A month passed and Yu had already gotten accustomed to life in the camp. He and a few other girls took on the task of looking after the younger children while the adults went to work. Honestly, he didn't like the idea of taking care of snotty, sheltered brats that didn't have a clue where they were. He tolerated it for the sake of his mother. Yu knew she would want him to be a part of this "family" that was forming so, he did the best he could to keep them in shape and out of trouble.

In the mornings, Yu and an eleven-year-old girl named Ada, would wake up early with the other women and follow them to a small shack where their food was served. They would both eat their breakfast with the adults and bring back portions for the smaller children. They would do this twice a day, in the morning and evening. That was the only time he was allowed to be outside. To eat and bring back food. He always looked forward to these times, to breath the fresh chilly air and to see the sky above him. He wished he could stay out all the time. He wished...that he was back at home with his mother.

"Brother Yu, I want to go outside with you and Sister Ada." A little boy said with pleading eyes.

"You can't. Only us bigger kids are allowed to go." Yu replied as he tied the laces on his worn-out shoes. "When you get to be my age, you'll be the one taking care of the younger ones."

It was evening and Yu and Ada were getting ready to join the older women for supper. A soldier would be arriving soon to escort them. They waited by the door, expecting to hear the locks open at any moment. Ten minutes passed as they stood, waiting patiently for their sliver of freedom. Another ten minutes went by.

"The soldiers are usually never late. Do you think something happened?" Ada asked, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"It is strange that someone hasn't come for us yet…" Yu replied.

He glanced over at the children that were occupied at the moment. If we miss our meal tonight, we'll have to wait all the way until morning to eat. The younger ones might not be able to wait that long and I know Ada and I are just as hungry. The door is locked from the outside so, there's no way to open it. Maybe…

Yu motioned for Ada to follow him. He took her over to the more rotted side of the building. He stopped in front of the wooden door he had broken the knob off of on the first day he was imprisoned at the concentration camp.

"In this room, there is a hole in the wall that one of us might be able to crawl out of. The door is stuck though." Yu explained.

Ada leaned down to the hole where the handle had been and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a gap in the wall that looked big enough to crawl through. She looked up at Yu with eyes that seemed to say, "No matter what, we've got to make this work." Without having to say a word, they both placed their hands on the wooden door and began pushing with all their might. No matter how hard the two pushed, the door didn't budge.

"Maybe this door was made to be pulled open instead of pushed in, Ada." Yu said, as he wiped his sweat from his hands onto his pants.

"But how? You already broke the handle." Ada reminded.

Yu wedged his hand into the hole where the knob once was and started to pull. He winced at the pain of the broken, jagged wood scraping across the backside of his hand as he pulled.

"Here, grab me from behind." He instructed, disregarding his now bleeding hand.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and began pulling with all her strength. It hurt. Oh god it hurt. Yu watched as the wood dug into his skin and little streams of blood dripped down his hand. The sound of cracking wood drew his attention away from the pain for a brief moment before toppling over as the door swung open and the dust and musty odor escaped the closet-like-room. He got to his feet and helped Ada up before looking back towards the children. I hope we didn't cause too much of a racket. He turned back to the, now open and slightly broken, door and stepped inside. Yu began carefully moving the boxes and rotting wood out of the way so as to make a clear path for Ada. As he moved the box obscuring the hole in the wall, a gush of cold air ran up his pant legs, giving him goosebumps. This was it. This was their way out.

"Ada, I want you to go straight to the adults and gather the food for the little ones, Alright?"

"What are you saying? You're coming with me aren't you?" Ada asked, worry lacing her words.

Yu shook his head, "I finally have a chance to be outside without a soldier hovering over me. I need to take this chance to investigate the camp and find out why no one came to get us. Please Ada, I know you can do it without me. The children are relying on you."

He patted the older girl on the shoulder and waited until she nodded her head in agreement. He then crawled out of the small gap into the cold and dark night, before Ada did the same.

The night air was chilly and the wind kept finding its way into his shirt and up his pants, making him shiver. After he had parted ways with Ada, he decided to cover their escape route with a piece of wood from the closet. He propped one of the less rotten pieces up against the outside wall and began his reconnaissance. The first place he wanted to go was the men's sleeping quarters. He had never been able to get close to it when commuting to where the women ate their meals. He stuck close to the sides of the buildings and dashed to the next one as soon as the coast was clear of soldiers. He made it to the men's building but, of course, the door leading inside was locked. He sighed in disappointment. In a couple years, he would be placed here with the rest of the men and he really wanted a look inside before that time came. He sighed once more before resuming his search.

Yu then ran over to a building with windows. Actually, it was the only building with windows he had seen. They were small and covered in the dust but, it was worth sneaking a peek inside. Yu could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he stood on the tips of his toes to peer through the glass. He could only make out silhouettes moving around the room and a dull light coming from a light bulb. He knew that it was probably pointless to try to see if he could hear anything but, it would also be pointless not to. Yu leaned his ear close to the corner of the window and closed his eyes to focus. At first, all he could hear was muffled talking. He placed his hand over his other ear to better his concentration and began to pick out words from the muffled sounds. Find him...whatever is takes...that child. His eyes snapped open as he heard those words. Have they found out that I'm missing?! If so, there must be soldiers already searching for me! His pulse quickened and adrenaline ran through his body as he felt a hand cover his mouth and jerk his head away from the window.

Yu screamed into the hand cupping his mouth but, it was no use. The hand did not show any intention of letting go. It only encouraged the grip to become stronger. His torso was being hugged tightly to restrict movement and when he attempted to turn his head to look at his kidnapper, they would forcefully push his head the other way.

After a while of struggling, Yu became tired and let his body relax in the kidnapper's grasp. In return, the hand released his mouth and the arm loosened around his middle.

"I thought you'd never calm down. Now that you have…"

The kidnapper leaned his head over to look Yu in the face. What with all that strength from before, Yu was expecting to see a man...but to his surprise...it was a boy. A boy that looked about his age.

"Are you surprised? I may not look it but, I'm really strong for my age!" The mysterious boy said.

"No kidding." Yu tried freeing himself from the arm that still held him in place. "Could you let go now?"

"Only if you promise you won't run away."

"...I promise."

"Swear it? Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Yes, I swear! Can you let go of me now!?"

The boy took his arm away and Yu rubbed his sore neck from being jerked every which way. He looked at the boy again. He was a little taller than Yu, much to his disappointment. His hair was blonde and his eyes were blue like the sky. He had seen blonde hair and blue eyes before but, never had he seen them like this. It was sort of...mesmerizing.

"Who are you?" Yu asked.

"I'd love to answer that question but, this isn't a good place to talk. Someone could find us." The blonde-haired boy grabbed Yu's hand as he spoke. "I'll show you a great place where no one will disturb us."

Both boys managed to slip around the camp undetected until they reached an old outhouse. The blonde boy took a small key out from inside his shirt pocket and opened the lock on the handle.

Once they both were inside, Yu immediately repeated his question. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it common courtesy to offer your own name first?"

Yu sighed with frustration. "My name is Yu. What's yours?"

"Yu-what?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a last name, don't you?"

"...I'm just...Yu. Now, tell me yours already!"

"Then, I'm just Mikaela." He grinned at Yu's irritation.

"Mikaera, why haven't I seen you since before now? You're around ten years old, aren't you?"

"I am, but I don't know why my age has anything to do with knowing you. I'm always being holed up in one of the central buildings. That's probably why we've never seen one another."

Yu looked confused. "Well, that sure is weird. All the kids under twelve stay in a building together...while the women go off to do work. If you're always cooped up, why were you outside tonight?"

"Because I was tired of being by myself. I thought I might find someone to talk to if I left. And I did!"

Yu ceased talking and thought hard to himself. If he's ten, he should be with the other children. Why isn't he? Then, could it mean that he isn't a prisoner here? Does it also mean that he was the one the soldiers were sent to find?

"Hey." Yu pointed a finger towards Mikaela. "You're the one everyone is looking for right? It seems to me, that the reason the soldiers didn't come to escort me and my friend was because they were busy trying to find you!"

Mikaela shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about but, your hand is bleeding, you know."

Yu looked down at the hand pointing towards the other boy and just as he said, it was bleeding. He hadn't realized he still had an injury from using it as a handle. After acknowledging the wound, the pain became apparent as he held it close to his chest and applied pressure. Although it hurt, Yu hadn't the faintest urge to cry. A flesh wound wasn't nearly as painful as being mentally scarred from the sight of soldiers mercilessly slaughtering people. This was nothing in comparison.

"You know, you act a lot older than you actually are." The blonde said.

"Well, I have to. It's my job to be the big brother and take care of the littler ones. I doubt you'd understand that responsibility at this age, Mikaera." Yu said as he hissed at the stinging sensation of his hand.

"...Say my name again."

"Mikaera?"

"No no, you're saying it weird. It's Mikaela. Try it."

"M-mi..." Yu's cheeks flared as he turned his head away in embarrassment. "I can't! Stop making fun of me when you know I can't pronounce it!"

"I'm not making fun of you." Mikaela scratched the back of his head. "Why don't you call me Mika instead?"

"Mika?"

"Yeah! Isn't it cute~?"

Yu chuckled and shook his head. "I can manage that. Hey...it's getting really late. I have someone who's probably worried and wondering where I am. I need to go."

Yu checked to see if his hand was still bleeding before releasing the pressure. Seeing that his wound clotted, he started for the door when a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"We will see each other again, won't we?" Mikaela's voice sounding desprate. "It's fun talking with you..."

"Sigh. I might be able to sneak out again tomorrow. You think you can?"

"Yes! I'll find some way to make it work!"

"Alright. I'll see you then."

Mikaela smiled. "See you then!"

Yu waited until the coast was clear before darting out of the outhouse and disappearing into the night. Just when he thought he had gotten some answers, new questions flooded his mind.