Ethereal

Chapter 4: Invaders from Pluto

          I hid around the corner from the Head Matron's office while I waited for the other Matrons to arrive. My blood was pumping with adrenaline, my skull buzzing with thoughts and my hands trembling from the rush. I felt like I was playing a game of hide and seek, one that I couldn't afford to lose. I wrapped my hands into the loose folds of my nightgown to try and stop them from shaking.

         I closed my eyes and took measured breaths, wondering what was taking the other Matrons so long. Had they decided to meet somewhere else? Had I taken a wrong turn and ended up somewhere other than the Head Matron's office? What if the Matron's had gone into the Head Matron's office and I hadn't heard them, and they're nearly done with their meeting? My toes curled against the cold floor at the thought of it – I needed to see what was happening.

          I peered around the corner, searching blindly down the hallway for any sign of the Matrons before I stepped out from my hiding spot. Keeping one hand on the wall I crept back towards what I hoped was the Head Matron's office door. The rough texture of the brick walls was replaced by a grainy material that could only be wood, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I smelled the Head Matron's almond perfume. Not only was I at the right door, but as I pressed my ear up against the wood, I could only hear the shuffling of papers and the crackling of a fire. The other Matron's hadn't arrived – yet.

          Just as I let out breath of relief, I heard the quiet tapping of shoes hurrying down the hallway towards the Head Matron's door, and I was standing in plain sight. Cursing under my breath, I pivoted on my heel and sprinted back to my hiding spot around the corner. I could only pray they hadn't seen my obnoxious white nightgown flapping behind me and that their own heavy breathing and footsteps had masked the sound of my own.

          I released the breath I had been holding when one of the Matron's knocked gently on the Head Matron's door. The only other sounds that could be heard was the light creak of the Head Matron's un-oiled door hinge, and the slight turn of the door handle as the thick sheet of wood closed behind the Matron's as they entered the office.

          I took that as my go-ahead, and practically threw myself onto the ground so I could press my ear up against the crack at the bottom of the door. The crack was too small to see anything besides the passing of shadows and the occasional flicker of light from the fireplace, but the Head Matron's office was so tiny that their voices seemed to echo around the room, making it easy to eavesdrop.

          "First they don't send us supplies for the planting season and now you're saying they're not going to turn the power back on?" said one of the Matrons. Maybe Matron Bathe. She had a slight lisp to her voice that caused the other girls in the orphanage to snicker behind her back whenever she spoke too fast. A habit she had not yet kicked. They compared her voice to that of a snake's – and while their comments were cruel, they weren't necessarily untrue. And they certainly were funny to listen to.

          "We don't know if that's actually true," said Matron Tran, "the power has gone off before and it's come back on. Maybe this time it will be no different?"

          "And even if the power doesn't come back on that doesn't mean anything bad has happened. The government could still be in power."

          The Matrons bickered in hushed tones, their anxious voices sending a chill down my spine. I had never heard a Matron speak in a tone that wasn't harsh or monotoned – if they were worried, then something was horribly wrong.

          "Enough," said the Head Matron, her voice silencing the others. "I spoke to Randall three days ago. He told me a rebel faction took the Salt Lake Providence, and they were planning an attack on ours as well. If they succeeded in breaching the Citadel's walls, the first thing they would do is destroy the power plant to cut off electricity."