"So let me get this straight," I said, pacing from one end of my room to the other. "You are a super spy."

The boy who was standing by my door nodded. "Correct."

"You broke into a "science lab" to find a "high level" asset." I made finger quote motions to accompany my words, the joke twisting in my tone.

He green eyes tracked me across the room. "Also correct."

I whirled around, and stared at him. "And you found me, which, logically speaking, leads me to believe that I am the high level asset." A beat of silence. "You're hilarious." I burst out laughing, unable to keep it in. "You're telling me that I'm an experiment, or asset, or whatever other nonsense you're going to spit out at me?" I folded my arms. "I am a perfectly normal person.

He gave me a pointed look. "You live inside the fifth level basement of a building in the middle of the desert. You want to explain to me how that's... normal?"

My eyebrows screwed together. "What's a desert?"

He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "Look, I know you're confused, but I really need to get you out of here. They'll find out I broke in and I don't need complications to the mission."

I rolled my eyes. "There is no "mission". You're just some delusional person who wandered into my room. You really should get back to your own."

He gestured at the walls around him, white and cluttered with papers and scribblings and mirrors. "This is not a normal room!"

I scoffed, a light chuckle playing with my lips. "Sure it isn't. And I'm actually a giraffe."

He made a face. "How do you know what a giraffe is but not a desert?" He shook his head. "Forget it. I need to get you out of here." He stopped forward and started pulling something out from behind him.

I chuckled, but it was dry. "Ok, ok look, I've been patient with you, but I really need to contact one of the others. It's clear you need help. There is no out. Don't you know?"

His frown creased, deepened. "What... what do you mean?"

I licked my lips. Hesitated. "The world ended twenty years ago." A stuttering breath, the thought of danger clouding at my mind. "This bunker is the only place left that's safe from the radiation."

He stared at me, adam's apple bobbing, once, twice. "What." It wasn't a question. It was a blurted word from astonishment and confusion and his face was going blank.

I tapped my communication band. "I'm... going to contact my dad now. Maybe he will be able to get you to the right part of the village."

"Village."

I nodded, lips pursed together. "Yes. The village. You really should get home now."

"You live in a village," he said slowly. "Does that mean there's more of you?"

I rolled my eyes and continued tapping on my comband. "Well, duh. You even mentioned being "found out" so I'm fairly sure you had knowledge of others too."

His eyebrows knitted together, green eyes darkening. "Well, yes, but I always thought of it as scientists, maybe some guards. Are you saying there's a whole community of you down here?"

I shrugged. "From what I hear? Yeah. But I'm the only kid in my sector." A ping. I looked back down at my comband. "Ah! My dad's on his way now. He should be able to get you to the right place."

His eyes widened and he darted towards me, shoving me to the floor.  There was a cracking sound, too loud and sharp and the world was falling apart around me, my perfect white room dissolving into shreds and snow and shards raining around me. I was screaming but I couldn't hear myself over the crackling of destruction. His arms wrapped around me, pressing me to his chest as we tumbled on the floor, his heartbeat hammering, thudding, as the noise stopped.

I couldn't breathe. He muttered something under his breath then lifted his head, hovering just over me as he panted, then grunted, dropping low. The door slammed open, and I just caught a glimpse of black before the world burst into white light.

There was a tug in my stomachache I was falling, before the rush of sound spread into chattering voices and beeping and then, all of a sudden, hushed silence.

My eyes slid open just a crack. For a moment, all I could see was the grey of his shirt and the tan of his skin before he pushed away. The world opened to reveal different white walls, different people staring, staring and silent and then—

"Jeremiah Alexander! What in the world were you thinking?"

A woman stormed up, a long white coat ruffling around her, her green eyes deep with anger.

The boy groaned and sank back down next to me. I let out a small whimper. "Hey Mom." The words were tired, with just the slightest of fear.

Whispers broke out, words spread through the crowding of people—so many people—but too muddled for my ringing ears to hear.

She stood over us, narrowed eyes raking over the two of us, hands on hips. "Is that," she said slowly, each word slowly enunciated. "A bullet hole?"

He rolled over to inspect his side. "Ah. So it is." He winced, then settled back down, his shoulder rubbing against me. "I appear to be bleeding."

Those words were too much. I started to sob, rough gasps for breath splitting the silence as I curled into myself.  The silence somehow grew thicker, until there were arms around me and lifting me, softly murmured words lost to my ears as they carried me, carried me away from prying eyes and loud sounds and everything else that I had known. I let my tears dull the world, closed eyes fading into weary sleep.

"Hey."

My eyes snapped open, green ones meeting mine, just inches away. A scream bubbled at my lips, and he slapped his hand over my mouth, a firm look on his face. "Shush!" He looked around furtively. "I'm still supposed to be in recovery and my mom will kill me if she find out I'm bothering you." He leaned back, a slight smile chasing away the sternness on his face.

I shoved him away and sat up, squinted at yet another change in location. "Where am I?" I croaked, voice worn from all that had happened. What had happened?

"Well, right now you're in the med room, resting, and I'm breaking my mother's rules." The smile started to slip on one side. "Are you... ok?"

"Am I ok?" He had to be kidding, right? "Am I ok?!" My face twisted and I wound my fingers into my hair. "You took me from my home and you're asking me if I'm ok?"

He gave me an apologetic look. "To be fair, they were shooting at us." The smile was drooping even more.

"Sh- shoot... shooting? I don't—" I stumbled over the words, then licked my lips, eyebrows low. "I don't know that word."

He looked surprise. "You don't what?" A slight chuckle slipped into his voice. "Let me guess, you don't know what a gun is either."

I didn't say anything. I guess I didn't have to because his teasing expression faded. "Oh my word... they really did shelter you, didn't they?"

He was silent for a long moment, his eyes flicking and flitting, studying me. I tucked my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, staring at the boy. The scar cutting down his forehead, only uncovered by his hair when he tilted his head. Dark smudges creased under his eyes, no light to fleck them gold like before.

The charcoal grey of his getup before had been traded for a pale blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up. He couldn't be much older than I was... could he?

I cleared my throat. "I don't know your name."

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. A moment of hesitation. "I'm Jeremiah Alexander Hunt." His eyes flitted away, then back. "Most of the others here call me Rem."

I blinked. "Rem?"

His nose crinkled, and he waved my question away. "It's not worth going into. What's yours?"

I eyed him carefully, something small and heavy growing in my stomach as I looked at him, the person who had taken me. The liar. Well, two could play that game. "Sarah."

He accepted it, nodded. "Cool. Ok. Uh..." His hands fiddled with something, drawing my attention to them. He caught me looking and balled his fist up, hiding the thing. "I don't suppose you... do anything?"

I glared at him. "There wasn't really a mission, was there?"

He winced and leaned back, and for the first time, I realized he was on a stool. I dont know why I hadn't noticed it before. "Well, there was a mission. I just wasn't on it." A beat. He prepared his words, and I let him. "There had been rumors about a secret lab. We got an inside man in, and he was supposed to investigate and report back. Except..." a deep breath, the clenching of his jaw, the puff of his cheeks as he exhaled. "The information got back to us. He didn't."

Rem leaned forward again, and I leaned back this time, placing my arms behind me to steady myself. "The strangest thing was that there was this girl, but she wasn't treated like you would treat a daughter. She was more of an experiment. And she was the only one."

"Who was the girl?"

He refused to look at me. Why wasn't he looking at me? Why had he gone so tense and why was my heart constricting and why couldn't I breathe anymore an—

"It's you."

Something hit me in the stomach, pain and disbelief and it hurt so, so much. "No," I moaned, my face screwing up. "No. No my dad loves me and I have a Jorma life and I'm a normal girl and you're a liar!"

His eyes were sorrowful when he finally looked at me, the green darkened with guilt and pity. "I'm so sorry."

. . . . .

Here Catyellow716 now you can read it too