Fadeout

Chapter 8: Silas

Rain pinged off the barred windows of the cafeteria. Silas stood in his place in line and held his tray still. The line moved another foot. The girls had already eaten and were filing out by the time Silas took his first step into the cafeteria. He hadn’t seen Malina, but had only peered across the room long enough to see the last five girls to leave. It was too late to see his sister. Malina was normally somewhere in the middle.

As he approached the woman controlling the food dispenser he heard one of the guys ahead slam his tray down.

“This is it?” the boy asked, although his voice was not loud, in the otherwise quiet room it sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Move along,” the woman said. Her attention switched to the boy behind him. “Next.”

“But what about bread?” the same boy asked.

“We’re out of bread. Move along.”

Silas leaned so he could see the boy causing the commotion. Today’s breakfast was oatmeal and he had a scoop so small it barely covered the bottom of his bowl. It was near a fourth of their normal serving size and every meal was also accompanied by two slices of bread. Bread was the one thing Silas could count on. If he didn’t like the meal, he could last on the bread, but without bread he would have to adjust his standards for palatable food.

“Is there a problem?” Westminster asked coming up behind the boy.

The boy paused as if considering whether to voice his complaint again, but he just shook his head.

“Then move along.”

The boy grabbed his tray and left the line to find his table.

When Patton and Silas received their servings it was the same size. Although no one would say anything, the mood in the cafeteria was hushed. Why were the serving sizes smaller? What if lunch had less too? Were the people in charge trying to starve them? All of these questions floated around the room in the looks the older teens gave each other, or the longing in the smaller kids’ eyes as they glanced back at the cafeteria line. There was also more scrapping of bowls on every table as even droplets of oatmeal were more important. Silas saw one boy lick his bowl when he was done.

Silas tried to take small scoops so it would seem like his meal lasted longer, but it wasn’t long before everything was gone. Beside him, Patton ate his whole bowl in three spoonfuls and then scraped his finger along the bottom and sides. Then they both waited for what was left from their allotted half hour for breakfast to end.

The extra time gave Silas the opportunity to watch the guards. It had almost become a habit now. Anytime he had a moment to spare he watched them: the way they stood, the way they interacted with each other and the way they watched the Carillians. All it took was one look at the sour expression on Tymas’ face to know he wasn’t having a good day. Westminster walked up next to him and was about to say something, but Tymas pushed him to the side and moved to the opposite wall. Westminster folded his arms and glared at Tymas’ back.

Rickman stood near the food dispenser. There was something shifty in his eyes and the way he kept inching back that caught Silas’ attention. Silas ducked his head to watch him better. Then, in a movement so fast Silas wasn’t sure he saw it correctly, Rickman’s hand shot out, grabbed a slice of bread and stuffed it in his pocket. But then it happened again. Rickman grabbed three more slices and filled his pocket.

Silas blinked. Rickman’s eyes checked on the positions of Tymas and Westminster and then he filled the pocket on his other side. He didn’t seem to care if any of the Carillians spotted him. The woman said they were out of bread, but apparently there was enough for Rickman to feel comfortable taking some and not worrying too much about getting into trouble with the other guards if food was found to be missing. Silas wondered if there was a way to use this. Perhaps they could get Rickman to let them out of their cells at night. He’d have to talk it over with Malina, but he wasn’t sure if this information would be enough to trust Rickman.