With a grunt of exasperation, a fair skinned brunette plopped down in to a wooden chair, propping his elbow on the table next to it. "Can we finish da game already?" he cried.
Another dark haired newsie sat a couple chairs away. "No joke, let's get dis game goin."
"Come on guys, we gotta see if Joey's alright. Jack'll be back in a few minutes." A third, lighter haired boy added, adjusting his thin-rimmed glasses.
The first boy sighed, scrunching his face in to a ball of impatience. "You hoid what Kloppman said, he'll be fine. Jist needs some rest, dat's all."
"He's jist a kid, Race. And you know how he looks up ta Jack…jist let 'im talk to da squirt." Mush chimed in, coming down the stairs. Chloe was close behind.
The disgruntled brunette, Racetrack, pulled out the chair next to him as Mush sauntered towards the table. "Take a seat Mush. Yer friend can sit next to ya."
Mush nodded and took his place at the table. Chloe hesitantly pulled back the chair on the other side of him, and sat down. Putting his hand on the back of her chair, Mush cleared his throat, "Guys, dis heah's Chloe. She brought Joey in wit 'er cousin, Dora." A quiet bark sounded from beneath the table. Mush looked for the source of the sound, and retrieved the now-dry dog. "Oh, yeah. And Poppy."
The boy with the glasses, seated next to Chloe, grinned her way. "My name's Specs." Chloe gave a slight nod.
"I answah to Itey." Said the dark haired boy seated on the other side of Specs: Another nod.
All eyes turned to the remaining boy, who was shuffling through and arranging the cards in his hand. Sensing the sudden attention, he lifted his dark eyes. "Oh. Sorry." He grinned at Chloe, "Racetrack."
Chloe mumbled a hello to them all, and began to tap her foot nervously. She glanced towards the ceiling. Mr. Kloppman had helped her find a bed and sheets, which Dora was presently making good use of. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor brought her attention back to the table. The boy with the cowboy hat, Jack, had claimed the chair across from her, wearing an amiable smirk. "Let's finish dis."
"Bout time," Itey said under his breath.
The heat was nearly unbearable. His skin writhed with pain, and he let out a cry. Turning to find a way out, he only found himself going deeper and deeper in to the smoky depths. A piercing scream cut to the center of his brain, bringing him to his knees. Flames crept toward him. He tried to stand, but the scream would grow louder and his legs could no longer support him. Just as the flames began to crawl up his seething body, a new sound echoed through the fiery pit; a soft, and distant lullaby.
Dora rolled over, awake from her nap. She brought a little hand to her eye and rubbed the sleep away. Yawning, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Chloe and Mr. Kloppman had found an empty bottom bunk towards the back of a long row of beds. Still tired, Dora searched the room groggily, squinting in the dim light. A soft moan brought her attention to a bed a few spaces away. Lightly hopping to the floor, she inched towards the other bunk. A boy, years older than her, was covered by a thin blanket, rolling and twisting in his sleep. He looked like he was in pain, and Dora tilted her head, looking at him intently. She knew this face, he looked somehow familiar. She also knew the rolling and twisting- the poor boy was having a nightmare.
Dora was familiar with nightmares- she was plagued by them when she was younger. Carefully, Dora climbed on to the bed next to the boy and put his head on her tiny lap, as her mother had done to her countless times. Smoothing the boys' damp hair back from his forehead, Dora began to quietly sing the song her mother had once used to cure her of her nightmares.
The boy slowly stopped twisting. His face relaxed, releasing the painful look. Dora continued to rub the boys head as she finished her lullaby. Again remembering her mothers' nightmare cure, the little girl bent and gently kissed the boys' forehead. With that, she tiptoed back to her bunk, and slipped under the covers once again.