War Child--Rogue One

XIII

The Empire is still looking for him. It's been two more days. Amya is coming over for dinner, and Mother has already started the stew.

We decided that Kai will have to sit down below until she leaves. Before she was imprisoned, she was a serial gossiper. We don't know if she still is. Better to stay on the safe side.

I warn him not to fall asleep and snore. None of our machinery sounds like that.

He promises that he doesn't snore. I laugh at that.

"What?"

I shake my head and go to the hole to make sure the vents are working. They are, so I climb back out.

Mother puts the pot of stew on the table and fills a bowl for the darker boy. "Amya will be here any minute. Cass, help Kai into the hole, please."

I follow the boy back over and let him climb down before lowering the metal back on top and replacing the rug.

I'm starving. My stomach flops over and over, roaring like some sort of untamed beast. I suddenly envy Kai sitting down there, with his bowl of stew already.  But then Amya knocks at the door and I sprint to get it.

"Welcome!" I say chipperly, ushering her in and closing the door against the cold.

She shivers as she removes her coat.  I drape it near a heater to dry and warm up.

We sit to eat.  Amya elaborates about the horrors of the prison cell to Mother while I fill my grumbling stomach with as much stew as I can eat without emptying it all out again into my bowl.

When I finish, I feel too heavy to move.  I haven't eaten this much at one time in ages.  Now I see why I don't do it often.

A strange noise starts to fill the room.

"My, what is that?" Amya asks, letting her spoon fall into her bowl with a clatter as she presses a hand to her chest.

"We got a new water heater," I say sluggishly.

"It sounds like snoring!"

It's Kai.  "It takes in air with a valve and then pushes the air, after being heated, through the water," Mother tells her.

"Well!  I'm certainly glad I don't need one of those.  Mine works perfectly well.  I don't think I could get a wink of sleep with that noisy thing at all hours of the night."

"Trust me, I don't," I say.  Mother shoots me a glare.

Amya stands.  "I should go home.  I caught wind of a possible blizzard tonight, harsher than usual."

I lurch to my feet and get her coat for her.  She slips it on.  "Thank you, Cassian.  It's so nice and warm."

Amya gives Mother a hug, and they say a ridiculously long farewell ("Stay safe," "I will," "And keep out of this nasty rebellion business," "Don't worry.  Get home safely," etc.).  Then the aging Twi'lek turns her attention to me.  "The same goes for you, young man.  Stay out of the rebellion and stay away from fugitives."

I nod and she hugs me a little too tightly.

As soon as she's gone, I lock the door and go to the hole, opening it up as loudly as I can to wake Kai up so I don't have to.

Surprisingly, he sleeps through it.  His soup is spilled all over his lap.  It looks like he fell asleep while eating the stew.

"Kai."

He grunts and turns his head, almost hitting the shelf with the blaster.  I flinch.

"Kai."

Again, he stays unconscious.

"Kai!"

"Huh?"  The snoring stops abruptly as he jolts, hitting his head on the shelf.  The blaster falls into his lap, splashing stew around.  I grimace.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asks.

"Yes.  And you snored."

He curses quietly.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Mother comes up next to me.  "We told her it was a new water heater.  But try to stay awake next time.  The stormtroopers may not buy that."  She sees the mess on his lap and tsks.  "Why don't you climb out and we can clean that up?"

We pull him out.  While Kai and Mother are cleaning my blaster and his clothes (which are also actually mine), I get ready for bed.

I can't wait for Kai to leave.