My first night sleeping in this hellhole was about what I expected. It felt like I didn’t sleep a wink even though I was absolutely exhausted from the previous day. I guess it wasn’t too different from what I experienced back home though. I always did struggle with getting sleep. Sleep deprivation is no joke. I always feel like my short-term memory is so much worse, and I’m much more irritable when I don’t get much sleep. Even if I slept like a baby, I doubt it would change much about my irritability considering my situation. I hopped off the bottom bunk and saw that Marin was still asleep up on the top bunk. I decided not to wake her because I wasn’t sure how early it was, and I didn’t know if she would ring my neck for getting her up before the crack of dawn. Not like I know whether or not the sun is coming up with the lack of windows. The clock that was built into the wall showed that it was 6:47 A.M. I imagine we will be getting an announcement similar to the one we heard last night from the psychos in charge of this place, but it probably won't be until at least 7 A.M. I decided to get an early start and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a shower.
I claimed the blue toothbrush and brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the medicine cabinet mirror and saw the dark bags under my eyes signifying my rough night. I looked like someone whose life was falling apart. I guess that was partly accurate though. I just hope that with all the intelligent and talented people who are here with me that we can make a swift escape without anyone getting hurt. I have a feeling that it won’t be that easy though. After brushing my teeth, I got undressed and hopped into the shower. The tough thing about using a new shower for the first time is always figuring out how they work. It always feels like every shower is completely unique from any one you’ve used in the past. The stakes are high for you to figure it out too because the last thing you want is to be boiled alive or frozen solid by choosing the wrong way to twist the knob. Maybe this is an issue with me though. Just like the push/pull door dilemma, there might be a rhyme or reason to how all showers work where I just missed that day of class so I’m one of the few people without the proper knowledge. I like to think my struggles are also felt by the majority though. Makes me feel like less of a basket case.
I turned the shower knobs until I found the perfect temperature to start my morning ritual. I turned the knobs so many different ways though that I’m not even sure how I got to the result I wanted. Before I could hop in, I heard the morning announcement from a small speaker in the top corner of the bathroom.
Good morning, students! It is now 7 A.M. and breakfast will be served in one hour. Up and at ‘em! You’ve all got a long and productive day ahead of you. Your newly washed outfits will be delivered to your dorms within the next twenty minutes by our wonderful housekeeper, Jane. Let’s all give it our best!
Looks like I was right. So, the nightly announcements are at 10 P.M. and the morning announcements are at 7 A.M. I guess this is our version of an alarm clock at this place. I imagine that Marin will be up now, so I hopped into the shower so I could let her get her turn here in the next couple minutes. I then heard a knock followed by a familiar voice.
“Hey Ryder, you in there?” It was Marin.
“Yeah! I’m just finishing up in the shower! I’ll be out in a couple minutes!” I said loudly to make sure she could hear me through the running water.
“Oh, okay!” she yelled back. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t leave me here alone, since you weren’t in your bed! I’ll wait for you to finish!”
It’s a good thing that these bathrooms have locks. Especially because of these rooms being co-ed. It would be way too awkward to walk in on each other in the bathroom all the time. That would create hostility rapidly in all of our dorms for sure. Hopefully, Levi doesn’t get the idea to get rid of the locks to try and tear us apart. The fact that there are eight bedrooms and 16 of us definitely means that we can’t afford to have roommates be hostile towards each other. I finished up in the shower, slipped back on my pajamas and exited the bathroom. Marin was sitting on the bean bag chair staring at the ceiling when I came out.
“It’s all yours,” I said. “I used the blue toothbrush too, so the pink one is all yours.”
“The boy gets all the blue stuff, and the girl gets all the pink stuff, huh?” Marin responded while resting her hand on her chin. “Feels like we’re playing right into their hands.”
“You picked the pink loofah, so I just figured it’d make more sense to keep the colors we use consistent. Nothing worse than using someone else’s toothbrush.”
“That’s true. I have no idea where you’ve been so I can’t just share a toothbrush with you. You might eat poop for all I know.”
“You are vile,” I said, laughing. Marin laughed too.
Even after the day we had yesterday, she still was always cracking jokes. It might just be the only thing that keeps me sane if we are stuck here for much longer.
“Alright, I’m gonna go freshen up. I’m sure we have a long day ahead of us,” Marin said. She got up from the bean bag chair and headed towards the bathroom.
“Sounds good. I’ll answer the door and get our outfits if Jane shows up.”
“I still think Jane is the key to getting us out of here if we can’t find a hole to squeeze through today, so try and press her a bit if she shows up while I’m in the shower. Only if you’re comfortable with it though! I know you’re kinda shy.”
“Some things are more important, so I’ll do my best,” I said, giving her a thumbs up.
“I trust you,” she said, smiling back to me.
I got a good look at her before she went into the bathroom, and she had some major bedhead going on. Her hair was sticking up all over the place which made me realize just how much hair she had. Must be tough having really long hair. I can’t stand when my hair droops onto my face at all, so I can’t imagine having to tame all of that every day.
I looked at the clock on the wall and it was now 7:11 A.M. It looks like Jane will probably arrive soon. I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little nervous about answering the door without Marin present, but I can’t just hide behind confident people all the time. I’ve done too much of that already my whole life. I told her that I’d press Jane about the situation, and I don’t want to be a liar. While I was deep in thought, a knock at the door thrust me back into reality. Nervously, I got up and headed towards the door. Anxiety sucks because it doesn’t care if you’re in a possible life or death scenario, you’ll still be worrying about interactions with other people. I have bad anxiety while driving too and I feel like I always take a lot more risks when driving if there is someone behind me because I don’t want to make them wait. It’s a really dumb and dangerous thing to take risks while driving, but that just proves how much I’ve let anxiety take over my life. I took a deep breath and turned the knob to open the door. As expected, Jane was standing there with a stack of clothes in her arms.
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“Here you go,” she said while handing me our outfits. “They are all clean and ready to be worn. Also, make sure to leave your pajamas outside of your door when you leave for breakfast, so I can wash them for you both and deliver them back to you tonight.”
“Oh, o-okay,” I said, being awkward as usual.
“Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. I’ll be in the housekeeping quarters as usual. Goodbye.”
“W-wait!” I said with no idea what I was going to say next.
“Yes?” Jane responded. I had to say something worthwhile now.
“U-uh…Are you being kept here against your will too?” I’m not sure where that came from, but I guess it was a pretty good question to ask. Not sure if I’d get an actual answer from it though.
“Oh,” Jane responded. She had a sad look on her face. “I wasn’t when I applied for this job, but things changed rather quickly.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. It looks like I’m actually getting somewhere.
“You know when you apply for a job thinking you know what it’s going to be like, and then it’s completely different? It’s kind of like that. I promise that there’s nothing I can do to help you all though, and I apologize for that. We’re all stuck here until Levi gets what he wants. There’s no way around it. The stakes are much higher than you could ever imagine…for you, and for me.”
“Don’t they give you a gun?” I asked. “Levi said you are all armed, so why don’t you use it to escape?”
“I’m sorry, but that would never wor-” Jane was cut off by the sound of Marin rushing out of the bathroom.
“Oh! Don’t you leave yet!” Marin yelled while pointing at Jane. She then ran up to us, her wet hair dripping on the floor.
“Catch me up to speed, Ryder.” I did just that, and Marin was now on the same page.
“Okay, so go on,” Marin said. “Why won’t it be that easy? You’ve got a big iron on your hip, just use it, or give it to us!”
“I think you are all mistaken about where you actually are…” Jane said. She had a sad look on her face, like she had no hope left. “We’re deep underground…very deep.”
“We’re underground?! Marin gasped.
“Yes…” Jane continued. “There are many floors to this place as I’m sure you all know, but the only way out is through the elevator that is on the very top floor. And it’s locked by a password that only Levi knows.”
“Fuck…” Marin said, her head was in her hands. “So, even if we find a way outside, there would be no point. We have to get to that elevator.”
“There’s only access to this floor right now, and the other floors aren’t accessible unless there are less students…” Jane said. Her eyes showed very little life, as if she wished she was ignorant to these facts.
“I guess things are even worse than we thought…” Marin said. This all definitely took some of the wind out of her sails.
“Now do you see?” Jane said. “Please share this information with your friends. I’d rather not have to do this conversation over and over again.”
“Won’t you get in trouble for sharing this all with us?” Marin asked.
“I’m not sure. I’d almost welcome being silenced at this point. I don’t really want to see how bad things are going to become here, and I’m not sure how long I’ll stay sane…” Jane said on the verge of tears. Marin put her hand on her shoulder.
“It’ll be okay, I promise. You’ve managed to convince me that you’re not insane. At least not yet…So, I promise you that we’ll all get out of here together. When we find a way to escape this place, we’ll take you with us. Just please cooperate with us when you can.”
Marin definitely had a way with people. I could see a small amount of life return to Jane’s eyes after hearing Marin’s comforting words. I imagine knowing that she finally had someone on her side in this hell was enough to recover a small amount of her sanity. Being held captive by Levi and hated by us meant that she didn’t have anyone to console her. Hopefully, we can make a mutual partnership. We could really use a member on the staff on our side to give us information we wouldn’t be able to acquire otherwise.
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but…I’ll try my best,” Jane said. “I have the least amount of power out of all the staff here.”
“All we’ll need is whatever information you think will help us all hatch an escape plan. Any weaknesses of the system for us to exploit, or anything you think will end up being important to our survival,” Marin said.
“I can try. I still think it would be futile though,” Jane said. “It would be dangerous for us to talk out in the open though, so when you’d like to speak with me, you should come to the housekeeping quarters. That’s one of the few places without cameras in this building.”
“No cameras, huh? See! You’re already giving us lots of helpful info!” Marin said.
“I’m glad you find it useful. Out in the open you should all probably continue to treat me harshly to not raise suspicion,” Jane said.
“That’s probably smart. They’d probably crack down on us harder than they already have if they find out. Should I slap you and slam the door?” Marin asked.
“M-maybe just do the second part…” Jane responded.
“I guess I’ll just have to get my aggression out some other way,” Marin said, shrugging her shoulders. She then slammed the door in Jane’s face.
“Well, that was pretty educational,” I said.
“Yeah! Nice work, Ryder! We wouldn’t have gained all this new info without you,” Marin said while giving me a big smile.
She seemed to have gained back the confidence that she lost during the start of our interaction with Jane. Marin continued.
“Still, the fact that we are deep underground definitely makes this all much more challenging…Instead of finding a hole in the foundation, we have to find out how to get to the top as quickly as possible.”
“It definitely seems that way. I imagine even if we do somehow find a way to prematurely enter the second floor, they will just force us right back down to this floor and heighten security to make climbing even more difficult,” I said.
“We definitely have to find a way to do it though. The only way they’ll let us up a floor willingly is if there are less of us, and we cannot let that happen.”
“I agree. We’ll need to talk with everyone and share what we’ve learned to make sure we’re all on the same page. I’m sure someone will have an idea.”
“I’m sure we can all figure something out together! We’ve got a lot of brainiacs in our group after all. Now let’s get changed and head to the cafeteria to get some brekky,” Marin said, heading towards the bathroom with her clothes in her arms.
“Sounds good. Hopefully, this will help us turn the tables,” I said. She nodded to me with a smile and closed the bathroom door behind her.