Dancing ribbons of light streamed in from the half-opened shutters. Dawn had finally arrived.
Some of the others were still asleep, judging from the sound of the soft snores. I was aware that the Careers were awake though. Their bodies had been trained so that an alarm would ring inside before the break of dawn. I noticed how they were all keeping their silence, watchful gazes still on the new boy. It was like all of us were collectively holding our breaths, waiting to see who would approach the boy first.
He still showed no signs of noticing our presence. He lay limp on the ground, one arm hugging his knee, the other acting as a pillow for his head. Shivering. And then suddenly, he stirred.
The cold bit every part of my exposed skin. I had used up all of my energy crying my heart out (and no, I am not the least bit ashamed) that I had deemed myself too tired to keep my eyelids open for a second longer and fell asleep.
It wasn't until morning that I woke and realized I wasn't alone.
The first thing I saw when my eyes cracked open was the slight gleam, the shine of other pairs of eyes. I was wide awake and alert in an instant. I didn't know to whom –or what- those pairs of eyes belonged to, but if they turned out to be foes, then I was hopelessly outnumbered 10 to 1.
Slowly, light streamed in and filled the room, enough so that I could make out the figures of the others. Unmistakably human. Children. Around the same age as I am. I found there were more of them than I thought first. There were around 20, some still asleep, the others watching me silently.
It went on like this, a staring contest, for what seemed like an eternity.
Then one of them moved towards me.
I sort of crawled gingerly towards him. I couldn't help it; my feet buckled, unable to support my weight after days of being cramped in an uncomfortable position. There wasn't much reason -or space- for us to move around, what with such a small and bare room. The lone window, when the shutters weren't down, showed not much scenery. Just a continuous expanse of yellow, dry sand.
He probably interpreted this as an incoming attack, for he scrambled back hurriedly, terror plain on his face. He held up his hand, right in front of his chest, ready to fend me off if needed.
I hurried to assure him I wasn't trying to hurt him. "I'm not gonna hurt you, it's okay."
At least, that was what I INTENDED to say. But my throat was parched from thirst and lack of use so that what came out was a series of croaks. The boy looks even more petrified now -apparently convinced I'm a monster.
Yikes. That was a bad start.
It was a girl that moved. I didn't know for sure, but judging from her long hair I'd say my guess was pretty accurate.
She crawled towards me.
Crawled.
For heaven's sake, why on earth is she crawling?!
Her sudden movement caught me by surprise and I instinctively moved back, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. She must've seen how she had frightened me, for she came to a halt.
And then she opened her mouth and spoke. I was expecting words, English, but no. What came out was raspy croaks and hacks.
I knew it. I was in a room full of mutts. And that –that thing— moving towards me is one of them.
"No! No! Leave me alone!" I shouted at her, making wild gesticulations with my arms to fend her off .
And then she spoke again. But this time, I could actually make out words. "Okay, okay! I didn't mean to scare you! Sorry! I'll leave now!"
She then retreated slowly back, eyes never leaving mine.
"W-wait," I called out feebly. She stopped and tilted her head slightly to the side, gesturing for me to go on. "A-are you… human?"
Deafening silence enveloped us, broken only by the ringing sound of her laughter. I can see all the others waking up now, bewildered faces staring at the laughing girl in front of me. It was clear that laughter hasn't been heard within the confines of these walls for a long time.
"Of course I'm a human, silly," she hiccupped, still giggling. She thrust out her hand, smiled and said, "I'm Savannah. Savannah White."
I stared at her outstretched hand, half-expecting it to turn green and scaly. She waited patiently, smiling at me all the way. Gingerly, I took her hand and shook it.
"I'm Drake. Drake Oblivion."
She beamed at me and heat rise up to my cheeks. Her small, almond-shaped eyes were ringed with dark circles from many sleepless nights, and her body was too thin, emaciated. Her cheeks were sunken, the curls in her hair limp, but when she smiled I could picture her in the radiance of her health and beauty, before her time spent here in captivity. I saw her with round, red cheeks, dark hair flowing vivaciously down her back. I couldn't help but think she was rather pretty.
I allowed myself a little smile, though I was too embarrassed to look at her squarely in the eye.
"Nice meeting you Drake."
So.. what do you think? Do you want me to continue with this? Another 3 more chapters perhaps? Let me know :)
