A Theft in the Dark

Chapter 10

He's alive.

Joy couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. When Aries showed her to the room where Milo lay sleeping, she broke completely. "Milo?" she called out, her voice cracking. Quickly, she moved towards the bed as she heard him stir awake.

The boy grumbled incoherently, slowly sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes. Once his vision cleared, his face contorted slightly with confusion. For every inch this strange woman took towards him, he backed away just as much until he bumped into Ms. Hale.

The lightest touch woke Alice with a fright. She jolted upright instantly. Her immediate reaction was to pull Milo away from the stranger that had intruded their rest. She turned away with him in her arms, shielding him the best she could. "Don't touch him!" She snapped.

Joy frowned and desperately swiped at her, trying to pull Milo from her.

The boy whimpered with fear. "No! No! Leave me alone!" He cried and swatted Joy's hand away.

Orion stepped in to pull Joy away. She wriggled violently in his grasp. "Milo! It's me, it's Mommy!" She sobbed.

"Shh Joy, you're scaring him. Calm down," Orion said, forcibly removing her from the room. He only let go of her once they were out in the hall. Aries stood beside him, blocking her from going towards the room again.

"Let me through! That imposter has my son!" She demanded as she tried to push past them. However, all her strength was no match for their solidity. She kept trying and trying, even going as far as moving back to get a running start before ramming into them. Although this time, she crumbled to the ground.

Her frustration poured out heavily through her tears. She sat on the floor, clutching her hurt shoulder and weeping from the agony, not of her injury but of her heart.

Orion sat down beside her, pulling her close and rubbing her shoulder gently. "I'm sorry. This must be difficult for you, but the boy has seen many scary things today. I think it'd be best if you give him some time to adjust," he said.

Joy no longer had any energy to fight him. She gave in and hid her face against his neck. "I-I lost him once. I can't lose him again," she whispered brokenly.

Orion gently stroked her hair. "You won't lose him. He's here. We'll make sure he is kept safe, okay?" He reassured.

She stayed still in his arms, calming slowly as she cried until she had no tears left to give. Her eyes grew heavy then, as did her body once she passed out from the exhaustion of her grief.

He stayed there for a bit, resting his back against the wall and running his fingers through her hair. He wanted to be sure she was deep asleep before moving her. Aries had left some time ago to console the other woman and the boy, so they were alone in the hall.

Orion leaned his head to lightly rest against hers as he grew a bit tired from their position. But he dared not to move just yet, fearing if she woke she'd start trying to fight him again.

"Such a strange night, hm? What will we do now?" He muttered quietly to himself.

Eventually, once he felt enough time had elapsed, he carefully carried her to the other room across the hall. This room was used mainly for storage. There were several random bits and bobbles strewn about the room on shelves they had fashioned out of discarded metal they found. One wall was covered in pictures. Some were random family photos, some were clipped from magazines and newspapers, and others were taken more recently. Aries had found an old camera and fixed it up a while back. A few of his blurry test photos were proudly taped to the wall.

He set her down for a moment so he could grab some spare blankets and cobble together a bed for her. Once finished, he tucked her in. Surprisingly, she was unphased by the movements. He sat on the opposite end of the room from her, right in front of the door. He figured it was best to be by the exit, in case she tried to go after the boy again.

As he watched her chest slowly rise and fall, he smiled slightly. She looked so much sweeter, and more peaceful, when she slept. It was such a wild contradiction to when she was awake. Although, he didn't fault her for being so fiery. It was clear that she had had a hard life. He could understand that probably better than most. But still, he couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a child.

His creators may have been able to give him emotions, but he would never be able to have that familial bond of child and parent. Ionans could not reproduce, and therefore didn't get the influx of hormones that came with parenthood like humans do. He wondered what it was like. It seemed difficult, yet it must be rewarding in some way. Otherwise, why would anyone do it?

Click. Click. Click.

His mind spun all night in contemplation.