Coup D'état *Discontinued

Day Seven

I awoke the next morning pressed against Nat’s side.

                The sun was just creeping up into the fields. Its rays peaked through the thick stalks, pushing the shadows away from us. I stirred slowly. My tongue ran over my dry, cracked lips. Running a hand through my hair, I straightened into a normal seating position.

                My eyes landed on Nat who was staring off into the sun impassively. I scooted myself against the wall, next to his body. I watched him silently, waiting until he turned his head to face me. His face was much closer than I had expected.

                “Good morning.” I whispered, self-conscious of my morning breath.

                He grunted back a response. 

                I waited a few moments before daring another question, “Uh… do you have any idea what time it is?”

                He shook his head slowly.

                It seemed as I was disturbing him from some intense train of thought he had, but I knew that we needed to get back to the cabin before someone caught us.

                Just when I was about to voice my thoughts, Nat stood up abruptly, looking down at me. He held out a hand for me to grab, quickly pulling me into a stance.

                “We need to get back before they begin breakfast.”

                “Do we even know how to get back to our cabin?”

                A scowl crossed his face, “When you’ve been stuck in this hell hole for as long as I have, you learn the pattern of the houses.”

                I didn’t bring up anymore of the topic. I knew that Nat didn’t like the fact that he was so familiar with this planet. None of us did. It wasn’t our home. We didn’t like being forced onto this foreign world and degraded as much as we were.

                Nat and I started back in silence. We wove in and around the cabins in various patterns, trying to blend in with any crowds. I hadn’t realized just how close to the Mess Hall our cabin had been until I had to walk there from the farthest cabin away.

                I pitied whoever lived there.

                Nat led the way back to our cabin, but by the time we had returned, it was nearly deserted. Two people hung out in the back, leaning against the beds.

                As soon as we walked in, both of them sat up abruptly.

                “Nat.” The older one, Eddie, said. His face was slightly singed on the side as if he’d tangled too closely with fire.

                I frowned with speculation.

                Nat’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of Eddie, rushing over to the elderly man. The younger boy who I had yet found a name for sat faithfully by Eddie’s side.

                They seemed to have a father-son-like bond that I hadn’t seen since I arrived on this god-forsaken planet.

                “Eddie, what—”

                “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” There was a fear in Eddie’s eyes that sent chills down my spine, “They came last night.”