[Chapter 4] Youth is Wasted on the Young

Chapter 4: Day Seven

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Without further ado, here is Chapter 4: Day Seven

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Jonny’s days quickly settled into a steady routine. Every twenty-four hour cycle was a perfect loop of exertion, nutrition, and recovery. Everything he did was dictated by the schedule that he had been assigned.

He dutifully followed all of it. He pushed his body to the limits, ate the flavorless nutrition pastes, and never complained beyond a slight wince whenever the medical technicians inserted an infusion into his arm. Each time they did, he was left feeling clear-headed and oddly calm.

Since the first day, he hadn’t seen Luvnova nor any other people his age. The only people were the white-uniformed staffers who moved quietly through the compound like ghosts, and sometimes Young who watched from his glass perch.

On the fifth day, as he was eating lunch, a man suddenly entered. That surprised Jonny as he never saw others in the dining hall. His movements were nervous and jerky, and his white uniform was loose against his thin frame. His eyes were wide and bloodshot and unable to stay focused on one place for more than a second. In his shaking arms was a food tray and he grabbed a seat on the far side of the room with his back to the wall.

Jonny was fascinated by this lunchtime entertainment. The man opened small packets of sweetener from his tray but wasn’t eating. His twitchy fingers moved the powder back and forth on the tray, forming shapes and brushing them away.

As Jonny finished, he had to walk past that table to exit. The man looked up suddenly.