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Owen hadn't slept in... however long. Not since Acho almost drowned. Not since Apo's skull had been found in the maze. Not since he had a talk with Ayngel. Not since he had tried to stop caring.
Sleep didn't matter now. All that mattered was that they got out of this awful place, and that no one else got hurt. And sure, maybe he had nearly passed out while talking to Acho and Soup right after the whole drowning incident, but he didn't, so it was fine. As far as the others knew, Owen was doing perfectly fine, physically and mentally.
It isn't like they would care if they found out.
No one cares.
No one will save him.Someone please save him
It was when Owen was on a maze run with Soup that things started to go wrong. He had been feeling particularly drained that day, and would have taken it easy if Soup hadn't asked him to go into the maze with her. He peered around a corner, looking to see if there was anything of interest down that way. There were a few chests that Owen didn't think had been looted before, so he went to get Soup.
Soup was examining a tripwire she had set off a few minutes ago, looking at the mechanism it was hooked up to. Owen made sure not to accidentally sneak up on her, knowing how she would probably end up setting off the trap again if she got scared.
"Hey, I found a path we haven't explored yet." Owen said as Soup stood up and brushed herself off. "I think we.. should.."
Owen suddenly felt dizzy, and the world around him spun. His legs gave out from under him, and he collapsed onto Soup. She was saying something, but Owen couldn't make out words. The darkness that had been lingering in the corners of his vision was growing, making I harder for Owen to see. Before he lost consciousness, he heard another voice... Graecie.
When Owen awoke, he still felt tired, but had less of a headache. He opened his eyes to find he was in a bed in Soup's house. His first thought was, oh no, she knows my secret. He jolted upright, but was hit with a wave of dizziness and put a hand behind him to steady himself. He looked up and around to see Soup, Graecie, and Magic staring at him. Soup got up and walked over to Owen.
"Uh.. hi..." Owen chuckled. "How long was I out?"
But Soup glared him right in the face and shook her head.
"When was the last time you slept?" She cut right to the chase.
"I dunno," Owen tripped over his words, trying to recall the answer. "I think it was... nope. Can't remember."
Soup frowned and bit her lip.
"What about food? When did you last eat?"
Owen thought hard about this one too. "Uh, was it a week? No, I just had a glass of water.... ah, yes. A couple of weeks ago I had a few spinach leaves, I think...?
Soup looked like she was deciding whether to punch Owen in the face or hug him, and Owen hoped she decided on neither. Unfortunately he was out of luck because Soup then pulled him into a fierce hug, cursing under her breath.
"What are you doing, Owen?" She muttered. "You do realize you need sleep to survive, right?"
"I know...." Owen had the tone of a kid being scolded by their mother for getting their clothes dirty. "I just want to get us out of here...."
"We won't get anywhere if you die before we get there, Owen!" Graecie cried, making herself known. "If we're going to make any progress, we need you to take care of yourself! Not just the others."
"She's right," Magic spoke quietly, as if she were worried she'd break something if she were too loud. "Please look out for yourself, Owen. We care about you, even if you don't realize it."
Owen didn't reply. He had fallen asleep in Soup's arms. Soup smiled, and laid him back down on the bed before joining the other two on the couch.
"When he wakes up, I'll make sure he gets something to eat." Soup whispered. "Could you two get Rasbi? I want to talk to her."
Magic and Graecie nodded and got up before heading out the door, Graecie closing it as softly as she could on the way out. When they were gone, Soup sighed to herself and shook her head.
"What are we going to do with you, Owen?" She asked the sleeping soldier.
And then she cried.