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He woke with a start, as he usually did, heart pounding in his chest. He scrambled in the darkness around him, sitting himself up as he panted. He wrapped his arms around himself in a tight hug, taking deep, controlled breaths just like Gus had taught him. Hunter felt his lungs expand, as he exhaled he imagined the panic purging alongside it. He was just in the Noceda’s basement. The boxes scattered around him in the darkness confirmed this. It was okay.
But something didn’t feel right. Something felt wrong. He remembered what Ms. Noceda had told him: to use his senses. Five things to see, Four things to feel, Three things to hear, Two to smell, One to taste.
Five things to see. The Boxes scattered around the room, each containing different bits of human clutter. Flapjack curled up peacefully in his bed. Gus’ plushie dinosaur cast off the couch and on the floor. The upstairs light that shone through the banisters, creating a shadow of bars on the wall. His half opened Cosmic Frontier book that he’d fallen asleep reading.
Four things to feel. The fuzzy carpet beneath his sweaty palms. The back of his pyjamas sticking to his sweaty skin. The urge to go to the bathroom. The cocoon of his sleeping bag wrapping him up like a parcel.
Three things to hear. The ticking of the kitchen clock. The soft sporadic snores of Gus. The small creaks that Ms. Noceda said were “the house settling”.
Two things to smell. The leftover tortilla they’d baked for dinner wafting in from the kitchen. The horrible human “de-od-er-ants” that Gus had sprayed all about the basement.
One thing he could taste. The sour, dry sleep saliva that begged him for a glass of water.
Releasing a breath he forgot he’d been holding, he flopped back onto his pillow. The softness of it beckoned him into a sleep again but his bladder bullied him out of the wonderful warmth of his sleeping bag.
He crept as quietly as he could up the stairs right by the wall so as to avoid the creaks, just like he’d learned in the castle. He peeked through the banisters. Gus was still sleeping, face screwed up as if dreaming something unpleasant. Hunter frowned.
He carefully chose a glass from the draining board, turning the water on to a dribble for a minute to let it run clear. He filled up his glass, downing one cup in half a second and then two. By his third cup his bladder was fit to burst, so he washed the glass as quietly as he could before creeping upstairs to use the toilet.
He crept like a mouse through the dark hallway that only seemed to lengthen. He crept past the door of the girl’s room, Vee’s snores erupting loudly from the room. He crept past Ms. Noceda’s room, door slightly open.
“If you ever need me in the night, my door is always open.” Hunter heard her say.
Now she was sitting up, fast asleep, glasses hanging half off her face surrounded by scribbled pieces of paper. He moved quickly onwards, not wanting her to wake and find him standing there.
He slipped through the door of the bathroom, locking it with the rusty lock. He flicked the light switch as quietly as he could, blinking light buzzing as a few flies fought over the lamp. The summer breeze blew in through the opened window, Hunter shivered, regretting not slipping on his hoodie. The floor was still a little wet from that evening’s showers and the garments drying on the shower rail that couldn’t be tumble dried. He turned on a tap ever so slightly so that he wouldn’t be heard.
He slipped around the bathroom door, flicking the light behind him as the toilet gurgled. Closing the door, he carefully crept back down the dark corridor.
“Is everything okay, cariño?”
Hunter turned. Ms. Noceda sat in her bed, glasses still askew, eyes barely opened. He couldn’t tell if she was talking in her sleep or not.
“Yes Ms. Noceda. I’m sorry for waking you.” He whispered.
“Mmm I was already awake.” She murmured. “You come to me if you need anything okay?” She barely finished her sentence before she started snoring softly.
Hunter hovered in the doorway, for a moment going to turn out her light and lie her down properly. But he froze, creeping back out.
He crept past the girl’s room. Vee had stopped snoring now and it was completely silent. He crept down the dark stairs and through the hallway, carefully dancing around all of the shoes towards the kitchen light. He crept through the cold floored kitchen, clock ticking with her little hand halfway between the one and the two.
He crept down the stairs to the basement, staying next to the wall. He peeked through the banisters again. Gus had rolled over to his other side in his sleep, pushing his blanket away in the process. Hunter crept down.
He was about to climb back into the cosiness of his cocoon before he saw Gus’ stuffed dinosaur on the floor. With a rustle, he stepped over his sleeping bag before very, very quietly bending down to pick up the dinosaur. He watched Gus’ face. It was relaxed now, completely taken by the nonchalance of sleep. Carefully, Hunter slipped the stuffed dino next to Gus, pulling the blanket back over him.
Creeping back to his own sleeping bag, he shuffled right down and pulled the edge over his ears. He curled in his knees slightly, hands balling into fists by his mouth and rubbed his ear against the pillow until sleep carried him away once more.