Page 58 of The Compound

“What’s the reward?” I asked.

“Coffee,” she said.

We got Andrew and Candice, and Becca got Tom. We brought them to the living room, where the screen loomed. It was one of the cleaner rooms in the house, as we never went in there anymore. No one wanted to see the screen. I sat in my usual place on the L-shaped couch, and Sam sat beside me, his arm around my shoulders. Andrew and Candice sat on the other end, a mirror of us. Andrew stayed perched at the edge of the couch as though eager to slip away. I was reminded of Candice’s suggestion that the four of us live together. She looked at me and smiled, as if she was thinking the same thing.

She was fine with doing a task, but Andrew shook his head.

“Why not?” Becca said.

“I don’t want to.”

Andrew’s unwillingness made my own reluctance return. It wasn’t like him, but I took it as proof that we had entered a new phase of our time there, where we no longer had to be productive, or work together toward some goal. I waited for someone else to saylet’s just leave it then.I was tired: I wanted to curl up in my bed for a while, maybe have Candice brush my hair.

“Do it for me,” she said, smiling.

“We’re skipping this one,” he said. “I don’t feel well. I feel sick. Leave me in peace.”

Tom, who had been standing in the corner, said, “I say we do it.”

It had saddened me to see the difference in Candice—her shorter, uneven hair, her tired eyes—but it truly shocked me to see Tom. The burns he had sustained from both punishments, as well as the beating from Sam, had left his face scarred and puffy. His hair had grown long, and he had a full and scraggly beard. I would hardly have recognized him, if not for his enormous bulk. I suspected that was the part of himself that Tom was unwilling to sacrifice. Becca, by contrast, looked like a baby seal sitting on the ground, sleek and clean.

“I don’t want to,” Andrew repeated. “Can’t we just live in peace for a few more days? We can do one tomorrow if you feel so strongly about it.”

“We need to keep the house stocked. We’ll run out of supplies without knowing it,” Becca said.

“Becca’s talking a lot of sense,” Tom said. “Maybe you should give up your role of Task Management and Reward Distribution and let Becca do it with me instead.” He was attempting a joke, but no one laughed.

Sam was quiet. I glanced at him, and then at the screen, rereading the instruction.

“Let’s do it,” I said. “We’ll put it to a vote.”

Everyone’s hands went up, except Andrew’s. I noticed that Sam put his hand up last. I was nervous now, clenching my jaw, and gripping the bottom of my dressing gown.

Becca read the instructions, as though we hadn’t all been looking at it for the past several minutes:

Task: Reveal your sexual partners since entering the compound

Reward: Coffee

“I’ll go first,” she continued, her voice low and melodic. “I haven’t slept with anyone since I’ve come to the compound.”

Tom looked out the window as she spoke, his neck flushed red.

“Sam,” I said.

“Lily,” Sam said, and kissed my neck.

“Andrew,” Candice said.

“Candice,” Andrew said.

Tom said, “Mia, Vanessa, and Sarah.”

Candice looked at him with unbridled disgust. He didn’t look at her, though he must have felt her glare.

The screen remained as it was.

“Someone’s lying,” I said. I looked at Becca, her knees underneath her chin as she gazed at the screen.

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