Thanks to Lilagrace and rubydoo for their reviews...

Also, thanks to rubydoo for reviewing Valentine's Day...

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Tom sat against the wall, knees drawn inward towards his chest; he had been in this position for a long time now, and luckily nothing had happened yet. But he knew something would; things had been happening since he and Doug had been thrown into this Hellhole and there was no doubting that there was more to come.

He was staring straight at the door, trembling from cold or fear, or both. He guessed the latter, but didn't want to admit to being afraid; although he knew there was plenty to be afraid of. He just didn't want to admit it.

Not yet.

Then the door seemed to be moving and Tom froze, eyes glued to the wooden structure; if he was just imagining it, he was safe. If he wasn't, then anything could happen.

He wasn't.

The door opened slowly and a teen aged boy clad in the soldiers' uniform entered. Nobody followed, and he wasn't armed, but Tom knew anybody wearing that uniform meant trouble.

"Doug," Tom hissed loudly, trying to shake his friend awake. "Doug!" he tried again. now was

He was afraid now, and not scared to admit it.

He was afraid of the soldiers, afraid of dying, and afraid of anything else in this place. He was afraid that one of the soldiers was here with him and Doug wouldn't wake up.

"Doug!" the officer yelled so loud that he startled himself. The boy stopped and stared at the young officer, surprised at his sudden outburst; Doug awoke suddenly with a bolt, eyes wide and darting around the room quickly. He only relaxed when his gaze fell upon the intruder. He gave a nod, glancing at Tom, and the boy continued forward, pulling his hat from his head.

"Doug," Tom whispered fearfully, clutching at his friend's arm.

"It's okay Tommy; he's okay, he's just bringing food. He's the one who brought it last time."

Tom relaxed at Doug's words, but still watched the boy nervously as he pulled something from his hat and placed it on the ground a few feet away.

Then he was gone; the door shut silently, with a single click following to signal it was once again locked.

Doug moved forward then and grabbed the food, unwrapping it as he made his way back to the wall. He sat against the wall beside Tom, and once again broke a larger piece off for his friend.

"Thanks," Tom mumbled, biting into the hard pita-like food.

"Not bad," Doug spoke up. It tasted like bread, but with a sour taste. He didn't mind, though; he was just grateful to have something to eat. "Tastes a bit sour, though. But it's kinda good."

"Yeah," Tom agreed. He felt sick and didn't really feel like eating any more.

"You okay?" Doug asked, turning to face the younger man.

"Yeah. Just not that hungry, I guess," Tom responded, passing the food to Doug. "Here, you can have it."

"You gotta eat somethin' Tommy," Doug said, pushing Tom's hands away. He wasn't going to take away the only food his friend had. No matter how hungry he was.

"I can't, I feel sick, man," Tom continued, pushing his share into Doug's chest and letting the food fall into the lap of the older man.

"Oh," Doug responded, a little worried at Tom's sudden sickness. "Well - Just try and sleep it off or something, okay?"

"I-I'm not tired, Doug. I just wanna go home."

Doug sighed and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Me too. And I swear I'm gonna get us there. No matter what."

"Yeah," Tom mumbled, struggling out of his friend's hold. He didn't like the feeling the simple grip had done; it had made him feel trapped. And feeling trapped made him feel scared and alone.

He didn't want to be alone.

"Sorry," Doug said quickly, remembering Tom's earlier outburst at being touched.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah," Doug replied.

Tom pushed himself into a corner and pulled his knees to his chest once again. He had positioned himself so he was facing the solitary window of the room, and now stared out it, blocking out everything else around him. Staring out into 'freedom' made him feel safe; it made him feel like he was finally free. Even though he knew he wasn't, and that he probably never would be.