18 Chapter 17: How to Catch a spy

Around noon, both Heather and Francis walked into Chris's room. Heather was carrying some meals and Francis had a stack of papers.

"I assume you've finished the report," asked Chris.

"After recounting the food supplies we have left, we can double our meals. Second, according to our consumption rates, only three meals have been stolen."

"Thank you, Francis."

"No prob." said Francis as he turned around and left.

Francis turned down the hall and began walking towards his room. At the end of the hall, he noticed a black cloak turning to go down another hall. He quickly chased after the person in the cloak. He rounded the corner. Nothing. The figure had escaped.

…

"Hey, you seem lost in thought, what's on your mind?" asked Heather.

"This might sound stupid, but how many meals have we had, not including this one, since Jerome's grunts left us?"

"Three," answered Heather.

"And how many meals are missing?"

"Two." 

"The fact that those numbers match is a little concerning. I'll have Francis keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"Now that you mention it. It does sound a little suspicious. Are you going to do anything about it?" asked Heather.

"Now that you mention it Jerome mentioned something about a gift. I wonder if the missing food has any connection to that. Anyways, I'll address this in tomorrow's meeting. There's not much we can do right now until we know for sure whether or not there is another person in the bunker."

…

The next morning while everyone was eating breakfast, Chris got up to make an announcement. 

"I have reason to believe that we are no longer alone in this bunker. For everyone's safety, I ask that everyone carry a knife with them for self defence. There is no guarantee that there is another human in here, but it's for the best that we take extra caution. Now if you excuse me, this serious talk is making me hungry."

Francis wanted to say something, but he didn't want to raise any suspicions. He wanted to make sure he knew what he saw. He couldn't believe that someone would be a threat without proper evidence.

Later that day Francis was walking through the halls again when he noticed the cloaked figure running through the halls again. This time he noticed the figure's height was about seven inches shorter than his six foot one build. He became concerned about this person. He got an idea. He decided to leave  a note at the food storage instructing the person to meet him in one of the unused bedrooms. The note read:

"Dear cloaked figure, 

I am aware of your presence in our bunker. For your safety, I am offering a room for you to stay in. If anyone else discovers you, they will kill you. I don't believe you will do us any harm. From now on I will leave food boxes in room thirty-three every day. I want to meet you someday, but if you try to do us any harm, I will not hesitate to end you. 

Sincerely,

The blonde-haired boy, Francis."

He knew that if he left it in the food storage room, it would be hidden from everyone else since he is the only one authorized to go in there, but if he left food in the bedroom, no one would be around that area to find any evidence of this person. He walked over to room thirty-three and set a small camera in the corner. He rigged it so that the feed went directly to his phone.

"Now all I have to do is sit and wait," he thought to himself. 

He was now walking back to the dining hall for their dinner meal. He was still checking his phone regularly. The use of a cell phone after the disaster would be useless. All cell towers were destroyed and there was no internet in the bunker.

"Whatcha doing," asked Heather, who was now walking beside him.

Francis had to come up with an excuse or else she'll get suspicious and tell Chris.

"I'm looking at old pictures. Shouldn't you be with Chris taking a shower together or something," replied Francis.

"I thought we told you to forget about that," Heather responded embarrassed.

"I don't think I can. That memory is quite vivid."

"How rude."

Heather walked ahead to meet up with Chris. The two turned the corner and went into Chris's room. He looked at his phone again. Nothing. Once Francis got to the dining all he had to do was move four boxes of food onto a counter to be served. Easy enough. 

Francis ate his meal as quickly as possible. He left shortly after to get back to his room for the day. He checked the phone once again. He had to hope for something soon. He didn't have a phone charger and his phone was about to die. He pulled up the video feed. He saw a girl with red hair in a black robe entering the room and sitting on the bed, eating. It was the person he was looking for. 

He got up, grabbed his sword, and walked out the door. Room thirty-three was only a few doors down from him. Before he entered, he looked both ways to make sure no one else could see what he was doing. He slowly opened the door, keeping one hand on his sword at all times. Inside, the girl stood there with two knives drawn, with the blades pointing at Francis.