In The Dead of the Night

02 | twenty-one days

"Tomorrow, midnight," he said, running his fingers through his hair. The casual act contradicted every feeling of anxiety and fear I was feeling right now.

I looked down and fiddled with my hands. I disliked the way he looked at me with a look of steel in his eyes. "Why midnight?"

"Best not to be seen, and nightfall is the best cover."

Our conversation seemed oddly forbidden. I felt the need to look around before opening my mouth, as if someone was sneaking under my nose, stealing every word I was saying. He had a sort of calm intensity that made me think things like that. Every move he made seemed subtle and controlled, but something about him seemed ready to explode at any second.

"I think you should head to sleep," he said after a moment of silence. "It's been a long day. You'll find a set of beds just through that door. Choose any one you'd like. No one's coming through anytime soon." He finished with a sort of dark chuckle.

I nodded my thanks and began to walk down, when I realized he hadn't told me something.

"What's your name?"

He met my eyes. "You can call me Shawn."

"Goodnight Shawn." He closed his eyes and swallowed, like he hadn't heard those words in a long time, and walked away without another word.

...

I turned my head back forward and heard his footsteps patter, quickly becoming quieter and quieter until the sound died out. I began to slowly walk in the direction that he pointed in, pulling my jacket tighter around me. It was cold in the warehouse.

I stood in front of the door and pushed it open with a chilling creek. Inside was a plain, cement gray room with 7 bunk beds lined up in one row. The bed next to the second bed from the right seemed to be missing though, ruining the uniform look, but somehow in a good way. A clock hung on the wall.

5:53

It was already nearly time to wake up, but things would be different now. No more exploring the nearest empty building with the curtains closed or running to the city in secret before the sun came up.

I sat down on the bottom bunk of the bed second from the right, next to the empty spot. I took off my jacket and leaned back against the pillow. Wrapping the neatly folded blanket around my shoulders, I let myself sink into the minimal softness of the bed. The iron bars of the bed frame made my shoulder blades red and sore. I shifted and closed my eyes and waited for a while.

The odd thing was that I couldn't sleep a wink. Maybe I had too much on my mind or maybe I'd slept too much already. Either way I found myself sitting straight up on the bed again, just a little more awake than before. I raised my eyebrows and wondered if it would be too much of a risk to look around.

I decided not.

It only took one step outside of the bedroom for me to realize that Shawn wasn't asleep like I'd assumed. He was sitting on a chair that looked too short for his tall figure near the desk and writing something down. There was a book held up to a lightbulb he'd stood up. The light barely shined with only a faint, shallow half circle surrounding it. The reckless bravery in me made me want to get closer.

I took a step in his direction, just a foot closer than I had been, but he turned around in his chair. Not in the sharp, alarmed way most people would, but in a relaxed way, like he'd known I was there before he'd heard anything.

"It's only been an hour." Even in the low light, I could see the corner of his serious expression, as if he was regarding a solemn sight. "You can still sleep."