It had been a few weeks since Ember became trapped
in Fortress Twig. In that time, she had gotten to know a few of her fellow
workers and explored a little. They worked on the main floor which was
actually the second floor. The floor below was where they took breaks, ate and
slept. Their food was earned based on the work they performed or their rank,
which caused a bit of jealousy among the few regular workers who did little
work and instead spent their time gossiping and worried about what others received.
Since only a select few were able to go outside, a schedule was set up that
gave them a chance to eat and get a few hours of sleep at a time. At their
desks everyone was supplied with a strange tasting drink called, Jiza. They were
encouraged to drink this to give them extra energy and improve their health,
however, like most of the others, Ember chose to drink water instead.
Ember was able to move around freely and could go between the main and lower floor using one of the
stairways on either side of the building. In the center, there was an elevator.
She was told this took you to the third floor but only the Tri-powers used
that floor and those invited up. In the past couple of weeks she had
seen small groups of people taken up by their supervisors. They were always
excited or curious when invited up but when they returned they were silent,
emaciated and their skin grayish. They would shuffle back to
their pods like sleep walkers. Usually a few days later, Marla would come, get
them and they wouldn’t be seen again. That is when new people would show up to
take their empty seats.
The supervisors who
escorted the groups up to the third floor seemed unaffected. They would come
back smiling and laughing with each other. Whispering as they looked around for
the next victims. That is how Ember thought of them. They were victims and she
was determined she was not going to be one of them. She would figure out a way
out of this place and help as many as she could escape with her.
She quickly
learned that the only people on her team she could trust were Crystal and
Jessica. Tasha, Anita and Carla spent a lot of time with Greta in her office
socializing and conspiring against others. When they weren’t there, they were
complaining to Jessica and Crystal or taking one of their many breaks. Bridgett
was never included in their group but she seemed to be oblivious and remained a
bouncing ray of sunshine. Shamra was the rain to her sun. Ember felt sorry for
her. She was always crying and trying to fit in with the others. They would
pretend to include her and then belittle her.
Crystal seemed to do more work than anyone else and she was always getting
picked on by the others. Still she remained loyal and positive. Jessica also
stayed busy, and although everyone seemed to adore her, people were constantly
going in her office to complain about others and point fingers when they didn’t
finish their work. You could tell the stress of being everyone’s sounding board
was wearing her down. Out of all the supervisors, Crystal and Jessica never
took groups upstairs. Crystal stayed too busy covering for her team members who
didn’t do their own work. Ember got the impression that Jessica’s demeanor was
too sweet to handle what happened upstairs, so she avoided that task and left
it to those who seemed to relish their power over others.
Ember used every
opportunity during the past few weeks to work on her new found gift of mind
reading. It didn’t always work, but she discovered that if she looked
directly at the person when they spoke she could hear bits of what they really
thought or meant. There was a great deal of deception that went on, some with
ill intent and some just for survival.
She learned that
although Shamra went along with Tasha and cried way too much, that deep down
she was just a lost soul with a good heart. She truly cared about others and in
a different environment she could have flourished. Tasha of course wanted
everyone to think she was perfect and always cheerful. In reality she was
extremely insecure and hateful. Ember pitied her because Tasha’s thoughts
betrayed that she felt she had to put others down in order to make herself feel
better. She walked around talking about the Bible and how pious and religious she was, but her actions belied who she really was. It made Ember wonder what damaged her so much that she had turned
into the viper she was. Then there was Carla. Carla wanted everyone to take care
of her. She complained about everyone and everything. Her friendship with Greta
seemed to be the only thing saving her, although Crystal and Jessica often went
to bat for her and tried to make life easier for her. Often sacrificing their
own rations for her. She was hard to be around because she never took
responsibility for herself and always complained.
But Anita was the one
that gave Ember chills. She was soulless, literally. She was very quiet and
seemed to keep to herself, but it was obvious she had a hidden agenda and more
control over the floor than anyone realized. There was an emptiness to her that
sucked the life out of those around her. She was good at hiding it from the
others. They others did not realize what evil really lurked behind her quiet demeanor.
It was how she manipulated people into doing what she wanted. She always kept her cell phone with her and Ember suspected it was really more than just an ordinary phone. In the one conversation Ember had with her, Anita had given her a satanic bible and told her they should study together. When Ember told her she didn't believe in Satan but did believe in evil, Anita had been offended. She told Ember there was no such thing as right or wrong and that people worried too much about consequences.
Crystal was the one
she worried about the most. She only heard kind and loyal thoughts from her. She
would get frustrated with herself and her team’s lack of work ethic but she
remained supportive of them no matter what was thrown at her. Her team however
was not so supportive. While most pretended to be on her side, their thoughts
betrayed their true intentions. Tasha, Carla and even Greta were all extremely
jealous of her and were plotting against her. Shamra and Jessica were clueless
to the plotting but were being pulled into her demise. While Greta thought she
was the great mastermind behind all that went on, Tasha was her puppet master
and played her like a well-oiled instrument. But what none of them realized was
that Anita was the one pulling all the strings. She was crafty and sly. She had
orchestrated everyone so that if things went south she would appear innocent
and while the other three took the brunt of any fallout.
Ember was becoming
frustrated with herself. Patience had never been her strong suit, but she had
always been able to find the positives in life. This place brought her down; it
drowned positive thoughts and energy. She hated getting caught up in all the
drama and deception. So in her free moments she searched for ways to
escape but had yet to find any. She thought about venturing to the third floor,
thinking there might be a way out there. She knew that was a risk. She didn’t
want to get selected for one of the groups. The life force was sucked out of those people and they came back as mindless drones. She also didn’t want to become a supervisor
and then have to take others up there. She had to find a way to sneak up without
being seen. It was a risk, but she felt she was out of options where she was.
As if someone read her mind, her computer screen flashed and a small black box appeared in
the lower corner. Script began filling the box. Ember glanced around and realized
no one else noticed. When the script stopped, she read it to herself.
Ember, I believe I can help you escape this place but
you must not tell anyone else there
Ember moved her
cursor to the box and typed, Who is this? How can you help?
I’m Seth. I don’t know how to explain it, but I am back in your real
world. I’m a programmer and I have been able to watch you on your journey. I
sent Illustria to you before. I think I can create a rift in that world that
will give you an escape. Only… I don’t know where it will take you.
Ember stared at the
screen and thought about what this Seth person was offering. It was so
tempting before all of this started she would have jumped at the chance. But
now she knew more was at stake. She was supposed to learn things from these
experiences. Yes, she discovered if she focused she could read some
thoughts, but her gut told her there was something more she was to learn from
being here.
She began typing
back, Hi Seth. I do want to escape this place and it’s okay that we don’t
know where I will end up… But I can’t just leave. There are some people here
that are good and they will be destroyed. I have to be able to take them with
me. I think I am here to help them so I can’t just abandon them. Can you help
me save them?
Ember stared at the
screen waiting for his reply. She wondered what all he saw and how he was
able to see her when there was no other connection to her former world. She
wondered if he could contact her family for her. She wondered who was
controlling all this.
After what seemed an eternity the script began to flow again in the box.
I don’t know how long
I can create the rift for or how many could get through. You would be risking
yourself and it may not turn out as we plan, but I can try. I have been able to
catch glimpse of where you are and some of the people there. You must be very
careful who you trust. There are those not connected to the evil there but many
are scared and would betray you to save themselves. I will have to know how
many you want to take with you, but don’t say anything to them yet. I will
re-open this dialog box when I have some instructions. Be on the look out and
be careful.
With that the box
disappeared from the screen.
Ember took the time
to figure out who she should try to take and if there were any that she could
trust to tell. She may have to figure out a way to deceive them into following
her. It was not a tactic she was comfortable with, but she was ready to do it
if it meant saving them. She knew she must to get Crystal out. Too many were
plotting her demise. She felt Jessica and Shamra needed to escape too. There
were a handful of others who were recruiters or on different teams that she had
sensed a pure heart in. She worked on her list, her thoughts wondering on what
he meant by a rift and how it would work. In the meantime she continued
entering the names and information of those the Fortress was targeting, hoping
that they would be able to avoid what this place had planned for them. She said
a protection chant for those she entered. She didn’t know if it would work but they
said she was a witch and that’s what witches did in movies and TV, so maybe
it would work.
Bridget must have
overheard Ember’s chant, because she rolled her seat back to Ember’s desk and
asked, “What’s that?”
Ember jumped. “What’s
what?”
“That thing you say
over and over. I notice you do that when you are entering data and I was just
curious.”
Ember stared at
Bridget for a moment before answering. She was trying to read her thoughts and
see if there was a hidden agenda behind her asking. She heard absolutely nothing
and realized that Bridget was guileless. She said and did exactly what she
meant. “Do you like it here?” she asked.
Bridget shrugged her
shoulders, “Not especially, but it’s not too bad, if you keep to yourself and
do the work. I don’t really mind the work although I do wonder about all these
people we type in. They all think I’m an airhead, because I just happily do my
work. I know more than they realize. Besides, gingers have to stick together,
right?”
Ember decided to take
a chance and trust Bridget. Maybe the fact that her hair was fiery too, was a
sign.
“It’s like a prayer…what
you heard. I can’t help but feel bad about entering these people’s names so I
say a little rhyme I made up in my head. It’s probably silly, but it’s my way
of trying to protect them from this place.”
“It’s not silly at
all. I like that. I’ve been watching you. You don’t belong here, but you are
blending in pretty well. That’s a good thing. Those that don’t do what they are
told get taken upstairs.”
“I’ve seen that. What
happens to them? Have you been up there?” Ember asked.
“I have been up there
a few times. Once a month they have a gathering and everyone goes up. They make
some announcements and give everyone cake. Sometimes small groups are detained
and taken into the offices up there. You’ve seen what happens to those. They
come back like zombies. The Tri-powers are up there and they use the life force
of the ones they drain. They take all their memories and hope, so that they
have no will. The Tri-powers have a
small network of ‘managers’ that work among us and take people up who are not
meeting expectations, who rebel or who they just don’t like. It is best to try
to stay on their good side. Don’t make waves and meet your goals. That’s the
only way they will leave you alone. Do what I do, always act happy and obedient
and you can stay under the radar. At least, until they decide you work against
you because they are bored.” She glanced over at Crystal with a look of
sadness.
“Does anyone ever
escape?” There, she threw it out there to see Bridget’s reaction. Bridget
looked around and laughed as if Ember had said something funny. She then leaned
a little closer and said, “Not since I have been here. Be careful, if they
suspect you are going to try they will eliminate you.”
She looked deep into
Ember’s eyes, “You are going to try, aren’t you?” She didn’t wait for a
response, “take me with you and I’ll help. But we have to take Crystal. She won’t
last much longer. They have it out for her”
Part of Ember
worried, this could be a set-up and part of her was relieved that she may have
found an ally.
“I haven’t figured it
out yet but I’m working on it. I’m just not sure who to trust.”
“Trust no one. Well,
you can trust me, but tell no one of your plans. Especially not Crystal or
Jessica. I can get them to come with us. Crystal is too dedicated, and Jessica
is too loyal to management. If you tell them, they would tell to try and save
you. Their intentions are always honorable, but they are too naïve to the evil
that surrounds them. Just tell me what you need me to do.” With that she shook
Ember’s hand and then grabbed one of her pens. “Thanks, for the pen. Red ink is
my fave.” she said loudly, waving the pen as she rolled back to her desk.
The hours passed
slowly as Ember anxiously waited to hear back from Seth. Several groups had
been taken to the third floor and she was worried that time was running out for
those she needed to save.
