A Shift in the Ranks

I lay flat against the carpet, lined up neatly alongside the other figures near the wall. When my fingers stirred, the coarse carpet fibers prickled softly against my palm. I gently eased my arm upward, tested the weight of my hat, and reached out to nudge the plastic boot resting right beside my boots. The subtle tap echoed faintly in the quiet room. Realizing my joints could bend under my own command, I propped myself slightly up on one elbow, taking steady stock of the perimeter.