Chapter Three
Skye liked it when Noah held her. She didn’t exactly know how, but he made her feel safe and warm. The temperature had dropped significantly, and the room was freezing cold. It was so bad, with every breath they expelled, a cloud puffed into the air.
“Have you ever watched Titanic?” she asked.
He laughed. “Yeah, but I’m not going to be pushed into the ocean.”
“He was already dead before he was lowered into the water.”
“I never understood how she did that, just let him go.”
“I think I’m impressed with your movie knowledge. I didn’t think jocks did anything but play football and look in the mirror.”
“Hey, we do a hell of a lot more than that.”
“Oh, yeah, what else?”
“We happen to sing to ourselves as well. I can handle a tune.”
He started to sing, and Skye burst out laughing as he was out of key and sounded awful.
Just as he finished one long, deep note, they both froze as they heard another scream. This time, male and female. It got louder, and there were grunts.
Noah held her a little tighter, and she accepted his warmth, needing it more than anything else.
“Thank you,” she said.
“It’s fine.”
“Do you think they do that on purpose? Have them dragged past our door so we know it’s going to be us next?”
“I don’t know.”
She’d come to see Noah’s “I don’t know” as “Yes, but I don’t want to freak you out.” It was sweet of him to keep on trying to make her feel safe. In their world, nothing was safe anymore.
“We’re going to get out of here soon, Skye.”
“You keep saying that. How?”
“I don’t believe our parents will ever stop looking for us. They love us.”
“You always sound so sure of everything.”
“It’s how I’ve been all my life.”
“No doubt?”
“None. Why doubt when I know I can make it happen?”
“I wish I could be like that,” she said.
They stopped talking as more screams could be heard.
“How many people do you think are here?” she asked.
“At least six, maybe more, I don’t know.” He took her hand, locking their fingers together.
Most days were spent lying on the bed. She found his warmth far more comforting than she liked to admit.