When Dillon and I walk into the dining hall, I get a grasp on how many people there are here. How many people don’t have parents to look after them. But for the amount of people, it isn’t very loud. We both grab trays with identical portions of stew, a slice of bread, and a glass of water. Skye and Olivia are easily spotted in the sea of black shirts. We sit down next to them. Scarlet, two other girls, and a guy are there too.
“Hey,” Olivia says to me. Her voice was thin and her eyes were sadder than I’d ever seen them. I pull her in my arms just when the first tear slides down her face. She needs me just as much as I need her. For moments I hold her and stroke her hair; be the older brother my mother and father had always told me to be.
After a while, we pick up our spoons and dig into our stew. It needed some salt, but was a change of pace from all the game we’d been eating. Scarlet breaks the silence.
“Well this would be as good a time as any to get to know each other.”
“I’m Violet,” the short, black haired girl next to Scarlet says. “Oh and I’m Scarlet’s older sister. I’m eighteen, she’s sixteen.” Next to her is a guy with blonde hair and hazel eyes.
“I’m Chase,” he says. I saw his eyes train Olivia’s figure huddled against mine. “I’m also eighteen.” Then there was a small girl with wavy brown hair. We look at her expectantly, then Violet chimes in.
“That’s Lyra,” she says slowly. “She doesn’t really talk often.” I was instantly curious as to why.
“I’m Dillon,” Dillon introduces. “And that’s Skye, Olivia and Marcus.”
“Olivia’s my sister,” I comment.
In the short time we had introduced ourselves, I’d eaten all the food on my tray. All of us had except for Skye. She just sat on the other side of me stirring her stew with a spoon. I hungrily look at the untouched food. Everyone gets the same portions. The petite thirteen year old girls and the buff twenty year old guys ate the same amount which seemed unfair. Skye sees my stare and pushes her tray toward me.
“Here,” she says. “I’m not hungry.” All of us had been eating meager amounts of food for the past week or so. Something is bothering her. There’s no way she’d pass up a meal.
“No,” I tell her. “You should eat.”
“I can’t,” she whispers. Before I can, Dillon embraces her.
“What’s wrong,” he says, leaning in so his nose touches her cheek.
“Everything,” she says, breaking his grip and standing up. She saunters off and sits by the sunny window. Dillon has a sad look of rejection on his face.
“Skye?” I whisper as I approach her.
“Just leave me alone Marcus,” she stammers. That was that last thing I could do.
“I can’t just leave you like this,” I tell her. I don’t bother asking her why she’s upset. It’s the same things that have been making her cry for the past few weeks.
I lean down and kiss her cheek. She looks up, showing me her puffy eyes, just as a clock strikes. Dillon, Olivia, and the others approach us.
“It’s time to get back to work,” chase says bluntly.
“Follow us,” Violet instructs. Everyone in the dining hall returns their trays and files out the door.
We walk down a set of stairs. I hear the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the walls.
“Olivia, you’re sixteen right?” Scarlet asks. Olivia nods skeptically. “Okay then you’ll be outside with Lyra and me.”
“See you later,” Olivia says to me. I pull her in my arms wishing I didn’t have to let her out of my sight. She pushes open the door and follows Scarlet and Lyra out into the rain.
Violet, Chase, Dillon, Skye and I saunter down two more flights of stairs into the basement of the building. It’s set up like a factory. Immediately, Skye starts coughing as she breathes in the foul air. Dillon turns to her and strokes her hair. Once she stops, violet speaks.
“Skye, Dillon, Marcus, how old are you guys?”
“I’m eighteen, they’re both seventeen,” Dillon says.
“Okay so Dillon, you’re with us. Skye and Marcus you stay here. They assign jobs by age,” Chase informs us. Violet walks off, them quickly returns with a girl who has light brown hair.
“This is my friend, Rae. She’ll help you,” Violet says. “See you at dinner.” Dillon gives Skye a quick kiss on her forehead then follows Chase and Violet into another room.
“Follow me,” Rae says. So we follow her to a workstation with two other guys. “These are my brothers, Seth and Isaac,” she says. They have a strong resemblance to each other. “We’re triplets but also have a thirteen year-old brother, Caleb.” I could hear the rain drumming on the building faster and harder.
Rae, Seth, and Isaac taught us the art of textile making. It involved a lot of sewing which I was no happier about than Skye. I tried to focus on making a quilt. Skye had coughing fits every once and a while. I caught Rae sneaking glances at me. Seth and Isaac confide amongst themselves.
I wait out the hours until dinner. Then the days until this is over and somehow we can all return home.
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