Gasoline | Ben Parish

6

He sniffles and rubs his face again. "All right, Nugget, get back at it."

___

WE get back late, around 2300. I know we'll be hating life in the morning. I tell myself this as I kick off my boots and crawl into bed, but it doesn't provide me any motivation to fall asleep. I stare at the top of my bunk with peeled eyes, as if the cold air has stuck them permanently open.

"Zombie?" A small voice comes from across the room.

A pause. I know everyone's thinking the same thing: no talking after lights out, or Reznik will have a field day devising new punishments to extort upon us.

"...what's up, Nugget?"

"I can't sleep."

"Close your eyes and think of something nice."

"Like what?"

Flintstone snorts. "I'll tell you what I think of: Croak, in-"

I snarl, "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

Tank sounds off, "Shut up! You guys are too loud! You want Reznik to hear us?"

Silence. Then...

"...c-can we pray? Is that against the rules?"

Zombie answers Nugget, "Sure you can pray. Just not out loud. We're not supposed to talk after lights out, remember?"

There's the sound of Nugget flopping over in his bunk, probably trying to get comfy. Quiet for a few seconds. Maybe he's going to fall asleep.

"You know..." he says after a few seconds, causing Teacup to groan from the bunk above mine. "Cassie used to pray with me."

"Who's Cassie?" Zombie asks.

"She's my sister," Nugget answers back dutifully. "She's coming for me."

We all lay still, not wanting to break it to Nugget that his sister is probably not coming for him since she's more than likely dead.

Then he starts to cry. It's the same soft, pitiful sobs that I heard what seems like eons ago.

I sit bolt upright in bed, causing Tank to go, "Oh, for the love of Christ..."

"Your sister's the blond, right?"

Nugget sits up and nods, wiping at his leaking eyes. "H-How do you k-know Cassie?" He hiccups.

"I was on the bus with you guys," I tell him. "I saw her run off... why'd she do that?"

"T-To get my Bear..." he says, seeming more calm now that he had someone to talk to, but then he starts to blubber all over again. "I miss my Bear."

Well, shit. That went well.

It's Zombie's turn again to try and soothe him. "Hey, it's all right, Nugget." I can see his dark head turn to me. "You saw Cassie, right, Croak?"

"Yeah," I nod, tucking a stand of hair behind my ear. "She's definitely coming, Nugget."

Flintstone groans. "Breakin' my heart over there, Croak. Now would you stow it? Jesus."

Tank adds, "Yeah, you wanna get us busted?"

Nugget's cries soften as I say again, slightly louder, "I saw Cassie. She's gonna come."

He sniffles harshly. "I miss her a lot. Her and Daddy."

Zombie scoots over in his bunk. "I know you do, man. Come here." He pats the mattress. "I'll say prayers with you, okay? You have to settle down though. I'll say prayers with you and then you can go to sleep, okay?"

The soft patter of little bare feet across the hard floor. The shriek of the bed as Nugget crawls in next to Zombie, sparking some mutterings from Flintstone and Tank that has Dumbo harshly snapping, "Shut it!"

"What prayer does she say with you?"

"'Now I lay me,'" he whispers.

Flintstone scoffs, "Someone put that kid out of his misery," which makes Tank giggle.

"Don't listen to them," Zombie tells him. "We're going to pray, okay? You and me and – Croak will pray with us too, yeah? Would that be good? Do you want Croak to pray with us?"

A very soft, "Uh huh."

I roll my eyes but slip out of my bunk, making Teacup hiss that I'm going to get everyone in trouble. I pad my way over to Zombie's bunk, and then I kneel by the edge of it.

Zombie's hand is in Nugget's hair, softly running his fingertips over Nugget's scalp. They both stare at me, two pairs of brown eyes dimmed by the dark of the room and the situation.

"Well?" I raise an eyebrow. "Are we praying or what?"