The Savior's Throne

Chapter Eight

"Maybe I would be." I wonder what will happen after this revolution is over, if it is ever over. Do revolutions ever truly end? Anyway, I never thought about my next step. What happens when the fighting is done? Does everyone leave the tunnels and rejoin the outside world?

"So," Winn says, interrupting my thoughts, "want to go see him now?"

"Yes, please." Winn leads me across the room and through a red door. Inside, a playpen sits in the middle of the room. The walls are all painted differently, but all are bright and cheerful. Children from the ages of three to thirteen crowd the room and fill it will noise. There are a couple of older people who mill around the room watching over everyone, they must be Caretakers like Winn.

I spot Nome sitting in the corner, with two other kids sitting next to him. He plays with a deck of cards, shuffling them and hands one to a little girl next to him. She then gives him the card back and he begins to shuffle them. He doesn't take his eyes of the girl as he picks a card out of the deck at random. He holds it up, a queen of hearts, and the girl squeals with excitement.

I walk up to them with Winn by my side. Nome doesn't notice me until I'm standing right in front of him. He stumbles to his feet and let's go of his cards, sending all of them tumbling to the ground. "Arie?" His eyes are wide and hopeful. It's seems important to note that he remembered my name.

"Yes, I came to check on you. I would've been here sooner, but you know-" My voice freezes as Nome wraps his tiny arms around my waist. "I thought they killed you," he says, his voice muffled from my clothes.

He untangles his arms and steps away from me, "I'm glad you're not dead."

I laugh, "Thanks. So, how are they treating you?" My smile starts to tip to the ground, I need to hear him say that he's okay.

"It's amazing here. They feed me every day and let me play games and healed my cuts and don't order me around." He sounds happy and that makes me happy for him, but my heart also aches for him. To be refused food and medical care is wrong. No one should have to live a life where food is refused when you ask for it. "Thank you for bringing me here," he says in a serious voice.

"One day, no one will ever treat anyone the way you were treated." I try to sound convincing because he deserves to have hope for a better future.

"I can't wait for that day," he says in his high voice. Suddenly he looks way beyond his age, but he also looks hopeful. "I guess I'll leave you with your friends. If anything happens, don't hesitate to reach out to me, okay?"

"I will," Nome says as he turns back to his friends. He kneels down to collect his cards and does another trick to entertain them.

I turn to Winn and ask, "do you think you can bring me back to my room? I haven't learned to navigate through the tunnels yet."

"Yeah, let me just go tell someone really quick." I nod and watch his back as he leaves. When he comes back, he leads me out and into the tunnels.

We walk through the artificially lighted hallways and I twine my fingers together as nerves bundle in my stomach. I glance at Winn and then at the floor and repeat the process about a dozen times. The thirteenth time has Winn laughing, "what's up?"

I bite my lip and put a palm on my nauseous stomach. Sometimes I get so nervous I start to feel nauseous and I hate the feeling. I take a steady, calming breath and ask Winn the question that has made me so nervous. "How much do you know about Desmond's plan and about this revolution?"