Retrospect

Nine

"You?" I asked, my voice escaping in only a whisper. The man from the Butterfly Shop that had scammed me. He said nothing, just turned his head up to the sky as the aircraft loomed closer. I was about to demand him to give me my money back, but the aircraft's deafening horn rocked the street. I could deal with the man later.

"Come on, we have to hide," the gray-eyed man broke the silence. He was watching the aircraft out of the corner of his eye and it appeared he didn't like it any more than I did. The man pulled my wrist aggressively towards a door in the alleyway while the man from the Butterfly Shop picked his mask up again, following behind closely. The door was a dark green with a screen on it, blue numbers waiting to be punched in. The man typed in a code and the door slid open.

I peered in, soft, orange light coming from somewhere inside as cool air wafted out. "After you," the man from the Butterfly Shop said. Hesitating, I looked back at both of them. I was about to turn and try to make a break for it, but where would I go? The aircraft was almost here and all of the details on me had been spilled to the world. I wasn't safe walking the streets anymore. These two men already knew who I was and were hiding themselves as well.

I kept my pocket knife in my sweaty palm and stepped into the room. The men came in after me, the door sliding closed so they could put in a code again to lock it. The room was dark except for the orange light pouring up from some stairs leading downward. The man from the Butterfly Shop walked past me, taking the stairs and disappearing in the room below. I stared after him for what felt like hours. Why was he here? Why was he following me?

"We're going downstairs," the voice of the gray-eyed man informed, making me jump. I nodded and slowly put my foot on the first step. The aircraft shook the whole building as I trailed the Butterfly Shop man, the distorted noises coming from the sky outside. Hearing this made me speed up down the stairs, eager to get away from the presence of any officers. After the gray-eyed man came down after me, the stairs folded up into the ceiling and I found myself in a basement room.

The tangerine light came from a few lamps that were spread out in the large room and the warmth of them made me smile, but only for a split second. I was not happy being forced into an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. There were a few tiny, rectangular windows near the ceiling, but they were covered up, letting little sunlight in. A metal table sat in the middle of the room, and at that table were three other people I did not recognize. All of their eyes were trained on me as the Butterfly Shop man went and joined them at the table.

A girl who looked to be around my age at the table burst out laughing as soon as she saw me. A man with his hair in a ponytail raised his eyebrow as he took me in. Another man with a bald head studied me, but I couldn't tell what exactly was going through his mind. The Butterfly Shop man did nothing and the gray-eyed man walked over to the full table, setting his mask down along with other things I had no idea he was carrying.

"Welcome to Barnie Section," the gray-eyed man said. I just looked at him, confused out of my mind. Where was I? Who were these people? Why had he brought me here?

"Can you tell me what's going on?" I asked, the question coming out forceful. The Butterfly Shop man grinned and spread his arms wide.

"Look where your big plan led you," he replied. The girl at the table was looking at me like I was gum on the bottom of her shoe.

"My plan didn't lead me here. You did," I shot back. "Please, just tell me why I'm here."

The gray-eyed man spoke next. He strode over to me slowly. "We are all criminals. You, me, even Murl over there, selling all his illegal treasures at the shop," he gestured to the man from the Butterfly Shop. "We are all in trouble with those officers and we want into Hale. 'The Building of the Future' as I've heard it's called," the man air-quoted the nickname I despised ever since my parents supposedly died there.