Hannah was try trying to relax... letting her mind wander. Not a good strategy for winning "7 Wonders", but she didn't much care about that. Pick and pass, pick and pass. The other girls at the table chatted happily about social intrigue among the students or world events they'd read about on the Internet, but it all washed over Hannah. The common room was emptying for the night and students were trickling out in small groups, off to bed, and Hannah couldn't wait to follow them when the game was over.
"... and then she was all like, 'I can't breathe!', and I had to plug her nose to get her to open her mouth. The principal was just staring, probably trying not to pop a boner through his pants --" Ashley said, and the group erupted in laughter. Somehow she and Nicole made their work with the handmaidens sound fun and exciting, rather than horrific. Hannah still shuddered when she thought about their first capture.
"Hannah? Are there more?" Elizabeth asked.
Hannah looked up from her cards in a daze. "Sorry, more what?"
"More students? More prospects? You haven't gone out in a while."
"I've been helping Dr. Wilcox with the inductions. There are a few left to do, then maybe. But I get the feeling we're near the end."
Nicole nodded and put her cards down. "Me too. Shelly said she's reviewing our list, but my sense is that we're not going back out. We're it."
Elizabeth smiled. "Do you remember when we met, back on the Island? I just knew we'd be friends forever."
Ashley rolled her eyes. "You're so sweet, I'm gonna barf."
Nicole leaned in. "Something big is happening, soon. We have to stick together. We're sisters."
Sisters. Hannah's best friend Stephanie was one of the first new students brought in. Was she safer here, or at home? "What about Emily? She would have been better off without us," Hannah said.
Nicole reached out and touched Hannah's leg. "We'll see her soon. She's on the Island, right? I'm sure she's fine. Just recovering."
Hannah saw Ashley bow her head. She knew something, despite her protests, but she wouldn't talk. Hannah had devoted several nights to Ashley, pleasuring her, snuggling her, teasing her, begging her, but nothing. Well, nothing except a bunch of orgasms. Whatever she knew wasn't good.
Just as Hannah's mind was spiraling down this dark path, the dim lights in the common room flickered to full strength and a siren began pulsing loudly above their heads. The girls looked up, startled, and Shelly's voice buzzed over an intercom: "Attention, attention! Students and handmaidens, evacuate to the hanger immediately. Leave everything behind. We are under attack. Evacuate immediately." The siren continued while the girls sat, stunned; after a few moments, Shelly's voice returned, recorded, and the message repeated.
"Well, let's go!" Ashley said and hopped to her feet. "The hanger's only two floors up."
They ran to the stairs, but Hannah hesitated.
"Hannah, up!" Nicole said.
"I'm going down. There are still three girls in cells downstairs. I'm not leaving them for Shaper," Hannah said.
Ashley grabbed her arm. "You can't set them loose!"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Maybe I can find something to tie them up..." Ashley said dryly.
"Meet me at the cells," Hannah said and ran down.
Hannah pushed her way down the stairs against the surge of girls rushing up. Many of them were naked, clutching a few belongings, and everyone was in shock. The siren continued blaring and Shelly's voice repeated every minute. Hannah ignored the questions thrown at her and lunged for through the wall of flesh and out of the stairwell onto the prison level.
The hallway was empty and relatively quiet compared to the stairs. Hannah grabbed a clipboard from the vacant guard desk and scanned the lines, devising a plan for the remaining prisoners. Where was Ashley? The traffic on the stairs was dying down.
A hand grabbed her arm. "Hannah, we have to go." It was the cadaverous Mrs. Carver, slightly disheveled in her standard white dress.
"I'm not leaving these girls down here," she said, waving the clipboard. "Ashley is on her way with some ropes or something, and we're bringing them up."
Mrs. Carver tilted her head. "They might be dangerous. Shelly said to leave everything behind."