He moved through the darkness, but I stayed where I was, hoping he’d either turn on a lamp or that my eyes would adjust. After a few seconds, a click sounded, and I squinted when light flooded the room.
“Sorry,” Marc said.
“It’s fine.”
My eyes half closed, I watched him grab a pillow off the bed and place it in front of the door.
“In case someone comes up here,” he explained when he’d turned to face me. “I don’t want anyone to see the light.”
“Smart.”
I looked the room over as I waited for my eyes to fully adjust, shocked to discover that, like mine, it was clean and new linens had been put on the bed. I hadn’t expected that, and since no one lived on this floor, it made no sense.
“What is it?” Marc asked.
“Why did they fix this room up if no one is staying on the fourth floor?”
Marc chewed on his bottom lip but didn’t respond, telling me he knew something I didn’t. No surprise. He probably knew a lot of things I wasn’t privy to.
“What do you know, Marc?”
“Shit. Well, I guess telling you isn’t that different than being here with you right now.” He gestured to the bed. “Sit down. I’ll fill you in on what’s happening.”
I moved to the bed, my eyes on him as I walked. I had no clue what he was going to say but was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be good. It had only been a few weeks since I got here, but who the hell knew what had changed since then. Anything could behappening on the outside. There was a pandemic, after all.
Marc and I sat side by side, me with one leg up so I was facing him, but as if he was avoiding looking directly at me, he was turned at an awkward angle. His body was stiff, closed off. I didn’t like it.
“What is it?” I prompted.
His brown eyes flitted to me then quickly away. “Things are bad. I mean really, really bad.”
“How bad?” I asked, my heart pounding as I thought about the last time Trevor and I talked. He’d been fine, but what if that had changed? What if he was sick? What if I never saw him again?
“Really bad, Ara.” Marc focused on me, and the fear in his eyes made my dread double. “They’re bringing more women here, but not just women.”
I shook my head, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Girls, Ara. They’re bringing girls in.”
The reality of what he was saying slammed into me. They were rounding up all the fertile women, starting with seventeen-year-olds who’d just found out their status. They were going to lock them up, and if the Department of Fertility had their way, I had a feeling none of those women would ever be free again.
“It’s starting,” I said, mostly to myself.
I’d been thrilled to see Marc, but this revelation had totally distracted me. It wasn’t a surprise. I’d seen it coming, but at the same time, it was so shocking I could hardly process the information.
I thought about being sixteen years old and terrified as I traveled across the country by myself. And I’d known I would be going home in a couple weeks – assuming the authorities didn’t catch me. These girls, these kids, had no clue when they would see their parents again, or even if they ever would. Even if the government didn’t lock them up forever, there was a pandemic. Their entire families could be dead by the time they made it home. Although I seriously doubted they would ever be free again.
“Ara?” Marc said. “Are you okay?”
“No. I knew this was coming, but it’s still…”
I had no words.
He scooted closer, took my hand. “I’m sorry, but you know it doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck here once you have a baby. They could still let you go home.”
“Do you really believe that? After everything you’ve seen here, do you really think they’ll let anyone who’s fertile go?”
“I do,” he said, but he’d hesitated long enough to let me know he was lying.
