“I’m so hungry!” whispered the young child.

He was nestled in a small bed next to a slightly older boy. The older child shook his head gently and pointed at the clock.

“Not until morning, Zeke. Go to sleep.” he said.

Zeke leaned forward and held his stomach.

“But you know I can’t sleep if my stomach won’t let me!” he pleaded.

Zeke started to crawl out of bed but the older boy grabbed his thin arm tightly. Zeke gasped in sudden pain.

“Zeke!” the older boy whispered harshly, “You know that the children aren’t allowed out of bed before the sun comes up.”

Zeke eyed the window shamefully. The sky was dark but along the horizon was the sun’s powerful light starting to peek over. Obediently, Zeke allowed the older boy to pull him back onto the bed. He laid down and pulled the covers over his body. The other child stayed seated next to him. Zeke looked up and admired the clocks slow ticking. He had noticed this many times before. He turned to face the older boy, who, still was unmoved.

“Dex?” he asked, “When are we gonna’ get out of here?”

The older boy lowered his eyes at the sound of his own name. Dex didn’t respond to the question. He didn’t believe that Zeke would like the answer. Instead, he stood up slowly and looked at Zeke through the corner of his eye.

“You still hungry?” he asked in a soothing tone.

Zeke nodded eagerly.

“Okay…” Dex breathed, “I’ll go get you something.”

Zeke clasped his small hands together as Dex walked away into the kitchen. One of the other children stirred and caused Zeke to take notice. Even though she was asleep, Zeke still spoke to her.

“Not until morning,” he mimicked, “Go to sleep.”

He grinned at himself. Repeating Dex’s words made Zeke aware that Dex was still gone. He peered at the door that Dex had walked through. The clocks ticking seemed to become louder as Zeke grew uneasy. He held the soft blanket against his body.

“Dex?” he asked the darkness.

No answer. He got up from the mattress.

“Dex?” He repeated?

Nothing.

Nervously, Zeke shuffled to the door. He reached for the rusted handle but something stopped him. He dropped his head; his black hair covering his blue eyes. He rested his forehead on the wood as he stared at his gray socks. It seemed like there was nothing better to do while listening to Dex’s soft crying. Each sob and gasp of air brought Zeke’s head lower and lower… lower… lower-

“Fuck…”, a much older Zeke spoke in his sleep, “Don’t cry.”

He reached his long arm to his hairline and wiped away the cold sweat. His hair was spiked lightly but still looked as it did in his dream. He then stretched his arm in front of him; trying to reach for the door in his head. Instead of the cold metal, he grabbed the warmth of a slender hand. Startled, he opened his eyes and shot up. The black sheet slipped of his chest, revealing a slight build.

“Justine?” he gasped.

Holding his hand was a girl who looked to be in her older teens. She smiled on put her other hand on top of his.

“Yeah, sorry. I came in to wake you up…Talking in your sleep again.” she said.

He got up from his bed and walked over to the window. Even though she was in the room with him, he didn’t care that he was in nothing more than his boxers and socks.

“Again?”

She nodded and smiled. She had been blushing. Zeke’s appearance seemed to affect her. He grabbed a pair of faded black jeans and pulled them on.

“Sorry ‘bout that… I guess I can’t help it, you know?” he replied.

By now, Justine was standing up, turned away. She brushed her short brown hair behind her ears.

“It’s no problem really.” she said quickly. He pulled on a rather tight shirt over his head.

“Well, thanks for waking me up, Steen.” he said looking over.

She didn’t turn. He walked over and was about to put his hand on her shoulder but she stepped forward. She grabbed the doorknob and spoke to Zeke.

“I’m going to hang out with Amanda today. You know… you can come.”

He looked at his socks and slowly held his side with his left hand. He hated making her feel uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and said,

“Only if it’s okay with you.”

She nodded and quickly walked out, closing the door. Alone again, he dropped to his warm bed. His long legs were draped off the side and his arms were folded across his chest. He wanted to go back to his dream; go back to comfort Dex this time. However he was unable to go back to sleep. At least, not fast enough.

“I should’ve opened the door when I had the chance.” Zeke said aloud.

For the next few minutes he just laid there, eyes closed. He was in deep concentration.

Why didn’t I open the door?, he thought.

He rolled on his side from the sudden feeling he received. It was a warm tingly sensation that ran down his spine. The warmth forced a sigh from his lips. He opened his eyes in confusion. He had never felt anything like that before but, oddly, would do anything to feel it again. Yet, he didn’t’ try because he was scared of what brought that feeling upon him; thinking about Dex.