Escaping Anxiety

1 - The Boy

Tw: Remus, isolation, murderous intent, author not knowing how to do trigger warnings

"Come out, come out, wherever you are~" shrieked a terrifying voice throughout the decrepit house. You could almost hear the twisted smile behind the voice. "Come on, kid. Let's play."

This only made the boy huddle further into his hiding spot- the corner of his closet. He heard the slamming of doors getting closer and closer, knowing fully well this was done purposefully to make him more frightened. He prayed the wicked man would not find him this time. But of course, when had his prayers ever been answered.

"Found youuu~"

Tears streamed down the boys face as he was lead down the hallway by the now cheerily singing man. His wrist was being crushed, but he didn't bother resisting. His fate was inevitable.

Before long they stopped by an all too familiar black door which caused the boy to whimper just seeing it. "Have fun," the man laughed, throwing him in the room.

The boy hit the floor with a thud and knew his arm would develop a bruise. Sitting up, he scooted over to the wall and waited. The room was almost pitch black, the only light provided was from chips in the black paint covering a window. They had painted this window, just for him. Aren't I just so damn fortunate, he thought.

Oh look, the mistake is back.

The boy pulled his knees towards him and buried his head.

Everyone hates you.

He covered his ears, tears streaming his face once again.

No one will ever love you.

"Stop," he finally retorted, facing the black form before him. It slithered around his legs before making eye contact with the boy.

You know how to make this stop.

Despite not having any features in it's current state, the boy could swear it was smirking. "No, I wont do it again."

You're not good enough.

That's why they lock you up.

They don't want you.

Finally the boy arose, having decided it had probably been enough time that the burly man had fallen asleep on the couch or at the least he wasn't close by. He pulled out a screwdriver he'd stashed away in his hoodie and got to work on the window.

You'll fail.

He managed to pry the window open.

Escaping is impossible.

He pulled himself out the window and grabbed the backpack laying a few feet away. He'd prepared his things earlier and thrown the backpack out a window before he hid in the closet.

He'll kill you.

The shadow transformed into a bird and flew out the window, before circling towards the front of the house. The boy sprinted away, putting as much distance between himself and the house as he could before the bird alerted his warden.

. . .

Be reached a small town before his short, little legs were ready to give out. He pushed himself to keep going and looked for any sign of safety. Maybe he could hole up in an abandoned building for the night. Were there any abandoned buildings in here?

While lost in thought he bumped into someone and fell back. "I'm so so- Aaahhh!" He screamed and stopped breathing when he saw the person's face. It took him a moment to realize this was not the murderer after him, but someone who looked very similar. "You're the prince?"

The man chuckled, extending a hand to help him up which he gladly accepted. "That I am," he said posing, "Prince Roman, the most dashing fellow in all the mindscape."

The boy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Thank goodness."

Roman looked perplexed at the child before him. He had screamed upon first seeing him and seemed thankful he wasn't someone else. "Who did you think I was?"

Rubbing his arm and looking at the ground the boy could only respond with "Remus."

"Oh great. What has my brother done now?"

The boy was silent. He wasn't sure if he should tell Roman the truth or not. What if he got mad? What if he started yelling? What if he didn't care? What if-

Once he realized how many what its were racing through his mind, the boy looked around frantically. They must be close, he thought. And he was right. Down the street he could see Remus strolling through town, a morning star mounted over his shoulder. The townspeople moved quickly away from him.

"He's going to kill me," the boy let out a terrible gasp.

Roman followed his gaze and turned back to the boy, face strewn in horror. Luckily Remus hadn't noticed the duo yet and Roman didn't care to find out the history between this boy and his brother. He grabbed his hand and took off down an alleyway. Then they kept running a few blocks further.

The boy kept having to stop and catch his breath. When Roman noticed his small and skinny form, he picked up the child and carried him, not setting him down until they had reached a small two-story house and they rushed inside.

Both boys leaned over breathing heavily as an energetic young man came bouncing over to them. "Roman, what happened? And who's this cutie," he asked invading person space as he looked into the boys copper eyes. The boy flinched backwards and hid slightly behind his heroic prince.

"Running... from... my brother" Roman managed to huff out. The bubbly personality left to get water bottles for them as they caught their breaths and brought back with him another person.

Everyone decided to sit down in the living room, to catch their breaths and then answer questions. The boy did not leave Roman's side. "I'm Patton, but you can call me Dad. I represent morality and pathos/emotions," started the energetic cinnamon roll, " and this is Logan. He represents logical and factual reasoning" he motioned to the newest man who seemed to be studying the boy and taking notes. "And this is Roman who represents creativity and romance," he said being sure everyone was introduced. "What is your name, kiddo?"

The boy finally relaxed some and released the death grip he had on his hoodie. He hadn't heard much about them, but these people seemed fairly nice. "My name is Virgil," he smiled, melting Patton's heart who raced over and gave him a hug. He gladly welcomed the warmth and started tearing up.