Beneath the Blind Sky

Chapter 13

Tears no longer stream down my face; I've cried for so long that I no longer can. I trace my finger up and down my leg, feeling the scratches from the night of our wild escape from the Nannies Headquarters. That only leads me to think about the missing tablets and my missing best friend. Sadness wells up inside of me and I curl up in a little ball, hoping the pain will go away.

Eventually I get off my bed, tired of crying and laying around. Nanny hasn't come back for Orchid, so I have full responsibility to take care of her by myself. "Do you want to go on a walk?" I ask her weakly. She jumps in surprise, a smile in her voice. I guess she's excited that we're getting back into a familiar schedule. Maybe she thinks everything is normal and Mina is just in the library, or sneaking food from the Cafeteria. "Of course," she laughs.

As we walk down the hall, I can barely focus on the conversation. My mind is still on Mina, and my heart aches to see her again.

"...and that's why I like pink! It tastes fun," Charlotte giggles.
I snap back into reality, feeling guilty that I wasn't listening to her. But now she's captured my attention.
"It tastes fun?"
"Yeah! The pink stuff I eat after my lessons with Nanny! It's yummy," she says while licking her lips.
I freeze and she begins to tug my arm, urging me to move forward. I don't move. "What does this pink stuff look like?" I ask quietly. Orchid seems to sense my worry and she speaks a little quieter, as if afraid that I'm going to shatter. "It's in a bottle on a shelf in the room Nanny trains me in."

I shake my head in worry, trying to silence the voices in my head. What is Nanny feeding her? "Let's go back to the room." I whisper. She bows her head in sadness, and I tilt it up so that she can see my smile. "Then we can eat some treats that Mina grabbed from a Nannies pocket," I whisper as if it's a secret. Orchid shrieks with joy and runs down the hall, pulling me along with her. I smile, then feel guilty as I imagine Mina in the engine room. These treats are the last ones that Mina took; I've been giving Orchid one every day since Mina left, in hopes that it will keep the memory of Mina's laugh and mischief fresh in both our minds.