I kept looking for any sign of Rufus out of the window when I woke up the next morning. It had stopped raining, but the carpet was still damp beneath where I had climbed out of the window.

Since my bedsheets were wet, I had to sleep on the mattress alone in the freezing cold room. They were laid out on the floor, still drying. It was hard to breathe through my stuffy nose as I threw on a sweater and jeans and made my way through the hallway leading to the front door.

It had to be locked.

I hesitated before touching the doorknob, feeling it turn between my fingers. Servants were bustling through the building, some cleaning and others chatting with each other. The guards were nearby, standing very still as I made my way through the long, winded hallway. It seemed like everything was supposed to be part of a dream sequence, and my head felt like a swelled balloon because of the pressure in my sinuses. Those who were dusting and vacuuming around me gave me odd glances, but said nothing.

Act normal, act normal. Get with the program.

I sat down on one of the large sofas in the chandelier room, fighting the urge to look at the double doors and the guards standing in front of it. It was hard to smell anything around here, even though people were running back and forth to the kitchen area, bringing out plates of steaming food to one of the rooms in the hallway. There was muffled shouting inside, followed by the slam of a door.

Mr. Karin stormed out, his hair sticking out in all directions, cursing to himself. He didn’t notice me, just made his way though the doors, pushing past a guard as he flashed an ID card in front of him. The man didn’t even react as he stepped outside into the warm sunlight. The room was much more quieter now, although the door remained wide open. Baldwin appeared in the threshold, his face red as a beet. He looked like he was about to say something when his eyes settled on me. Quickly, his demeanor changed as he gave me a tight smile and cleared his throat.

“Ah, look who’s here. I was going to send someone to wake you up, but you beat me to it.”

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans and got to my feet. Although I was still mad at him for what he did to me, I knew I needed to let him hear what he wanted to hear. His ego was more important now.

“I wanted to say...” My throat felt scratchy and sore. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. It was wrong, and I’ll try to listen to you more from now on.” I hesitated. “Sir.”

Baldwin’s eyes slightly widened with surprise, and then he waved his hand at me. “Don’t take it too hard, son. My men and I were just finishing up a meeting. Why don’t you come in and join us for breakfast? You must be hungry, after all.” He glanced at the door again before turning away, hiding an annoyed look on his face.

Without a word, I followed him into the room. The older gentlemen were talking in low tones but quickly stopped when I entered the room. Baldwin gestured for to me to sit, and one of the maids who were serving them placed a plate piled with waffles, eggs, and bacon in front of me. Another poured a tall glass of orange juice, spilling a little bit on the table. My stomach tightened at the sight of the food, but I picked up the fork and crammed it into my mouth, not tasting a single thing.

Baldwin walked in front of a giant paper map of the island, placed before the Red Mamba tapestry. Several different colored stickers marked each city, but Jova, which was located closer to the east side, was circled in bright red pen. Dark trails were scrawled in different, crazy directions, almost like chicken scratch. One of the men, a short, chubby captain, pushed a stack of papers toward Baldwin. He took one glance at them before knocking them off the table, causing them to flutter in the air.

“You all can’t leave me here in the dust like this. This is the exact same plan that you left for me last week. Fools! With all the troops that I have assigned to you, surely one of you can lay seige to the smaller, weaker cities nearby us, like Portia or Flanders."

“We’ve tried to enter multiple times for the past three weeks, sir,” the captain stammered, awkwardly taking a sip of his coffee. “And nothing is working. Our soldiers have suffered many casualties as a result. Just because they have a smaller army, does not mean their men are less skilled than ours. Perhaps Karin is right; we need to use a new strategy—“

“Then bring out more of our men!” Baldwin exploded. “It’s not possible to fight off the enemy, especially when you are severely outnumbered. And don’t even speak that name when I’m around here, do you understand? We don’t have the time to retrain our troops, not when we have these pesky savages nipping at our heels like the dogs that they are. They could attack us at any moment and burn our homes to the ground, especially when we are at our weakness.”

“I beg your pardon, my dear Chancellor,” the captain said, standing up. His face was a deep shade of red, which contrasted sharply with his white, whispy hair. “We cannot do that; other officers need their troops for their own missions. There’s only so many new recruits that are coming in, and our drill sergeants are trying to train them as well as possible. We have control over six cities right now because of those men. I suggest you leave them be and retrain those who are assigned to Leroy, Bukhum, Tranga, and Flanders. Otherwise, kick them out of our army and have less soldiers, or, weaker protection.”

To my surprise, Baldwin seemed to be listening closely. The other officers in the room were dead silent, looking at anything in the room except for him. He rubbed the bottom of his chin with his thumb, nodding slowly to himself.

I finished my plate and set the fork down.

“Everyone get out,” he said in a low voice. “I need to think about this. But when we meet tomorrow again, I expect you to bring more to the discussion, as Captain Lockwell has. Otherwise, I’ll fire all of you.”

The men silently slipped out of their seats and headed towards the doors, one by one. I rose to leave, but his voice stopped me.

“Not you. Stay, please.”

Baldwin waited until the room was silent before slamming his hands on the desk, running a hand through his blond hair.

“Bastards,” he snapped. “If there’s anything you need to know in life, Adlai, is that trust is for fools. You always need to have a plan. Be on guard, always. Trust makes you weak. It’s when you depend on yourself that you truly become stronger.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. “Y...yes sir.”

”You may be too young to fully understand, but people often have two faces.” His dark blue eyes focused on the map. “When you’re at the top, there’s no such thing as friends. Being independent is necessary if you want to survive.”

“Pardon, sir,” I asked. “But what does independent mean?”

A faint smile gathered on his lips. “Ah. It means to stand up alone, on your own two feet. You are your own master, own commander.” He turned his head to the side. “And it is my job to make sure that is exactly what you become. You know that people would do anything to harness the power that you hold within your mind, don’t you? People will hurt you, manipulate you. But I am only here to help you.” His voice wavered. “Even when it seems I’m not at times. I truly have your best interests at heart.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Is your mommy proud of you for being independent?”

Suddenly, his face went quite pale, as if my words had knocked him off guard. For a long time, he didn’t speak. “My own mother died a long time ago. I was only a bit older than you.”

“Oh.” Panic rushed through me. “I’m sorry.”

“But I know she is looking down at me. So, to answer your question, yes, I know she is.” He chuckled. “And yours will be proud too.”

“Yes, sir.” My hands shook, and I quickly hid them under the tablecloth so he wouldn’t see them.

“Say.” He looked up at me for a moment, and then a cocky grin appeared across his face. “I suppose that since you are here with us, and this is your week off, why not go out and take a tour of Jova? The greatest city in Plod. It’s nothing like your home, I bet I can say.”

I tried to hide my excitement as I quickly rose in my chair. “You mean I get to leave this place for a moment? I get to go outside? Really?”

“Sure, kid. I had wanted to do this when you first came, but you were so stressed out that I knew that it was impossible. Now that you’ve learned the lesson that I taught you, I think that you deserve to have a little fun, since you’ll be busy next week. You’ll be escorted with a couple of guards, of course, but I hope you enjoy the experience, nonetheless.”

My heart sank a little. He was smarter than I had anticipated, but I kept the stupid grin I had on my face.

“I wouldn’t mind that, sir.”

* * * * *

The city was mostly busy in the afternoon. For the first time in days, I felt the warm sunlight on my back I made my way down the sidewalk. Cars drove past each other at very high speeds in the street. The guards didn’t say anything to me, no matter how far I walked away from the white building with the fountain. It was so tempting to take off and run, but I knew I had to be patient for just a little bit longer. I kept an eye out for Mommy, making sure to stop at many shops and buildings as I could. The citizens wore the Red Mamba symbol stitched on their sleeves, either selling food on the side of the road, playing music or dancing, or working in the shops. Children ran close by.

Whenever we approached a crowd of people, they would make way for us and bow low. I wanted to ask the men who guarded me why they were doing this, but I was too intimidated by their guns. Many of these men and women would stare at me with great interest. Those who weren’t wearing a Red Mamba symbol were hanging in the streets, searching for scraps of food in the dumpster or in the waste collected on the curbside in the streets. Their eyes were sunken in; their bones poking through the moth eaten clothing they were wearing.

I tore my eyes away, not sure why I suddenly felt uncomfortable about it. Instead, I went to one of the vendors on the street and tried to get one of the guards to buy me some grilled chicken on a stick so I could give it to those who were hungry. They simply grabbed my arm and pulled me away, without saying a word.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set did we finally approach the white building. The sound of the gate closing behind me made my eyes burn with tears, but I pushed them back as we stepped inside.

Two days’ time. Two days’ time.

* * * * * * *

I sat on my bed, the plate of spaghetti one of the maids left for me growing cold. My nose really felt stuffy, and I couldn’t stop reaching for tissues to blow my brains out. My bedsheets were almost dry now, although slightly damp. The cartoon characters on my new television sounded like birds squawking back and fourth. On the nightstand, the alarm clock in glowing green letters read eleven forty five.

Outside, the moon illuminated the night sky. I knew I needed to sleep, to keep up with the act, but I felt like a shell of my former self. With a shaky hand, I set the plate of food down on the dresser and wrapped the blankets around me as a commercial break began. It wasn’t until my eyelids began to get more droopy that a light tapping sound of my window made me jump.

I kicked off the blankets and slid off the bed, rushing to the glass. It wasn’t until I managed to get the door open did I make out a dark figure below in the bushes, waving at me. I wiped my eyes, twice, trying to make sense of the sight before springing into action. After tying up my bedsheets again and climbing down to the ground did I turn around.

Rufus was in the shadows, crouching low on the ground. With one hand, he motioned me over. After I quickly glanced at the guards nearby, I crawled my way through the grass before joining him.

“You’re early!” I exclaimed.

Quickly, he clamped a hand over my mouth before pulling out a few pieces of paper. His white sweater and jeans were covered in dirt and grass stains.

“Shhh,” he said softly, removing his hand. “Not so loud.”

“Sorry,” I whispered. “I forgot.”

“I snuck into Baldwin’s office real early this morning, like around three. Didn’t take me long to find your file. His drawers were locked, so I had to find the key to get these papers. Apparently, they sent your mother to a place called White Sands. A hotel building.”

I got up so fast I almost lost my balance, but he pulled me back down, a concerned look on his face.

“Let’s go now. Now,” I said. “Why is she at a hotel? I didn’t see a building with that name when Baldwin had me take a tour today. Maybe I missed it.”

Rufus folded up the paper. “You...you sure you want to see her now? Don’t you want to wait until maybe—“

“Wait? I don’t want to wait, why would I?”

He said nothing, just looked down at the ground. For a moment, it looked like he wanted to tell me something badly, but in the moment, I was too excited to care. I grabbed his arm and began yanking him away from the bushes. My heart was pounding so hard as we squeezed our way past the hole he had dug in the ground, underneath the gate.

When we stepped out in the dark street, Rufus fumbled with his car keys, dropping them twice on the ground. He hesitated as I reached the passenger side and tugged at the door handle of the vehicle.

“C’mon Rufus, hurry up! She must be worried!”

He stood there silently, the moonlight revealing part of his face. Some of his blond hair covered his eyes, so that I could only make out his nose and his lips, which had a scar across them. His hands were shaking. I began to wonder if he was sick, or caught a cold, maybe.

“Alright,” he whispered.

* * * * *

The drive felt like forever. His car was a lot more nicer looking inside than the one he drove me and Mommy down in. I couldn’t stop asking him questions, about her, but he didn’t really respond, just stared forward, one hand on the wheel.

We pulled up in front of a small brick building that was squeezed in between two stores. He had barely put the car in park when I fumbled with the door and jumped out.

”Hey, whoah, whoah!”

I turned around and faced him. He popped open the truck and handed me a beanie and a black hoodie.

“Put these on.”

“Why?”

Rufus gestured towards three people gathered near the front door, smoking some cigarettes together. “You don’t want anyone to recognize you, do you?”

“N..no,” I stammered, pulling the sweatshirt over my head and trying to poke my arms through the sleeves. He shoved the beanie on my head and nudged me gently forward. The scent of cigarette smoke filled my nose as we walked inside, past a dining room and some worn couches. An old woman sat in the front desk, chewing loudly on a piece of gum. She slightly belched and looked up, a bored expression on her face.

”Can I help you?” she asked.

“Uh...uh, yes,” Rufus said, avoiding eye contact with the woman. “My mother in law is really sick. We came to drop off her medicine. My son and I were just passing through.”

“Asthma medicine,” I chimed in, trying to make the lie more appealing. “In fact, she has breathing issues. She’s struggling to breathe as we speak. Which means we gotta go now, or else she’ll—“

The woman frowned as she squinted at her computer screen. “Name?”

“Margaret Bueler,” Rufus replied calmly. I crossed my fingers, holding my breath.

The woman did some quick typing, her nails clacking against the keyboard. “Ah. She’s in room fifteen. Third floor. You can’t miss it.”

“Thanks,” I said quickly, turning to face Rufus. To my surprise, he was staring out the window, a pained expression on his face. I didn’t see anything but the dark buildings. Quickly, I tapped his arm, causing him to jump.

“W..what?”

“Let’s go!”

I headed for the stairway, not even listening for his footsteps, which were heavy and slow. Sweat started to gather on my forehead as I reached the third level and sprinted down the hallway, the carpeted floor squeaking underneath my shoes. Rufus’ shadow stretched out on the peeling walls behind me as I reached one of the doors in the hallway. The worn numbers spelling fifteen hung on the surface.

With a shaky hand, I knocked twice.