The Dark Blood

5

Ali was in the front row of the class. The teacher was screaming to them about sins. How great.

School was not really school in Aldermere. It was one sided and absolutely not scientifically accurate at all. They were not taught about the world any more than what was common sense and if they themselves wanted to know more, they would be forced to learn it by themselves from the library. It didn't really make a difference since they the teachers propably didn't know much either.
The only thing they were really taught was how sinning affected to your physical being. If your parents had committed crimes before you were born, you would have darker blood and that affected how your body worked.

The students in different classes were not chosen by age, but by how many years they had been in Aldermere, since they were all brought at different times of their lives.
Ali and Namjoon were on their seventh year, even though he was a year older than her. They were the only ones in the same class and even ate in the same table everyday but before Taehyung had arrived, they had rarely talked.

***

Taehuyng was sitting next to a window. The chair he was on was uncomfortable and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a position where the hard wood that it was made of didn't numb his legs.

The teacher stood still and stared right at the few people who were in her class. There hadn't been many new kids lately so the first years class was almost empty. When she looked at him, Taehyung instantly looked away. It was like she could see your soul.

"Good morning," she wished them, but sounded anything but happy, "My name is Mrs. Bawden and I will be making sure you know what you are expected to be like here."

She told them about rules, which most of them he knew already.

"And do not be mistaken, if you don't follow them, you will be punished," She announced.

Taehyung leaned back in her chair and narrowed his eyes. He had no idea that the poles outside were meant for that and it gave chills down his spine.

Mrs. Bawden took a look of her notes and straightened her already straight back more. She inhaled before speaking.

"Let's discuss about Aldermere," she said before adding, "this asylum was built in—."

Taehyung now leaned back in. What? His mom had promised him that he was taken to a boarding school, but he had had his doubts. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to find comfort in that.
After realising that he had zoned out, he once again paid attention to her, while breathing irtelugarly.

It was possible for only one of the parents to have darker blood, but Taehyung couldn't understand how he had it. His parents were loving and kind and nothing like she had told them. Mrs. Bawden was raising her voice as she got to the sins and yelled at the class, who all just listened silently, in shock.

***

Jimin was looking at himself in the mirrow. The small break between class and treatment was always much needed and he took a second to breath.

Bathrooms were a safe place from the loud noises in the hallways. It wasn't good to be loud, and the Angels hated it, but when you have so many people moving simultaneously from floor to floor, you'd get some noise no matter what.

The tired eyes stared back at him. Jimin hated looking at himself because of the way it made him feel, but the anxiety always brought him back. He pinched his cheeks, which had slimmed down a little this passing year.

Suddenly, the door behind him was opened. Jimin jumped back and still in surprise, pretended to fix his hair.

A boy walked in quickly and grabbed some paper. He lowered his gaze and tried to cover his red eyes with his hair, but failing.

Jimin secretly looked at him through the mirror. He felt bad for the new kid, who was gasping for air between sobs. He wanted to ask him what was wrong and hug him, but it looked like he really wanted to be alone right now.

The door was closed again and Jimin looked back at himself. He wasn't the only one not having a good time.

The daily treatment was always much more bearable than the evening one. Once again, they were separated into smaller groups, about then patients in each.

It was a few minutel until the sessions started and almost everyone was already sitting on their seats, looking outside from the big glass windows.

The medical nurses who used science in treatment instead of religion or belief were often a little more understanding and didn't use too harsh methods on them.

The group which Jimin was in had been lucky for getting Mrs. Aldmin to be in charge of them and she walked around the room, looking around. Then she stopped in front on the empty table.

"Who is missing?" She asked in a demanding tone.

This instantly caught everyones full attention and they looked at the empty chair, but nobody seemed to know the answer. Mr. Aldmin sighed and looked through her notes that she had in a very messy notebook.

"Kim Taehyung," she muttered to herself.

"Does anyone know about the whereabouts of Kim Taehyung?" She now asked the group.

Nobody seemed to know anything and she sat behind her own desk in front of the children while quietly talking to herself. It was a part of her duty to keep the kids in their schedule and even one of them messing it up delayed everything for the rest of them. It was crucial to get the young boy to get treatment but leaving the others in the room which had needles and sharp objects in it was out of the question.

Someone raised their hand and snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Park Jimin?" she asked.

Jimin hesatated for a little and moved in his seat before clearing his throat and talking.

"His room is the room 89, right next to mine," he told her.

Mrs. Aldmin stood up and walked in front of him, staring right into his eyes.

"Do you know that he is in his room?" she questioned him.

There was no way for Jimin to know that for sure but there was a good chance he would be there. Aldermere was full of action during the day, and surely he didn't want people to see him cry. Plus it was better if he got to him before one of the adults did.

"I don't know for sure Mrs. Aldmin," he admitted and looked down to his desk.

She turned her head towards the windows and thought for a little before shaking her head.

"Go look for him for me, would you?" she said and Jimin nodded.

He stood up from his chair and walked to the door. He saw the empty hallways. For the first time he could walk all alone while others were obeying their routines.

"But I'll be damned if you take more that fifteen minutes, Park Jimin,"