The doorknob slowly began to turn, causing light from the hallway to spill on the carpet floor in the dark hotel room.

A figure peeked through the crack of the opening door. Dark bags sat underneath their swollen, green eyes. Their skin was as pale as paper, and when they finally pushed the door all the way, their skinny frame was hidden underneath layers of baggy clothing. It wasn’t until they stepped out of the shadows did I get to see their face.

“Mommy?” I asked, squinting to see properly. "Se mwen, manmi."

Bright red hair hung loosely to her waist, tangled and full of knots. For a moment, she stared at me, a look of shock on her face, and then at Rufus, who was quietly observing her. With one quick motion, Mommy grabbed my arm and yanked me inside the room, slamming the door shut. She twisted the lock in the doorknob and fumbled with the light switch, breathing heavily, before instantly scooping me up in her arms.

“Ti gason, mwen renmen anpil! Mwen te manke ou!"

A wave of relief washed over me, even though I had so many questions about why she didn’t let Rufus come in. His feet were still visible at the bottom of the door. I hugged her as tightly as I could, feeling her heart pounding against her chest. Tears streamed down her face, and when I pulled away I gently wiped at them with my fingers.

“Don’t cry, Mommy.”

She sniffed and cleared a couple strands of hair out of her face before looking at me up and down. “Are you okay? How did you find me? I...I was planning to look for you for days but those guards were everywhere. What are they feeding you? Who’s the man outside? Adlai, you know better than to talk to strangers.”

I glanced at the door. “His name’s Rufus. He helped me find you. And we’re getting out of here. Soon.”

A look of confusion appeared on Mommy’s face. “How on earth did you even get into this building? There are usually Red Mamba guards standing right out in the front door. I’ve tried to get to you so many times, baby boy. I’m sorry....I’m so sorry about all of this....” Her voice began to crack. “They put something in my food that made me sleepy. I would never leave you. Do you understand?”

It was hard seeing her this way. The bedroom was in dissarray, and empty takeout containers piled the overflowing garbage can. The one window had been plastered over, and I could see the marks she had made to break through it. I grabbed her hand and held onto it tightly.

“Mommy, I’m not mad at you,” I said. “It’s not your fault. But you have to let Rufus in. He’s my friend. He wants to help us, to take us back to Nivea. Can you open the door?”

Mommy sighed and stared at the door for a moment. “He’s Jovan, sweetie. I don’t think that—“

“Please?” I asked. It wouldn’t help to tell her that he worked for the Red Mamba. “This is our only chance to get out of here. Just talk to him. Please?”

She didn’t say anything, but slowly walked to the door and opened it again. Rufus was still standing there, leaning against the wall, but straightened up quickly when he saw Mommy. He held his hand out, but she didn’t take it, causing him to clear his throat.

”Uh...” he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose you’re Margaret. I know your son here already introduced me. Rufus. Rufus Templin.”

Mommy leaned against the side of the door, folding her arms. I reached and grabbed her right hand. She gave it a tight squeeze in return and glared at him.

“So what’s all this about? Beside my son, of course. I don’t have any money, if that’s what you want. I’ve been stuck in this room like a caged animal all this week, not even able to take a walk for fresh air. How dare you take my boy away from me! I don’t have my phone, so my boss doesn’t know where the hell I am, and can fire me, which means I lose my job, my house, my car and everything.”

“Ma’am, I know you’re upset—“

“Don’t call me ma’am."

For a moment, there was silence. I looked up at Mommy. Her tear stained face was as red as a beet. To my surprise, Rufus looked calm and unaffected by her words. He gestured at the room with his arm.

“Look, we need to talk. I don’t want anything from you, but we need to talk in private. It’s not safe out here. I’ll explain everything.” His voice trailed into a whisper. “I just want to help you, okay?”

She stood there, wiping her eyes and sniffing loudly. The hallway was silent, so I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal to talk out here, but she moved away, letting him step in and closed the door. I sat on the lumpy mattress and dangled my legs from the bed.

“Spill,” Mommy said.

Rufus shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “I met with Adlai yesterday night. He was trying to reach you, but it was way too dangerous for him to go out alone. I need a week to develop a plan to get us out of the city. Not only are the gates for the government building usually surrounded by guards, but also the ones leading into Jova. Getting both of you from your assigned locations will be tricky.”

“A week?” I felt my heart sink. “That’s forever.”

He gave me a small smile. “It’s important to plan well, kid. But it’s also best that Baldwin doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. You need to keep acting on your best behavior so he can grow more confident that you really have changed. The less suspicious he is of you, the easier it will be to escape.”

Mommy looked thoughtful. “But what will happen to you? They can easily track your car; they have cameras all over the place.”

“I know some routes we can take that will throw them off,” Rufus replied. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. But I think that once we reach Nivea, you’re going to have to move again, because that will be the first place they will check once they notice you’re gone.”

A chill ran down my spine. “Oh.”

“When will we leave?” Mommy asked in a low voice. “How will I ever recognize your car? I don’t have a sense of time anymore, since they keep me cooped up in here all day and only bring me food. I can’t even go out, it’s insane.”

A glimmer of hope appeared in Rufus’ eyes. “Saturday night. Eleven. Festival is happening that day. With all the fireworks, people drinking and partying it up, it’ll be the perfect time to leave. I know the guards get out of control themselves that day. Don’t worry. I will get Adlai first and then come to get you. They aren’t usually the best at the night shifts, anyways.”

“And how do you know that?” Mommy asked.

He quickly looked down. “I hang out in the city a lot. Guards usually walk around here all the time, to make sure people are wearing their red badges. If they aren’t, they’ll get punished. Whether it’s jail or a beating.”

“I don’t like this place,” I said. “I can’t wait to leave.”

“Well, hopefully it’s for only a short time,” Mommy replied. “Okay. Saturday night at eleven. But please...please plan well. I don’t know anything about this area, let alone city life. We’re country people.” She sighed. “I didn’t mean to be so rude, talking to you like that. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rufus said, avoiding my eyes. “I completely understand how you feel, and I won’t let you down. I promise I’ll try to get you guys out.”

* * * * * *

He drove me back to the white building in silence. Somehow, he looked really nervous and pale. I asked him if he needed help with his plan, but he assured me it was alright. Once near the front gate, he parked the car in the shadows and unlocked the doors, staring straight ahead. The two guards this time were having a mindless coversation, bickering back and forth.

“Go,” he whispered. “There’s a hole that I dug in the far corner of the gate. You can climb your way through and get back into your room. Baldwin is supposed to be at a meeting out of town tonight, so you don’t have to worry about bumping into him any time soon.”

I opened the passenger door and stepped out, facing him. “How do you know that?”

“I saw his schedule in the office.”

“Oh.” With one hand, I closed the door and took a couple steps backwards on the sidewalk. Rufus looked down, and for a moment, his eyes looked glazed over. He reached for the gear shift but I rushed to the open window.

“Rufus?”

He didn’t look up. “Yeah?”

“I want to say thank you. I hope we can be friends. Mommy isn’t like that usually, but she really missed me. And I really missed her too. One day, you and your family can come to Nivea and visit us for lunch or something. And see the beach; we have an awesome view. Mommy makes good meatloaf...most of the time.”

Rufus looked at me and smiled. “I really hope so, Adlai. One day. Maybe one day, I will. Goodnight.”

Before I could say anything else, he pulled off.

* * * * * *

The next few days were stressful. Baldwin’s morning meetings with me grew tedious, and I got tired of seeing him argue with those old men who judged me at that table. Mr. Karin didn’t come back, but I believed that Baldwin was relieved about it. He started to have me memorize the map of the island and draw it out. It certaintly wasn’t easy, and I kept stumbling over the names of the sixty cities, especially the really long ones. I was a terrible artist; the table would be covered in eraser shavings and I would tear a hole in the paper.

Then he would have me start again.

I was still able to go out into the city with those guards, but it was boring. When they did let me play, it was usually in the big green yard right next to the building. I had a lot of cool toys in my suite, which were right in the very large walk in closet.

It wasn’t easy holding a soccer match by myself, and I felt a pain grow in my chest as I saw other children playing in the streets. I was used to playing by myself in Nivea, but it was harder to watch them behind the black iron bars of the gate. The guards wouldn’t let me leave the gate, no matter how many times I begged them. When I asked Baldwin, he said that I was too special to bother with them, that I would be spoiled.

So I decided to stay inside more often.

I think that was where he wanted me to be, anyways. He showed me his office area, more maps and books that I didn’t understand, and old some photographs of previous wars. But nothing really got my attention until he opened another room and walked in. He had that cocky grin on his face, and I could tell he was eager to show me this.

It was full of firearms, all neatly organized.

I only recognized some because of what the actors used to use in the action movies. Mommy didn’t like me watching those because they gave me nightmares with all the blood and everything. But he handed me a small handgun and pointed at the window.

“You know what this is, Adlai?” Baldwin asked. “It’s not loaded, so don’t worry. You hold it. Like this.” He corrected my hands, so that one was wrapped around the rectangular thingy, which he called the magazine. I was confused about how a magazine could have no paper in it. No articles, just ammo.

I shook my head. “No sir.”

“That’s a Glock seventeen right there, son. We started using it as backup for those who are on the front lines. When you enter your recruitment program, they’ll start you off with that. Just want you to get a feel for it now.”

I looked up at him. “Why do I need a gun?”

For a moment, he looked surprised, then burst into laughter. “Oh, come on, you never even had a toy gun before? I got my first rifle when I was six. Used to go shooting with my pa all the time. My own boy owned a couple, before he went off into his first mission. You need a gun to protect others and yourself. This is the way to establish order and peace, Adlai. For your country.”

He said something else, but I didn’t really hear him. My fingers wrapped around the trigger. I imagined an evil monster, at the ultimate boss level in one of my video games, charging at me. Facing the window, I held the Glock up with both arms. The creature was slobbering, fangs bared and claws stuck out.

Bang, bang.

* * * * * * *

It was getting more difficult to sleep, and I kept hoping that Rufus would somehow show up so I could maybe ask him to take me to see Mommy again, but he didn’t. Baldwin had stopped allowing the door to my suite to be locked, so I would sneak out and lie down on the couch in the fancy room for the next few nights. Those who were working the night shifts didn’t say anything about it, just cleaned around me. The woman I had thrown against the wall my first night here was dusting off some furniture when I entered the room. Her face turned pale when her eyes settled down on me.

“Hi,” I said timidly.

She looked away, sprayed some more solution on the desk, and started scrubbing at it harder than before. I racked my brain for something to say—anything.

“How are you doing?”

The maid fumbled with the rag. “You talking to me?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I hope that you are doing alright. I just wanted to say sorry for hurting you like that. I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t very nice.”

“It....it’s fine sir,” she stammered, nodding at me up and down. She moved like one of those bobble heads I used to see at the store, picking up her bucket of cleaning supplies. “Goodnight sir.”

Somewhat, I really wanted to have a conversation with her. She reminded me of my neighbor, except Mrs. Kaver never called me sir. I didn’t know why she did. But before I could ask her to stay, she had already left the room. Strangely, the odd pain in my chest I had felt earlier came back. I laid down on the couch and waited for it to go away, closing my eyes and sinking into the darkness.