Page 71 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

“In the city. I lived in an apartment. It was just me and my mom. When I was five, we moved in the middle of the night to another apartment building. My mom didn’t tell anyone she had a child for a long time. I learned to stay inside and be very quiet.”

“At five?” Dario sounded horrified.

“Yep. My mom went to work during the day and I stayed in my bedroom, careful not to make more noise than absolutely necessary. I didn’t even flush the toilet when my mom wasn’t home.”

“Jesus. No wonder you’re claustrophobic,” Advic pointed out.

Maya shook her head. “No. That wasn’t it. I never felt as trapped as I probably should have. There were windows. I could see out. We were on the fourth floor, and our side of the building faced a brick wall on the other side of the street. As long as I didn’t get too close to the windows, I was fine. We didn’t block them out.”

“That’s good. I guess.” Keanu didn’t sound convinced. “How long did you live like that?”

“Seven years.”

There was a collective gasp.

“I read The Diary of Anne Frank a few times and felt blessed. At least I didn’t have to share my space with a boy.” Maya smiled at the ridiculous comparison.

“Did you never leave?”

“I did. My mom took me to the roof at night when no one was watching sometimes. And she was smart. She educated me. Every night when she came home, she would check my school work. We also exercised together. I was a strong kid by the time I was ten. Stronger than my mom. She knew that what was happening in the world was very scary and wanted me to be prepared for anything.”

“You were so young,” Advic muttered, his brows furrowed.

Maya shrugged. “I didn’t know any different.”

“You didn’t have any friends or interaction with other people?” Keanu asked.

“I had a few. There were several other people in the building also hiding children. My mother developed trust with them and sometimes I met up with two or three other girls close to my age. They didn’t let us stay in one apartment together alone during the day because it would be too risky, but in the evenings and late at night, we would get together in one of our apartments. We learned at a young age to play quietly.”

“So what happened when you were twelve?” Dario asked.

“There was a raid in the area. The Republic was looking for unregistered girls. They were going door to door. The apartment manager opened every door for them. He probably knew girls were hidden in the building, but he didn’t have a choice. They would have shot him and taken the keys if he hadn’t complied.”

Advic nodded. “I’ve heard of those raids. Did they find you?”

Maya shook her head. “No. My mother heard about it and raced home to get me out of there. She took me down the back stairs to the underground parking garage and put me on the floor in the back seat of the car. We were just about to leave when another mom called and begged my mom to take her daughter too. She couldn’t get home fast enough. My mom left me in the car and raced back upstairs. I assume she was at the other girl’s apartment when the building imploded.”

“Jesus. A bomb?” Dario asked.

“Probably. The entire building was just rubble. No survivors. I’m not sure they ever even uncovered all the bodies.”

“Except you. You survived in that car,” Keanu pointed out.

Maya smiled. “Yes. And I was prepared. I had a backpack. My mother always kept two of them by the door in case we needed to escape. I had mine and hers in the back seat. Water. Food. Knives. First-aid kits.”

“How long were you buried, hon?” Keanu asked, his voice soft.

“Ten days. Sometimes I heard people calling out for survivors, but I stayed very quiet. Maybe that wasn’t the best plan, but I didn’t know who to trust. I wasn’t even injured. I was trapped inside the car though, on the floor. The roof had caved in.”

“In the dark…” Dario added.

“Yeah.” Maya shuddered. “To this day I get nervous in small dark places.”

“Understandable.”

She drew in a breath. “I knew someone was going to find me eventually. They were getting closer every day, digging through the rubble. By that time, they were simply trying to pull out the bodies. I was too tired and weak to care who found me.”

“I guess someone did,” Advic commented.

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