The Awake

A Talk With Ben

Again, I was awaken by nightmares. I looked at my clock and saw that it was only 3:25 in the morning. Though my body craved rest, I couldn't go back to sleep. Aaron, who was snoring like a dog, was asleep beside me in his cot. I wanted to talk to someone, but I didn't want to wake him. Sitting up in my bed, I reached over and turned on my lamp. Looking down, I realized I was still in the clothes from the previous day. I stood up and walked over to my dresser to change into some clean clothes. After I got clean clothes, I left my room and went upstairs to take a shower. I still couldn't get the image of the man I had killed, out of my head. I had finished showering and had nothing to do so I walked down to Zach's room to see if he was up. Quietly, I knocked on his door and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then, I assumed he was sleeping. So I went to Ben's Room. I did the same knock I did on Zach's door. But this time the door opened.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" Ben sung as he opened the door. I couldn't help but laugh. I was surprised that Ben was still his same, happy, funny self, through all this. Ben let me in and shut the door behind me. His room was filled with tools. I guessed they were from the tool shed. Then, I looked at the balcony. Ben had built coverings out of plywood, to form some kind of sniper's nest. One of the Sniper Rifles, from the gun vault, were propped up on a chair that sat in the middle of the balcony.

"Good work, Ben. I really like the idea of this." I said turning to him.

"Thanks. I smashed my finger with a hammer twice. But it was worth it in the end." Ben said proudly. "Drayton, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, bud. Anything you need." I said sitting on his bed.

"Why are we different?" He asked looking at the floor.

"What do you mean, Ben?" I asked.

"Why are we still awake?"

"I don't know.. I really don't. Maybe we can see if Zach knows anything in that file that can tell us why we aren't affected by the bioweapon" I said as I shrugged. I really didn't know why. We would just have to find out.

"Get some sleep, Ben." I said, standing up. Ben smiled and nodded as he laid down in his bed. Shutting off the lights, I exited the room. By then I was tired again, so I returned to my room and walked around Aaron, who was sleeping like a baby, to my bed. Getting comfortable, I tried to go back to sleep. I fell asleep with one thought on my mind. Were there others?