Love Through War

C h a p t e r T w e n t y

Keefe's POV.

Seven days.
That's how long Keefe has been stuck at Exillium.
Seven days.

The first three days were fine, he'd pick a piece of fruit from the food table, then walk to the tent where he and other Waywards would work on body heat regulation and breathing exercises.

All the while thinking of Sophie, thinking of how he'd break out of this prison, and thinking of when lunch break would be.

But day four was when the nerves started to kick it.

What if he never escaped?
What if the coaches caught him?
What if Sophie was already getting married to That Guy?

Would Sophie give up on him that easily?
Did she miss him as much as he missed her?

These worries raced through Keefe's head most of the day, making his attention drop and not do well in his lessons.

The only thing he really excelled at was night vision.

His coach, Coach Bora, the one who'd shown the tent his first night, led him and others of the right hemisphere to the caves of Exillium.

"Here we are," Coach Bora said at the edge of one of the larger caves. "Today you'll be working on night vision." He waited for the waywards to settle before continuing. "I'll need to all to close you eyes and rub your eye socket bones, then massage your temples."

Keefe felt ridiculous, but he did it anyway.

"Now open your eyes and step a little farther into the cave," Coach Bora said, and they obliged. "Let your eyes adjust naturally to the darkness and do not look at any potential light sources."

The right hemisphere group started down the pitch black cave, Coach Bora bringing up the rear.

Keefe let his vision relax and kept his eyes focused foreword.

After a few minutes, the cave brightened slightly with a greenish tint.

Keefe grinned and looked around.
He now noticed all the cave's small stalactites and the tiny earth bugs milling around.

Coach Bora walked up to him.
"Well done, Mr. Sencen," he gave a small smile. "I can tell you've succeeded in night vision."

Keefe nodded and studied the other waywards to see if they'd gotten the tactic down.

Most of them were still squinting their eyes in the dark, but a few also looked around the cave in fulfillment like Keefe had.

After the night vision lesson was over, Coach Bora permitted them to have lunch.

His stomach was growling, so Keefe was glad to hear it.

The food table was now packed with cheeses, overripe vegetables, and a bowl of shriveled looking fruits.

Keefe reached for one of shriveled fruits, figuring it was better then nothing, when a boy about his age slapped his hand.

"Hey!" Keefe said and pulled his hand back. "What was that for?"

The boy had messy light brown hair and almond shaped eyes.
"You don't want to eat that," he warned. "There Kernalfruites, they taste like banshee poop."

"Huh, noted," Keefe said, now thankful for the hand slap, and took a few cubes of cheddar. "Thanks."

The boy nodded and Keefe turned to sit at the tree he usually ate at.

"You can come sit with me and my sister if you want," the boy offered and pointed to girl maybe eight year old, with same brown hair and almond eyes, leaning against a large oak with a ripe pepper in her hand.

"Okay, thanks." Keefe shrugged and followed him. "And it's Keefe, by the way."

"Leroy," he answered.

They down next to the oak and Leroy introduced his sister.

"Zadie," he said to the girl, "This is Keefe, I saved him from eating a Kernalfruit."

Zadie gave Keefe a strange look. "Why would you ever want to eat a Kernalfruit?"

Keefe smiled and put his arms up defensively.
"Hey, I've only been here a week."

"I thought I didn't recognize you," Leroy said thoughtfully and took a bite of his own pepper. "I know pretty much everyone here."

"Oh?" Keefe asked and popped a cheese in his mouth. "How long have you been here?"

Leroy's expression saddened. "Four years. We've tried to escape, but no bueno."

"We do have are own tent though," Zadie brightened. "Because our home in Blackswan was destroyed, at least that's what Leroy tells me, I don't remember our old home vary well."

"I'm sorry," Keefe said, suddenly filled with a protectiveness to help to new friends, even if they were of the Blackswan.

"It's fine," Leroy said quickly. "It's doesn't matter anymore," then he changed the subject. "So why were you sent here?"

Keefe winced, unsure of how they'd take the sentence that got him a one-way ticket to Exillium.
"Accused of murderer," he said, not looking them in the eye. "Rightfully accused, I guess."

The siblings didn't flinch.
Zadie was now distracted with drawing a tree in the dirt with a stick, and Leroy looked as if he'd heard the declaration before.

"You wouldn't be the first," Leroy said, confirming Keefe's suspicion. "Our family isn't rich, I needed to pull a few strings so we could get by, and eventually, those strings got my sent here. And she," he gestured to his sister, "kicked and screamed until she could come with me. The little imp."

"I did not kick and scream," Zadie snapped.

Leroy rolled his eyes and Keefe laughed, wishing even more that he had a sibling.

When lunch was over, Leroy told Keefe he and Zadie were in Ambi and that he'd see him tomorrow.

Keefe spent the rest of the day doing underwater breathing exercises, and once he'd made it back to his tent, a careful plan began forming in his head.

He'd escape tonight, and he was bring Leroy and Zadie with him.

~

Hello everyone!
What did you think of Keefe's day at Exillium?
Did you like Leroy and Zadie? Pretty sure they are now my favorite characters in this book.
Happy reading!
Bye!
~T