pitch black || BatIM [Asylum!AU]

- Chapter 2 -

Buddy had two ham-and-cheese sandwiches down and was working on another sandwich as Mr. Drew talked more. He had noticed a little while ago that Mr. Drew was a very expressive talker; moving his hands a lot and the like. A few times he had slammed a hand down on the lunch table they were sitting at and Buddy had jumped, but Mr. Drew always just laughed it off and waved his hand before he got back to talking.

Finally, once Buddy had scarfed down the third sandwich, Mr. Drew fell quiet and just stared at him.

Buddy shifted nervously in his seat, trying to remember if Mr. Drew had asked him a question that he was supposed to answer, or. . ?

Mr. Drew steepled his fingers together, and took a deep breath. "Daniel-"

"-Buddy, sir, please," Buddy said quietly (he figured that if Mr. Drew had given him three sandwiches he couldn't be all that bad, right?).

Mr. Drew just barreled on. "-son, do you want a job?"

Buddy fell silent almost instantly, eyes widening as he stared at Joey.

"I'll pay you more than what your boss is paying now. Hell," Mr. Drew gave the patches on his shirt sleeves a look, then nodded firmly. "I'll pay double."

"I- I mean, I would love that, sir, but is that. . . legal? For me, to work here?" Buddy asked, stumbling over the words. Him? Work here? Double pay?

Mr. Drew stared at him for a moment before he just tilted his head back and laughed, though Buddy wasn't sure what he'd said was funny.

"Of course it is, son, don't worry. If you're serious about wanting the job, come back tomorrow and Allison'll get you all set up, alright?"

Buddy nodded, almost in a daze. He could bring home more money for Ma. He could make sure she wasn't working herself to the bone every day!

"Wonderful!" Mr. Drew said, smiling wider. Then he glanced up at the ceiling, frowning as all the lights flickered sharply.

Once.

Twice.

Three times, then all the lights went out in one collective burst.

Buddy froze, eyes wide. He wasn't afraid of the dark- but this wasn't just 'the dark.' This was pitch black, leaving him unable to see anything. Probably because there were no windows.

There was a quiet swear from in front of him, then the strike of a match and Buddy found himself able to see once more, though it was just by the dim light of the match Mr. Drew was holding.

"You alright there, Buddy?" He asked. Buddy gave him a shaky nod, unable to muster up words right now. With how silent it was, it almost felt wrong to speak.

Well, almost silent. Thunder crashed in the distance and Buddy jumped again, spinning around.

Mr. Drew glanced up, and his lips tightened into a grimace. "Come on, let's go see what all this is about," he muttered, gesturing for Buddy to follow him. So Buddy did, trailing a little behind him and looking warily at the walls. In the dark, the smiling creature on the posters looked a lot less friendly.

They had barely gotten all the way down one hall before a sudden burst of light blinded Buddy, leaving a huge spot in his vision. Must've done the same for Mr. Drew, because he swore again and glared at the spot where the light was coming from.

"Goddammit, Polk," he hissed. The light (which Buddy realized must've been a flashlight) moved up a little, aiming more towards the ceiling as the man carrying it stepped forwards.

"Power's out, went out with the storm," he said in a gruff tone, and Mr. Drew clenched his teeth together.

"Why yes, I can see that." He dropped the match to the ground, raising one foot to crush it against the tiles on the floor.

Buddy peeked over Mr. Drew's shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of this 'Polk' guy. He couldn't see much beyond the bright beam of the flashlight, but when his eyes adjusted he realized there were two people standing there. Mr. Drew must've realized at around the same time as him, because he frowned.

"Who's that with you?"

"Grant." Polk said, shrugging a little. The light on the ceiling bobbed up and down.

"I couldn't see, I almost split my head open falling down the stairs. Norman had to grab me," another voice offered. "Who's the kid, Mr. Drew?"

"This is Daniel-"

"Buddy," Buddy cut in quietly.

"-Buddy Lewek." Mr. Drew corrected himself, nodding a little. "He's our newest hire."

The two other people went silent for a moment before Polk spoke up, an edge to his words that made it sound like he was thoroughly sick of Mr. Drew.

"Drew, that's a child."

"He's seventeen," Mr. Drew waved a hand. "And this is not important. Are Tom and his team working on the lights?"

"We were going to go check." Grant said, shifting his weight between his feet. Mr. Drew nodded firmly, then motioned with his hand.

"Well? Come on then, you've got the light."

Mr. Drew took the lead as they walked down the hall. Buddy fell into step beside the Grant guy, who gave him a small, tight-lipped smile, while Polk walked behind them all, flashlight illuminating most of the hallway in front of them.

Buddy lost count of how many halls they went down, everyone staying mostly quiet as they walked. Mr. Drew would mutter to himself every now and again, but apart from that and the storm outside, there was an uneasy quiet that hung over their little group.

Finally they got to a hallway with a door that Buddy could see little jolts of light coming out from under. Mr. Drew glanced at Buddy, then motioned for them all to stop walking.

"You three stay out here, I'm going to go check on Tom and the team," he said, then moved towards the door and opened it a crack, before slipping inside. There was silence among their little group for a second, then Polk pushed his flashlight into Grant's arms.

"Yeah, Grant, you and the kid stay out here," he said, stepping towards the door as well. Grant spluttered and tried to push the flashlight back into his hands.

"Oh no you don't, Norman. You are not leaving me out here with babysitting duty!" he argued, and Polk—Norman?—snorted a little.

"Wait, aren't..." Buddy trailed off as their figures turned towards him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously, then pressed on. "Didn't Mr. Drew tell us to stay out here? Shouldn't we. . . do that?"

The two of them stared at him for a second. Or at least, he thought they did– it was a little difficult to see with the flashlight pointed away from their faces.

"Forgot he could talk for a minute," Norman mumbled, in a low tone that Buddy assumed was an attempt to stay quiet so he couldn't hear him. Grant's figure moved sharply, and there was a hiss of pain from Norman—he had elbowed him in the gut.

"We should listen to Mr. Drew," Grant said with a firm nod, "but that's really never been Norman's forte. He's a bad influence. You, kid, should listen to Mr. Drew."

"No, he shouldn't." Norman grumbled.

Buddy blinked, tilting his head to the side a little as he tried to puzzle this out. Norman seemed like he almost. . . didn't like Mr. Drew? But why wouldn't he? From what he had seen, Mr. Drew was nice enough! Sure, maybe he was a bit eccentric, but he had given Buddy a job.

The fact that he had given him a job was the most defining thing to Buddy. Why would Mr. Drew give him a job if he wasn't a good person?

That just wouldn't make sense.

-

Hey, guys! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed, I'm trying my best to set a schedule for myself.