Flurry [Ben Parish]

Go Fish and Toothpaste

"I can't sleep," Nugget admits.

"Close your eyes and think of something else," Zombie tells him.

"Can we pray? Is that against the rules?"

Pray? My family was never religious, but I would think that after all this one's faith might be a little more than shaken. Then again, it could be the exact opposite, I wouldn't know. For me, there's only one eye in the sky, and I have the incredible urge to shoot at it.

"Sure you can pray. Just not out loud."

"Cassie always said my prayer with me."

"Who's Cassie?" I almost laugh at Zombie's question. She's all Nugget's been talking about for the day and a half we've known him. Well, her and that stupid bear aptly named Bear.

"I told you."

"I forgot."

"Cassie's my sister. She's coming for me."

"Oh my god," I hiss, flipping over to my other side. "Zombie, if you don't shut him up, I will." And not as nicely as before at dinner.

"She's promised." Nugget's voice cracks with sorrow and my heart drops. "Promised."

A small sob breaks through the air and even though I feel bad, I inwardly groan at the sound. This isn't ending anytime soon. Zombie tries to console him but the boy's cries only get louder and more frequent. In other words, we're fucked.

"Hey, stow that over there!" Flintstone calls quietly.

"Yeah," Tank says. "You wanna get us busted, Zombie?"

Zombie invites Nugget to join him in his bunk and my eyebrows shoot up into my hairline. As if talking after lights out wasn't bad enough, if Reznik comes in for a "surprise inspection" and finds a private out of bed we won't be graduating for a long, long time. I can hear Zombie's mattress squeal with the extra weight and outwardly groan this time.

"What prayer does she say with you?" He asks.

"Now I lay me." Like I said, I'm not religious, but I'm vaguely familiar with that one. It might have something to do with a Metallica song.

"Somebody put a pillow over that Nugget's face," Dumbo whisper-yells.

Zombie begins the prayer anyway, Nugget joining in on the next line. Hissed curses and shushes fill the air, but the duo keep going. As for me, I remain silent, staring at Teacup's bunk above me and listening to the prayer. It's bittersweet, the juxtaposition of Zombie's low and even voice and Nugget's soft, almost melodic one as they say the age old words. Despite everything, they're still whispered into the night.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Your angels watch me through the night, and keep me safe till morning's light."

A stillness falls over the barrack. The angered whispers taper off and I know we're all thinking of our own angels. Because even if you're not religious, it's easier to believe that they're safe and happy than completely gone.

"And if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

They say the last line slowly, like they don't want the bubble to break. Because outside this bubble is another night of haunted dreams and another day of hell on earth. Another day closer to out deaths, because we will die- and soon. Nugget probably won't make it to his sixth birthday, we all know it. When that bubble finally fizzles away we say nothing and let it hang in the air as we drift off.