Eugenia part 28

Read part 27 here!

The domesticity I’d noticed the night before deepened over the next couple of weeks as the six of us sunk into a pattern. Decklan and I usually awoke first, and would spend a little while in each other’s company alone before starting breakfast for everyone else. Julie would be up next, shortly followed by Jon and Andy. Decklan usually left for work or class before Andy, who ate the most, finished breakfast, and Jon would leave soon afterwards to ‘look for jobs’. If he didn’t at least appear to be concerned about his lost job, it would bring unneeded attention to the fact that he and Decklan lived together. Jon needed to look as innocent as possible.

Emma usually wandered out into the main part of the apartment around ten, when Andy would leave for class, and I’d reheat breakfast for her. Then the three of us girls would help out around the apartment we’d invaded by cleaning, preparing dinner, and other small tasks. It was the least we could do for putting them all in danger.

After lunch, Emma would tinker away in our room with the small keyboard Andy had managed to find for her, and Julie and I would map possible locations for other Outliers before descending into our own creative endeavors.

Sometimes, when Decklan was home from class and particularly liked a piece that Julie was working on, which was often, he would find scrap wood and fashion her frames, which he then hung around the apartment. In just two weeks, there were no blank walls.

It was comfortable living with the boys, even though we hadn’t known them for very long, but I was frustrated. When I did leave the apartment, which was very, very rare, it was very late at night and only for exercise purposes. I was used to having complete freedom, and being under essentially house arrest was wearing on me. Julie was having difficulties as well, I could tell, but she didn’t say anything, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference.

Our pattern was disrupted almost five weeks later when Jon came home early from one of his “job hunts”. “Something weird just happened.” he informed me immediately after shutting the door. Both other girls were napping, and I was alone in the living room.

“Statistically significantly weird? Or just fun dinner story weird?”

“The first one I’m not going to try to pronounce. This guy approached me today as I was walking from an interview and asked if I was Jon Bannister.”

“Was he a fan, or something?”

“I’m not really sure, but I doubt it. If he was a fan, he would have known it was me. Everyone knows what I look like. Anyways, after confirming my identity, he asked me why I was fired.”

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth. That my boss didn’t like that I’d broadcast your interview, because it seemed pretty sketchy. Then he asked if you’d kept in touch. I told him I had to go, and he ran -literally ran- off.”

I dropped my notebook and uncapped pen on the table in front of me. “What did he look like?”

“Er- tall. Brown pony tail. Muscular. Tan.”

“What was he wearing?”

“What?”

“Was he wearing long sleeves?”

“I think so- holy shit. You don’t think-?”

“Did he look out of place? Like, did it seem natural for him to talk to you?”

“Not really. It was like he was interviewing me, it wasn’t just a passively curious inquiry.”

“Jon. Oh my God.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Can’t believe what?” Julie emerged from the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Hi, Jon. Why’re you back to early?”

“I think I just made contact with an outlier.”

“The pictures!” I rushed to the computer and pulled up the list. “Who on here did the man look like?”

Jon stared at the pictures for a while. “I mean, it’s hard to tell, since all these pictures are of freaked out thirteen-year-olds, but this one looks the closest.” He pointed to one of the more recent escapees. Luke Gallagher, 22, last known location: Nevada.

“Jon, you have to bring him back to the apartment. We need to meet him.”

“Meg, he could be an agent… we don’t know enough-”

“Get him to Malia’s. Have him show you his tattoo- or lack of it. Then bring him here.”

“I’ll do what I can, but we don’t know how to contact him.”

“He’ll contact you. He’s doing what I did to Decklan- testing the waters. I didn’t tell Decklan anything for two months, making sure he was trustworthy.”

“I hope you’re right. Then I will have lost my job for a reason.”

Continued in part 29