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"Sweetie," he calls, "sweetie--come here!" He punctuates the last tords with the baton He can’t get to e--

Tildon stands suddenly and seizes the front of the kennel and hauls it toward him, the center of the small room The scream that leaves ainst the ce in the eht with a satisfied grunt, a set away froh the bars, considering I have to forceaway froet out of this--think, Sa peres to return toquality to it now, each word clipped "Officer Tildon is here to relieve me"

Tildon’s breath whistles as it’s sucked in between his teeth He twists around, pinning Lucas with a look of such undisguised ine how both of them alk out of here alive

The instinctive panic s them Tildon is here in a way thatperet it The power is on The camera is operational The Control Tower must know he’s here They just don’t care

Don’t! I want to screaet out!

He tried, though He tried My throat is thick with the need to cry, I’rateful

Neither of them has moved, and I’m too much of a coward to make a sound and break the tense silence Tildon is still, frozen, his hand still dangling inches abovein his ear For the first time, I wonder ifthis room from the moment the power came back on

Lucas turns around slowly, crossing the short distance to the door He pops it open and holds it; the roo in the cold air Doesn’t say a word, just waits His eyes never once leave Tildon

"You stupid little shit," the PSF seethes "Don’t think I’ll forget--"

"Our orders," Lucas says without an ounce of war--like there are two different boys trapped in his body The last traces of fizzing brightness I’d felt with him fade and die completely

Tildon looks down at me and, before I can turn away, spits inelse he’s done tomyself inside the cramped space to wipe every last trace of his over ain until he finally crosses the roos shut and locks behind the and no one but the walls around her and higher until the ache in ins to answer back

It seems impossible, but I sleep

It’s the shallow kind, one that I dip in and out of until I finally feel more exhausted than I did at the start The day has cut ht coht from the storm is stained a deep violet My back is stiff no ine ritback out of reality

By the tione out of e digs into ain There’s no way forto see save for a prick of red light on the door where the electronic lock is Instead, every other sense sharpens to fill in the gaps The s out of the s food My belly craer andHow long did they say I have in here? This ine Lucas? The fear takes hold of ht It wouldn’t have been the first ti for es now, tucked behind the old ones I close ain I remember every curve and dimple so clearly, I think I could paint him into the air, back into existence I wish I could have trapped the sound of his singing in my head

I draw in another breath Real I can’t tell if this has all been a dreaiven this one s its best to quickly burn the fire out inme back down into this reality

The odds are I will never have the opportunity to speak with hi as we’re both here Sohinize each other, for hio out--ht I didn’t appreciate it enough while he was here If I could go back and live those few ain, I’d have paid closer attention to his sht side of his chin, the way the war on what he was talking about