Experiment 009

10. big day (4)

"I can swear it's supposed to be here, where did it go?" Aiden said with panic in his voice.

"Maybe we just took the wrong way?" Liam suggested.

You see, we did manage to reach the orphanage according to Aiden's directions, problem is it's not there.

Instead a large building with shops and wealthy looking people coming in and out, so it's definitely not the orphanage.

"It is here, I remember the place well, there was that building- and- and-" Aiden said as he took off running, we followed him till we ended up at an ice-cream shop.

"Is Mr. Eric here?" He asked the shop worker who just gave him a confused look.

"I'm sorry, my father died 5 years ago, it's me who manages the shop now" he said as Aiden replied with an "oh, sorry" looking at the ground.

"It's fine, did you know him?" He asked "yeah, he used to be my father's friend" Aiden said clearly trying not to cry.

"Was... there an orphanage around here?" Liam asked knowing Aiden's distracted "you mean the one that used to be around here?" He asked.

"Yes, I think... Did they move or are they still around" Liam asked, Aiden looked at the guy as the three of us waited for an answer, the guy then realised why we're asking these questions as his face went from confusion to pity.

"That orphanage isn't there anymore, it got destroyed 5 years ago and turned into an entertainment and shopping center" he replied as my heart sank.

"No- it can't be- then-" Liam panicked before his eyes rolled up and his body gave out, I caught him since I was the closest and lied him on the ground slowly.

"Liam? What's wrong?" I asked him but he seemed to be sleeping, Aiden rushed to our side so did the ice-cream shop guy.

Aiden tried to shake him to wake up but the shop guy told us to stay away from him, he placed a hand on his wrist, a few centimetres away from his face then on his forehead.

"He got a fever and probably passed out due to exhaustion" he said as he easily carried him to a room inside and placed him on a sofa, then got some pillows under his feet, he lifed his shirt up revealing his thin body, we could clearly see his ribcage, when did he become so skiny?

"I- is he okay?" I asked "he is, he'll wake up on his own, no need to get worried kiddos" he said looking at me and that's when I realized I was crying but I couldn't stop.

Liam was the strongest one of us, he was our strength, how did he suddenly become like this? Why did he suddenly fall like this?

"He'll be fine, I have to make a call, I'll be right back" he said heading out as both me and Aiden stared at Liam, his chest going up and down with every breath he took.

A few minutes later the guy was back, but we were busy staring at Liam.

"You guys seem like you took a long journey to get here, where did you come from?" He asked and ofcourse Aiden was the one to answer, it took us a week to get here after all.

"That's tough, you two must be tired and hungry" he said opening a tiny fridge "we got food, thanks" Aiden said pointing to our bag.

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself, I'm William, or you can just call me Will for short" he said placing a plate of cookies on the table.

"Well thanks for helping us Mr.Will, I'm Aiden, this is Charlie and over there is Liam" Aiden said pointing to the sofa.

"Aiden? That name seems familiar, did you come here before?" Will asked "yes, Mr.Eric was a close friend of my father, I've seen you a few times myself when I came here with him, you must have seen him, he's tall, have black hair, long beard, doesn't wear glasses, wait, I got a picture!" Aiden said picking the picture out of his pocket.

The moment Will's eye landed on it his mouth opened as his eyes widen.

"Aiden!? The little boy who used to come here with that kind man?" He asked again making Aiden smile and nod.

"What happened you two disappeared around 7 years ago?" Will asked.

"He's hopefully in a better place hanging out with Mr. Eric" Aiden replied, Will's face went pale.

"Oh, sorry about that, we were never informed" he said "yeah I know, mom didn't even bother to make a funeral, he was buried in the corner of the abandoned graveyards" Aiden replied.

But just when Will was about to speak a bell rang mentioning that someone just entered the shop, Will, opened the door to find a lady rushing inside with a bag.

"Where's the boy Will? Where is he?" She said wasting no time waiting for Will to answer but just barged into the room, dropping her bag near the sofa as she sat on her knees beside Liam and started unbuttoning his shirt.

We were about ask her what is she doing, but Will just dragged us out of the room, and closed the door.

"Liam is still inside!" I shouted trying to make him let go of my hand "I know listen, I know you guys don't trust us yet, but when it comes to saving lives especially children, my wife is the best when it comes to it, your friend in good hands, we mean no harm" he said letting go of us.

"But..." I said looking at the door behind him still looking for words.

"I know you've been through alot and it's hard to trust strangers, but Aiden knew me, our fathers were really close, so he knows me, please just trust me for today" he said turning the shop sign from open to closed.

I was about to tell him something but Aiden placed a hand on my shoulder, then looked at Will and nodded.

Suddenly the door opened by the woman we saw a while ago "Will, can you come here for a sec" she said going inside, I tried to peek at whatever she was doing inside but Will was quick to cover the door with his body as he went inside then closed the door behind him swiftly.

"So we just gonna leave Liam with them?" I asked "I trust Will, I know my dad did, and it's not like we can go anywhere with him unconscious" Aiden said proving his point.

We waited for what felt like hours, after Aiden kept telling me how colse their parents were, until the door opened.