“Told you, suh.”

  Ava sighed, taking a seat against the wall.

  “You’re insufferable!”

  She brought her knees to her chest and rested her face on them.

  “What? I’m just telling the truth.”

  The hall was dim, lit only by the damp orange light. Air nipped at her exposed skin, as if caked with a frosty glaze. It seemed temperature control wasn’t managed in emergency situations.

  “Why are you two fighting all the time?" Ava whined.

  “Because he’s done nothing!” Maddie scoffed, crossing her arms. “Except getting drunk…”

  Giggling, pink-faced Matthew shook his head. “I’m not drunk. You are.”

  Which earned an eye roll from Maddie.

  The three of them had trekked through the edge of the facility without coming across anything that indicated a way out. Only blocked halls and plain walls. While searching the offices, Matthew had come across something in Ashley’s.

  “Fucking rat!” he had exclaimed.

  Then he stepped out with multiple brown bottles in his hands, suggesting, “Let’s take a break.”

  He proceeded to press one against his lips, letting the liquid stream down his throat. One thing led to another, and now they were here, resting in a hall that looked just like the others.

  “Wooooh! You should get in on this,” he sang, offering a bottle to Maddie.

  Shaking her head, she declined, and Matthew laughed, “More for me!”

  After watching his antics, Maddie muttered something before stepping to Ava’s side. Her back hit the wall, and she slid down, burying her face into her arms. Ava tilted her head, trying to analyze Maddie’s next reaction, yet she didn’t move.

  But her muffled voice came out, “Ava… are we… going to be okay?”

  Shifting her jaw from side to side, she replied, “Yeah… we are.”

  “God… why did I ever apply…”

  Ava slowly reached an arm out, softly planting her hand onto Maddie’s shoulder, “Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know…”

  “No… Chief was right… I should’ve been able to figure it out…”

  “Well… I didn’t figure it out either,” Ava chimed, “Ash had to tell me.”

  “Congrats. You have a guardian devil looking over you,” Maddie grumbled.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Tensing her jaw, Ava retracted her hand and glanced back toward Matthew. It seemed that he had begun dancing, his limbs flamboyantly arcing about as he spun in circles. Alcohol really had a strange effect on people. But she preferred this over the alternatives.

  Maybe then her childhood would’ve been more fun…

  “Hey, Ava…?” Maddie asked, breaking the silence. “Why did you apply?”

  “Why?” she echoed. “I just thought it would be a nice job to have. My mom supported it, and I like the idea of helping people.”

  “Hah! Helping people? This company does anything but that!” Matthew laughed, stumbling past them, then pausing. “As if they’d let you see the fruits of labor…”

  Ava’s brow furrowed, “You think we’ve just been wasting years of work?”

  “But… have you ever seen it help anyone?” Maddie asked.

  "I—" she began, slowly trailing off into silence.

  Had she? She was sure they were. Otherwise, why else were they dabbling in dangerous substances?

  “I’m sure they are.”

  Tilting her head, the corner of Maddie’s eye peeked through as she sighed. “Just say you don’t know.”

  “I… I don’t,” she admitted.

  The words left a sour note in her mouth.

  Maddie flinched back. “So then… why?”

  A small smile appeared on Ava’s face as she turned and raised her arm.

  “I always liked the posters that lined the corridors. They encourage us to do our best.”

  Following Ava’s finger, Maddie rolled her eyes, “That’s just propaganda.”

  “Even so. The words written there are still true. Even though the company might have some… strange policies, they have good intentions.”

  “Did the chief's words earlier mean nothing?”

  “No. I think his criticism is understandable. After all, I can see why people think their motives are selfish. But they’re in place for a good reason.”

  “Do you hear yourself right now?”

  “I do. Except even if there might be some bad things, I’m sure that there’s a lot of good too.”

  Maddie paused, leaning back against the wall.

  “I envy your optimism…” she sighed.

  Ava glanced at her and shrugged, “Negative thoughts don’t fix anything. They never have.”

  “Uh huh…” she replied nonchalantly.

  The two fell silent, and Ava pivoted the conversation.

  “So why did you apply?” she continued.

  “I thought it was a good opportunity, and the pay didn’t look that bad,” Maddie replied. “That maybe… my parents would finally be proud of me for once. Good to know yours are…”

  After hearing her words, Ava scooted closer to Maddie’s side.

  “Well, I’m proud of you.”

  Blinking, Maddie’s brow furrowed, “Really? Of what? I haven’t even done anything yet.”

  “You’re putting up with Matthew, right? That’s an achievement,” Ava said, nodding her head toward him.

  “Hah! That’s true.”

  Ava joined her in a lost fit of giggles, breaking off once Matthew appeared, looming above them.

  “Hey! How long are you two gonna keep sittin’ on your asses…? We got work to do,” he slurred.

  Rising, the two girls straightened their backs and dusted off their pants.

  “Maybe we can go check out the checkpoint? See if you missed anything." Maddie suggested.

  “Sounds good,” Ava added. “Matthew, are you okay with that?”

  In response, he haphazardly waved his hand and nodded sluggishly.

  “Yeah, sure, whatever. Do what you want.”

  Paying no mind to his ramblings, Ava walked forward and beamed a smile toward Maddie, who flashed one back and joined her. Matthew followed last as he tripped over his own feet.

  They would get out of here. They all would.

  The facility had protocols for everything.

  It wouldn’t fall apart over one incident.

  It couldn’t.