Kidnapped

Chap. 7

            "Mase, do you have a brother named Mattie?" Sky felt Mason's arms, which were still around her, stiffen. She looked at his face and saw that his jaw was clenched and the muscles there where moving slightly.

 "How...how do you know about that?" He asked weakly. His eyes held so much sadness that Sky could barely tell him what Lucy told her the day before. Mason listens, but looked like he was in a daze, his eyes were a little glassy and a shocked expression flashed over his face. When Sky finished he just stood for a good minute just staring at the wall behind Sky, he abruptly turned around and walked out.

 "Mason! Where are you going? Please answer me, is he your brother? Please talk to me," Sky pleaded. His response was to slam the door as he walked out of their apartment. Sky looked at the door sadly but realized she too must make her way to the Volcano, and so she did; it was going to be a long day.

 Sky met up with her group of woman and started to pick up the wheat, which had been cut the previous day.

  "Did you ask him?" Sky looked up to see Lucy, the girl she met the day before.

 "Hi, to you too. And I'm doing fine. How are you doing on this fine morning, the sun is shining the bees are alive and oh look its time for me to start working," Sky rambled, trying to buy time.

 "Cut the crap Skyler, can you just answer the damned question!"  Lucy asked forcefully.

 "He didn't answer when I asked this morning, I would've done it yesterday, it's just that I was really tired and Mase, he fell asleep right after we ate. I know, I know, I could've asked when we were eating but, to be honest, I didn't want to ruin his mood. He was in a weirdly good mood yesterday, it was the happiest I've seen him for a long while," Sky confessed. She made her way towards the field with Lucy and they started to work still talking.

 "Ok, how come he didn't answer, were you interrupted or...?"

 "No, nothing like that, he just...he seized up when I mentioned Mattie. Before I could ask anything else he walked out of the apartment and slammed the door. I don't know, why is this so important to you?" Sky asked curiously.

 "Mattie doesn't talk about the outside, I already told you this, but when I heard those guys I just thought if it was his brother maybe he would open up to me a little more..." Lucy looked at the dirt on her shoes as she said that last part, when she looked up Sky saw deep sadness. She really wanted to help Lucy.

 "I'll see what I can find out, okay," Sky replied softly, and then she turned towards the work and didn't talk for the rest of the morning, too caught up in her thoughts. Sky was stationed under a tree with a pile of cut wheat, she had to crush the grains to make flour; it was very tedious work, her whole body ached by the end of the day. All she wanted to do was crash on the bed, hut she knew that she had to talk to Mason about Mattie.

 At the table that evening, she asked again.

 "Mason, who is Mattie?" he looked up from his plate, but didn't answer so she kept asking.

 "Is he your brother, are you related? Lucy said that you have the same last name and you look alike, of course I've never seen him, but that...Mason, where are you going?" as she was talking Mason stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

 "Shut up! Just shut up and stop talking! I don't wanna talk about this anymore!" he yelled and slammed the bathroom door.

 "Ok, fine," Sky mumbled. She went to bed, and fell a sleep fully clothed, before Mason came out of the bathroom.

 For the next week Mason ignored Sky and whenever she tried to talk to him he would just walk away without saying a single word.

Eight days after the confrontation Sky was still crushing wheat to make flour, there she often talked with Lucy. On this particular day their talked made full circle, they were back on Mattie and Mason.

 "He's been ignoring me. The last time we talked he told me to shut up, but of course he didn't elaborate why he didn't want me to talk about it," Sky confessed to Lucy.

 "You haven't tried to force the information out of him?"

 "If he doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't bother him. I think it's a sore subject, and if he wants to talk he will."

 "Ok, but aren't you slightly curious as to why he got snappy when you mentioned Mattie?"

 "Yeah, but I don't know...I don't want him to be mad at me. Its been so quiet in our apartment for the last week and to be honest, its driving my up the wall."

 "Then do something about it. We have to work another eight days, then we will have a week off. Talk to him during that time."

 "What do you mean a week off?"

 "There will be some kind of switch, and during that time there is an overlap or something. A lot of people that are working in the fields and in the clearing area will have a week off. This happens every two months or so." Sky could barely wrap that thought around her brain, she thought that they would be worked to death.

 "So, we have another week of work and then we have a break?"

 "That's what I've been telling you."

 "Yes! Finally could sleep in and laze around the whole day," Sky was getting exited just thinking about it. Lucy just laughed.

 "You guys should come visit. I think that the guys should get re-acquainted with each other," Lucy suggests after a couple of minutes of silence.

 "That would be great, that means I need to talk to Mason."

 "Yes, we could arrange it so it's on the second day that we have off, that will give you guys some time to talk it out."

 "I think I'll talk to him this week so he could digest it and everything."

 "Sounds like a plan, I'll give you the actual location of our apartment at the end of the week, I too have to talk to Mattie about this. I'll get back to you."

 "Lucy?" Sky asked after about an hour of full silence between the two.

 "Mmmm, Yeah?"

 "How will we be able to go to your apartment without getting in trouble for not working?"

 "Oh! I totally forgot about that part!" You will have to wear this tag that says the dates when you do not work and your names, that way you will not get hurt. Or, you shouldn't. Just be careful," Lucy explained.

 "Oh, ok, Thanks." They both went back to work, silence envelopes them for the rest of the day.

 Sky tried to talk to Mason that night but he locked himself in the bathroom, like every other night that week.

 "Seriously Mason! I have to pee! Get out here! I'll pee on the floor..." she was met with silence. "Fuck, I thought that would work," she cursed under her breath. She gave up for that night; she was tired and didn't want to get into an argument, especially if it was one-sided.