Horrace slumped against his hand, his elbow aching slightly as it pressed into the wooden table top. Zie sat next to him, giggling with friends between spoonfuls of jello.

It would've been like any other day. Could've been like any other day. Except for the blood stains that would never come out of the floors or the cracks in the windows or the utter emptiness of a dining hall meant for three hundred but only occupied by thirty.

At least he didn't have trouble finding a place to sit anymore.

"Do we have any announcements or concerns that haven't been addressed yet?" asked Michael. His teeth flashed into a grin that he knew would tighten the gut of any girl who saw him. Horrace smiled.

Michael is perfect, he said to himself. A king, almost. He could be our king, for all we know.

The lack of raised hands or voices prompted Michael to nod, clasp his hands together and finish with a quick, "All right, guys. You know the rules. Inside by midnight. No one outside the doors once we switch the lights off. Comprende?"

"Yeah, yeah, Michael," Maxy said, waving him off. "We get ya'."

Michael laughed, but Horrace stiffened. He could hear the uneasiness lining Michael's voice. He knew their leader was far from being fearless.

For someone so handsome to have social anxiety...

The blonde haired teen stepped off his announcement table and retreated back to where his brother brooded, next to the dark-haired Penelope.

"Hey, Horrace? Did you guys see my message about the Wi-Fi signal?" Zie asked, tugging at his sleeve and his attention.

"Mhm. We did. Maxy wrote out a response. We're gonna try the best we can, but it's not going to stay up much longer. Or, at least, our connection beyond the fence."

"Oh," she said.

He reached forward and tucked some of her coppery brown hair behind her ear. "It'll be okay. Mom is a big girl. She can take care of herself. She probably doesn't have a way of connecting to the internet is all."

"But-"

"It's not something you should worry about. Mom is probably on her way right now. Okay?"

"...okay."

Less certain...

Zie's doubt had been growing exponentially. Horrace could feel her anger and resentment boiling under the surface. It was only a matter of time before the pressure built up and she exploded.

He ate his meal in silence as his sister carefully pretended he wasn't sticking to her like a burr on a border collie. Instead of occupying himself with conversation, he observed the tables around him.

The guards and maintenance crew all sat together-which made up basically all the available males. Cooks sat at the table closest to the kitchen, keeping their heads together and down. They didn't much like to be bothered.

Leadership was supposed to sit with their groups at dinner, but they seemed to all be congregating around Michael's table, which was soon flush with the cleaning crew girls who fluttered about like young butterflies.

Horrace was thankful Zie wasn't quite ready to be interested in those sorts of things yet. At least... he was pretty sure she wasn't.

"We're having a girls night, Horrace," Zie said before taking her last bite of blue jello. "Don't wait up."

"Loud and clear," he said with a mock salute. "Have fun."

She strolled away with her posse- the three other girls she worked with on the cleaning crew- and Horrace looked back to his scarcely touched food.

Shoveling dinner into his mouth as though it were gravel instead of food, he returned to watching the others from his empty table.

"Hey, Horrace," David said with a grin before sliding in across from him. The plate of jello in his tan hands glistened and wiggled as he set it down. "Over here all alone?"

"Zie was over here, but she wanted to spend some time with the other girls so she left me. Big brothers aren't cool until they bring home hot friends, you know?" He laughed, but his heart twinged just slightly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," David said. "The guys and I were going to have a fun night before we head out tomorrow afternoon."

"And by fun night, you mean party?"

"Yup. Not enough to have hangovers, mind you. Don't want those before we do a supply run. Just enough to get relaxed. I think a few of the kitchen crew were going to join us."

"Mind if I join?" asked a deeper voice, its Southern twang riddled throughout. "I've been craving some Jack."

David laughed. "Sure! The more the merrier! And, to be frank, the less alcohol to go around, the better. Don't want the lads going crazy now."

"Sounds good," Horrace said while flashing a grin. "Count me in."

"All right!" David held out his fist for Horrace to bump. "Party!"