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Beowawe was quietest in the early mornings, at about the time the sun came up. That was just after the all-nighter mining groups came back to their bunks, and before the strongest in body were sent into the brilliant desert heat for manual labor. Mostly digging. If she listened hard enough, sometimes Hannah could hear the striking sound of metal against earth, and the patter of dirt being set aside.
At the moment, all she could hear was her own labored breathing, and the retching sounds that came from the back of her throat. The jury was out on whether she preferred the heaving dryness to a second look at her gruel. What passed for dinner wouldn't go down last night. Her appetite had gone missing, long about the time Rachel did. Of course for different reasons.
Hannah wiped the water from her eyes and dried her mouth on her shirt. On her hands and knees, it was easier to scoop dirt over her accident and pat it into place. Hannah was terrified that they'd discover her secret; that she was getting sick. Always she feared what would happen if they knew. Would they drag her outside and shoot her? Put her in one of those small, smelly boxes where the rebellious people went? Solitary confinement. No risk of contamination to their precious 'meat'. If she went in there, Hannah thought she might die for sure.
Joseph glanced across at Kael who managed to sleep soundly through everything and he had to wonder how he did it.
Joseph had come to terms with the long hours and the aching muscles right along with the skin that had started to flake and peel from where his sunburn had resided. The cuts and bruises that littered his skin were a little harder to ignore mostly because a few cuts were infected and were taking to stinging. A stinging he managed to put up with more or less.
However a vomiting sound drew his attention away and his brown eyes quickly looked from person to person until they settled on a petite blonde who appeared to be hunched over on herself.
He frowned briefly before he tipped his head to just watch and to give her the privacy she obviously needed but concern was clear on his face. In a place like this and with the times such as they were, people had to look out for one another. He continued to watch for a few minutes before he decided to do something.
Joseph reached out for what was left of his water and rose to his feet before he moved to crouch beside the blonde. "This probably won't help but it'll help you wash away the taste." The water was now offered to Hannah.
( Light-Hearted Topics )
He gave Hannah a sincere smile as he nodded his head, "I won't, I promise. If they come and you're in there, I'll make sure that either I or someone else gets you out. Alright?" He even held out his hand for her to shake.
That was a relief. Hannah sighed so hard, she accidentally blew a piece of hair off Joseph's face. "Deal!" She shook his hand on it. "If there's anything you need from me, just let me know," she said, even though Hannah wasn't sure how much longer she'd be up to it. But if she had it in her, that's what she'd do.
Joseph gave Hannah a smile, "Don't you worry, I'll be sure to remember that." He withdrew his hand as he saw Kael stirring over his shoulder. "Looks like my other friend's waking up." Joseph had a knack for making friends or so it would seem.
"Okay." Hannah picked up his cup and handed it to him. "Thanks for the water." She waited for him to take it before crawling up on the cot. It'd be a few hours before they woke her to work, and she needed all the sleep she could get.
"I would have wasted it anyways, better it went to a worthy cause." Joseph muttered as he took the cup from Hannah and he started back over to Kael. He'd check in with Victoria soon enough, didn't want the demons to get suspicious of his movements after all. Joseph sunk back down onto his bunk and closed his eyes.
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distressed