The Bunker — Episode 7 - by Scarletpaine

I ended up being dragged to the infirmary by two other guards and I had to be restrained as the doctor treated me.Jordan is two beds away from me and he scowled back at him. At least I got him good. I gave him a gash on his forehead and his blood is all over the side of his face. I only got a scratch with a bruised lip.“Oh my god, Bree…” the doctor shook her head as she attended to me. At least she calls me by my name. “If you want to be tough, then why not become a guard and earn the respect?”I scoffed. “I’m better off being me. I don’t need some title before anyone treats me like I’m human too.”“An offender,” Jordan corrected me. “That is who you are.”“And you are a dog,” I told him plainly and he seethed at me. “I’ll keep putting you down if you keep biting.”“Seriously Bree,” Doctor Amy sighed. “You keep getting talked about.”“Free entertainment for the people,” I said. She shook her head again and I can tell she’s done with me. “You weren’t always like this,” I heard her say as she left to attend to Jordan.When did I change? Was it after I stopped believing there was any hope for us outside the bunker?Maybe this was the only thing keeping me sane after being locked up for so long and separated from the people around me.I look towards the door to the sound of hurried footsteps, and I see Maya. Was there an emergency?Her eyes found me and I stare back at her. “Oh thank god, Maya. Maybe you can talk some sense into Bree’s head. I heard you were from the same sector,” Doctor Amy said.Something about Maya’s expression tells me I look pathetic. I couldn’t bear the truth in that anymore. I stood from the bed and got stopped by the guards.“Get out of my way. I have to return to my post,” I tell them.Doctor Amy came to me and said, “You can’t leave just right away. You still need some fluid—”“I’m fine, doctor. If there’s anything wrong with me, I’ll surely come back,” I tell her and started to make my way out of the room.I walked past Maya without sparing her as much as a glance, but as soon as I walked out the doors, she stopped me.“Bree wait,” she said.It was a strange feeling to hear her call me. We haven’t said as much as a word to each other in six months.I turn to her and forced myself to say, “Hi Maya.”“Is something going on with you?” she asked, eyes filled with concern.“No. No, there is nothing going on with me. Why would you think that?” I ask her.“It’s just that everyone has been talking about you and the others expressed the same concerns. I was worried th—”“The others?” I ask. “Have you been in contact?”Maya looks confused. “Yes. Nora, Murphy, Tyler, Caleb…”A sigh escaped my lips. “You guys seem to have gotten back together without me.”“What do you mean? You are the one who won’t speak to us.”“Don’t just assume that,” I tell her. “You wouldn’t even say anything to me until now.”I don’t know why I started to get angry by that. I feel like I’ve been left out all along.“Bree, it’s you, not us. We all meet for lunch sometimes but you are never there. I guess you are always with Chancellor Whitmore now.”I scoffed. “So what? Are you jealous someone higher up cares about me? Is that it?”“Bree…” she called, not offensively, but more deeply. “Ha-Have you forgotten?” she asked with a solemn look and moved closer. “What happened to you? What happened to seeing the surface?”I gave her a look of disbelief. “How can you ask me that when you know why Ellis died?”“That’s because they killed him.”“You don’t know that,” I tell her. “He could have died because he went so close to the exterior gates. Maybe he inhaled the toxic air. I told you he wasn’t normal when I spoke with him. He didn’t sound like Ellis anymore.”“Bree, please,” she begged. “Don’t let the Chancellor feed you lies.”“Oh stop it Maya!” I said angrily. “The Chancellor has nothing to do with this. She’s the one who started caring when all of you stopped. God! I can’t believe you all moved on without me. I thought we were friends.”I shook my head and started to walk away.“Ellis trusted you more than any of us. You were also the last one to speak to him before he died. I wish he knows what you are saying about him now. It’s you who changed, Bree. You just don’t want to accept it.”I stopped and clenched my hands tight. Her words always have a way of making me feel very terrible. And maybe she is right.I marched back to her and yelled right at her face. “Yes, I’ve changed, Maya. It was hard to face you knowing that I’ll be looking at the face of the one I got imprisoned. Same as the others! This is all my fault! And maybe it’s my fault Ellis died too. Happy now?”

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