Don't Look Back! Part 2

Chapter Eleven: Training for the world outside

Together with the others, Thomas practised fighting. It looked a lot cooler when the older guys did it, but now that he had to fight himself, his arms hurt after a few minutes, and the heart inside his chest threatened to jump out at any moment.

Close to a hundred times he had checked the door to see if Lucy came through it, but whenever it opened, trainees, Soldiers or doctors entered or left. Never Lucy, not Luke or Stephen.

The long, sweaty curls stuck to his forehead as he stopped his practise with the dummy. The stick still in hand, he leant over to Tyler, who boxed without a break or missing a beat. Like a machine while Thomas stood there, panting, wishing he could at least speak to Lucy for once, apologise and tell her how much he wanted to fight it, but had to watch her fall.

Cool water ran down his throat as he swallowed the gulp he had taken and gazed at the others. "You think we'll make it out there?"

Tyler continued his boxing, right, left, right, on top, below and again. "Why not? The soldiers did, we can too"

"I guess so" Thomas brushed over the small scars on his forehead where the creature had bitten him. Pearls of sweat rolled over his face and soaked up in his shirt. The growling stomach was sign enough for him to rest and have lunch.

In the hall where all the trainees gathered, he grabbed a tray, filled it with everything he could find and dropped onto the bench at the end of the table.

"Careful, Tommy. Your stomach will burst from all this food" a familiar voice stated from behind him. Grinning Stephen walked over tot he table, a tray of his own in hand.

Without a word, Thomas jumped up and hugged his friend, so glad to see him, he ignored the food stain on his shirt that his sudden approach had caused.

"Easy, you okay?" Stephen inquired, spinning his head around to look for Lucy. With only Thomas around, he sat at the table next to him and had some pork before returning Thomas's stare. "Lucy coming? Bet most of the bacon you got on your plate is for her" his laughter turned into a mixture of confusion and concern when Thomas broke down in tears. Holding his friend in arms, her placed his hand on Thomas's head and patted it.

After a few moments of crying, Thomas brushed off the tears and gazed at Stephen. "She is gone" he breathed. His voice cracked at the mention of her name as he told what had happened int he arena.

After Lucy got carried away by the soldiers, another doctor came and gave him an antidote, and picked the other children who got injured for the test to get them back to health. They had been gathered in their new quarters where Dr Paige announced that Lucy would not join them for the time being. She said that with such lightness in her voice that Thomas believed it would be mere hours, but since then weeks had passed and still no sign of Lucy.

Jack, who worked on a different floor now with older trainees that had level C or even B written on their dungarees could not tell him anything either, and Luke vanished since the event.

With Stephen by his side, Thomas calmed down, but it lasted not long.

Together they left lunch and went to Stephen's quarters. He wanted to contact Lucy via their connection, but no matter how often he tried, she never answered. "I can't hear her" Stephen admitted, biting his lip.

"You think she is..." Thomas dropped back on the bed, his hands covering his eyes. "She can't be, they would tell us, right?"

"I hope so"

A soldier knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. "Meeting in the arena" He turned and waited for the two to walk past him, then followed them and closed the arena doors behind them.