Rebel Young

Part 7

The stuttering rhythm of an assault rifle woke me from a light sleep. Jack had dozed off next to me and was drooling lightly on my shoulder. I shook him awake and waited for the next round of shots to fire. It wasn't long before they sounded. These shots were definitely closer than the last round.

"They're moving in on this area," Jack observed.

"I know. We need to find a way out of here."

I scanned my eyes around the room. Mum always said there was more then one exit to the shelters - you just had to look at the room in different light.

Jack stood up and uneasily began pacing the length of the shelter, occasionally glancing at the top of the ladder.

My eyes caught on a faded patch of wall behind a stool. I stood up and strode over to move the small, red, leather chair. Upon closer inspection I saw something definitely different about a certain patch of wall. A palm-sized section of the concrete was slightly raised and smoother than the rest.

Another round of shots rang out above ground. They were worryingly close now.

"Hurry up April," Jack urged nervously.

"Getting there," I muttered.

Jack's pacing increased in speed.

I ran my hand over the smooth patch. There was definitely something there.

"Jack, come and look at this," I beckoned.

"I think it's a pressure switch," I explained when he joined me.

"Only one way to find out," he declared.

Jack took a deep breath in and pressed his palm firmly to the switch. A portion of wall on the other side of the room slid open, revealing a narrow, dark passageway. Jack held up his hand and I high-fived him, grinning.

The tunnel hadn't changed since we'd entered ten minutes ago. We were still surrounded by rough, cracked concrete. Our course had been completely straight so far. There had been no deviation in pitch or direction at all.

"Where do you think we'll end up?" I asked Jack.

"Hopefully far away from the invading forces. My bet's on either the lake or the old orchard," Jack replied.

I nodded at his answer, the torch's bright, white light bouncing around in front of us.

"So April," Jack started conversationally, "how'd you end up in the patrols?"

"Oh, um ... well it was my twelfth birthday. Dad and Ethan had been conscripted into the army three years earlier. Mum was too busy looking after Annabelle to work. I dropped out of school to help save money as well as bring in some sort of an income"

"Wait, you dropped out of school?" Jack interrupted.

"Mum didn't like the idea, but I couldn't let them starve," I continued recounting my story, disregarding Jack's interruption, "I went to the City Centre and posted my application to join the patrols. Freddie seemed reluctant to hire me at first, but I managed to sway his opinion. Anyway long story short, I received a fortnightly paycheque, started school again and ultimately ended up in a cold, dark tunnel with an almost absolute stranger."

Jack smiled a bit at my last sentence.

"So how did you end up at the Lab Jack?" I responded.

"I'd rather not talk about that moment in my life," Jack drifted off.

"Anyway, you fell asleep when I tried talking to you about my parents."

"Okay, I get the picture," I gave in.

We dropped the conversation and continued walking in a comfortable silence. I was curious though, what was Jack hiding about his past?

"This tunnel is endless!" Jack abruptly shouted.

"No kidding," I agreed.

Just as I uttered those words we came to a sudden crossroad. Each branching pathway looked identical.

"Left, right or forward?" Jack asked.

"Right," I decided instinctively.