He slipped quietly from the bed, checking all around the dark barracks for any signs of light sleepers. It was a rare thing, light sleep, in the Settlement. Work was hard, and the days long, allowing little time for idle nights. When in the Settlement you grabbed as much sleep as you could. You never knew when Pastor Craven would have a hankering for punishment, and it wasn’t just Bobby and his brothers that felt the bite, the rest of the boys felt it, too, only not as often as the outcasts. The laces sounded like a warning siren as he tied them. Each thud of his heart, a gunshot that would wake them all. He grabbed his rucksack and slung his rifle. With one last look at his sleeping brothers he headed out into the night. If he was careful he’d be able to make it to the fence without incident. He only had to stay away from the sweeps of the guard tower light and any foot patrols on the yard. And he hoped they didn’t feel the need to fire up the infrared scope. He leaned against the barracks, allowing his racing heart to settle.
