Bunkmates (oneshot)

Bunkmates

Space was a luxury in the tail.

A privilege not earned by wealth, class or name. But by the love of their community. Very few earned the right to a bunk all to themselves in the tail. The sick, elderly and expecting mothers occupied these beds. But there was one lone sleeper who stood out.

Strong boy.

Perhaps it was because of his size. Perhaps it was because of whispers of him being able to snap a man's neck in one hand. But the giant slept alone. You slept above him, sharing your bunk top to toe with a young woman from the Philippines who left everything behind to escape the frost. She didn't like to talk much, was quite content with staring at the walls. All you knew about her was her fondness for kicking you in the face while she slept. It was a rough part of the track that night, many night owls retreated to their beds and tried to even feign sleep to escape the motion sickness. A sudden groan knocked you out of your trace as you stared at the bunk above. The tail was never quiet but this was no ordinary groan, this was a sound used by someone to replace speech. Cautiously you took a peak below, instead of the usually intimidating silent man, you saw strong boy with his brow furrowed and covering in sweat, clutching his pillow in what looked like...fear?

"hey..." You called out tentatively, his eyes flashed open and met your own in an instant. Dark, gentle eyes, like a cows. He shifted over has much as he could in the tiny cot, glanced at the empty space and back at you again, pleading. An interesting development, you never thought the fearsome protector of the tail be afraid of turbulence, let alone ask to be comforted. Still, despite the voice in the back of your head pleading otherwise, you crept down from your bunk and onto the thin bed below. Within an instant he pulled you close, almost smothering you like he had to the pillow moments before, one hand quickly pulling the makeshift curtain closed before wandering eyes made assumptions about things.

The first thing you noticed was how comfortable he was, and he was warm. The cold nights bit like rats to the citizens of the tail, but strong boy felt like a furnace. Maybe this was why he only wore that vest while everyone else packed on two coats or more. The wheels of Snowpiercer hit a particular bad piece of track and the tail jolted angrily to the left. Those arms tightened around you as he buried his face in your neck. Slowly, careful not to startle him, you returned the embrace.

"I know it's scary."

"Hmpf."

"And it...probably won't get better. I should tell you there's hope but I'm not sure there is any left-"

He cut you off by taking your hand in his. Not grasping it or clutching it but softly holding it. He had drawn back now, his forehead pressed to yours due to the small space you occupied and his eyes meeting yours. You could practically feel his gaze baring its way through your skull. Slowly, he brought your hand to his chest, underneath the fabric of his vest you could feel his heartbeat thumping rhythmically like Snowpiercers rhythm as she travelled the track. You could feel that he was alive.

You didn't need words to know this was the hope you were looking for.