Chapter 4: The Dream and the Quarrel

           Kye stepped out from behind the door frame. His eyes squinted into the sun’s dazzling light. He walked onto the green grass of the courtyard and felt it beneath his feet; it was soft and cool. He lifted his head into the slow breeze and inhaled deeply to feel the crisp autumn air fill his lungs.

            His eyes now fully adjusted, he saw the fence all around the courtyard and noticed the dazzling color of everything around him. Kye twirled around and looked up at the towering building he had just exited. A few stories up, he could make out the room where he had sat with Connor and looked out over this very courtyard not so long ago; how much bigger it looked from down here.

            Then, Kye heard a voice from in front of him and looked back in to the entry way of the building. Connor marched from within and stopped before Kye; he looked as happy and energetic as ever. Kye leaned forward and fell into the arms of his friend. He could feel the happiness and anticipation radiating between them as they thought together about their newfound freedom.

            Kye pulled away and noticed that Connor’s shirt was open more than usual. There were no scars! They had all healed! Kye looked up into Connor’s eyes and smiled. Then, filled with a sense of purpose, he swung around and began walking towards the courtyard gate with Connor at his side. They lifted the latch together and swung the iron gates forward with a mighty swoosh. As they stepped over the threshold, a woman ran by pushing a baby in a strolled. Two men walked past laughing, wrapped in joyous conversation. A man whizzed by one his bike, waving to the two boys as he went. Kye recognized all of these people from his days in the Lookout with Connor.

            Kye whipped around to face Connor, preparing for a fiery conversation about what to do first with their new lives. Instead, his eyes met a face twisted in distressed. Connor choked feebly as his face contorted in pain. Kye’s expression quickly changed to one of horror as he looked down to see a deep red stain spreading over Connor’s chest. Connor dropped to his knees clutching his chest, and Kye saw Mr. Chernoff, looking furious, sprinting through the courtyard toward them behind Connor.

            Kye screamed at the world around them to send help as he rushed to his friend’s side and clutched him tight, trying to stop the bleeding. He sat helplessly shouting at Connor to stay as he felt the last dregs of life slipping from the body of his best friend. An ambulance flung around the corner of the street; its coarse, biting alarm pounded in Kye’s ears as he saw Mr. Chernoff extend his arm out towards the two boys…

            And all was darkness. Yet, the alarm from the ambulance did not fade.

            Kye opened his eyes and found himself back in his cramped room. The alarm from the medical vehicle still pounded wildly in his ears. Groggily, he stood up, walked to the desk, and pounded his fist on the alarm clock which promptly fell silent. The ambulance siren was cut short.

            The boy leaned feebly against the desk and breathed deeply as he assessed what he had just seen. It had been a dream; it had been so nice…so freeing…until the end, of course. Kye closed his eyes tight and grit his teeth together willing himself to forget the scene of Connor on the ground. If ever there was a time when Kye wanted a memory wipe, it was now.

            Determined to occupy his mind, Kye decided it was better to head to breakfast than to sit in this room. He looked to his bed to find Shadow still curled around himself in deep slumber, apparently undisturbed by the alarm clock or any unwanted night terrors. Kye reached down and scooped Shadow, how meowed weakly, into his arms. And, opening his now unlocked door, he set off to the Dining Hall.

v   

            The moment Connor rushed towards Kye as he entered the Dining Hall, Kye saw the scene he had just witnessed swimming before his eyes. This only served to strengthen the resolution he had made as he sat at the table waiting for Connor to arrive: he would not �" could not �" tell Connor what he had dreamt. At least for now, it was unimportant.

            Connor took his place across from Kye after obtaining his tray of food and greeted his friend with a cheery “Good morning!” before digging into the food before him. Kye, on the other hand, had very little appetite.

            “Are you going to eat that?” Connor asked Kye while his mouth was still half full.

            Kye shook his head. “Knock yourself out,” he said as he pushed his tray closer to Connor.

            Connor smiled a big cheesy grin as his thanks and began picking food off Kye’s plate. For a split second as Connor leaned over the table eating, Kye caught glimpses of the scars and wounds that lay across his chest; he winced at the sight.

            “Is everything okay? Are you not hungry or something?” Connor sounded concerned. No doubt he noticed the strange mood Kye was in; his uneasiness hung thick in the air.

            “Everything’s fine. I’m just…tired,” Kye lied.

            “Yeah. Right,” Connor responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Come on, Kye. You think I can’t notice when something is up?”

            “I swear I’m fine. I’ve just…been thinking a lot. That’s all.”

            “About?” Connor was no longer eating. He watched Kye closely.

            Kye hesitated. “Well…everything, I guess. This is a lot to take in.”

            Connor’s eyes bore into Kye’s, and Kye felt as if they were searching the farthest reaches of his mind. Kye pulled his eyes from Connor and stared at the table that was reserved for The Empty where a tall redhead was wildly recounting an (apparently) highly amusing story to the others at the table. Kye could still feel Connor looking at him. After a moment’s pause, Connor broke the silence.

            “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

            Kye turned back to look at him. He sounded unconvinced, but nevertheless resumed the attack on his breakfast.

            Silence fell over the table for a short while as Connor ate heartily, and Kye picked small morsels from his plate and placed them in his mouth; it was all that his stomach could handle at the moment.

            “Hey,” Kye said at length, “do you want to go to the Lookout after this?”

            Connor stopped in his tracks and placed his utensils back on the table. “Uh…”

            “What’s wrong?” Kye asked, noting the sad expression on Connor’s face.

            “Well, it’s just that…we only have time to do that at dinner. We’re required to return to our rooms immediately after breakfast; same deal at lunch.”

            “You mean - ….you mean we only get to see each other while we eat?”

            “Yeah…I’m sorry. I should’ve told you before, but I forgot. I know it’s a short time.”

            “So we’re cooped up in our rooms almost all the time then?” Kye asked, half rhetorically, his indignation rising at the thought of this injustice. He was not ready to return to his cell and be faced once again with thoughts of horror and sadness. Connor was the only happiness in his life right now.

            “Most days, yeah,” Connor answered.

            Kye dropped his eyes to his lap and he felt his cheeks become warm as he held back tears.

            “Hey…hey. It’s okay,” Connor cooed from across the table. “It’ll…it’ll just make us appreciate dinner more,” he smiled. “We’ll make the most of it.”

            As breakfast wound to a close, Kye slipped back into the quiet, confused mood he had adopted at the beginning of the meal. Kye walked with Connor to the entrance of the stairwell. Connor pressed Kye tight against his chest, squishing Shadow slightly between them.

            “You know you can talk to me about anything, don’t you?” Connor spoke softly, still holding Kye.

            Kye hesitated as he thought about the dream he had.

            “Of course,” Kye answered.

            Only then did Connor let go. He took one last look at Kye and disappeared down the stairs without another word.

v   

            Kye set off along the nearly deserted corridor toward his room. As he rounded a corner, he heard voices raised in heated conversation.

            “Oh, you just wait until Mr. Chernoff hears what you’ve been saying about him,” said a high, haughty voice. “He just loves dealing with insubordinates.”

            “No, Genevieve, please! It was just a joke,” pleaded another voice.

            “Some sick sense of humor, you have,” retorted Genevieve. “Questioning Alvah’s authority is absolutely not tolerated.”

            “Oh, so you’re on a first name basis with him, I see?” spat the second voice.

            “Of course I am!” shrieked the high voice of Genevieve. “You do yourself no good by arguing with me, Amy!”

            At this point, Kye stopped with his back pressed against the wall. He was at a bend in the corridor and could tell that the voices were coming from just around it.

            He slowly and cautiously peeped his head ever so slightly around the corner to get a glimpse of the scene. Two girls, both red faced and furious, stood very close together. The shorter one, Amy, stared up with defiance into the eyes of the taller Genevieve. Kye recognized Genevieve as the member of The Empty that he had seen talking animatedly to the others at her table during breakfast. The two girls stared at each other until Amy spoke some moments later.

            “And to think we were once friends!” Amy hissed.

            She spun fast on her heels and marched in Kye’s direction (who promptly withdrew his head and pressed himself against the wall again) and left Genevieve standing alone, sputtering unintelligible phrases and profanities.

            Amy rushed past Kye without even noticing or acknowledging him due to her fury and embarrassment. Kye took a quick pause before slowly rounding the corner to get to his room. He gave his best attempt at looking as innocent as possible, as if he had heard nothing of the conversation that had just taken place. Genevieve caught sight of him almost immediately.

            “WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING IN THE CORRIDOR!?” she shrieked, her head of bushy red hair whipping in his direction. “Get to your room now, before I feel the need to report you too!”

            Kye shuffled hurriedly past her without so much as a word or a glance in her direction. He heard the mumble of something that sounded like “Stupid boy” before he entered his room and closed the door, which latched itself behind him.