State of Chaos (Collapse Series) by Summer Lane Read Free Book Online

downtime around this place, is there?
    We’re led away from the gymnasium, back towards the center of the school. Towards the classrooms. I see a science building, a history building…I sigh. History was always my favorite subject growing up. Why does Omega have to take anything that’s halfway decent and turn it into something twisted?
    Kamaneva and her guards open up another set of doors. A classroom marked
LAB
. We’re marched inside. Chairs, desks, books, pencils and anything else of remote convenience have been removed from the room. All that’s left are some plain counters, minus the vials and test tubes. The only windows are small slits near the top of the ceiling, making an escape through a those openings impossible.
    Kamaneva walks up to a giant chalkboard at the front of the room. She grabs a piece of chalk from the lip at the bottom of the board – I’d like to know who left
chalk
in the room but took everything else – and starts writing. Nobodydares say a word. There are about thirty or forty of us packed inside the room.
    She writes:
    Group 13.
    “You are Group 13,” she states, turning to face us. She folds her hands behind her back, staring at everyone with a cold expression. “When you hear your number, you respond immediately. If we call Group 13 out in the morning, you come
right away
. If you disobey regulations, your
entire
group will be punished.”
    “What are the regulations?” somebody asks.
    Afraid to turn my head and see who spoke, I keep my eyes trained on Kamaneva. She draws her hands down to her sides, taking a deep breath.
    “Regulation Number One,” she says, taking a commanding tone. It’s kind of annoying. “You do not speak unless you are addressed
first
or asked a direct question.” Burn. “Regulation Number Two, you do not make a move without direct orders to do so. This includes, eating,sleeping, walking, talking, moving, working and
thinking
.”
    “Inspirational speaker,” I mutter.
    Sophia slaps my hand. I guess some of my sarcasm is returning.
    “Regulation Number Three,” she continues, looking amused. “No prisoner at any time is to
ever
carry a weapon. If you are found in possession of a weapon, you will be executed immediately.” She pauses. “Regulation Number Four, obey all of the above regulations, or you’ll be killed. Are we clear?”
    Nobody says anything.
    This seems to make her happy. She gives a brief nod, walks towards the door, and
bam
. We’re moving. No more than five minutes of peace. We’re walking back out the doors, away from the chemistry lab, and I’ve got a bad feeling about where this whacked out tour is headed.
    We’re rounded through some more double doors and enter a huge room with plastic tables and chairs everywhere. A long table is set up in the back. Omega guards are posted at every corner. A group of about twenty male prisonersare huddled around tables, eating something that looks suspiciously like a mud puddle in a cup.
    “This is where you will eat your meals,” Kamaneva announces. “You will get two. Breakfast and dinner. You will never take more than the portion given to you. Stealing food will result in severe punishment.” Her lips curl up at the corners. “You’ll have ten minutes every morning to eat. Ten minutes at night.” She makes a motion and the guards fall into place around us, goading us outside again. “While you are here you will move quickly and listen without speaking.”
    We reach the outside of the school, where the orange groves are growing in abundance. The bushy green trees are overgrown, aligned in perfect rows. Oranges are hanging heavy on the branches. They’re ready to be picked. Outside of the orange groves are several empty fields, and down from that, more oranges.
    “Group 13,” she says. “Your job will be harvesting the fruit that is already on the trees. When you are done, you will move on to planting.”
    I share a glance with Sophia.
    Really? Omega brought us all the way out