" Casper." Dax hisses in my ear. I open my eyes and look around at the rec room. The only other person there is Remi, a girl who never seemed to blink. I always thought she was odd. Never spoke about her family, though no one really does, and always blurted out random phrases and words. She was kind when I spoke to her once or twice. Meek. " You fell asleep." He whispers to me before pulling his air mask back to his lips and inhaling deeply. " Again?" I groan, pulling my hands up to my face to rub my eyes. " Yeah." He flops down on the sofa next to me, taking another breath from his mask. Dax has COPD, a condition that restricts or stops natural airflow to the lungs. " Look what Wren got to me." He opens his fist to reveal a handful of pink pills. " Morphine." I say, picking up a tablet and examining it. 30 mg is etched on the top. " Fuck yeah, it is." He exclaims, holding a pill to his lips before swallowing it dry. I shake my head and place the pill back into his hand. " I'm not gonna use that. It won't work when I need it to if I do." I justify, closing his fingers back up. Dax rolls his eyes at me. " Suit yourself, pussy." He shoves the rest into the pouch in his hospital gown. His eyes are hollow and his face sticking out at sharp angles. He is ill. Very ill. He can't weigh more than 90 pounds, though he is a few inches taller than me. It's not the disease that caused him to look and sound this way, it's the drugs. My right side twinges with pain. Dax notices a grimace cross my face and laughs. " Need it?" He digs out a a pill and holds it up to me. " No. I'll go see Duskbane. Thanks." I shove his hand away. " See you tonight." I stand up and make my way out of the room, down the hall and past the infirmary. Truthfully, I can't stand Duskbane. His voice always sent shivers down my spine. I continue down the hall to the dormitories. The scenery in this place never changes. Not a single window lines the walls, simply paintings of dead foliage. I keep going past the boys' dorms. I haven't seen the sun in months, though a few doors down from the rec room is a room called the Outdoors. It is filled with fake plants and heavy fluorescent lights. Into the girls dorm halls. It smells the same in every wing of the hospital, even in the girls' dorms. I remember in school, when I would walk past the girls' change room, there would be a thick cloud of perfume every single time. " Casper." A voice booms behind me. I close my eyes and sigh inwardly before turning around to face Duskbane. His chin is stubbly and the hair on his head sticks out in gray peaks. " You know the girls' dorms are off limits." He demands, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. My fragile frame buckles under the pressure. " You're weaker than last time I saw you. Have you been eating well?" He asks, gently moving his hand to tilt my chin to the side. " With the pellets you give us, it's almost impossible." I snap despite myself. His gaze lingers on my collarbone that juts out from beneath my gown. " You know, with all the treatments, we must ration your eating as much as possible." He states, releasing my chin. " Ration doesn't mean restrict." I mumble under my breath. " Would you care to repeat that?" He straightens his back. I shake my head and shove past him, back towards the boys' dorms. " One day, your sharp tongue will stab you." He calls after me as I vanish behind a corner.
