Rogue by AshabeeGrbl . (little red riding hood ebook .TXT) 📕

The first thing the boy was aware of was the smell of chemicals. His eyes weren’t open yet as he wrinkled his nose into the endless darkness. When his eyes did open, he could see a stocky nurse waiting at his bedside.

“Oh Good! You’re finally awake!” The nurse happily got up and rushed around the room. Grabbing a plastic cup and then returning to sit back down, she introduced herself. “So I’m nurse Sally. I’m gonna make sure you get settled into our wonderful facility.”

“But-“ he paused to clear his throat as his voice came out scratchy. “Sorry. Why is my mind so blank?”

Sally gave the boy, who was actually twelve years old, a sympathetic look. “It’s ok, honey. It happens to everyone. Don’t worry, you’ll adjust.” She patted the boy’s leg comfortingly. After all, that’s what I’m here for... Justin.”

Justin.

It was the only thing in his brain. The boy pondered it as he laid in the pristine, white bed.

It was lunchtime in the Facility. Alicia, a small red-head with endless freckles on her face, was waiting for her friends in the cafeteria. Like everything else in the Facility, the lunchroom, and all of its furniture, were a stark, blinding white. At the edge of her subconsciousness, Alicia could hear her name being called. She turned her head sharply in towards the sound.

"Hey, Alicia," a dark, curly haired boy waved to her as he made his way to her.

Alicia simply waved back to him until he got within comfortable earshot. "So, what's up, Justin?" she asked him.

He just shrugged halfheartedly. "Nothing much." Justin took a moment to look around the room. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

“Let's see..." Alicia tilted her face towards the ceiling in thought. "Faeline is helping show a new kid around the Facility. And Zeke was flirting with another girl, last I checked." She turned back to Justin. "So it looks like it's just us for now."

“Alright," Justin responded with a smile. "Well," he gestured towards the assembly line, "shall we?" With smiles in both of their faces, Alicia and Justin got their food and picked a place to sit down.

As they were chatting about their day, a dark-haired boy plopped down at the table. The white clothes he, and everyone else, was wearing completely contrasted against his dark skin tone. He had big, brown eyes that you could practically see mischief brewing in.

"Hey, Zeke," Justin said to him. "What happened this time?"

Zeke feigned innocence. When he realized it wasn't working, he finally gave in. "You know that new kid right?" Alicia and Justin nodded. "So... I might've picked on him a little bit.”

Alicia groaned and rocked back in her chair. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Faeline didn't happen to be there... Was she?"

Zeke's eyes shot up to her in surprise. "Hey, how'd you know?"

She glared at him. "Faeline told me she felt an obligation to help that new kid. I just didn't realize it was because of you."

“Zeke, I thought you wanted Faeline to like you," Justin told him. Zeke shot Justin a death glare that Alicia couldn't quite read the meaning behind.

Justin's hands shot up defensively, "I'm just saying you should probably try to be nicer around her."

“I didn’t do anything to her.”

“Yes...” Justin responded hesitantly. “But, she saw you mistreat another person. You know she has the biggest heart in the world.”

Zeke slumped in his seat in defeat. “Fine, whatever,” he finally muttered. “I’m gonna get some food,” he told them, getting up and heading towards the line.

Alicia watched him go. Once he was out of earshot, she turned quickly towards Justin. “What was that about?” she asked.

“Nothin’.” He kept stabbing at his salad non committedly.

Just as she was about to try again, Faeline sat down at the table. “Sorry, guys,” she apologized. “Zeke was being a jerk again and I had to save a new kid.”

“Yeah, he told us,” Alicia told her.

Faeline took a moment to digest that. “Well, I’ll be right back. I’m starving.”

Not long after she was gone, Zeke came back with a full tray. “Well, that didn’t take her as long as I expected,” he commented. “She’s gonna kill me.”

“You’re right,” he heard from behind him, making him jump. Zeke turned slowly and saw the blonde girl towering over him with a salad in her hands.

“Well you’re faster than I thought in everything today, aren’t you?” he said in half a daze.

With her straight, pale blonde hair that reached slightly past her tiny waist, one might mistake her for an angel on earth. “Just so you know, the guy’s name is Timothy, and he forgives you.”

“Yup,” he said sarcastically, “ that clears my conscience.” They all laughed at that. Zeke never seemed to feel guilt.

Justin lay in his bed that night, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. Absentmindedly, he played with the white electronic band on his wrist. Everyone had one since they day they arrived, which was as far as any of them could recall. They were told the wristband was to keep track of their health and alert someone if anything was wrong. In his mess of thoughts, Justin wondered if the devices might do more than any of them could imagine.

No. It wasn’t possible. The Facility had no reason to lie to them. Sure, there were things the kids didn’t know- and were never told- for example where they came from, but the people at the Facility really cared for the kids. Shaking his head furiously, disgusted at his own thoughts, Justin sat up in his white bed and looked around the room.

Each kid in the Facility had their own room. Each room had the same things. No one’s room was different than another, and it was unheard of to personalize a room. And that’s how it was there.

Only the children seemed to diversify. Everything had a set way it was supposed to be. They only thing was, it wasn’t done in an uncomfortable way. In some ways, it made everything seem more secure. It’s like when you go to school. There’s always a set way things are supposed to go, like a schedule. And something about things having a “way it’s supposed to be” makes people feel secure.

This is why when the lights flickered off at 10:00, as it always did every night, Justin felt a sense of safety. Of what, he didn’t know. Maybe his thoughts and wonders. As if he could hide from them in the darkness enveloping him.

Publication Date: 08-10-2017

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