Specters' Favoured

Chapter 1: Dead kid

_just breathe_

Adam thought to himself, eyes on the ceiling, trying to get his mind off the stench that perched his nose, and the faces of the other unfortunate kids.

But then someone had to disturb him.

"Can you please give me a piece of yam?" the boy sitting close to him asked, stuttering.
His lips and eyes dried out, his expression screaming sorrow.

Adam looked at him for long, contemplating on whether to give in to his request, he had four pieces of yam with him, saved Incase if the captors decided not to feed them.

If it was anyone else he would have lied he didn't have anything with him, but not this boy, Adam and him had both been captured on the same day, and yet the boy acted like nothing happened, kept his jovial character on his first arrival. But with time, hunger, and thirst, anyone hardly heard him talk again.

" I have four pieces of yam with me, I will give you two, but you better eat it fast before the other boys notice" Adam drew near the boy and whispered to him before handing to him two pieces of dried yam and watched as the boy ate it.

Blood trickled down his chin due to the tearing of his lips, such a sight.

They haven't been fed for two days now, nor given water.

Looking around the room, Adam watched the other boys quietly.

In a huge room, ranging up to twenty kids all sitting in a circular form.
They were all boys, with sorrow painted on their faces along with hunger, pain, and despair.

Hours passed by and then the only door to the room was opened, men came in with trays of food and water, and Adam sat at a corner waiting for his food.

After being served, he started eating so did the other kids, all rushing to eat and if possible, eat the plates too. But along the way, Adam noticed that beside him, a plate of rice was left untouched and he knew that he wasn't the only one that noticed it.
On tracing the food back to the owner, Adam suddenly flinched, the boy he gave pieces of yam to, the boy that seemed to have life in him hours earlier, was completely lifeless now.

He was a corpse, Adam knew that look all too well.
The expansion of the pupil, the motionless and pale body.

_Why? Why did he give up?_ Before Adam could even act, someone had already grabbed the untouched food, taking advantage of the dead kid.

Adam glanced at the culprit, then at the dead kid, then a tear row down his cheek. He even still had the strength to cry, he was so dejected and scared.

The doors opened again, and escorted by a gunman was a young woman in a simple dress, with clean and fresh skin, a complete contrast to the dying kids.

"Good evening, I'm back again to check your health." She said simply before gesturing to the gunman to hand her kit and go around checking on the kids.

On getting to where Adam was, she briefly glanced at him before turning her gaze to the dead kid, She knew once that he had died, but she still proceeded to check his pulse, and her eyes twitched a little.

" Come take this one out, he is dead"

She said curtly, before proceeding to Adam.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine ma"

"How do you feel?"

The medical conversation went on between her and Adam, but Adam's eyes, the entire time were on the dead kid's body being dragged away.

***********

Night came, the room was completely dark and little could be seen in the darkness. Even the opened entrance did so little to illuminate the room. Adam had come to realize that sleep was a luxury in this hellish place, that strength was needed for sleep.