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goodbye.
                  I began walking down the hallway, ignoring the squeaky sound my sneakers made on the polished floor. I walked past a mother and child, Tina and her daughter Zion, and kept going until I reached the end of the hall. I turned to the right as if I were headed toward the labs and there he was; Reese, standing tall but still, like the way Grandpa Logan used to describe a giant tree that shaded a meadow he liked to play in as a young boy. I paused in my forward motion and tried to force the blush that threatened to spread across my cheeks to retreat back the way it came, but unsurprisingly it refused to dissolve. I would just have to hope that it wasn't very noticeable.
                  As I got closer to Reese, he shifted his weight from foot to foot. His jaw muscles clenched.               Something's wrong.
                  My heart skipped a beat and began an erratic, rapid climb up the speed ladder. Reese grabbed my arm and pulled me close to the wall as if leaning against it would make whatever he was going through easier to bear. He leaned to the side to look behind me, then twisted his neck to glance over his shoulder before resting his eyes on my face. I usually loved his eyes, warm like chocolate, deep like a canyon. Today though, they were piercing and I had never seen him look at me that way before. His glare was...accusing.
                  “Ruby,” Reese began at almost a whisper. “I need you to come with me.” He slipped his hand under my elbow and lead me further down the hall. I assumed we were going to turn left but he paused at an old, sealed off door. “Are we alone?” I blinked a few times, even more intimidated by the tone than the accusing nature of his eyes.
                  “Willow didn't follow us, if thats what you're asking..” the blush was nearly gone from my cheeks now. I stiffened, feeling defensive without even knowing what I was being accused of. Reese rose to the balls of his feet to look over my shoulder again, then glanced behind himself. He was acting paranoid . My comfort level declined by the second. I rubbed my throat and couldn’t help but glance around at nothing, too. Then Reese did something that I have never done – never even thought of doing – he reached for the handle on the sealed off door. My breath caught in my throat. The yellow ribbon across it signified the entry to an old passageway that has since been closed down. When The Complex was first built, it contained passageways so that people could travel freely between divisions. When the government decided to limit our freedom even more, those original passageways were sealed off and   a tram system was created in their place. Only authorized personnel could use the tram and only for pre-approved travel reasons, like distributing and transporting basic supplies or personal, pre-authorized individual travel such as my “date” with Connor in his division tonight. An officially assigned government escort would take me from my barracks to the tram, travel with me to my date, and then escort me back again when it was over.
              “Reese, NO!” I squealed on impulse, subconsciously channeling my mom's inability to control her fear. Reese yanked on the handle and threw his shoulder against the door. Miraculously, it submitted to his weight and budged. He yanked my arm and forced me behind the door. He let go of my arm and immediately brought a finger to his lips telling me to hush. Overwhelmed with Reese's unexpected behavior, I became the statue I had seen my parents embody and I obeyed. He pushed on the door to close it again and its rusty hinges groaned in protest. I bit down on my lower lip, hard.
              The passageway smelled and I wrinkled my nose. I recognized the scent but only vaguely. It was reminiscent of when we got to hold dirt and soil in science class. Only, the