Road to Entitlement: Nine
As I buckle my seatbelt, I pray. I did not know why, but It feels like something will go wrong any moment now, and I know Dion felt it too, or else, He would not have forced us to travel ahead of the scheduled time.
"Hey." Dions says, holds my hand that was resting on my lap, assuring me. I give him a nod and he lets go to manuever the chopper.
For the whole ride, everyone of us was quiet, it is like our body have been pulled out of something we don't wanna leave.
As soon as we arrive at the tunnel of the centrus, Alessia and I give him hugs, while Alistair just arm bump him. We went straight ahead while Dion watches us behind us as we go on.
"Don't you feel anything?" Alistair asks, Alessia and I stops walking.
I stop to feel the floor with my feet, "No I don't feel anything." Alessia agrees with me.
Alistair steps a few feet back, lowers himself, touch the floor with his hands.
"No, no, no." He says and he stands up, feeling the walls now with his hands as well.
"Remove your shoes!" Alistair says in a tone in which I have never heard before. Alessia and me follows, that's when we notice that the ground was shaking. I look at Dion from behind and he notice, shouts "What's happening?"
"Dion! Steps, A few inches back!" I say, emphasizing the steps, "What?" He asks, "Step backward!" Alistair turns his head backward and says, with such enough voice for Dion to hear, and as soon as he steps out, the gate starts closing and the tunnel was shaking even more.
"Ernilla!" Dion shouts attempts to look at us, but the two sliding doors are now going towards the middle, he had to follow us through.
I look at the surrounding, attempts to comprehend why the whole tunnel was shaking, but when my eyes glance through the shoe I had removed earlier, as I stare at the shoe going towards the midline, I exactly knew what was going.
"Gather in the middle!" I shout, Alessia gives me the confuse look, but follows and stands behind me. Alistair looks at me worried, I can't say it, my lips are forming the words but I can't say it out loud, not when I know that Dion is listening on the other end of the tunnel. My eyes blurry as tears forms into my eyes. I point the shoe to Alistair through my eyes, and and when he saw it, he hurriedly runs to us and hugs us.
"God, Ernilla what the hell is happening!" Dion shouts at the other end, the entrance door closed too fast that we no longer see him. I break free from Alistair's hug, look around the surroundings attempting to think what we can do instead of just standing. Dions muffled screams are still heard.
"Dion stop screaming, we are trying to survive here! We need silence!" Alistair says as soon as he realizes that I am surveying the scene.
"There has to be a way to stop this from crushing us, My siblings will not survive without me!" Alessia says as she tries to slam her body through the walls, attempting to slow them down.
I try to recall my memories, when I was 7 i used to read about how the centrus was made, only my father catched me so he hid the books, but no matter how hard I think, I can't seem to find the words for it.
I hear a door open, all of us stares as the door that was open with another passageway opens to Camila. She runs to us, and before we could even say thank you, She pushed me towards the open door, slamming me through the cold metal floor. Alessia was about to speak when she did the same thing that she did to me to Alessia, but instead of the floor, Alessia crashed on me. Camila was about to push Alistair, but she stops her and runs here instead. Alessia stands up and picks me up. I walk towards the entrance.
"Camila let's go!" I say as I hold out my hand. Camila just smiled at me as the shaking continues, the shoe gets nearer. I stretch my hand further but she doesn't move.
"Alistair, run now and take these two ladies." Camila commanded that made Alistair's brows frown.
"What the hell are you taking about!" I say, wiggling my hand to her.
"If I run towards you, the shaking will move faster, the door will be shut down close." Camila says.
"It is okay! No one will enter anyway, please Camila please." I say, now I am crying, I can feel my face getting wet.
"But that door will close as well, the only reason why I am here is that the tunnel recognizes my weight, even if not close, it knew that the outsider stays outside. If I move not only will this tunnel be narrowed until it breaks me. But also, that door will be closed."
I drop the hand I am reaching out to her. Looking at the shaking tunnel as it is about to reach her, I try to think of a possible way on how we can save her. I know we can but I am not thinking enough.
"Alistair, run now take them with you." Camila says, smiling at us.
I let go of my tears as it blurries my vision, but as I held my hand outside for Camila to reach, Alistair runs back outside, reaches for Camila's hand as he tries to keep his one foot toward our side of the door, and one foot on the shaking tunnel.
"Come on Camila, Atleast I need to try, I don't want to wakeup everyday, seeing that Ernilla will only blame herself if she didn't get to save you. I didn't want to mess Ernilla's hero hair." Alistair says, trying to keep it still but his one foot starts shaking. I lowered myself down, grabbed on his legs making him steady.
He looks at me as again he tries to reach Camila. Camila reaches his hand, and when their hands both meet, Alistair wraps his hands around Camila, push her towards the door with one hand, and when I don't know what else to do he shouts.
"Pull me now Ernilla!" As the last syllable of my name echoes to the place, I pull Alistair with all my might, dropping my bottom on the floor, I watch as he manage to slip through half of his body, but the door closed too fast that he hit his right shoulder with one end, I stand up and pull him again, gently sits him on the floor, I watch as his shoulder bleed, with bruises all over it.
"Thank God, Thank God." Camila and I say, I lower myself and hugs him. My heart was dropping when I thought Alistair will get squished by the door. I feel tears running in my face again.
"Shhh, You can cry later, my wounds can't get disinfected by your tears." Alistair jokes but I am in no mood to laugh. Alessia help me let Alistair stand, the white t-shirt that Alessia gave me is now pink, but I only care about his wounds right now.
"You didn't have to do that, I believe they will stop it, if they realize it is me." Camila says.
"But what if they don't! You don't get to assure us now Camila! I am scared! I thought I was gonna lose you! I won't let our freedom gets paid by yours!" I scream at her. She is the person who was there for me when the whole contenders are hating on me, and no! I don't want to lose her!
"I could accept a few beatings, well, Alistair might still be better compared to the torture I will get if they knew i let you in." Camila explains.
"I am sorry, We had to risk everything for Alessia." Alistair says, as he was struggling to keep his shoulder intact.
"It is okay, I used to do it once or twice when I was a contender. But I know how to not let it extend more than two days." All of us stopped. Camila went outside too? Why?
"Yes, I went out as well, but what do a girl needs to do? My friend told me my boyfriend is cheating, I was 15. Yes, my reason may not be as big as you are, but I was 15, and he was cheating with my bestfriend, the 1st one, I had tl go out to catch my boyfriend, the next one is to make sure my revenge plan went smoothly." She says and lets go with a laugh.
"What? We went all through this, and you will tell me you got out just for a boy! Camila! You, Camila!" I say angrily, everyone laughs.
"I was shocked that she can get out easily, while we had to go through that." Alessia says.
"Different rules? My guess, you are the reason why that was imposed." Alistair says, limping.
"Partly, yes, but not all me, however, the 2 days mark is existing even before me. So my hands are clean on that part." Camila says as we reach the quad of centrus.
"Finally we're here, let's get you treated." I say to Alistair.
"The guy who helped you out? He knew about the 2 day mark at some point, but I guess he didn't knew what will happen. If he did, he didn't allow you to extend." Camila says before she walks out of us.
"Alessia, rest, and you need to call your siblings, I will handle Alistair." I say, Alessia nods and says goodbye.
"Is it okay, if I ask you to ask her why she is helping us? She could have told on us. And I wanted to know how she knew Dion." Alistair says as we walk towards the hospital.
Yes, Centrus is too big, it owns a hospital inside.
"During lectures I will." I say, attempts to shut him up, since Alessia is gone, and the only person carrying him right now is me, I can now feel his weight on me.
As soon as we arrive, he gets treated, but it doesn't end there. As I was waiting, Alessia enters the area.
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" I stand up and says to her, but to my shock, she enters the place with someone.
"My daughter may have let you off the hook, but that doesn't mean I will." It is the headmistress herself, with a different tone than what she used to announce or lecture us. But a cold one. I close my eyes, begins to dread what she is about to do. I look at Alistair, sighs in relief when I saw his curtains closed, and step in towards the headmistress.
"Since your friend owes my daughter something, she didn't get caught, she didn't get our name tarnished with bad records, I will pick him up later." Cynthia says, I don't know what shocks me the most, is it that Camila is Cynthia's daughter, or is it that Cynthia, is also a faction 7 member, and if she really is, why is her hair gray?
The two man that is with her, surrounds me and Alessia. We follow. I hold Alessia's hand trying to assure her. But I don't know if I am supposed to, if I can't even calm myself.
The centrus is too big, and the percentile I had memorize is only the classrooms and our bedrooms, but when she walks towards somewhere, I don't know if it is my anxiety speaking, but I didn't recognize the ways where we had walk in to.
We entered a room, typical it may seem, but when the lights are open, I clearly sew what it was, it was a interrogation room. I felt a lump in my throat, I know I have reasons not to, but I wanted to shout.
"Relax students, I just wanted to take you away from the people." She changes her tone of voice, and sits on top of the table, but the surrounding makes me feel otherwise.
"I needed to show the other contenders that I had punished you. That's why i needed the men." Cynthia says, pointing to the men who help her take us.
Alessia and i aren't speaking. Still scared, I wonder if Alistair had already been treated, and if he is currently looking for us.
"Camila is my daughter, my flesh, my blood. And if she was caught trying to save you guys, it will tarnish the name I have been taking care of, and originally, I am not nice. But I had lost 2 contenders already, the chosen will not be as competitive as before if I had take out the three top contenders." Cynthia says and points towards us.
"Now, I will have the papers ready, you will sign an agreement, that no matter what, for the next weeks, you will be on the top spot, if not, you will have to leave the chosen completely and voluntarily." Cynthia says, and then fixes her skirt and stand up. I hear Alessia gasp, I do not know how Alessia is academically, but I know since there are already a few of us, this will be hard.
"Heads up, the group lectures have been push up earlier, if I were you, i will grit my teeth and fight. There is a reason, why I am forgiving you three." Cynthia walks out of the room, the men have returned.
"You heard the lady, we will escort you out." One of the men says, I don't know why, but I am more terrified, than relieved.