Chapter 4 – Continued

I cursed softly as I let my eyelids close, recognizing I still had on yesterday’s clothes.  I needed a shower too, but that would have to wait.  That task requested more energy than I could muster.  Sleep.  That’s what I needed-

“HEY WARREN!  WANT TO GO TO THE GAME ROOM?”

I cursed, jolting from my bed.  Another stream of profanity followed.  Sick, dizzy, nauseous, but awake, I peered through tears of fatigue at a figure standing in the doorway.  As I wiped the water away from my eyes, I could see that the figure was only Silas, grinning away like a buffoon.

“Want to go to the game room?” he repeated, ignorant to my anger.  Tommy stood behind him, quietly containing his laughter.  I screamed internally.

“Hell no I don’t want to go to the game room!” I bellowed.  “What did it seem like I was doing?  I was sleeping, you idiot!”

It was like a physical slap to Silas.  Baffled and indignant, he mumbled an apology and quickly shuffled away.  Tommy remained, air escaping his mouth dangerously as a laugh grew inside him. 

He let the laugh stream from his lips.  “Oh man,” he gasped in between breaths.  “You shot up about a foot when Silas pounded in.  It was hilarious!”  He came into the room and crawled on his bottom bunk.

My body twisted with anger.  My fatigue and anger formed hundreds of insults to throw at him, but to prevent my brain and mouth from exploding, I brought up a question instead.  “Why the hell are you here, Tommy?  Why don’t you go play with Silas?”

“Nah, I came here to answer that question you asked me.  Couldn’t let your question go unanswered, could I?”

“What question?” I grumbled.  I began to clumsily change out of my clothes to tempt my hands away from strangling him.

“Why, have you forgot?” Tommy questioned mockingly.  “You asked if I ever contacted my family while I was here.  My reply is ‘no.’ I haven’t found a single phone in this school that works.  Both snail mail and email seem worthless.  Currently, I think we have no way of contacting the outside world.”

“You see?” I asked excitedly.  “There is something wrong with this school!”

“Oh, I seriously doubt that, Warren,” Tommy snorted.  “If anything, the school is normal because it has a problem.  A lack of communication doesn’t mean the school is shrouded in evil.  If I were you, I’d drop this stupid thing and get on with life.  Those kids who left this school are probably back at home, laughing at us who still have to be here.”

I was dumbfounded by his stubbornness.  I wanted to fight him, to tell him he was an idiot, but a small force of common sense told me I couldn’t budge his opinion.  Sighing, I looked at Tommy.  “Okay, you’re probably right.  I’m sorry I started all this.  Are we still friends?”

He smiled.  “Of course we’re still friends.  We’re not going to let one misunderstanding break our friendship.”  He sprang from his bed and landed a soft punch on my shoulder.  “Hey, want to go to the game room?” he asked jokingly just as he was about to exit the dorm.

“That’s okay, Tommy,” I answered sleepily.  “I think I’ll just go back to bed.  Have fun.”

“Thanks.”  The door closed, separating the idiot and I.

Shaking my head at my friend’s arrogance, I creaked off my bed and teetered to the bathroom.  While I showered, I contemplated the day’s events and tried to decide tomorrow’s.  I had no clue how to continue my investigation, but I knew I couldn’t trust anyone to help me.  That was already proven with Tommy’s reaction.

Once I was back in my bed, I cleared my thoughts.  Tomorrow’s troubles would be dealt with tomorrow.  Now I needed to sleep to make up for the food I didn’t eat.  I would need more energy the next day if I wanted to continue my diet.  Hopefully I would get enough.

* * * * * *

The next day proved to be just as tiring as the one before it.  I constantly studied my surroundings, but I found nothing new.  I confirmed every teacher wore a sapphire necklace, but other than that, nothing.  Meanwhile, my stomach continued to battle the toxins in the food to let me have control over my mind.

“Do you think Wayne will come back?” Butch sighed that night at dinner as the two of us sat alone.  I had already eaten my portion of dinner, so I had given him the half of a steak I wouldn’t eat.  He devoured it.  It seemed nothing could satisfy his sympathy hunger.

“I don’t know,” I replied.  Butch had asked me that question many times already, but I always had responded with the same answer.

“Something’s wrong with this school, Warren,” he mumbled through bleary eyes.  “Why would they take away such a nice guy as Wayne?”  He watched me desperately, yearning for a comforting answer.

“I can’t answer that question, Butch.”  I couldn’t lie to the poor guy no matter how much the truth hurt him.  “However, I will try to find it out, and once I have that information, I’ll tell you.  I promise.”

“I’m not sure it would matter,” he murmured.  “The truth is best not known, as some say, right?” He tried to chuckle, but it came out broken.  “Besides, I don’t know how long I’d remember the truth.  I don’t even know how long I’ll remember Wayne.”

I sat stunned.  Did he know what was happening?

“I know why you’ve been giving me your food lately,” he continued, confirming my thoughts.  “You know if you eat the food, you’ll slowly lose your memory, but you also know if you don’t eat your food, you’ll be punished.  You solved the problem by giving your food to me.  I’d lose my head while you kept yours.”

“Butch, that’s not true—”

“Don’t worry about it, Warren; I know you need someone to eat your food, and I’m glad it is me.”  He laughed again dejectedly and paused for a time.  “We need someone to figure out what’s going on, and maybe that person is you, so I’ll eat this extra food.”

I tried to say something, but then the intercom sputtered on.  Silence engulfed the entire room.

“Hello students,” announced a familiar spine-chilling voice.  “I need to call a few more students.  I’d like to see Allison and Wendy Sands in my office.  That is all students; good night.”

“My God, in just two days…” whispered a student. 

“My God” was right.  Ms Risped had called the Sands twins to her office.  Not only had she surprised us with an unexpectedly early calling, but she took two children instead of one!  Both were US students too!

I sprang from the table and quickly tossed my trash away.  As I moved past my table, Butch watched me, curious.

Where are you going, Warren?” he cried, sounding sad and indignant.

“Where do you think I’m going?” I asked as I stopped, a smile spreading across my face.  “I’m going to find Wayne.”

As I turned and headed out of the cafeteria, I swore I could see a trace of happiness shine from Butch’s eyes.

Chapter 4 – End

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