REBEL CLOTHES ✓

TWELVE DAYS

It had been twelve days since his last dream with Josh. Tyler was getting somewhat desperate, for both information and just to see Josh again. Not only was his graduation in exactly sixteen days, but if what Josh said about the graduations were true, he didn't have much time to keep his head in one piece.

Whenever Tyler would ask about it when he dreamt in Trench, Jenna would refuse to answer or change the subject altogether. He didn't know what she was avoiding to tell him, but he really needed to talk to him, because he dreams had started turning into something else.

In the daytime, when he was awake, Tyler was started to be able to... do things that he couldn't quite explain. He could only describe it as feeling what everybody else wasn't feeling. Sometimes, if their emotions were strong enough, they would take a physical form. It was like there was a wire transmitting their emotions directly into him, and with full force.

"You're an empathic Sleeper, then," Jenna had told him when he accidentally let slip what he was experiencing to her. "Those are pretty rare around here. I'm a melting Sleeper."

"A melting Sleeper? Like-"

"Yeah, like Sacarver," she said with venom lacing her words like little snakes. I can communicate with other Sleepers in their dreams once I've made physical contact with them. That's how I got here, into your dream."

"And what about Josh? What's he?" Tyler asked.

He could feel her hesitation like a soft breeze.

"He's one of the dangerous ones. But that doesn't matter. Not many Sleepers develop their abilities this early. Lucky for you."

But it wasn't lucky for him. People in Dema didn't feel, but suddenly everything that they didn't feel, Tyler felt for them.

His mother must've noticed his bouts of frustration over the two weeks- it matched her own very well- because at dinner, she kept asking him questions.

"How's the soup, dear?" She asked first, as if testing the waters. From what he could tell, she was confused and almost insulted at his tense silence.

He only shrugged at her question, finishing his dinner before anyone else and waiting for the others to finish so he could start washing the dishes. Her confusion switched to annoyance, which he promptly ignored.

His father shuffled quietly in the background, not speaking. A strong feeling of frustration emanated from him, so much so that it added to the bubble of anger growing in Tyler's stomach.

He had just finished putting away the dishes when the sirens went off. A wave of fear from all around him hit Tyler, making him dizzy, and his parents moved around, closing all windows and blinds.

Tyler went upstairs, flopping onto his bed as the sirens grew quieter and were replaced with tortured screams. He jumped to his feet, the pain making the muscles in his chest tighten.

Whoever was screaming must've been in a lot of agony if Tyler could feel it with such accuracy. It felt like he was being skinned alive, every inch of his flesh burning as the muscle underneath screamed for it to stop.

Cupping his ears and curling into a ball didn't help with the pain. In fact, it probably made it worse by blocking out any distractions from the tearing and shredding. Where was this person? We're they in Dema? This kind of suffering didn't exist here.

He hoped, as horrible as it sounded, that whoever was being tortured was dead when it ended.

Eventually, the dull thumping behind his eyes pulled him to sleep, and Tyler woke up to Josh curled up at the end of his bed, sobbing. He didn't have his hood up, revealing curly locks of yellow. His eyes were squeezed shut, with the bottom half of his face still covered, and Tyler was tempted to remove it to see what all the pieces of this puzzle looked together.

But he didn't, because Jenna said that there were rules within the Banditos, and Josh had already broken so many just to speak to Tyler. It wouldn't be fair to make him break another rule.

Josh stopped crying after a few moments and woke up with a startle. He sat up and looked around, confusion knitting his eyebrows together until he met Tyler's eyes.

"This is..."

"My room." Tyler suddenly felt embarrassed. He'd never had anyone who wasn't a family member in his room before. It was one of their rules. Not even Mark had seen the inside of his room.

Josh's eyes, dark brown, like melted chocolate, scanned the red walls and white carpet, landing on the dark gray door that led to the rest of the house.

"It's nice. A bit bland, though."

Tyler giggled softly. "Yeah, I suppose it's not like sleeping in caves all year round."

"You'd be surprised how comfy rock pillows are," he said with a wide grin. His face fell for a moment and he leaned over to grab Tyler's hands. "I'm sorry for being away for so long."

"Make it up to me and I'll forgive you." Tyler didn't realize how suggestive that sounded until after his said it, and Josh snorted.

"How are you?" Tyler shrugged, playing with Josh's fingers. Burn marks covered the tips of his fingers, along with a long jagged line than snaked across his palm. Dirt was embedded under his fingernails, and clumps of mud clung to his hair.

"Better now." Josh's eyes crinkled, and Tyler knew he was smiling under his mask. "Jenna told me about your abilities showing up. Never met another empathic besides Clancy."

"Clancy, your leader?"

Josh winced and nodded. "He, uh, he's not doing so hot right now. Before Ryan- he couldn't help but fall asleep, and the Bishops came for us. We got away, but Clancy stayed behind."

"I'm so sorry," Tyler whispered.

"It's okay. There's always someone who gets left behind, even when you try your best to save them."

"You tried your best. That's all that matters."

Josh looked up and smiled softly. "Thank you. How can I make it up to you?"

"Tell me about you and the Banditos. I want to know all about your abilities and your life out there."

"Your wish is my command," Josh said.