Fadeout

Chapter 11: Silas

“So what happened to you?” Patton asked when he heard Silas’ morning stretch.

Silas closed his eyes and stopped moving.

“I know you’re awake. Tell me what happened.” Two pairs of legs swung over the side of the top bunk and Patton hung his head over the edge.

Silas rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Nothing. The Tirean is bored and wants someone to keep him company. We played games most of the day.”

“Really? That’s it?” Patton looked disappointed.

“Yep.”

“I thought for sure you were gone.”

“Me too.”

“How are your new books?” Silas asked. He didn’t want to go into any more details.

Patton took the bait. “One is the fifth book in a science series that they gave me books one and two last month. I don’t know if they can’t count or didn’t think I’d need books three and four. The other book is about climate changes and the last one is about political theories of the 21st century.”

 All Silas did was ask, “Are they interesting?”

Patton went on and on about the information each chapter contained. Silas would nod every now and then, so Patton would think he was still listening, but all Silas could think about was that he was going outside today.

It was the biggest break Silas had made in the escape planning department and might possibly be bigger than Malina’s spying out the control room. Being outside the walls would give Silas a chance to discover what was out there. He’d have an idea of which way they should go when they got out. Perhaps he should take one of the pages out of Patton’s books so he could draw some kind of sketch of where the nearest town was or how far it was to the woods. He could see trees above the wall and mountains in the distance. Yet he didn’t know exactly how far they were and how hard it would be to find food while they were trying to get there.

Malina didn’t seem to mind taking risks, but Silas was more cautious. He could probably get Jamar to start talking about the area and learn more than he wanted.

The breakfast bell rang and Patton jumped down to line up by the door. Silas stretched his limbs as he stood. He felt a slight tingle in his stomach when he thought about going out of the walls. He could almost taste the fresh air. The thought of being free filled his mind so that he didn’t even notice their breakfast portion of food was small again. Two tablespoons of eggs and an inch of bacon was all he had on his plate.

Dark expressions filled the room. One boy two tables down shook so hard his face turned red and all the forks on the table rattled. Next to him a blonde haired boy’s mouth moved, probably trying to calm him down. And that boy was not the only one. Silas saw most of the older boys with some form of clenched teeth or closed fists. Glares were directed at the guards or the food dispenser every few seconds. The scent of frustration, like an oily, overworked sweat, filled the air and almost choked Silas. The boys were not happy, especially the older boys. They passed secret messages in angry looks and quiet nods that threatened violence if things did not return to normal.

Silas wondered if the girls were reacting this way too. He didn’t think Malina would let something like less food get to her, but he hadn’t had a chance to talk with her since their meal portions were decreased. For the briefest moment he wished he weren’t going to spend time with Jamar.

As everyone lined up to go outside, Silas felt a thick hand grip his shoulder.

“Come with me,” Tymas said.