The Moments I Recall

CHAPTER FOUR

*TW* *MILDY SCARY SCENES*

My eyes follow the woman as she strides down the aisle. Her body younger than I remembered, the meat on her arms and legs tensed as if newly attached, perfectly sculpted by the bone of her hands themselves.

"Welcome to a new year." She announces. When she leaves, I jog out of the hall.

"Where are you going!?" Theo calls out following behind me. I don't reply. Inside the cabin, light seeps from the vents above. I find my bed and I pull out a small, jagged stone from my pocket.

"Couldn't you have waited until after breakfast?" Theo asks. "We'd still be twelve you know." Ignoring him, I climb up onto his bed and carve his new age on the wall and then my age into the wall by my bed.

"I couldn't have." I say walking up to him.

"Hey look, a kid is still asleep." He points. He walks past me and towards a bed with a small body under its sheets. I follow for a closer look. I watch the slight rise and fall of the kids' body and the way the sheet floats around its face as the kid breathes. I gently shake the kids' shoulder.

"Hey, come on you'll miss breakfast." I prompt but there is no response. I exchange a glance with Theo. He gently pulls the sheet from the kids' upper body. A little boy lies in the bed eyes closed. Theo puts his thumb on the boy's lower lid and his index finger on the upper lid forcing the boys' eye open. His pupil is wide, like a deep bottomless hole. A thin ring of blue silver is all that is left of his iris.

"He spaced in his sleep." I whisper. The men in blue overalls had not come for him yet.

"What do we do, we can't just leave him like that." Theo says.

"They'll come for him soon, all we can do now is find a way out of here for the rest of us." I reply walking out of the dorm.

"It wouldn't have changed you know," Theo prompts following closely behind. "The fence is not going to just let up."

"We still have to try."

"Of course." He mutters stretching his podgy arms towards the sky.

The wind carries the silence between us as we walk across the field. I focus on the faint singing of a group of kids somewhere playing back at the grounds. A meter away from the fence Theo grabs my shoulder.

"I'll do it." He says stepping ahead of me. I do not argue. We both know I can take the sensation the fence emits better than him, but he'd never let me anyway.

"HEY!" Someone yells causing us to both jump back. "WHAT ARE YOU DORKS DOING!" Theo and I exchange a look, then turn towards the voice. A girl a bit taller than I am, possibly our age, stomps towards us.

"Didn't hear me?" she asks as she reaches us. She's quite skinny but I have no doubt she could probably take both of us on. Her earthy brown hair Is damp, smaller pieces of hair sticks to her the sides of her forehead. Her dark wet brows furrow over her light turquoise eyes.

"What is your name?" I ask

"What?" she replies

"Your name?" Theo tries.

"Name... what are you talking about chubs?" She pokes Theo's arm.

"She's gonna space." Theo says turning towards me. I turn away from her and start walking towards the fence.

"Hey, I wasn't done talkin' to you." She calls out. I ignore her reaching out to touch the fence, but my arm is yanked back and I fall onto the grass.

She stumbles in front of me tripping on my legs. Her arms outstretch to use the fence to stop her fall. Her body shivers in response and she falls back instead. Closing my eyes, I shield myself and brace for contact. Seconds pass. My eyes open slightly. Theo stands over me with the passed-out girl in his arms.