Generation Four

I couldn’t help myself; I let out a small little yip.

 It wasn’t because the two Officials had spotted us, or because there was yet another who ran into Dayton from behind.
 It was because I had made a horrific connection; the guards, the locked door, and the heinous name written upon the sign.
 JEBEDIAH ORTCH.
 The name flashed in my mind relentlessly.
 It was his office. It had to be.

 The name and the locked door seemed normal, but what about the two officials guarding it? Why was there a secluded tunnel leading to his workplace?
 My mind was racing for an answer, despite the escalating trouble around me.
 What would be worth guarding in some mere office? Money? Drugs?
 Drugs would be a good explanation for his idiotic behavior, but it wasn’t likely that that was the case.
 My gears began to turn, only to be interrupted by the three officials.
 I was so close to an answer! I could feel it, too!
 Dang it.
 “What are you two doing down here?”
 “How did you find this?”    
 “Why aren’t you in breakfast?”
 “Where are your trainers?”
 The three officials were attacking us with a flurry of questions. Their voices were raised and sounded a bit on edge and worried.
 I needed to know more.
 “Why is Ortch’s office hidden? And guarded?” I sneered.

 “Get out.” a woman official instructed.
 She was fierce, but so was I.
 “No.”
 I stomped my foot and crossed my arms, almost like a little child would do when pouting.
 “Answer my question.” I wanted answers, or someone would get hurt.
 The woman sighed and shook her head as if she was disappointed.
 What happened next was almost too fast to recall.
 She moved almost like a graceful ballerina, her short black hair fluttering with her sudden speed. Her gracefulness quickly mutated to viciousness when she shoved her fingers into a small nook in my shoulder. In that instant, my limbs went numb, and I couldn’t move. I lay on the floor motionless as I looked at Dayton, without turning my head, to see that he was crumpled on the floor as well.

  My lips could only tremble as the two men took us away. They sloppily threw us over their shoulders and took us to our room. They tossed us onto the bed like toys and stormed out, quickly slamming the door shut behind them.