Free New World Rising by Jennifer Wilson Page A

us.” Triven’s words were only loud enough for me.
    Every instinct I had screamed at me as I slowly obeyed. But as I moved skittishly toward the doors, only one set of footsteps followed. Once we cleared the doorway, Triven took lead again. I instantly felt better, no longer glancing over my shoulder. But that relief was short-lived. We were going to the showers. And while Triven’s gesture seemed protective at the time, I now wondered if he had just challenged Maddox for the chance to leer at me himself. My stomach roiled as we grew near the shower area. Upon reaching the black door he opened it gesturing for me to enter first. My heart sank when he followed me inside letting the door click shut behind him. I gagged as my throat restricted, backing into the corner. But his eyes were not filled with the lust I had seen in Maddox’s. A wave of emotions rolled over his hazel eyes, but lust was not one of them. A few I did recognize, like pity, anger and pain.
    He pointed to the pile of fresh clothing in the corner, unable to meet my eyes.
    “There are fresh towels and clothing when you are done. Your old clothing can go in that bin and someone will retrieve it later for the laundry.” He took a tentative step backwards. “I will be outside if you need anything.”
    Then he left.
    I stood in shock as the door clicked shut again. At first I waited for him to come back in, to reappear coincidently just as I had undressed, but the door remained shut. I moved silently to the door staring at the handle. It didn’t move.
    There was a lock.
    Quickly flipping it, I waited. Surely, as soon as the metal clicked into place the banging and shouting would ensue, ordering me to open the door. But as the bolt fell into place no shouts were issued. I took a deep breath and slouched against the wall in relief. For this brief moment it was as if I were free.
    The shower felt wonderful this time with no eyes watching me, but even so, I did not linger too long. Locks were great and all, but keys still overruled them. As I pulled on the fresh clothing—for which I now had a newfound respect—I finally felt clean for the first time in months. Putting my dirty clothes in the black bin, I smoothed my hair and headed back to my captivity.
    Triven was seated on the floor in the hallway. His hair was wet and a fresh shirt clung to his biceps. He smiled as I looked him over.
    “I hope it’s okay I decided to shower too. After I heard you bolt the door I figured it might be a while.” He ran his fingers through his damp hair.
    I blinked at him. He had left me alone and unguarded and was asking if it was okay? Did he really trust me not to run?
    “You trusted me?” The thought escaped my mouth.
    His returning smile was soft. “You promised Mouse you would be there tonight when she returned. I knew you wouldn’t disappoint her.”
    Shame overcame me. I had thought about it though. I had thought about leaving her here and never looking back. I was still thinking about it. But for tonight he was right, I wasn’t ready to run just yet.
    Humming quietly to himself, he led the way to Arstid’s office. The doors to her quarters looked like any other, black aged metal fitted roughly into the cement walls. We stopped outside of the heavy door. Triven knocked three times before a voiced called us in.
    Structurally, the room was the same as every other I had seen, but the furniture seemed oddly out of place. In the center of the room was an oversized round table. Surrounding it was an array of chairs in varying levels of shabbiness. No two were alike. There were bookcases of random sizes and colors, every shelf filled with books, artifacts and weapons. It looked like a furniture graveyard. This must not have been her office, but a communal meeting room. The room was large compared to my cell, but nowhere near the size of the laundry room. The grey walls were covered with paper ranging from pocket-sized scraps to massive sheets larger than me. At a