Роберт Уилсон - Days Since... - Jenny - Day 986

Before stepping outside, she peered through the glass doors. No S.A. That’s good enough for me. She drew the door wide. The buzz of conversation swept toward her with the wind. A circle of people gathered around the burn barrel—some of them in the same seats as earlier in the day. One man stood toward the middle, as if on a swivel, addressing questions that poured in from all sides.

From afar, Jenny worked around the crowd in an attempt to spot her friends. Unfortunately, with everyone bundled up in their winter garb of muted colors, identifying anyone at all became tedious. She considered asking but thought better of it—no telling if instructions had been given to report them if seen. But so far, no one gave her a second glance. Everyone seemed to consider her presence there nothing but ordinary. Maybe someone knows something. She moved closer.

“What do you think they want?” an older woman asked in between mouthfuls of the leftover stew.

“Not a fight I hope,” another woman added.

“Why would you instantly go to that?”

“That isn’t what they want,” Lars said. “Why would Griffin bring them here if that was the case? He’s a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.”

“All’s I know is nobody’s gonna wanna tangle with that big one. Guy was huge. Too huge.”

“You’re always talking about how huge people are,” the older woman snapped. “Get over it.”

Again, the feeling of dread knotted Jenny’s stomach—her search rapidly spiraling toward failure. Without wasting another minute, she slipped away from the group and back inside the Depot. She took to the perimeter aisles. Every single one clear. Only one place left. But the thought of revisiting the storage area, the offices where Griffin laid his head, where the man had defiled her not so long ago, sickened her inside. She never wanted to be there again, but there was nowhere else to look. This is it.

She eased herself through the flimsy, double doors into the back, taking the extra time to guide them back in place. The last thing she needed was the loud thwump of them rubbing against each other to give her away. Left or right? She bent her eyes down each end of the corridor—both sides the same. Pallets of canned food, water. Boxes stacked to the ceiling, jam-packed. Barely enough space for two people to pass by each other.

She decided to go right, creeping between pallets, dipping in and out of their gaps—a game of mad dashes from one stack of boxes to the next. Then voices came from behind her. She squeezed behind one of the stacks, pressing her back to the wall. A nervous sweat began to crawl across her skin. Don’t pay any attention to me. Just go!

“So, the two are definitely coming with us?”

“That’s what Thomas said.”

“Do they have the girl here?”

“Sounds like it, but they aren’t giving her up yet.”

“Two out of three isn’t bad. Haverty can’t be mad at that, right?”

“Depends on his mood.”

Their voices passed, and the sound of the doors at the far end of the corridor— thwump, thwump —brushing against each other came and went. Matt and Grant are back here. I knew it. She inched her way into the open. All clear. Four offices on this side and three back on the other end. She peered through the window of the first two doors she came to. One was Danny’s bedroom, the other belonged to Griffin.

Thwump, thwump. The sound nearly stopped her heart. Someone was coming. Terrified, she scrambled to the next door, glancing through the window before she tried the handle. Inside, gagged and bound to chairs, were Matt and Grant. Their eyes went wide, and Matt tried to scoot his chair toward the door. Jenny grasped its handle, but it didn’t budge. “Shit!” She scanned the hall. Still clear, but the footsteps were closing in. Locking eyes with Matt’s, she mouthed, “I’ll be back with Danny,” and turned to leave.

“I wouldn’t worry about them,” a Second Alliance Guard said.

“What are you doing with them?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He strolled toward her with an awkward smile, but Jenny knew better. She backpedaled, then spun away. He forced his steps, now thundering after her. “Come here!”

A scream slipped from her mouth, and she ran toward the opposite end of the hall. “Danny!” she shouted. “Danny!” The Guard fell behind, giving her brief moments to check the remaining rooms as she passed. All empty. The last one was the main office. Within feet of the room, the door swung open, and the iron man stepped out. Jenny pounded to a stop, now cornered. The Soldier here, the Guard behind.

“Jenny, right?” The Soldier snatched her by the arm. She squirmed, trying to break free. “Relax. We’re not here to hurt you.”

“Then let me go,” she begged. “Why are you here?” She tried to keep him distracted, working to clear the blade from inside her sleeve. She spit in his face.

“You little bitch!” He reached to wipe it.

Jenny took the opportunity, plunging the knife toward his ribs, but the Soldier dropped his arm. A stiff grunt, the blade slicing across his forearm. He threw her to the ground. The blade clattered across the floor, spinning off beyond her reach. Jenny clambered for the knife, but the Guard took hold of her, pinning her to the ground. The Soldier drew back his sleeve and looked over the wound—it barely penetrated the thick uniform sleeve—leaving only a thin red line across his forearm. Barely a trickle of blood.

Casually, the Soldier plucked the knife from the floor then kneeled next to Jenny, placing the tip of the blade flat against her cheek. The iron man locked eyes with hers. “I’ve done some horrible things, but never anything to a child.” He grinned. “That could always change.”

Within an instant, the Soldier jerked her from the floor and filed her into the office.

“Danny!” She ran to him, seeking protection in his arms.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“Why didn’t you help me?” She kept her voice low too.

“Couldn’t. They already—”

“No secrets, you two!” Griffin stood from where he leaned against the front of his desk. “You should have told me the truth, Jenny. All this time, I thought the three in your party were so innocent, but it seems all of you were quite the troublemakers. These fine folks”—He gestured toward the Soldier and his partner—“came a few weeks ago with some pictures of you guys. Had some pretty interesting stories of where you came from. They seem to think you’re criminals on the loose. What do you think about that? “

“Criminals?” Jenny looked to Danny, her eyes full of panic. “We’re not the criminals. They are.” She pointed to the Soldier blotting the wound on his arm with a small rag. “Didn’t you tell him, Danny?”

He said nothing.

“Danny?” she begged.

“What’s it going to be?” The Soldier gestured to the Guard, who handed Griffin an envelope affixed with a black wax seal.

“Only what we agreed. For now, you get just the two.” Griffin thumbed over his shoulder toward where Matt and Grant were being held. “The girl stays here with me until I’ve had time to look over the full proposal.” He looked to Danny. “Why don’t you go put this letter in my room and get us some food. We’ll discuss what else they’re looking for later.”

“We’ll get them back,” Danny whispered.

Jenny remained silent—the sharp glare Griffin gave Danny after seeing his lips move again was enough to convince her. All she could do was look on as Danny reluctantly took the letter and left the room.

What the hell, Danny? Jenny shrank into the corner, trying to disappear. Why are you just going along with this?