The Freaks

chapter six

The heat in the Ghetto helped me stay awake during the rest of the night.

I sink into the mattress, my head fitting perfectly against the overstuffed pillow. I don't have the covers on because of the stupid heat circling around the room and the whole of the Ghetto. I still couldn't find a comfortable position, even when I stripped down to my underwear.

I don't think I could have been able to sleep even if it was cool in here. Every time I close my eyes, I see my old friends. When I try to blink that away, I see myself in the prison, then outside in the rain, ready to be hanged. The gallows and the rope they tied around my neck are at the back of my eyelids, constantly there.

I still think about it, even though I was saved by Serena and Nox. I still feel like I'm trapped in that prison cell, even though I'm able to wander freely here.

I always feel the weight of my friends' deaths bearing down on my shoulders, even though it's been two years.

A sharp knock on the door startles me, sending my heart rate up too fast. A flash of the Soldiers escorting me from my cell comes back, but I blink it away just in time. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and shove my prisoner uniform back on as I stumble my way to the door, forgetting the buttons. I yank open the heavy wood too quickly, the gust of cold wind only lasting a few seconds as it blows into my new room.

Serena steps backwards quickly, almost knocking her back against Nox. She steadies a pile of clothes in her hands and looks me up and down, keeping her face impassive as she stares at me for a few good seconds before she breaks into a small smile.

"Serena," I say, smiling back at her and nodding once at Nox who is looking at me with a strange pinch to his dark eyebrows.

"Luca." Serena is still smiling at me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby," I lie, stepping back to smooth down my big mass of hair. "Did you guys?"

"Splendidly," Nox replies sarcastically as he comes closer to me, moving Serena out of the way. "Are you ready to meet Sigma?"

"Sigma?" My eyebrows furrow. "Who's that?"

"Our leader," Serena replies calmer. "She's the one that wants to meet you."

"Oh. Of course." I shuffle on the spot, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I must have forgotten."

I guess the nightmare last night sucked every other thought from my mind. Even now, in the light of the Ghetto, Zaire's body is still in my mind, burnt and not going anywhere for a long, long time.

"That's okay," she says, smiling again. She deposits the clothes into my own arms, the weight of them suddenly comforting. "Why don't you change into these and meet us out here in a few minutes?"

I thank her and close the door. I lay the clothes out on my bed before changing out of my uniform, kicking it under the bed in the hopes that it will stay away from my mind. Of course, the only way for me to close that part of prison from my mind, I'll need to burn them or something.

It's been so long since I've seen plain clothes that they almost don't seem real. I slip the simple tracksuit bottoms on, the material slightly baggy on me. But God, they're so much more comfortable then the stupid uniform. The T-shirt smells clean and feels warm as I shove onto my torso, the wound at my back pulling only slightly. It's now more of a dull ache then actual pain.

With the comfortable clothes on my back, it almost makes me feel like I don't deserve such luxuries. The Soldiers made us all feel like we don't deserve anything more than death. The reason I'm here—why Serena and Nox saved me—is that I can serve a purpose, that I'm worth something. Though I still don't know what for yet.