Yuki's Alternate Ending

After a silent hour in the barrack, it was time to head to the mess hall. The hall was a big, circular, wooden room, with tables and chairs that looked as if the nails and wood were trying to run away from each other. Everyone was gasping for some clean air through the thick clouds of dust, even the men serving the food were practically coughing up a lung. Mother’s pure, white handkerchief was now dark beige. Yuki and her mother grabbed a paper bowl, and walked up to the serving line, where a man slopped some “stew” onto their plate. Ken sat at the table, ecstatic to finally be getting some nutrition after a long day of travel. However, once he took a spoonful of the food, he immediately spit it back out, exclaiming, “This stuff is rancid!” Yuki turned around to see a boy her age sneeringly muttering under his breath, “Welcome to Topaz, you must be new…”

As they walked along the dust path, with the sun happily setting in front of them, all they could think about is home. Yuki wanted to go back and be with her best friend Bridget, and thought happily of the pink and green dollhouse they would play with. Ken wanted to go to the park and play soccer with all his friends. Their mother wished to be back at home, cooking some real food for her beloved children. Once they arrived at their barrack, they immediately attempted to cough themselves to sleep on the hard, stiff