11:01am
My ass wants hugs
Au
—
The sound of a door faintly clicking shut was what made Virgil's eyes snap open. For a few minutes, he stared at the wooden slats holding up the mattress above him until he slowly sat up, eyes surveying the large room that had multiple bunk beds pressed against the walls, instead of holding only two beds, it went up to four, or five. Each kid was asleep. Apart from Virgil.
Peering over the mattress, he glanced at the two beds below him, making sure they weren't awake before clambering down the metal ladder. Once his feet pressed against the cold floor, he knew there was no turning back now.
Jacket hugged securely around his body, he pulled on his pair of shoes and silently made his way through the large room to the door. The sound of light snoring eased his nerves, because if one child were to awaken, and see him up out of bed, he knew he would be in deep shit.
Slowly, his shaking hand rested on the golden doorknob, twisting until the door could be pulled open. The white light from the hallway poured into the room, and in a flash he was standing out of the room, closing the door behind him so the light wouldn't disturb any of the kids. Looking both ways, he took a left and hurried down along the white, cold ground.
At the end of the hallway he landed himself in another room full of bunk beds, falling into the shadows he crept across the room that was always spotless, as if no one really lived here, and it was cleaned periodically. The only time he stopped moving was when he heard a creak in one of the beds, it would be futile to run, so he clenched his eyes shut and waited to hear the ringing, the ringing that alerted everyone.
When it didn't come, he realised the creak was just a child rolling over, so with a long sigh, he carried on his movements until he reached the hallway directly opposite the first one he came through. He went through room after room, each time praying everyone was asleep, and no one would catch him, because he's been planning this for months, and if it were to fail all those restless nights would be for nothing.
Finally, he reached a staircase, gripping the banister he slowly slid down, keeping to the side to avoid any possible creaks. The bottom floor was silent, darkness surrounding him entirely, making it almost impossible to see anything. He blinked a few times, eyes slowly adjusting so they could see the basic outlines of tables, chairs, and things alike.
Making sure to stay pressed up to walls, he walked a snails pace through the bottom floor, dragging his fingers across the wall so even in the dark he knew where he would be going. What felt like hours passed until his hand couldn't feel anything anymore, and he realised this was it, he was standing in the doorway to the last room he would have to pass through.
Gulping, he flicked his hair so it stopped poking his eyes, feet taking him silently across the room the chiefs cooked in. Finally, he reached the back door, and he leaned against it, breathing out lowly, willing his heart to stop beating so rapidly.
Timidly, he reached his hand directly up until his finger poked a set of keys that gently chimed in the silence. He tensed, eyes clenched shut as his hand gripped around the pair of keys that seemed desperate to make as much noise as possible. Taking them down from the hook, he tried each key on the lock, becoming less and less wary of the noise for his anxiousness was becoming too much, and if he didn't unlock the door soon he feared he would fall into a panic attack.
Everything stopped when he heard a click. Softly, he placed the keys back and twisted the doorknob until the door silently pushed open, and the humid outdoor air hit against his face. He felt like he could collapse in relief, or scream in hysterics, but he kept it all in, opting for stepping out into the night air and closing the door behind his body.
He didn't give himself any time to admire the outside world before his legs were taking him across the field the fastest they could, adrenaline coursing through his veins, making him move faster and faster until he reached the forest that outlined the property the large house he just left occupied.
Yet, he didn't stop there, he pushed himself forward, he kept moving, even if his lungs burned and legs felt like they would give way from under him, with each thin branch that would slap against his face, or bramble that would sting his legs, he felt his determination rise, to get away, to never be caught, to not stop until he found someone - anyone.
By the time the sun was rising over the horizon, Virgil was dragging himself across the leaf covered floor, panting harshly, legs barely moving as his arms did most of the work. He felt like giving up in that exact moment, because he had been running for hours, the forest just didn't end.
Although, everything changed when he hauled his body through a thick bush and he found himself on concrete. Gasping, he looked up to see a street, houses- many houses staring right back at him. Now, he could stop moving, and just...relax.
For he had made it.
He escaped.
He was free.
—
11:25am
Bonus: Virgil in the future
—
"Okay, Kiddo! See you soon!"
"Yeah...bye, Dad"
"Love you!"
"Love you, too" Virgil responded with a faint smile, removing the phone from his ear to end the call. He sighed out, playing his music through his earphones as he relaxed against the tree he leaned on, hand picking up the pencil he placed to the side prior to pick up the call.
In midst of the music, he let his hand glide the pencil across the white page, every so often lifting his eyes to stare at the beautiful scenery laid out in front of him. He sat atop an average-size hill that overlooked the entire park that was filled with kids, teens, and adults. They played on the swings, skateparks, and had picnics either on the benches or the ground.
Virgil always loved sitting here, it was peaceful. Whenever he was having a particular bad day and didn't want to bother his dad, he would come here to breathe, calm himself down before facing the world again.
A little while later he paused when he realised his music had stopped. Furrowing his eyebrows together, he plucked out an earphone and checked his phone to see the music had stopped on it's own. Well, that was what he thought until the stranger beside him made his presence known.
"Why did you leave?"
He felt like letting out a scream of terror at the sudden voice beside him, but instead he compressed it down to a yelp and a flinch backwards. With wide eyes, he stared at the man who had taken a seat beside him, wearing white, red and gold, plus light brown hair that shimmered under the sunlight, and amber eyes that shone brighter than the stars.
Virgil gulped, flipping close his sketch book to get up and leave, but the stranger grabbed his arm but not too tightly, more desperately. Virgil could see it in his eyes.
"Why did you leave?" He repeated, watching Virgil lick his lips and shrug out of his grip. Picking himself up from the floor, the stranger followed his movements, it was obvious he wasn't going to let Virgil leave before he answered his question.
Deflating, Virgil pocketed his phone alongside his earphones, keeping his sketch book hugged to his chest. "What do you mean?" From his expression Virgil knew playing dumb wasn't an option.
"I saw you" the stranger told him, "the night you left; I saw you"
Virgil tensed, confusion washing over him. Someone...saw him? Yet, they didn't tell anyone? Why?
"Will you say something?!"
"No!" Virgil yelled back, hands shaking. "No" he reinforced, shaking his head wildly. "I won't...I'm-" but the stranger grabbed his shoulders, jaw clenched.
"Tell. Me. Why. You. Left"
"Because I was scared!" Virgil pushed him away, shrinking in on himself. "Why wouldn't I be!? The-the kids that were taken away never came back...they were replaced, I knew I would be next, I didn't...I was scared, okay? I was scared" the stranger silenced himself once he got the answer he needed. Nodding curtly, he turned his body halfway, able to see the stretch of land before them.
Virgil wanted to leave, but if this was a kid from the same pace, he wanted to know what he did to get here, so he asked.
Tensing, the regal looking stranger shrugged, running a hand through his floppy hair. "I escaped. Just like you"
"Why?" Virgil pressed, eyes hard.
"You were right to be scared" the stranger replied cryptically, not daring to meet Virgil's gaze. "The children were killed. Slaughtered. Mercilessly. I was able to get away through a window...no one noticed" Virgil felt a shiver shoot down his spine and guilt claw at his heart, he could've saved them, he could have saved so many kids that he knew wanted to escape also, but he was terrified, he knew they all wouldn't be able to leave, he was selfish, he...never went back. He knew something happened to the kids he didn't know what, but now that he did, he wished he hadn't.
"I'm sorry" Virgil whispered brokenly. The stranger glanced over at him, noticing trails of tears slice through his makeup. The stranger nodded shortly, arms crossed tightly over his chest, he couldn't be angry at the boy who got lucky, because he escaped without trying to save anyone else, too. They were kids, some people would argue, even so, kids can do so much, he could've done so much more, but he didn't.
"It's closed. They closed it down. After..." he trailed off, gulping harshly. "After there was a fire, if it pleases you none of the adults survived"
"A-and the kids?" Virgil's voice wavered. He watched his expression harden, and that was when he fell to the ground in a fit of sobs, tightly pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes, sketch book fallen to his side. The stranger went to leave; but what good would that do? He and Virgil were one of the few kids to live in that place and survive to tell the tale, so why would they separate?
He dropped to his knees and pulled Virgil into a tight hug, silently rubbing his back in the most comforting way he possibly could. Eventually, Virgil hugged him back, sniffling and hiccuping.
"I'm Roman" the stranger murmured once he pulled back, tears and sobs coming to a stop.
"V-Virgil" he replied.
Their eyes met, and they never thought about that place ever again.
—
11:51am