Miguel’s nose is bleeding and Ezra has a scratch on his face. Otherwise, they seem relatively unharmed. 

“Jake, you’re alive,” Aspen cries into my chest. She takes a step back, wiping her eyes. “At first I thought we actually died in the maze.” 

“Did you tell Miguel and Ezra?” I ask her, getting back my wits. 

“Told us the short version,” Ezra explains. “Not much time for the long one yet. We need to leave now. The guards are distracted, and there’s an escape not far away.” 

I nod, ignoring the pain in my body. But I still wince when I step forward. 

“Oh, here,” Miguel hands me a patch of white paper or something. “It has painkillers in it. Put it on your shoulder.” 

I follow his instructions and the pain disappears. “Let’s go,” I say and we begin jogging. 

Ezra and Miguel seem to know the way well enough. Aspen and I follow, both tired from our trek through the maze. But there’s no time to catch up - the building is still shaking. 

“Rebels … bombing the building,” Ezra explains between breaths. “Miguel and I… managed … to slip … away.” I don’t need further explanation at all. 

Outside my little cell is a short corridor. It leads to a larger room filled with computers and all kinds of tech - enough to probably run an entire city. Maybe this is the control room for the city itself. 

Ezra takes us to the left, and we continue making turns. I swear Ezra said that the exit wasn’t too far. 

Finally, Ezra slows down near at the end of a hallway. “There’s a window right here. Can someone break it?” Miguel nods and without a word he kicks the wall. I hear the shattering of glass and suddenly light floods in. “Tinted glass,” Ezra tells us. “We’re about two stories up - but there’s a jeep. The Hidden should be driving around the bottom with a net for us. We have to jump.” 

There’s a pause as Ezra listens. “The jeep is coming. C’mon, let’s jump.” 

He climbs through the hole in the wall and jumps. My heart leaps into my throat, but I hear Ezra call out that everything is okay from the bottom. Miguel goes next. Aspen and I are the only ones left. 

“It’ll be easy,” Aspen says, looking at me worried. 

“Easy for you to say,” I mumble back. 

“Can you jump one more time? Once?” Aspen pleads and I nod, not even considering the fact that I could plummet to my death again. 

Aspen climbs out the window and falls. 

I grab the sides of the window pane, yelping as a shard of glass slices my finger. I pull my feet up, preparing myself. I’m still wearing the black jumpsuit, and I shiver under the cool wind. Two jeeps are circling below with a net outstretched between them. 

Without thinking, I push myself. 

There’s a moment of screaming and flailing as I fall, but I land on the net and roll to the side. Miguel grabs my hand and yanks me into the back of the car. 

The Hidden pull the net inside and roll up the windows, speeding away. 

“You have some serious explaining to do.” I see Liliya pop up over the back of the seat. “All of you.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Miguel sighs, waving her off. “Aspen and Ezra aren’t here - and I’d prefer to only explain once. Besides, I still don’t know what happened with Jakey here. His new scar doesn’t explain anything either.” 

“Scar?” I ask suddenly. No one told me about a scar. 

“See for yourself,” Liliya hands me a tiny compact mirror. “But give the mirror back when you’re done.” 

I flip open the compact and look at my face. It looks normal, but Miguel points to his neck so I lower the compact. 

A thin, pale, and jagged line runs across the width of my neck. The scar is skinny - like the blade of a sword. A sword that slit my throat. I hand Liliya back the compact, lost in my own thoughts. 

No one asks me any questions, but I can hear Quinn talking excitedly beside Liliya. “I can’t wait!” She exclaims. “A new story is something I’ve been waiting for a long time.” 

“Jake isn’t ready to tell a story yet,” Liliya smiles shyly at me. “He looks like he’s going to pass out.” 

“Sleep, mi amigo, you’ve been through a lot,” Miguel whispers, patting me gently on the back. “You look like you just came back from the dead.” I don’t have the heart to tell him I really just have. Instead, I close my eyes and let the rocking of the jeep shake me to sleep. 

We’re not in bunker when I wake up. I don’t ask, there isn’t anyone to ask in the first place. 

I’m in a bed, it’s relatively soft. I find a pile of clothes on the floor beside me, a handwritten note on top. Bathroom down the hall. Hope the clothes fit. I can’t tell who wrote it, but I gratefully take the clothes and the directions. 

I take an extremely long, scalding shower and wash myself about three times. It’s been so long since I’ve been allowed to bathe, it feels like. 

I drink some of the water from the sink in the bathroom and change into the clothing left for me. It’s the clothing we wore back at the bunker, which is good because it still fits well enough. I keep the black jumpsuit as well - maybe we’ll need it. 

When I return back to the room where I woke up Miguel is there waiting for me. “Long enough shower?” he smirks. “You’ve been in there for half an hour.” 

“It takes work to look this good,” I retort with a smile. 

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked a ton of questions by now. Improving our self control, are we?” Miguel smiles. “C’mon, we have places to be and people to see.” 

“I figured I would get answers later, no matter what,” I shrug truthfully. Miguel tugs me down the hallway. I can hear voices, chattering loudly as we approach. Miguel opens the door and we step inside what appears to be a common room. 

There are couches everywhere - although some are torn. There’s a large, soft looking carpet in the center of the room. 

And all of the Hidden, Miguel, Ezra, and Aspen are here too. 

Aspen looks as clean as I feel, her blonde hair still wet. Liliya, Quinn, Warner, and Caspian are seated close to Ezra and Aspen. 

I pull up a chair and join them, but the entire room has gone quiet and I can feel all eyes on me. I try to ignore the stares, but they seem to burn through my back. Miguel drags a chair and sits beside me, waiting for something. “What do you want?” I ask them. 

“Go on, tell us,” Liliya whispers beside me, excited. 

“Tell you what?” I ask, confused. 

“What happened in the maze, of course,” Aspen tells me, her voice quiet. “I didn’t talk, I figured you would be better at that. Besides, I’m not sure I’m ready to…” Her voice trails off and I nod. We went through a lot in the maze, and not just physically.

“Miguel told us about you going into a maze to fix the Sphere of Power, but that’s it,” Caspian informs me. 

I take a breath before beginning. “Well, we started in the maze and we got supplies from a secret storage room. Then we began our trek through the maze…” 

I talk for what seems like an hour, telling our journey through the maze. The weird acid rain creatures. The wave and the venomous spiders. Me passing out for a few days - which earns a few giggles from Miguel. Juliette and Ezra. The snow and the heat. The weird darkness creatures. And finally the figures that looked like us, our untimely deaths as well. 

Aspen doesn’t say anything through out the entirety of my narration, nor does anyone comment. But I can tell I’ve earned some respect from the others as well as diminished any remaining doubt of me being a spy for the Box. 

Miguel silences the whispers after I finish. “I still haven’t got to tell my story yet!” he exclaims with a smile, but most of the Hidden just roll their eyes. 

“Let Ezra tell it,” one of the younger girls protests. “His stories are actually in English.” 

Miguel pretends to me offended but listens to the girl and lets Ezra explain. 

The boy smiles deviously. “Once upon a time,” Miguel slaps him and Ezra sighs. “Okay, fine. The second that Aspen and Jake went into the maze, Miguel and I were escorted to a luxury cell at the end of a hallway. We got fed three times a day, and there were always two guards in the room. I began to talk to them, and the guards got… friendly with me. We actually had to replace guards four times - Dr. Barron found out about my friendships. Anyways, the third pair told us that they felt sorry for us, blah, blah blah. Long story short, Miguel and I convinced them to send out a plea for help. The guards did it a few days later and the Hidden came for us. The guards gave us a map of the building to use - or at least the floor plans.” 

There’s no applause or anything, but Ezra bows nevertheless. 

“So, where are we?” Aspen asks finally, echoing my own thoughts. 

“The bunker was discovered,” Quinn says. “Caspian snuck us into Mental, and the leader sympathized with us. Especially after the new order.” 

“Order?” It takes me a moment to realize I was the one who asked. 

Quinn nods, but Liliya explains. “You guys were in the Box for about two weeks or so. After the first week, the Box found our bunker somehow. We thought you guys had tipped them off, but one of the Ninjas mentioned you being silent and prisoner. Anyways, we fled here and we’ve been here since.” 

“That’s not the point,” Warner mumbles under his breath. “Order Number 578 - or a law, basically - was passed the day after we escaped. Anyone who doesn’t belong to a Clan is subject to death. And Order Number 579 - well, the wording is weird. Essentially, the Box is choosing 100 people from each clan - 40 men, 40 women, 20 children - and letting them live. They take the select few to the Box and hide them away. Everyone else has been killed, if they try to attack or stop them. But we were told two days ago we have a month to live.” 

Warner falls silent, and everyone else avoids my gaze.

So the Box is picking a select few to keep alive - everyone else should die. In exactly one month, too. It’s almost like we’ve been given another Date. 

“Well that’s nice,” Aspen blinks once, breaking into a nervous smile. 

“You know what is nice?” Quinn suddenly breaks out into a smile. “The shampoo here smells lovely.” 

Caspain rolls his eyes. “Thank you, for that brilliant observation. Anyways, once Jake and Aspen our up to it, the leader of Mental wants to speak to you. He says he can help you guys.” 

Aspen and I share a look. 

“Ezra and I were invited too,” Miguel says, but it’s almost a question. 

Caspian shakes his head. “Just Jake and Aspen. You two can come later, when he speaks to all of us.” 

“Why just us?” Aspen asks, once again saying what I’m thinking. 

“He didn’t say,” Caspian shrugs. “I talked to him earlier briefly, but not in person. You’re to be escorted to his office in one hour.” 

“And until then?” I ask. 

Caspian shrugs again. “I guess we just wait.” 

And wait is what we do. 

Mental is bigger than I was expecting. The sun has set and the streets are empty - which is probably a good thing because Caspian didn’t have any costumes for us to fit in. 

We’ve been staying in an apartment building near the center of the Clan. Since Mental is built up rather than out, Caspian tells us that we’re on the 50th floor - the very top of the building. He said his parents own the complex, so it’s fine if we stay. There aren’t a whole ton of people left in the Clan anyways. 

Some have tried to escape - and they were killed. The smartest and the best have been taken. So only the weaker ones are left - and the well hidden ones. 

The boss of Mental - which Caspian still hasn’t said anything about - somehow evaded capture. But according to Liliya - who managed contact to Emotional - all of the leaders of the Clans have survived the first wave of death and evaded capture. 

Still, the houses are all empty with no lights at all. That’s fine by me, there’s less people to see my weird scar across my neck. 

I asked Aspen about it when we had some alone time (a good five minutes). She lifted her shirt and showed me a scar on her stomach where she was stabbed. 

But all of the other wounds we suffered left no visible markings on our bodies. We asked some of the smarter Hidden, as well as Miguel and Ezra, but none of them had any ideas why. Then Miguel began to joke about matching scars and I began to regret ever bringing it up in the first place. 

One of the older Hidden - who introduces herself as Margot - drives us in the jeep. Miguel is still pouting in the back - it’s his turn in the trunk - and he refused to drive. Aspen wouldn’t have any idea where to go and and no one was keen on letting Miguel, Ezra, Aspen, and I go anywhere alone. After all, last time it ended up in us getting kidnapped, forced into a death maze, and Grecthen’s disappearance and possible death. 

Caspian is in the front of the car with Margot. The young woman is also from Mental apparently. The people we rescued from Social were also form other places as well - although most weren’t. 

Margot seems comfortable enough, driving us around as Ezra asks for a tour. She points out the factories, the small business, and the main government buildings. 

Since Mental values intelligence, children with low IQs are generally sent away. They also value mental health, so everyone is encouraged to speak their mind. Caspian shows us where he grew up, and says it’s changed a lot. I’m sure it has - some of his friends might be dead. I don’t have the heart to point that out. 

Margot finally pulls in to a weird elevator thing. We climb out of the car, seeming informal for such a nice occasion. Margot tells Caspian to take Aspen and I to the boss. Miguel and Ezra will stay behind with the jeep. 

A pair of doors splits open on the end of the elevator, revealing a passageway filled with wooden doors. “To deceive,” Caspian explains. But I don’t need the explanation, it’s obvious. 

He inspects the doorknobs on each one before stopping at one closer to the entrance on the left side. He bows, stepping back. “Your meeting awaits, madam and sir.” The he straightens, smiles, and struts away. 

“Are you ready?” I ask Aspen for what feels like the fifteenth million time. 

“You always ask that, and I never can be ready for everything,” Aspen responds quietly. “But I am ready for this. We’re in this together.” 

“And don’t forget Miguel. He’ll murder us if we don’t let him in,” I smile before opening the door. I realize a moment later I probably should have knocked - hopefully the leader shouldn’t kill us. 

“Shut the door behind you,” a rough voice says. Aspen obeys, and the knob clicks like it’s been knocked. Panic begins to flutter in my stomach. 

“I won’t hurt you,” the voice continues. “At least not on purpose. But I think we enter this room as allies, not as enemies.” 

The room is dark, dimly lit by white screens on desks all around the room. There’s a large, metal desk in the center, with two seats on the side. Aspen and I share a look before taking seats at the desk. 

The lights flicker on and a large chair sits in front of us, a small human on it. And for a moment I’m confused. Caspian referred to the boss as a he, but the person in front of us is a woman. 

She has frizzy red hair pulled back in a messy bun, her dark rimmed glasses perched on her nose as she inspects us. The woman is wearing a lab coat and a navy blue dress shirt, freckles dot her face giving her the look of a young child. But I can hear the buzz of the electronics around the room and remind myself Mental isn’t about appearances.
“You must be Aspen and Jacob,” the woman smiles brightly. “I’ve been waiting.” 

“You’ve been waiting for us?” Aspen asks. 

The woman rolls her eyes like it’s obvious. “Of course I have. Ever since Mr. Caspian brought the Hidden - I think that’s what they call themselves - to Mental, I’ve heard many stories from them. They always talked about you, and I thought that if you were as powerful as they say, you might be a worthwhile ally.” 

She blinks once, like expecting us to say something. Aspen and I are silent. 

She blinks again before breaking out in a nervous smile. “Sorry, I must be getting ahead of myself. My name is Dr. Eva Sybil, I have an IQ of 165, and I have a habit of sharing more information than needed. But that’s beside the point.” 

She becomes silent again, and Aspen and I share another look. If Dr. Sybil is like this - I don’t even know how to describe it - what will everyone else be like here. 

“What exactly do you want with us?” Aspen asks cautiously. 

Dr. Sybil smiles. “Of course, I was just getting to that. You know the dam around us? Well, if there’s water out there that means we can technically sail across it and find a better place. The only thing we’d need - apart from supplies - would be a boat. And according to our sources, the Box owns a boat.” 

“And?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. 

“Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? We need someone to get into the Box!” Dr. Sybil cries out. “And you’re the perfect person to break in.”