Page 50 of West (The Moral Compass 1)
I’veplayedahundredgames of cards with Kara, and I’m bored. How am I going to get through the next few days if I’m already nearly climbing the walls? Just as that thought left my head, North appeared in the doorway of the lounge.
“Sorry, Sutton, but we have to move you both outnow. West has been in touch, and we have a breach in security. Don’t panic, but I want you to go get some warm clothes on and make sure you put that phone somewhere safe so that if anyone empties your pockets, they won’t find it. You too, Kara. You have five minutes, and then we are gone. Don’t speak to security, even if they talk to you. Got it?”
We both nod in tandem. Why did I have to think I was bored? Arms linked, we head upstairs to find something warmer to wear. In the closet, there are sweatpants and sweatshirts in all different colours. I pull out a set in black and dress quickly, also adding the running trainers I have found in the bottom of the wardrobe.
How the hell did they get all my sizes so right?
I hear a sound behind me and turn. Kara is stood in exactly the same clothing. I smile and laugh.
“Great minds and all that, hey, Kara?”
“Yeah, something like that. Now, we best get back downstairs. Hey, just out of interest where did you put your phone?”
I blush and point down at my pants and the sweatshirt covers any sign of it. She nods again and points in exactly the same place. “I hope someone rings it while it’s on vibrate,” she quips. God, we are too alike sometimes.
Again, we link arms and head down the staircase. We pass the two security guards.
“I’m looking forward to this workout, Kara, I think it will do us good.” They both look forward and never even acknowledge us. Weird.
As we enter the kitchen area, there is a loud bang like a gunshot. We both look at each other.
“Shit, what was that?” I whisper, my heart banging on my chest to get out. Kara grabs my hands and pulls me to a cupboard that looks like a pantry. She opens the door and enters a code and another door inside opens. We both step inside, and she pulls the door closed behind us.
“Shhh.” She puts her finger over her mouth and pulls on my elbow.
Where the fuck are we going, and how did she know about this, this whatever it is? Tunnel? Safe room? Who the fuck knows? But I’m following her. I can hear gunshots firing behind me like a machine gun going off.
Sweat is pouring off me. My head is swivelling back and forth from behind to the front whilst we head down a dark corridor. There are some steps at the end, and we go down them carefully. At the bottom, there is a large room filled with boxes.
“We need to find somewhere to hide, Sutton. If they get in here, we are dead." Kara’s voice is breathy and scared.
“Okay, let’s look,” I say, searching around the room. We head to the back where there is another door. I pull on the door and, surprisingly, it opens. I slowly edge my head through the gap. It’s the outside. The afternoon light is fading. It’s still bright enough to see but also be seen.
I look to Kara. “What do you think? Should we make a run for it?”
“I think we should hide here and leave the door open a little. If they get down here, they will think we made it out,” she says.
“Yeah, okay, right. Let’s do that.” I find a small book from one of the boxes and wedge the door as if we had escaped and then find two large boxes. We empty them, put them behind the other boxes, and then get inside. We sit and wait and wait and wait. Nothing. I can still hear the gunfire going off and a few screams, but it seems like we are safe for the moment.
The gunshots stop, but the silence is deafening. All I can hear is my heartbeat hammering, and bile is sitting in the back of my throat. I’m trying to breathe quietly and not go into some stupid panic attack, and I remember the technique West taught me last time. But I have to count the breaths in my head. In and out. In and out. So on and so forth, I keep going in reps of ten. I lose count on how many times I’ve done this, but it’s keeping me steady for now.
“Sutton, Sutton, where are you, my beautiful flower?” A voice I don’t recognise calls out.
Oh, fuck. That’s not North or West or anyone’s voice I know.
I sit still, perfectly still.
“I have your friend Kara, Sutton, and I am going to hurt her bad if you don’t come out,” the man says. At that point, the phone vibrates in my pants. Desperate to not make a sound, I carefully pull it free and see a text from Kara.
Kara: No, they don’t! Sit tight!
Sutton: Okay.
I put the phone back in my pants and sit whilst they shout and kick boxes all around us. I’ve been in some situations like this before, but I don’t ever remember a time when I was scared for someone else, too. There are sounds of footsteps retreating, and it goes quiet. Relief fills me when I think they have gone, but I still don’t move. I’m frozen in place.
Kara: Do you think they have gone?
Sutton: I don’t know, but don’t move. We need to stay here until someone we know comes and finds us.
