The Death Breathers

Chapter XVII

When we get back home, Jay and I immediately go to my nest and sleep. I don't care if I'm hungry, I need sleep.

I haven't had any for a couple of days, and I'm beginning to feel a bit faint.

Jay wraps his arms around my waist, spooning me while I rest.

I wake up when I feel like I've had enough.

It's weird too. I keep forgetting about my leg, when it's the most important thing right now.

I can't really walk because of it.

Jay and I go to the dining hall because there's a buffet of food on offer all day. They'll just keep it warm until it's all gone.

I take a plate and put whatever food I want on it to eat.

I'm really hungry. All the things I've eaten are bugs and worms for the last few days. And a few fish.

I wolf the food down and get another plateful.

"I'm organising something to happen," says Jay.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's actually two things, but guess."

"Mm, I dunno. What?"

"The first one is a campfire to reflect and just hang out really."

"What's the next one?" I ask.

"Not telling," he says, smirking. "I think you'll like it though."

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At the end of the day, and everyone has had some rest, I go around people's nests asking them if they want to join the campfire.

Everyone accepts, so we all gather around and roast marshmallows while we talk.

"I propose a topic of conversation," I say.

"What is it?"

"Our special people and how they died. If that's not too personal to you."

"Sounds like a good topic," says Dove. "Do you mind if I start?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"As you guys know, Swan is my sister," she says, looking at her.

Swan covers her face with her long fingers and beautifully done fingernails.

"And we are twins, if you didn't know too."

This time Swan covers her face with both of her hands, showing off some rings too.

"Anyway, it was our fourteenth birthday, and Dad had been really sick recently. He was coughing, and I don't want to go into detail, but just really sick. He had keeled over and just laid there for ages, and I kept expecting him to wake up, but he didn't."

"He was the best parent we had ever had." says Swan. "Our mother was always the worst, abusing us verbally, and sometimes even physically."

"Yeah, and it was heartbreaking to see our favourite parent go."

"Oh, that's so sad."

"Yeah. Who's turn is it now?" asks Dove, trying to get off the subject.

"Uh, Raven's turn."

"It was my grandpa that died. He was so good to me, always calling me his favourite grandchild, and I knew he meant it. He was always so good to me. Then one day, I went to call him up to see if he wanted to come around for dinner, and the phone went straight to voicemail. I called a couple more times, and he didn't answer, so Mum took me around there to see if he was ok. It turns out he wasn't. He was just lying on the floor, lifeless."

He was choking up by this time.

"He was such a nice person to me."

He sniffs and says Sparrow can go next.

"Well uh, it was my Mum. She was the kindest, and most easy person to get along with. I absolutely loved her. But then, I came home from school one day, and she was on the floor in the kitchen. Just lying dead."

She doesn't seem to be so sad. I guess she's realised that not everything in life is going to stay.

"Uh, Jay, your turn." she says.

"It was my twin brother. We were so close, and it was heartbreaking for me to see him go. It was a morning, and I had just woken up, and he was in the bunk above me. He used to sleep in a bit longer than me, so when he was still sleeping, I wasn't really concerned, until about midday, and my mother told him to get up. And he was just gone, in his sleep, like that."

"Oh..."

"Phoenix, your turn."

"Well uh, it was my dad," I say. "I'd come home from school one day to find out that he was dead on the floor of the living room. And Sparrow was there!" I laugh. "But yeah. He was the only parent I had, because my mother left when I was only about a year old."

I pass my turn onto Mynah.

"Well uh, it was my grandma. She looked after me, because my parents had both died just after I was born. My grandma took me in. One day I was about to leave for school, and she was gone. She was just lying there."

He nods to Canary who is beside him.

"Mine was my uh, my best friend. I'd been at school and she wasn't there. It was strange, because she was always at school. Then I'd been called into the office, and been told that she had been killed, and that I could go to her body. She'd been the nicest person ever. And she was gone. I miss her so much sometimes. Macaw, your turn."

Macaw clears his throat and starts.

"Well it was a while ago now, but it was uh, my sister. She was the greatest sibling I could ever ask for. She was my role model. And then one day, we were crossing the road, and because she didn't have very good eyesight, she didn't see, and got hit by a car. I tried to warn her, but she couldn't hear me."

"Oh, that's so tragic!"

"Let us all have a moment's silence for all of our loved ones," I say.

We have a moment to think.

I think about Dad, and how he was always there for me. I can never have that back.

After a sufficient amount of time, I say "we should all go to bed, considering the lack of it yesterday."

"Yeah," people yawn.

Jay and I head back to my nest, while in the corner of my eye, I notice Raven and Sparrow going to one too...