Glass

Trauma

That night I lost count of how many times I woke up screaming.

Everytime I closed my eyes, my head was flooded with visions of Rick violating my body, or feelings of glass cutting my skin...

Or of a cruncher closing its teeth around my neck.

Listen to me, Kanna! You died!

I shiver as Vanessa's words run through me, but then shake them off. Lu said that she was a liar, so what she said couldn't have been true.

There's no way I actually died.

Lu mumbles in his sleep as he rolls over. We both sleep on the ground in a corner of the square room, on top of matts Lu had already weaved before I came to the zones. He also has some simple, scratchy blankets, but I'm not sure where those came from.

I stand up and stretch, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes. I know I haven't been sleeping for very long, but it's no use. I'll never be able to shut out the nightmares. I move across the room, giving a small wave to Mr. Smiley. He's standing outside the door, every once in a while peeking inside the small window near the top. I pick up some corn off the ground and take a bite.

To be honest, I hate corn. And I especially hate that it's the only thing I've been able to eat for the past week.

I open my mouth to take another bite, but stop. All I see in my head is the cruncher opening its mouth to do the same thing.

You're dead. Those creatures killed you.

I don't feel hungry anymore.

I set the corn down and grab the bucket on the edge of the room. It's made of crappy scrap metal, I'm always nervous that it'll break. I push open the door to the hallway.

Whoosh.

Click.

Mr. Smiley steps aside as I move down the hallway. I stop at a door that's labeled "Ocean." I pull it open. The ocean zone is completely water. There's no floor, no anything. It's just open, empty water. I sit on the edge of the floor, right on the doorway. I'm relieved to see Mr. Smiley holding the door open for me.

I dip the bucket into the water, then haul it back up, trying not to spill it. Mr. Smiley lets the door fall closed. We both head back to the room, now with a full bucket of water. It's our drinking water for the day. Even though Lu named the zone "Ocean," the water is still safe to drink. It's not a real ocean.

I haven't been here for very long, but I'm already getting used to the routine. Every morning, Lu and I get food and water for the day.

When I step back into the room, I see that Lu is sitting up, already awake. He yawns and stretches, then opens his eyes to see me setting the bucket down.

"Morning, bandages."

"Morning."

Lu stands up and gives me a pat on the back as he sees the water.

An image of Rick's hand gripping my shoulder slams into my head. I shove it away and clench my hands together to keep them from shaking.

"Thanks for getting that. I'll grab the rest, then." And with that, Lu leaves the room.

I sigh and walk over to my matt. I sink to the floor and bury my head in my hands. How am I supposed to get over this?

"I knew there was something wrong with you."

I jump as I look up to see Lu standing there with his arms crossed. "How...?"

"I didn't let the door close all the way, so it wouldn't make any noise when I came back in. What did you remember?"

"It's nothing..."

"Tell me."

I'm surprised by the fierceness in his tone. He's almost glaring at me, like he's angry.

"If we're going to trust each other, than you have to talk to me about it."

I take a deep breath and look down at my hands. "Okay."

Lu walks over and sits next to me. His eyes soften immediately, and he takes my hand in his. "What happened?"

Author's Note:

Thank you so so much for reading! Please vote and comment!