Sleep didn't come easily to me that night. I laid in bed, tossing and turning. Insomnia was one of the few things I'd never suffered from in my life. Given my busy and chaotic life and adding in the fact that I rarely slept more than a few hours at a time, by the time I did get to collapse into my bed I passed out within seconds.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ8Eq9k3Hd
But tonight, rather from being in an unfamiliar place, worry about my mother, the stress of the day, or, most likely, a combination thereof, sleep would not come. I stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid glancing at the clock was slowly ticking down the time, when I finally decided it was useless to even try to sleep. I sat up and flicked up the light in my room, squinting at the sudden brightness that surrounded me.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaXRSyv60S
My chambers weren't large— they were much smaller than the apartment I lived in on the surface actually. It was just a single room with a hard bed, a clock, a dresser, and a light. I imagine the families that I'd seen earlier had larger chambers, but for a young, healthy, single woman, I received spartan living quarters. Though, I didn't mind. I was used to the bare essentials and wasn't about to complain about what someone gave me out of the kindness of their heart with no charge at all.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTkHRpilQm
I glanced over to my phone sitting on the floor next to my bed, plugged in a charging. 'Surely one call to mother wouldn't hurt...' I thought, biting my lip. It was late enough that everyone should be asleep and calling would only serve to wake and worry Rachele, but I couldn't stop worrying about rather or not my mother was okay. Had she taken her medicine? Was she scared? Was she giving Rachele too much trouble? My stomach churned so much I was sure I was going be sick. My fingers and toes were starting to tingle and go almost numb and my heart felt like it was ready to beat out of my chest. Everything just hurt and I knew for a fact that it was just pure anxiety, something I suffered from often, but rarely this severely.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY2hD7areg
'I can't stand this any longer,' I thought, picking up my phone and flipping it open, before dialing Rachele's number.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihhoecd1bW
It rang for so long I was positive it was about to go to voicemail when I finally heard Rachele's sleepy voice on the other side of the line:693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj22PCOsras
"Hello?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHldAnwcpy5
"Hey, uh, you up?" I asked, feeling awkward for having called Rachele mid sleep.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiBxLiDydF
"No. I'm still sleeping," Rachele deadpanned, sounding unamused. "Yes, of course I'm up."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoWC4y5zba
"I meant did I wake you?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBDr3eLysf
"Sammy, it's three o'clock. What do you think?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinCfk0clYp
"Oh, uh, sorry. I just, well, was worried."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfynunrmcT8
"That's understandable. Everything's under control here, we're just worried about 'you.' What's going on Sammy?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fIvUpfYcf
"I can't tell you..."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZmnBnonoL
"Come on, Samantha! We've known each other for how long now? Two years? I'm babysitting your mother for Christ's sake. Just tell me what's happening. I'm worried about you."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRIyhqK34G
"I... I can't, Rache. It's dangerous." It killed me having to keep secrets from Rachele. I hated secrets. I wasn't good at keeping them and they ate away at me. But it was necessary. I couldn't tell Rache anything because it was dangerous.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuyclCQ34t
"When are you coming home then? Your mom misses you."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1F9zFPP65J
That felt like a knife to a stomach. It really did. "Soon," I whispered, feeling a lump form in my throat and tears prick at the back of my eyes. I wiped them away way the back of my hand and blinked rapidly as I rolled my eyes to stare up at the white ceiling. I couldn't afford tears right now. I needed to be the strong one.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP6kkGXzxX
"When? Where are you?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56VgdQaWmE
"I'm, uh, with family. Up north. Just needed to get settled in and make sure it was okay before I dragged mother on a long trip," I lied. "I'll be there tomorrow. Just to get mom and come back. Make sure her stuff is packed and she's up. It'll probably be around this time."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEOZc0jOi1
I couldn't stand the thought of spending another night without my mother. As much as I may have hated taking care of her at times, I couldn't stand being away from her. I loved her. She was my mom and my responsibility and living without her was a physical impossibility as I'd learned.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38v91RojJT
The anxiety I'd been feeling earlier about leaving mother alone was melting away as soon as I committed to sneaking her in. If Elvira was going to make me wait before giving me an answer about mother, well, she'd just have to deal with the fact that I wasn't willing to wait. And if it got me kicked out of the haven, well, that was fine, too. I didn't want to be here if mother wasn't aloud, too.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTpKKPPDKq
(Or, at least, that's what I told myself.)693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0skuIhKSlV
"Uh, Rache, tell Lucian I won't be coming in for awhile."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUBcTb79fl
"How long, Sam?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuzNds7bjo
"I— I don't know. I just can't be home right now, Rache. Something's happening. Something bad. I honestly don't even know what it is or why I'm so scared. I just can feel something bad coming on. Something sinister. From the man grabbing me at the club to the people breaking in, yet taking nothing but some clothes. Why would they do that? Everywhere I've gone lately I can feel someone trailing me. The police won't help and I can't do anything. I don't know when I'll be back. I don't know if I'll be back. I just need to be gone. You can understand that, can't you?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrF4ZwbatSl
"Yeah, I get it. You're safety is what's important."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNygatENRm
"Thanks."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jMXbLV6EZ
"I love you, Sam."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQZYzdLGeJ
"Love you, too, Rache."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw8Y9IqmPu
"See you tomorrow?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6KAXWB660
"Yeah. Tomorrow."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hCpDyvrQS
The phone clicked and beeped as the call ended and I flopped back on the bed, pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes and groaning. All of the anxiety that had faded about my mother was suddenly back full-force. But this time not about mom. About how to get in and out of Elvira's insanely secure house.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyQFlSCiAe
I wasn't much of a planner.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJIUvAfvlK
It always left me at a severe disadvantage anytime someone asked me to play chess or Risk or anything that involved the slightest amount of strategy. The only way I could get things done was if I jumped in and just did them, no fore-planning, no worrying. I was too easily distracted by things around me, too frustrated the second I hit a challenge, too prone to thinking myself into a panic. So, as much as I always respected and envied strategists, I knew I'd never be one.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUw2ONXLbm
Which is why the plan I came up with to sneak back into Elvira's home was to 'hope she had a window I could shimmy through.' But no matter how hard I thought, no matter how hard I shut my eyes and tried and tried to come up with a better plan, the only conclusions I was able to come to were "be patient until she tells you you can bring your mother in" which wasn't going to happen as I'd already figured out I couldn't spend another day without mother. Or "sneak into her house through a window, then wing it." While the former may have been the more prudent plan, the latter was what I knew I needed to do, for my sanity if for nothing else.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqq1FMSBYGp
Even after my conversation with Rachele and my 'planning' I wasn't able to sleep. All I was able to do was stare at my ceiling more and stress.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKaIU4b1FF
Once it seemed to be a reasonable time to be up and moving I got up and decided I might as well get dressed for the day. I was quite excited to put on the clothes Elvira had purchased for me, but couldn't help but feel guilty as I pulled on a pair of jeans and white shirt that had been bought as I remembered Elvira's words about how she didn't allow people that left back in as she viewed it as unappreciative and dangerous. I understood perfectly well why and it made sense on a logical; if someone left who's to say they're not going to lead someone back to the haven? Or if they were followed. So, when she told me I very much agreed on the policy despite how nervous the idea made me. But, now that I was here and wanting to leave and get back in, I hated the policy. I hated it in the most irrational, totally fear based way.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6EQrWnVaN
Once I was finally in a presentable state, with my hair laying flat against my head, clothes all in line, and teeth brushed, I exited my little room and went out into the streets.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9fURleLhw
The sun lights were on bright and hot and I couldn't help but look up and grin, basking in the light and warmth despite all my stress. I knew it wasn't the real sun, but it was rare that I ever got to feel the heat that came only with midday summer sun light. It was wonderful.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CS0WXh1c7
"Hey there!" I heard someone cry out. I turned to see a woman, my neighbor, standing at her door.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHVzBhAU0d
"Hi," I replied with a wave, making my way over to where they were standing.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfhh9jWfON
"I'm Marsha," the woman introduced, extending her hand once I was at her door693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSUCpSifsY
"I'm Sammy." I took her hand, shaking it.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1HfzZ64i7
"You're new here, right?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDskKHS6VY
"Yup. Just arrived yesterday. How about you? How long have you been here."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZmu0bPhR4
"Oh, uh, awhile," Marsha said. "Actually, longer than anyone else here."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLO2uWGETH
"Really?" I asked, eyes wide. "How long is that? Do people usually end up staying here long?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4rthjIZqb
"Nah, not really," Marsha said. "I've only been here, what, maybe six months? People come and go pretty quickly. Though, when I arrived there was a person that had been here for over a year."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPreM4pAhC7
"Oh, wow. So, do people's problems get taken care of quickly I guess?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQwp5qPMuj
Marsh shrugged. "Depends on the problem. Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes it takes longer. Usually when it's gonna take awhile, though, they just make it so the people are safe going back home, then worry about fixing the problem. Really try to keep Salus from getting too crowed."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeqNOslPHO
"Salus?" I asked.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E5SQOA979
"Oh, that's what we call this place. It's Latin for salvation."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjBcWc4dZL
"Oh, okay. I like that," I replied with a smile, before asking, "So, what do you think of Elvira?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckMBU6BFYG
"She's great," Marsha said. "Saved my life. It would be difficult for me to not love her. She likes to keep her distance, though. She'll come down, say hi, even do favors. But God help you if you cross her or break any of her rules."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJmDQ7svDj
"What do you mean?"693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHdHwvIgQV
"She's... strict. She has a temper and can hold a grudge."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0STCznDxK
"Really? She doesn't seem the type."693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24vbj1v0iJ
"Oh, you'd be surprised, Sammy. Just... don't break any rules and you'll be good with 'Vira. Do something she's asked you not to, though, and you'll be out of here faster than that!" Marsh snapped her fingers loudly to emphasize her point and I jumped back in surprise.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa6poEGh7M
"Oh, um, okay. I'll definitely keep that in mind." I looked up and away from Marsha, trying to keep my nerves under control.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFbv1rUgQw
'As long as Elvira doesn't find out about mother, there's nothing to worry about,' I told myself, trying to ignore the more prudent voice inside telling me that there was no way I keep someone hidden for long.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU76IciCPKc
:: ::693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqzveHtdhr
I kept myself busy that day by walking around, speaking to the people I saw, and worrying. And when I wasn't doing any of that I was sitting in my room, throwing up from nerves every now and again, and calling mom and Rachele repeatedly. They had to have been annoyed with me by the tenth time I called but I didn't particularly care.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3Vg7lchb3
Finally, daybreak came around. I should have been exhausted after going so long without sleep, but adrenaline was keeping me awake.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzJnU7ykXm
Most people had retired to their rooms already. I tried to act as casual as I could, though I was pretty sure I wasn't pulling it off well. I'd never felt so awkward in my life. I couldn't remember how to even hold my arms or walk like a normal person.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVsgds974u
I recalled what Elvira had told me about the emptier parts of town that had been shut down when they realize the expense and danger of running something so huge and I knew that all the windows up to the outside were actually hinges that would only locked from the inside. So, getting out really wasn't going to be difficult. The only thing I needed to do was make sure I wouldn't be seen by any of the other citizens leaving.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jcajiLpdt
I reached an area of town after maybe five minutes of walking that was clearly abandoned. None of the beauty of the city proper was here. All of the sun lights were out, the buildings weren't maintained, plants weren't kept trimmed— I knew I'd reached an area where it would be safe to escape.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRnH33WjTZ
I looked around for one of the windows out, finding one very quickly. The natural light from the sun rising was just showing through and a patch of grass and weeds grew heavily below it. I looked up at the window, wondering where the hell the ladder was, when I noticed it was a rope ladder that was coiled up at the top of the thing.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvE7tmhPIAR
'Goddammit. How do I get it down?' I thought in frustration. I ran a hand through my hair as I looked around in a panic, when I noticed a button that was underneath the layer of grass. Bending down, I pulled the weeds and grass up by the fist-full, staining hands green, and saw a small red button just sitting there. I closed my eyes, praying that the button controlled the ladder and not some alarm system. I pushed the button and flinched, waiting for some loud noise, but there was none. The rope ladder was released and fell straight down to me.693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bJDSDY2aK
I grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder and took a deep breath. 'Well, here it goes.' 693Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIOpEZnpwq
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