Free High Pressure System: First Season Underground by K.D. Kinney

bothered me so much. It made me mad that I had nightmares about you dying right in front of me and I … and I … and I don’t even know you. Why would I be so upset that you were hurt? And so concerned when everyone wanted to know what happened to you? I noticed before they did that you never came out afterward. I kept checking to see if you ever left your apartment. The reason you got the little patch of grass for the dogs was because I went to your door a few times. I couldn’t knock though. I didn’t want you to know I was worried. Because then the computer was right. And why am I babbling like this?” Brandon was the one that turned away that time and pressed his head against the wall. He spread his fingers out until his palms met the wall as he rocked on his heels.
    I was in complete shock. He honestly was a mess. I leaned against the wall next to him and waited for him to look at me. When he did, his eyes were bloodshot.
    “You haven’t slept since the other day, have you?” I asked softly.
    “No. I need to keep everyone safe.” He sighed and whispered, “Sleeping brings the nightmares. I can’t handle the nightmares.”
    I rubbed his shoulder. “I will do my best to help with some sort of school for the kids. But you need to train Jim to do your job so you can get some sleep. By the way, somehow you need to make it so the rest of us can sleep even when we are in lock-down. I hate that song you play. No one has had a full night’s sleep since our first week here.”
    “I know I need to train someone. Jim is a good candidate. I need to come up with one more person though. The music has to stay for now. I’m not sure if I should change what we’re doing just yet. That one storm was dangerous and I don’t want to change anything too quickly.”
    I paced with Brandon a few more times. It was funny how Dobbers followed me, but Yodel just rested near the office door. He really liked Jim.
    Now that Brandon was thinking more about me, I realized he was indifferent to my dogs and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Maybe it was because he was preoccupied all the time. He said I was in his head. That news was probably flattering. I had to admit, it really wasn’t. When someone tries hard to forget you, that had to be a sure sign a relationship with them was bound to be doomed. As far as friendship went, he
was
making an effort.
    We didn’t resolve anything else, but the walk was good for Brandon. He looked a little less crazed when he went back to the control room and his focus shifted to sharing everything he knew with Jim. All Jim was able to do was give me a head nod to say his goodbye when I said I was going to leave. Brandon didn’t notice.
    I walked back to the stairs with the dogs. Micah would be there and I hadn’t prepared an excuse to make sure I didn’t linger. But I didn’t need one. He wasn’t there. Unfortunately, the music started and echoed down the stairwell at an ear-shattering level. The bunker was in lock-down and I had quite a few flights of stairs to go to get to my apartment. I started to panic when the wind whooshed in the stairway and I felt my hair pull away from my back. There was Micah bounding up the stairs.
    “Come with me.” When Micah reached the landing, he opened the door and called my dogs. My eyes watered and I couldn’t hide the panic that consumed me. I nearly stumbled down the last few steps, but he caught my hand and pulled me through the doorway to the hall on the vacant floor.
    “I got in trouble once for staying in an empty apartment during lock-down.”
    “The lock-downs aren’t the same anymore. He wants us somewhere safe and it doesn’t matter where.” He pressed a thumb on the wallpad next to a door that looked like it went to a janitor closet. The door unlatched. “Yours too.” He held the door waiting for me to press my thumb on the wallpad.
    I did and called the dogs into the long room that was nothing like what I thought it was. A bench ran