Among the Stars Read online

  Chapter 18

  It’s been two days since Alex told me his plans to get Orion’s powers. Afterwards he locked me in a room and I haven’t seen him since. Twice a day a Black Hole brings me something to eat. It’s a different one each time and they never say anything to me. Thankfully Jack hasn’t been one of them. I spend most of my time sleeping and looking out the window. I had hoped it would give me an idea as to where I was but all I could see were trees.

  Sitting on the bed, I recall Alex’s words. Not only is he going to steal Orion’s soul and powers but his blood is going to make me lose my mind. I think back through everything I’ve thought about and done, looking for any indication that I’ve changed, but I come up with nothing. I don’t feel different but I wonder if you notice when you lose your mind. Maybe it’s a gradual process or maybe it happens overnight, either way it’s always there, in the back of my mind. I’m starting to think maybe what will drive me crazy is waiting for me to go crazy.

  I’m picking at my nail polish when someone enters my room. Again, it’s a Black Hole I haven’t seen before. How many of them are there?

  This one looks about my age, maybe a little older. He’s tall but looks thinner than the other Black Holes I’ve seen. He keeps his head down, his hair covering his face, as he places the tray of food on my nightstand. As he turns to leave I catch a glimpse of his face. Bruises cover the right side of it, stretch down his neck, and disappear down the neckline of his shirt. I’ve seen bruises like that, everyone who went to my school had seen those bruises, on Matt Hanson.

  “Wait,” I call out without thinking. He freezes with his hand on the door but slowly turns to look at me. With the other Black Holes, their black eyes make it hard to tell what they are feeling but looking at his I know. He’s broken. Matt hadn’t been broken. His friends made sure of that. But this one before me has been broken a long time.

  “Uh, thank you,” I tell him. I want to help him but I don’t know how.

  He’s so quiet I almost don’t catch his words as he walks out the door, “You’re welcome.”

  Later that day, I’m looking out the window counting birds when I hear the door open. I turn around and am surprised when it’s the same Black Hole as this morning. That’s odd; I wonder why they sent the same one.

  Just like this morning, he keeps his head down as he quietly delivers my food. As he’s leaving I tell him thank you. Unlike this morning he doesn’t say anything as he leaves my room.

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  The next morning I’m surprised again when he brings my food. He’s in such a hurry though he practically runs out of the room after setting my food down. I wonder what that was all about. I reach for my food but something is different this morning. Lying on the tray is also a deck of cards. Did he leave these for me? Bursting with excitement I quickly shuffle the cards and lay out a game of solitaire. I spend the rest of the day playing card games and building card houses.

  When he comes again in the evening I instantly thank him for the cards. He doesn’t say anything but he does nod his head at me.

  The next morning he brings me a book and this becomes our new routine. Every morning he brings me something new. They help keep my mind from dwelling on my situation. I start to look forward to seeing him every day. I know he is supposed to be my enemy but I feel like we are alike. The bruises and the look in his eyes make me think he is prisoner like I am, just a different kind. If Orion does end up finding me then I want to make sure he gets out too. Hopefully I haven’t lost all my marbles by then.

  On the seventh day of being here I wait patiently for him to come. I’m eager to see what he brings me today. Yesterday he brought me some paper that I made origami cranes out of. It was the only thing I could remember how to make besides paper airplanes. When he came in the evening I had given him one and it was the first time I had seen him smile. After seeing him smile, I decided to ask him his name.

  “Daniel,” he had said softly.

  I didn’t know if he knew my name or not so I said, “I’m Ailey.”

  After that he left, holding the little paper crane.

  The door opens and I don’t hold back the smile that appears on my face. It quickly dies though when I see that it isn’t Daniel. A woman Black Hole walks in holding my tray of food. She tosses it on the nightstand and starts to leave without giving me a second glance.

  “Excuse me, but-” I try and stop her but she whips around angrily.

  “Know your place, human,” she spits at me.

  I shut up and watch her leave. Where is Daniel? Is he busy or did he get in trouble for bringing me things? He didn’t act like it was a secret that he brought me things. He hadn’t hid them when he brought them to me.

  I try to occupy my mind by reading but I can’t focus. My mind keeps going back to Daniel. I feel so helpless. I’m worried about Daniel and there’s nothing I can do. I spend the rest of the day pacing around my room.

  Evening comes around and I sit, fidgeting on my bed. It was nearing the time they normally bring me dinner. The clock on the wall slowly ticks by. Finally, an hour past the normal time, my door opens and Daniel walks in. I sigh in relief.

  “There you are. I was worried about you.”

  He doesn’t look at me as he sets the food down.

  “Daniel?”

  He continues to ignore me and goes to leave the room.

  “Daniel, wait!” I stand up and grab his arm to stop him. That was a mistake. He flinches and I know immediately what a grabbed arm means to him. I let go and apologize.

  “It’s not your fault,” he whispers. He turns to face me and my heart breaks. A cut stretching across his face and over his nose has been stitched shut. Finger like bruises wrap around his neck and a bandage is peeking out from under his shirt. The bruises I saw the first day have been replaced with fresh ones.

  “Who did this to you?” I ask him.

  He just stands there looking at his feet.

  “Was it because of me?”

  He shakes his head no.

  “Does this happen a lot?”

  He goes back to looking at his feet.

  “You know you can trust me, right?”

  He shakes his head yes.

  “If you want to talk, I’m here. It’s not like I’m going anywhere you know.” I try to lighten the mood with a joke but he just keeps staring at his feet.

  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He nods his head and goes to leave.

  “Good night.” I say to his retreading back. He doesn’t reply or look back as he leaves.