Within These Walls

Chapter 9

As soon as Baxter's out of sight, our door slides down, shutting us off from the rest of the blocks. That, more than anything, tells me he's not coming back. Not tonight anyway.

Maybe never.

I hear crying behind me. Camille's petite figure is propped up against the wall and her face is streaked with tears. Alec goes over to her and puts an arm around her. "Hey, don't be scared," he says. "It's going to be okay."

"I wish I could've taken a shot at those assholes," Marcus mutters. "They're hiding behind the bracelets. Goddamned cowards."

Alec exhales a breath. "Doesn't matter what they are. They've got us right where they want us. All we can do is play along to survive."

"What'll happen to Baxter?" Carson asks.

"What do you think?" Camille snaps, fire in her teary eyes. "They're going to kill him. Him and anyone else who didn't make it. They didn't quite cut it in here, did they?"

"Seems like a waste, if you ask me, bringing us all the way out here just to kill us."

"I don't think killing us is their point," I say. "I think they want us afraid."

"Why?" Alec asks, looking at me with curiosity.

I don't know where I'm going with this other than to a place where I'll sound insane or pitiful. Because fear makes you work twice as hard to stay in line sounds like I'm confessing to something buried deep inside me. And I might be wrong. Maybe they're doing all of this just to mess with us. I'm stringing together worlds that have nothing to do with one another. Even now, so far away from him, Sam's shadow still reaches me.

"I don't know," I say with a shrug, staring at the closed door. "It's just a guess."

"Where are you going?" Alec calls after Marcus when he turns to leave.

"You're giving me a headache. I'm going to get some rest. Who knows how much longer this peace will last?"

With that troubling remark, he disappears into his bedroom.

A while later, I come out of the bathroom and find Carson on the sofa, flipping through channels. The TV in here is working. The clock says 7:23 P.M. One hour since the masked men took Baxter. I fall onto the cushion next to Carson. "What if Marcus is right?"

He looks startled. "You coming down with something? That's crazy talk."

"I mean . . . maybe we're supposed to prove ourselves in some way and only those who do are the winners."

"What's the prize?"

Worst case scenario: not dying. "I don't know. But based on what happened earlier, not being one of the fastest kids got Baxter in trouble. Maybe only the fittest people really will survive in here."

"That sucks. Why can't it be something fun? Like who's the best at standup comedy?" He grins. "Bet I'd win that one."

My smile fades quickly. "I hope Willow is okay."

I didn't see her on the stairs when we made a break for it. She's housed on the bottom floor, which should have made it easier for her to get to her block in time.

"I saw her heading off to her block about ten seconds before we got to ours. I think she's good." He keeps pressing buttons on the remote control. "You know what my biggest fear is? If something happens to us and no one ever finds out."

"Why is that?"

"Because of my ma. I'm the youngest of four boys. She treats me like the baby of the family. She always wants to know what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with." The corners of his mouth lift. "Crazy thing is, I don't mind. We're real close. My dad's an outdoorsy guy—you know, he loves building things with his bare hands and wrestling bears, but she lets me be whatever I want. 'You're my son first and foremost and that's all that matters,' she always says."