Chapter 22

PYRA'S BODY ACHED from the fight, but she rose from her cot when the lights came on and the door to her cell slid open. She walked along with the steady stream of kids coming out of their own respective cells, later reemerging into the cafeteria she had first entered the day before.

Nift tapped her on the shoulder. He had already found Silas, who was picking bits of cloth from his brown jumpsuit.

"How'd you sleep?" Nift asked. "The first night's usually the hardest."

"I slept fine," she lied. "What about you, Silas?"

"Okay," he said, yawning for effect. "I dreamed about my mommy. What did you dream about, Pyra?"

"I'll tell you once we sit down, bud. C'mon." Pyra took Silas's hand and gestured for Nift to lead the way to a table. She followed him to one at the corner of the cafeteria where a few kids were already seated.