Ander Please

Pacing back and forth around the room, Ander counted his steps. Twenty-six along the side with the door and the side opposite, thirty-five along the perpendicular walls. Well, if he didn't count having to walk around the bed. He wasn't quite sure how many times he'd re-Chased the path at this point.

After eating all of his broth, which had made his shrunken stomach stand up and take notice, he'd eventually been brought a small meal of rice, flavored with some kind of light creamy sauce, carrots, and very bland chicken. It had tasted like heaven. Anything heavier or stronger flavored and he had a feeling he'd have thrown it all up.

Once he'd eaten, he'd napped. And he'd awoken with a surfeit of energy and anxiety. Ella still hadn't returned to the room and his imagination was working overtime; almost as if now that his mind had turned back on, it was overloaded. He inspected every inch of the walls, including the one where they knew the television screen was, and yet couldn't find anyt