Mercy- 001 x OC

Chapter 5- A Better Time

Valerie crouched behind a boiler in the boiler room, she'd gone down before their meeting time, to comprehend something that has been on her mind for a while. Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn't hold them back. Sobbing into her hands.

A memory flooded into her head. Valerie stood outside near a playground. Staring at her younger self running and playing with a neighborhood kid. She was her best friend and they always hung around the playground.

Laughing and playing. Running and just having a good time.

"Valerie! Valerie, dinner!" Her mother called her.

"Coming!" Valerie turned away from her friend and ran to the ladder of her apartment.

Valerie entered the apartment, her mother was sitting at the table along with her father. She slid into a seat.

"Valerie! What happened? Are you okay?" Henry asked, sliding next to her.

"I'm fine, it was just a memory," muttered Valerie.

"You don't look fine, Val, you're pale."

"Am I not always pale?"

Henry shook his head, "No, you're not. What happened?"

"We have to act soon."

"We will, I heard that tomorrow, there will be a new training task. We'll give Eleven tips, then we proceed with our plan, Valerie."

"Hopefully it'll work."

"No, I'm positive, it'll work." Henry gripped her hand.

"Freedom?"

Henry nodded, "Freedom."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking."

"A memory, a happy one. If we were to escape, what would we do after? Wouldn't we still be hunted by the lab?"

Henry sighed, "I won't let them."

"How? Henry? How will you do that?" Valerie asked, tightening the grip on his hand.

"Don't worry about it," said Henry, "What was the memory?"

"You wouldn't understand." Valerie muttered, glancing at the ground.

"I can understand a lot of things."

"It's complicated, more complicated than I can explain." Valerie held eye contact with him, "So that's the plan. There are many flaws in your plan. The first one being getting Eleven to help us."

"I know it might sound impossible, but never tell me the odds, Val. If the odds of this working is one to a trillion, I'll take those odds. Any day."

"You're crazy." Valerie chuckled, punching him.

"Ow. And I know, if there's a small percentage that we escape, I'll take those chances."

"You are not the boy, I remember."

"Maybe, it's because I'm not a boy anymore." Henry ran a hand through his hair.

"I was giving you a complaint." Valerie said, with an eye roll.

Henry sat cross-legged, Valerie pulled her knees closer to her. Henry scooted closer to her, "I have dreams too."

"They're not dreams, Henry, they're memories, memories of the outside."

"Do you dream? I know it's an odd question. If so, what about?"

"I have had dreams. Not anymore. The last one I remember was around two years ago, and it was of the outside world. What about you?"

Henry scoffed, "Mine were always about the lab, since I didn't have a good relationship with my parents."

"A better time, Henry. A better time."