Chapter 16 Ana
Ana
The second hour of the Balloon Game was counting down.
With its pink blinds pulled firmly closed and the ancient air conditioner rattling loudly, Ellis’s room gave the illusion of safety, hidden away from whatever was outside waiting for them.
After the explosion, they had somehow found their way here, running from the line, from the truck, from the place where Benny had died, the place where it had finally hit them; this was real.
This was really happening. They’d followed Ellis inside, slamming the door shut and locking it behind them, and were now hiding in various corners.
Their drawn faces carried the shock of what they had just witnessed. The horror of what was to come.
Ana’s hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t hold her phone steady enough to read the countdown. She tucked them under her arms and squeezed tightly. Breathe.
Push it away. Push it out of her mind. Just breathe. In. Out.
There were voices. Some of the others were talking, some crying. For now, she needed to hold on to her own space, her own thoughts. Eyes closed. Focus.
For several precious minutes she sat on the cream-and-brown swirled carpet fighting the rising wall of panic inside. If anyone could do this, she could. She knew it. She had been here before and survived. She could do it again. Somehow, she would find the strength. She just had to believe.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
She could hear voices around her, becoming clearer with time. One voice stood out. A familiar voice. She focused in on the words, reeling herself back from the dark thoughts in her head.
“What do we do?” More mumbling voices. Then the same soft voice again. “So, what now?”
Alex.
That was all it took. It was as though a key had unlocked her.
Her eyes opened and she looked around, seeking out Alex first and then Raya.
They were here, they were safe and alive—for now.
Alex was standing by the dresser, arms folded around him.
Raya was sitting on the floor by the window, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking slightly.
Alive for now. That was enough. That was all she needed to believe, to hope. As long as Alex and Raya were alive.
Ana stood up.
What would Danny do? She tried to focus her thoughts.
What would he do if he were stuck here instead of her?
She tried to imagine Danny standing in the room in his white trainers and scruffy Goodwill jeans, hands in pockets, calmly taking charge.
He’d lead because that’s who he was—a leader.
He would be proactive, move them forward and come up with a plan.
Ana wasn’t a leader, but she could certainly come up with a plan. She’d never run short of ideas.
“Is there a camera or a microphone in here?” Ana spoke calmly. Her hands dropped to her sides. They were not shaking any more.
A few faces looked up at her. Ellis nodded his head.
He had been pacing up and down like a benched player on the sidelines of a title game. His steely eyes were narrowed. There was intensity and tension there, but Ana didn’t see fear. He was ready to do what was needed next. He was ready to fight.
“I found two last night. There was a camera in the corner by the door and a microphone in the bathroom. I smashed them both.” Ellis pointed to a small pile of black debris on the nightstand. It looked like crushed beetles.
“Okay. Let’s keep looking for them and get rid of as many as we can.
We have to assume whoever is doing this is watching every move and listening to us too.
” Ana looked around. They needed to act, not sit around and give up.
Anything would be better than that. “We can light a signal fire in the pool. If we throw on damp wood and leaves, it’ll smoke.
We can use a blanket or towel and send smoke signals.
And we need to think. If we can figure out who’s doing this to us, we might be able to find a way to stop them. ”
“She’s right,” Ellis said, stepping forward and somehow placing himself between Ana and the others.
He was taking charge. “We split up. One team to disable the recording devices. One on the smoke signal. The others can break the locks on those three outbuildings—there were some pliers in the pile of junk Caden and Benny collected. We’ve searched every other corner of this fucking motel.
We need to get inside and see if there’s anything that we can use to get the fuck out of here.
” He looked at Ana. “And while you’re at it, start thinking.
I want each of you to come up with a list of possible suspects.
Who knew you were coming? Who might want to hurt you?
Anyone you can think of. We need to know who we’re dealing with here. ”
“Wait, maybe those two cowboys are behind this?” Jade said, pushing herself up from a giant pile of pillows. Jax and Jade had commandeered the entire bed on arrival.
Ellis shook his head. “They were getting instructions from whoever was on the other end of that radio. That’s the person we need to find. That’s the one who’s doing this to us.”
Ana nodded, racking her brains for anything that might help.
“We can build a bomb shelter,” she said, thinking as she spoke. “If we collect as many old mattresses and pillows as we can, we can pile them up somewhere, just in case the timer runs out and we need to hide.”
“Too risky.” Ellis shut her down. “You saw the shed explode. We’ve been warned.
The whole motel will blow up if we don’t play the game.
A pile of old blankets won’t protect against that.
Face it, if this place blows, we all die.
Anyone got any serious suggestions?” He turned away from her.
Ana couldn’t help feeling she was being put firmly in her place.
“We’ll search for the cameras and bugs and stuff,” Jade offered, nudging Jax. He nodded and reached over to the bedside table, where he’d left his phone charging—always ready for action.
“I’ll take the fire,” Raya said, pulling her Zippo from her pocket and flicking it.
“Alex, Caden—why don’t you take the outbuildings?
” It was phrased as an order. He checked his phone.
“Okay, we’ve got forty-plus minutes left.
We’ll meet back on the line, near the road sign, twenty minutes before the hour is up.
That leaves about twenty minutes to figure out how to get the fuck out of here. Let’s go, people!”
Ana was shut out. Her punishment for daring to threaten Ellis’s rule.
“I’m going to build a bomb shelter.” Ana said it quietly.
There was a long silence. Ellis turned his cold eyes on her, tilting his head to look down.
“We discussed that. It wouldn’t work. I told you…”
“You discussed it. I disagree.” Ana had no idea where it was coming from. She didn’t have a confrontational bone in her body. But something about the stress of the situation was pushing her into the line of fire.
Ana knew full well what Ellis was thinking.
He’d suggested meeting on the line for a reason.
The odds of them finding something that would save them were slim, to say the least. Ellis wasn’t going to take any chances.
One of them would be crossing the line before the hour was up, whether by choice or otherwise, and it wasn’t going to be Ellis.
“I told you that a shelter wouldn’t work,” Ellis said, his voice tight with barely contained frustration. “We all saw the explosion. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Unless you build it somewhere that’s already been detonated.” Ana turned to the others. “Think about it. The explosives were planted before we arrived. If we wait on a spot that’s already been set off, we should be safe.”
She looked around. A few of them were nodding.
“That’s ridiculous. If we sit on the spot where the shed used to be, we’ll be sitting ducks. It’s completely exposed, there’s no shelter. And assuming we miraculously survive the explosion, we’ll get shot—picked off one by one. It can’t work,” Ellis protested. He was not liking this one bit.
“I wasn’t talking about the shed,” Ana said. “We can make a shelter in the bus.”
It made perfect sense. The shell of the bus was a metal core. They could pull out the remaining seats and build a decent bomb shelter. It would be hot and tight, but it just might work.
“I’ll help,” Alex said quickly. “It’s a great idea.”
“Yeah, I’ll help too,” Caden mumbled.
Ellis looked like he’d been slapped. Outmanned. Outgunned. He looked from Ana to Caden, and finally Alex; his eyes narrowed.
“All right, fine. I’m not going to waste any more of our precious time arguing about it. Do whatever the fuck you want. We’ll meet by the bus, twenty minutes before the hour is up. Let’s go!”
Ana smiled, relieved that the moment was over. The confrontation had ended. They had a plan. She could duck back out of the spotlight and get on with doing what she was best at—watching and thinking.
With a little shuffling around, they all got into their teams and tentatively opened the door.
The bright light was blinding. Ana squinted through half-closed eyelids as she stepped into the hot sun.
Jax and Jade headed off one way, Raya the other.
Caden lolled off by himself, on a hunt for things to pad the bus shelter.
As Alex stepped out, Ellis caught his arm.
“Things are going to get nasty around here really fucking fast. You might want to remember who your friends are, Cabrera,” he said quietly.
Alex looked at him, then Ana. He flashed a quick smile at her.
“Thanks, Ellis, but I think I just did.” He brushed Ellis’s hand away and walked off towards the bus.
Ana watched Alex’s back, a wave of gratitude and optimism sweeping through her.
Alex had stood up for her. Alex was on her side.
They could do this. The bomb shelter could work.
If Bates exploded the whole motel around them, just imagine how much smoke that would make.
Someone somewhere would have to see it. They’d have to wonder what was going on, wouldn’t they?
Someone would come.
They just needed to stay alive long enough to be rescued. They just needed time.