The Adventures of Soap Boy

Part 7: The Camp

When at my home, sleep had become a favorite pastime for me. Of course, there wasn't much for me to look forward to outside the world of my dreams. It had been months since then, yet not much had really changed. Sure, I was in a different place, a different time, but I still felt the most peace in my dreams. The comfort of a bed or a bag, the warmth of my coverings, and the steadiness within my own mind allowed me a reprieve from the harshness of the natural world.

All that was to say, I still found myself incredibly annoyed any time something ripped me back into consciousness. This time, it was the hand of a person, touching ever so gently upon my shoulder.

For just the briefest of moments, I was back in the forest. Despite my pitfall and noise alarm, somebody had gotten to me. For a fraction within a fraction of a second, I felt underneath my pillow, and found nothing. My knife must have slid out at some point. Still, I had to defend myself. Using the hand under the pillow, I propelled myself upwards. I spun around to face my assailant, and quickly got my legs beneath me. Though, as my eyes adjusted to the morning light, I saw the truth of my situation.

I was in the back of the hospital, and the person who had touched me was the volunteer girl. I could see that just as I had, she had panicked and was only just calming down. Though, she regained her composure far quicker than I did.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine."

"Well," She said, finally steadying her breathing and straightening her posture. "you're late for your first meal. I'll need to accompany you to the food wagon across the way."

It was then that I noticed a bruise across her face. I knew that I hadn't done it, but it, along with how quickly she got back on topic, spoke of how frequently she must have had to deal with jumpy patients. Not wanting to cause her anymore trouble, I silently followed along.

The hospital was bustling that morning. It seemed like violent crime was extremely common in the camp, and that led to a surge in patients every time the sun went down. Which made for very busy mornings.

"You can call me Aloe Vera, by the way." The girl said, as she pushed through the crowd, making sure there was enough room so that I didn't have to squeeze. "It's not my real name. I've told everybody about what you said, and they're all working on it."

I appreciated that work as being done to defend the people from threats like-

As we left the hospital, I saw that the food wagon was absolutely bustling. Aloe Vera made an attempt to push through the crowd, but they got angry and made us wait in line like everybody else. Several times on the way in, I had to pause and regain my breath. Aloe Vera was right, I was late for my meal, and it was showing. Eventually, we managed to reach where the line of hungry people met the building's entrance.

As soon as the food lady saw me, she rushed out from behind the counter and pulled me and Aloe Vera from the line.

"What are you doing waiting in line like this?" She asked, concern apparent in her voice.

"The people in line didn't want us cutting." We both responded in unison.

Before we'd even finished our answer, the food lady began glaring at the other guests like a wild animal eyed its prey. The look only lasted a moment, however, and she pulled us away and to the front counter.

There were a few guests eating what looked to be ration bars and broth at the counter, but they left when shooed off by the food lady. We were seated in their place, and the food lady went back behind the counter to grab something from the refrigerator. It was the soup she'd made for me yesterday. I sat catching my breath from the journey as she set the pot upon a burner and began to reheat it.