Page 37 of The Compound

Two days after the animal invasion, the first task of the day read:

Task: Temporarily banish one resident of the compound until sunset

Reward: Wood

It was the task which rattled us more than any other. No one wanted to be banished, but at least if you left, you left to be brought home, with someone waiting for you. It was very different to be cast out—wandering around the desert, exposed—and how long was it until sunset anyway?

Jacintha argued that we should send someone out half an hour before sunset since the task didn’t specify how long they had to be gone for. Mia disagreed.

“If we do a poor job, we get a poor version of the reward. If we sendsomeone out for half an hour we’ll get a stick of wood, but if we send someone out for the day think about how much we could get. We could build a door for the entrance and the bathroom, and more besides.”

No one wanted to go, but Mia was right. We knew we would have to commit. We discussed it for a while, voices overlapping, nearly shouting over each other. Andrew blew his whistle and we fell silent.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Andrew said. “But that’s why Tom and I are in charge of Task Management and Reward Distribution. We make the hard choices for all of us.”

I glanced around. Nobody made any sign of protest or disagreement. It was true that no one actually wanted to be the one to make the decision.

“We’ll send someone out now,” Tom said.

Andrew nodded. “It would be too cruel to put it to a vote. When the person returns, it wouldn’t be right if they looked at everyone else with condensation. We need to be able to live in harmony. We’ll draw lots. The person with the shortest straw goes into the desert.”

I had never been in the desert: I had woken up in the house, in my bed. I suspected I had been drugged, transported, and dumped when I was unconscious; I had signed a waiver which gave permission for a wide range of things that might happen before, during, and after my time in the compound. Still, I feared the desert, the same as everyone else, and as we picked our straws my hands trembled. I thought that Tom looked pale.

It was Susie. She looked in confusion at the straw in her hand, a little stump. “I’m sorry, Susie,” Evan said, and she stared at him.

“But,” she said in confusion, “I’m not going. You won’t send me out.”

“Vanessa,” Andrew said, “would you fetch some food, and as much water as you can fit in a bag.”

“Not meat,” Tom said. “Just bread. The meat will attract unwanted attention.”

“Wait,” Susie said, and her knees were knocking together. “Wait. I’m not—you won’t really send me out there!”

Andrew and Tom had already started to walk her to the southern perimeter. I walked behind them, as did Jacintha. Evan trailed a few feet behind.

“There’s shelter to the east,” Andrew said. “Get there as quick as you can. You’ll need to get into the shade and out of the open.”

Susie started to cry. “Which way is east?” Andrew pointed, and Vanessa ran up to her with a bag. Susie put it on her back, and looked at Jacintha and me as though we might stepin.

Tom put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with a gentleness which changed his face entirely. “The desert is cruel, but it’s beautiful. You’ll be back in a few hours, and you’ll feel like a new woman. You’ll be reborn.”

Susie was sobbing in earnest now. Jacintha came forward and hugged her, and I did the same. “We’ll have a party for you when you come back,” Jacintha said. “We’ll be so happy to see you, Susie. Think of how nice it’ll be, when you’re back.”

“Please don’t make me go.”

We were silent. When it became clear that no one was going to change their mind, she turned and ducked under the barbed wire. She tottered away, the bag on her back engulfing her small frame. The sun flared white overhead, and we shielded our eyes and watched hergo.

“Find shelter, Susie,” Andrew called. “We’ll be back at sunset.”

—

Jacintha and Samwere discussing how they could make doors; it wouldn’t necessarily be simple. They needed doorjambs and hinges. We could manage without a handle, probably, but there would be no point in having a slab of wood blocking the entrance.

There were no Communal Tasks to do, as we had to wait until Susie returned, so we kept to ourselves. I didn’t want to do a Personal Task: it felt wrong, when Susie was out there on her own. I spent time with Ryan instead. I had been worrying about us a little. Though he still seemed interested in me I knew that I would have to do more to keep him until the end. I hadn’t gone further than kissing and some fondling with him, but I was anxious that he would stray from my bed if I didn’t offer something more. We lounged by the pool, and I stroked his chest, trying to initiate something, but he just smiled at me and closed his eyes. Eventually he fell asleep, and I tried to think of what I coulddo.

I went to the girls’ dressing room and looked through my clothes. While I had received a lot of clothes and jewelry lately, none of it seemed to be enough. I was tired of the outfits I had: everyone had seen me wear them at least once. I often changed several times a day depending on the heat, and sometimes just for something to do. I wondered, then, how long we had been there—weeks, surely. I felt sure that if I took the time, I could figure it out fairly simply—but it was an effort I didn’t want to expend just then, and I let the thought drift away.

I again contemplated the thought of having sex with Ryan to secure my place. I hated thinking of an editor watching in a remote office, arranging shots of bare legs sneaking out of blankets. I hated the thought of the viewers watching me. I hated the idea of Sam seeing me or hearing me. I knew that Mia had slept with Marcus and suspected Jacintha had slept with Carlos, but I wasn’t sure who else had slept with their bedmate. I worried that everyone had, except for me, and people at home were laughing at me—the frigid bitch.

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