Page 81 of The Commons

In the distance, I see Patron De Londe smile at Pesh from a balcony above, just as a man with a dark mask covers my face with a hood, dragging me and shoving me to the floor. He growls at me before I hear a door lock. I breathe heavily, afraid.

Ripping the hood off my face, I fall to the ground to see that I am in a metal room.

My tears drop to the floor; I’m devastated.

Roaring rain drums down outside the ship. It’s a stormy night and my heart thunders in fear, while my benumbed body shivers in disbelief. I can’t sleep. I contemplate everything that I did wrong. Why did I stop to help Pesh in the fire? Why did I go on that date with him? Why did I let myself fall for him? I contemplate how it all happened so fast. I contemplate every emotion that I had felt.

I am distraught.

There is a part of me that keeps wishing that I will wake up in the morning and it will all be a nightmare. There is a part of me that cannot believe that Pesh would do such a thing to me. I don’t know what to think on the worst night of my entire life. I had gotten the closest and furthest I had been to finding Levon. And all because I trusted. A boy.

At this point, I know nothing. Everything he told me might have been a lie. I cannot trust anyone anymore, not even myself. So, I decide to shut my eyes and think of the stars outside my dorm room, the one I would watch and feel like there was someone looking out for me.

I close my eyes and a cascade of tears flood down, drowning me in an avalanche of despair. I cross my arms over my bent knees and send a prayer up to Heaven, hoping that somehow, somewhere, a miracle will happen.

CHAPTER 18

The Seventh Zone

Terror creeps down my spine, my eyes shooting open, darting from the left to the right. Alert, I am unsure of what’s about to happen. I prayed for a miracle last night. There’s none. But God always answers prayers. I believe this. My dad taught me this. So, since I see nothing in this prison cell except myself, I must be the miracle. Yeah. I must be my own answer. It must be inside of me.

Standing up suddenly, my mind awakens in an ocean of thoughts, trying to think of ways to escape this cell. How can I escape? The ground, walls, ceilings are all made of metal. There is nothing around me. There is no opening anywhere. No bed. No pillow. No plates. No forks. Even my shoes were taken. And replaced with a new one.

I can’t find anything in my mind, in my heart, in my thoughts. So, I begin to search. I search myself, my clothes, all around me, to see if I have anything in my dress pockets. That’s when I find it.

A note.

And it’s from Pesh.

For a moment, I am reluctant to read it, but then I quickly open it, frantic.

It reads, I’m sorry I had to be so aggressive, but I was running out of time. They were watching your every move, so I couldn’t tell you the truth at the time. First, when I kissed you, I secretly evaped you from The Commons tracker with my Evaporizer, so no one can track you. You are currently approaching the portion of Commonda Island which is known as The Seventh Zone. When you get off, stay with group E. The first E. I will meet you and help you and Levon escape. Please trust me one last time. With all my heart, – P.

I don’t know what to think, but I feel the ship come to a stop, so I know I need to move quickly and join group E (whatever that means). At this stage, what do I have to lose? I am still not sure if I trust Pesh. But if there is anything I am sure of in this moment, it is this, I have to trust the voice inside of me.

A guard unlocks my door, leading me forward. I begin to walk across the ship’s corridor along with the other students. The sound of footsteps echo across the deck as we walk across the alleyway. I notice figures and shadows on the floor beneath me as they lead us out like captives. I walk past the golden statues in the ship, trying to calm my racing heart as the Water Patrons push us in the direction of the ship’s exit. There are about twenty or so of us.

Upon stepping out of the ship, I notice there are rock formations on different corners in the distance. The mountains tower over the lagoon-blue sea. There are cliffs of different shapes, like colossal caves where one can stand to see the ocean below. Leaves scarcely surround the area with pink flowers that look so beautiful, like the beauty that comes after death, like flowers on a graveyard.

I shake off the sand stuck inside my sandals from the beach. The sand is white-silver. It feels like snow on my skin, yet smooth like glass. I look away from my feet and look to my right to see about seven ships on the shore of the beach. I squint to get a better view, quite entranced by how alluring they look. The ships look like they are made from pure gold, some pure silver. Some are jet black. Others look like they are made from a transparent water-blue substance. Each ship has beads of code-like inscriptions all over its exterior. The ships look like a treasure chest. Its sails are desert-sand colored with golden fabric. My heart is racing. The ships exude designs that speak of wealth and power, like this place is a kingdom all by itself.

Bands of regal looking Water Patrons emerge from the white and blue transparent ships, while some other students exit from the gold and silver ones. The Water Patrons are dressed in diving suits, like they just returned from the ocean floor. They look ruthless and fierce.

I look away from the seven ships to see seven high-rise buildings with about seventeen floors each. Each is built in the shape of a letter that spells out SEVEN ZN.

Oh my God.

The Seventh Zone.

I look at the S building to see workers carrying carts. I narrow my eyes to read what’s on the label and it says, “Conzamine.” Another one says, “Condoxin.” Oh my goodness, they’re making drugs.

I see a giant man with white hair walk out to welcome us. “Welcome students to The Seventh Zone,” the man says.

“We don’t want to be here!” a boy behind me screams.

“Colar, go drown that student!” He refers to a Water Patron.

I take a huge breath, terrified.