I found myself thinking about trivial things on the walk over to the exercise area where Holly's so-called mindfulness session was going to take place. I thought about how much I missed the taste of a greasy burger and skinny salted fries and a thick creamy milkshake. I missed having multiple cups of tea a day. And I really missed having access to the internet. Most of all I daydreamed about standing outside breathing in fresh air. I was sick of breathing in ventilated air everywhere I went.

There was also a horrible lack of colour in the facility. Everything was bland whites and grays and the second floor had just been boring navy office decor. The fourth floor had all the warmth of a hospital and I hated hospitals; I had been back and forth to them throughout my childhood due to my grandparents becoming increasingly sick (all but one of them had passed away).

Blain had his game face on. He wasn't at all happy Holly had managed to sway Mikayla over to her mystic spirituality and he was gearing himself for a confrontation.

Reece, Christopher, and Adam walked a few steps ahead of us forming their own group; whilst they hadn't outright said it, Blain and I were aware they had decided they weren't very fond of us.

There were about twenty teenagers altogether outside of the exercise area waiting to be let in. I spotted Tiffany and Mikayla, as well as Jay and Amar. Nobody was talking and instead were waiting patiently to be let in.

There were only two Pied Piper officers stood by the entrance to the exercise area and they seemed at ease for the most part. I had figured there would be more officers around given there were so many of us attending Holly's session but it didn't appear to be the case.

Like resurfacing after diving deep into water my mind snapped back to the familiar pangs of dread which had stuck with me ever since George was murdered. It was as if my mind and body were refusing to let me forget about what had happened. I held my chest which was tight as if someone where digging their nails beneath the skin.

"You okay, bro?" said Blain.

I felt his hand on my shoulder.

No, I thought, Not at all.

I was barely holding it together. Before the evacuation I had assumed I was made of stronger stuff mentally than I was. I just wasn't cut out for the ever increasing dread and tension which seemed to press onward at the facility like a train without breaks.

"Burgess?" said a familiar voice.

It was Sophie.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Hey," she said, and she opened her arms to offer me a hug.

Somewhat robotically I accepted the hug, surprised by the sudden show of warmth. During the hug Sophie placed something into my hand which I did my best to swallow up with my fist. After she pulled back I noticed Sophie's face looked pale. Her hair was dishevelled and she looked like she hadn't had a good night's sleep.

"Everything okay?" I said.

She forced a smile.

"No," she said, "Not really."

She gave a small wave of goodbye and walked in the direction of the cafeteria and out of sight.

I walked away from the main throng which was gathered outside the closed double doors and, after checking nobody was looking over my shoulder, I glanced down at what Sophie had given me. It was a folded scrap of paper. I opened it up and saw there was very minuscule writing on it; so minuscule I would need a magnifying glass to read what was written on it. It took me a second to come up with a way to read what was on the page despite its tiny size.

Concentrating I tried to increase how much visual information my eyes could take in. The unlocking sensation followed, feeling similar to what I felt when I changed my eyes from blue to emerald green. With a sudden jolt which made me snap my head back a little I was able to perceive the tiny writing on the scrap of paper.

It read:

Eat this after reading. We have to find the hidden exit somewhere on the third floor as soon as we can. We don't have anymore time to spare. I think the exit that will take us deeper into the facility is somewhere in the exercise area but I don't know for sure. You will not like what I am about to tell you.

Before I read on any further I glanced up and saw the double doors to the exercise area were open and the teenagers were shuffling in. I could see everyone with an incredible clarity and detail that left me momentarily mesmerized, like when I had first seen the jump in picture quality from video cassette tapes to digital-video-discs. The world spun as I drew my eyes back down to the next passage written on the scrap of paper.

It read:

I've been checking the walls for the hidden exit everywhere I can in the facility. In one of the corridors there is a hole in the wall. I checked it out.

The last line written on the scrap of paper made the hairs on my forearms and neck stand on end.

No, I thought, please no.

I reread everything which was written on the piece of scrap paper from start to finish as quick as I could and then stuffed the paper into my mouth and chewed on it. I reverted the magnification of my eyes and barely had the capacity of mind to register the melancholy I felt to have all the vivid details around me return to a normal, far less visually stimulating level.

All of the teenagers outside had filed into the exercise area.

The two Pied Piper officers standing outside were looking at me. I swallowed the remnants of the scrap paper and made my way into the exercise area.

Yet again I felt as if I were outside of myself looking in as I entered into the exercise area and moved to where all the other teenagers were sat cross-legged on the ground.

Only one person, a tall, pale, heavyset girl with shoulder length brunette hair, was stood opposite everyone else.

She must be Holly, I thought as I sat at the very back next to Blain.

Holly began to introduce herself but I could hardly focus on what she was saying. The last line written on the scrap piece of paper were practically screaming on a loop in my mind.

The very last line of the scrap of paper read:

There are gas canisters inside the walls across the entirety of the third floor. They're going to kill us all.