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Cold sweat runs down my skin as I open my eyes. The cold hard stone floor of our cell presses against my back. I slowly sit up taking in my surroundings. I can see Springs' sleeping form in one corner of the cell. My hands are sticky with sweat. I wipe them on the front of my sweater sending a burst of pain through my abdomen.

 Gritting my teeth I slowly pick up my sweater. Neatly wrapped around my abdomen is a bandage, crimson stains the snow-white fabric. I let my sweater fall. The room spins as I slowly stand up stumbling over to the closest wall and lean against it for support. I resist the urge to vomit. I take a step forward almost tripping over myself.

 I turn to Spring I don't want to wake him up. There's something wrong though. His normally olive skin has turned a pale white, dark circles line his eyes. He reminds me of a raccoon. He's lying in the fetal position holding his stomach. As I stare at him a word pops into my mind. Hungry. He needs food or he might die. But how am I supposed to get some for him? I don't want him to die. He's my brother.

"The bars." A voice echoes in my head. 

That voice isn't familiar. It's nothing like Yangs. But I'm determined to save my brother. I line the wall slowly making my way towards the bars. I grab them the cold metal sticking to my sweat covered hands. The bars are spaced wide enough for me to fit through. I slip through them to the other side with ease. It's pitch black in this long hallway. It's impossible to see anything. There is no way I'm going to be able to get food for Spring. Maybe he can hold out till morning. I'm about to slip back through the bars into my cell when I see a dim light in the far end of the hallway. I immediately start walking towards it. I don't know why. But I just walk towards it not caring what it is. It's not a flashlight or the light from a candle or lighter. It's different. It's peculiar. The closer I get the lesser it seems to just be a light. I stand in front of it shielding my eyes from its blinding light. As the light slowly gets dimmer, I open my eyes once more. There's a child where the light was just moments ago. But it doesn't seem to be normal. The child glows a pastel blue. Being mear him fills me with a sense of tranquility.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Follow me, " he says. His voice echoes throughout the hallway. He starts away from me and I almost immediately follow. Something about this boy makes me feel safe.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask quietly. I don't want to wake anyone up. The pale glow from the child illuminates the hallway allowing us to see where we are going. He suddenly stops pointing to a corner outside the mess hall. I stare at him confused.

"Pick it up." He says. I approach the corner leaning down. There's a small journal tucked away in the corner. When I pick it up the boy vanishes plunging me into darkness. I touch the walls finding the double doors leading into the mess hall and try to open them. They don't budge. Of course, they're locked.

"E-excuse me?" A small voice asks.

 I jump spinning around. It's a boy. He speaks with a British accent. His hair falls in light brown waves and his ocean blue eyes sparkle in the darkness. He's dressed formally. A light blush lines his cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! My n-name's Frederick."

He holds out his hand to me. Hesitantly I take it.

"A-are you hungry?" He asks.

I slowly nod my head remembering Spring. I must save my brother. He reaches into his backpack slinging it off his back.

"I-I'm sure that I've got something for you." He says.

He pulls out a couple of zip lock bags. They are filled with goldfish crackers, strawberries, and carrots. He hands them to me.

"Thank you," I say.

"N-No problem. What's your name?"

"Frederick?!" Calls a stern voice. I gasp swiftly hiding behind one of the large doors in the hallway.

"Frederick? What are you doing down here?" Asks the Warden. My breath hitches. If he catches me here I'll surely be killed.

"I was just exploring Dad," Frederick says glancing at my hiding spot.

"You know the rules, Frederick. You must not explore around here. It's dangerous."

"But Dad-"

"No Frederick. Come now," he takes his hand, "It's late. Let's get you home."

"Yes, Dad."

He glances over at me one more time before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway with the Warden. I slip away silently finding my way back to my cell. I slip through the bars and run over to Spring dropping to my knees. I shake him throwing the baggies aside.

"Psst. Spring, wake up." I whisper.

"Go back to bed, kid." he groans rolling over.

"But Spring," I sigh, "Please Spring. Wake up."

"Go. To. Sleep."

"SPRING!" I exclaim.

He sits up.

"What Yin? What is so important that you had to wake me up?" he asks annoyed.

I shove the baggies in his face. His eyes go wide.

"Eat Spring. You look starving." I say handing him the bags.

"How in the hell did you get these?" he asks still surprised.

"A boy gave them to me. Now eat or I will have to shove them down your throat."

He opens the bag of strawberries reaching inside. He hands a couple of them to me and takes some for himself. The strawberries are delicious. I saved Spring. I saved my brother. He would've starved to death if I hadn't snuck out. Now that I think about it I was starving too. I guess that I was so focused on helping Spring that I forgot about my own pain. A thought pops into my head.

"Hey Spring?" I ask.

"Hm?"

"Where are we going to hide all this stuff?"

I know by now that if we just keep this stuff out in the open it won't end well for the both of us. He smiles getting up and walking over to the far wall of our cell. He touches the wall in certain places. He seems to be looking for something. He touches a certain stone on the wall.

"Here we go." He says to himself. He slips the stone out of the wall. Inside is a compartment.

"My old cellmate and I carved this out a while ago. We can hide them in here."

I wonder if he's talking about Golden. I put the baggies into the compartment and Spring puts the stone back in. It's completely undetectable. We sit in one corner of the room together as the sun starts to peek out through the trees. I keep yawning. I hadn't realized how tired I was. I rest my head on Spring's shoulder slowly falling asleep once more.







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