Hush

Ace

Ace didn't feel the need to lock Jack's door for the short time he would be gone, he had already ensured that Jack was trustworthy enough now. The information he had given the boy about the room, and how he had also done time in there was a welcoming companionship to the friendless kid. Ace knew Jack inside out, not by reading up on him on the records the orphanage had of him, which were severely limited, but just by similar past personal experience. Ace was what everyone called a Street Sleeper. A person who had grown up on the streets, either by being abandoned, running away or by becoming an orphan, but unlike normal homeless people, Street Sleepers were different, they had secrets to hide from the society they lived in, otherwise they would be abducted by the research prison patrol officers for experimentation. He had ran away from home after his father beat his mother to death one night. He couldn't remember what happened after he blacked out upon seeing his mother's lifeless body while his dad sat casually watching football with a bottle of beer and his feet up on the coffee table, but he knows his dad was later found dead and that was reason enough not to think to much on his involvement. The smell of alcohol still made unwanted memories tarnish his happy front and nauseate his stomach.

But Ace had found Picadilly Orphanage, or rather, the police who caught him trying to break into a jewelers dropped him here. It was more a blessing than a curse. After putting the bullies of his day, in their place things went relatively smoothly. Kids would come and go and he would always remain because he was a problem child, the weird child that many people would have sent straight the the research prison to experiment on.

Now Ace was the secret gift to the rundown orphanage, he kept the wild and unruly under control by keeping them on lockdown, or so Betty and her so called helper were led to believe.

Ace was never a fan of the tiny rooms, specially designed to keep the insane safe and the sane safer. For Ace, sanity was a matter of perspective, people had differently wired minds and that was all there was to it. The secret to Ace being successful in his job, was relying on the kids he was granted ownership of.

If they slipped up, it would fall on him. Luckily for Ace all his children were wise enough to know not to be caught roaming the place, and if they were caught they had money or brawn to silence the kids who saw them. All of them knew to avoid Williams, those that didn't instinctively know, learned pretty quick.

As he made his way down the corridor he stopped to listen to a conversation going on in the boys' dorm.

'Is it true Jack knifed that ginger kid?' Someone asked.

'Yeah, multiple times.' Another voice said in amazement.

'Sick.' Another said in approval.

'I'm glad, Elliot used to bully me all the time. I can't sleep well with him in here, he does things to me.' Someone else said quietly.

'Shut up, Elliot is my best mate, that Jack kid is a psycho. If it wasn't for Elliot Jack would have-'

'Slit your throat, we know.' The first kid who had spoke cut in, sounding more than a little bored.

Ace shook his head, he doubted that Jack was truly a violent kid. He had seen kids with that kind of attitude, it's a sort of poison that leeks through them and makes people squirm in their presence. He carried on with his mission, collecting a couple of books Jack might have been interested in and the one he requested. Then taking a detour to the kitchen to pour the kid a glass of milk, grabbing the last packet of digestives he had hidden away, and a small alarm clock that was used for cooking he returned back to the room where Jack waited. He knocked gently and waited for the kid's small voice to welcome him in almost as quiet as the knock.

'Got these.' Ace offered, placing the books on Jack's bed and handing him the glass of milk, and packet of biscuits. 'You need a bedside table or something. I'll see to that for you later.' He offered Jack a honest smile.

'Did you get Hush?' Jack asked, looking down at the book titles.

'The bear?' Ace asked, 'completely forgot. Sorry kid.' He placed Neverwhere on top of the two other books. 'I got this for you though.'

Jack offered him a weak smile. 'Thanks, I guess.'

'What sort of bear is it?' Ace asked, trying to cheer Jack up.

Jack shrugged, pushing himself back to the corner of the bed and leaning against the wall.

'Okay, well if you need anything, remember,' Ace nodded at the key poking out from under the pillow. 'Be careful.' He got off the bed and headed to the door and before leaving he turned and tossed the alarm clock at Jack, who although had been appearing anything but present, caught the clock quickly. Just as Ace expected him to. 'Forgot to give you that.' He closed the door on his way out, this time locking it, banging his fist on it once before he left.

Jack was a strange lad, Ace knew all the rules to being a homeless boy. He knew appearing weak and almost vacant was a defense that worked on people who didn't care enough to pay attention. But he also knew appearances can be deceiving. Jack wasn't the vulnerable boy he made himself out to be, and while his eyes gave the impression of being far away. He was indeed living the here and now.

Ace remembered his first day in lockdown going pretty much the same way. His carer at the time, a man of about forty took him to the room and sat with him on the bed, explained why he was placed in seclusion. Then offered him the key to the door. His advice had been to not get caught, and if you were caught, don't blame him. Of course Ace had got caught. It was always the Street Sleepers who got caught, his keeper had noted after reigning blow after blow of a bamboo cane onto Ace's bare back as punishment. Too cocky for your socks. He had added. Then after going over the same rule, and this time telling him that there would be no spare key after this one, Ace took the privilege more seriously, sneak out at night with the rats, make the right friends and threaten your enemies, build up your physical appearance when locked inside. And when the time is right girls will invite themselves to your room to experiment with their bodies. All of this Ace knew all to well and as he left Jack alone, he knew it wouldn't be long before Jack learned all of this too.

A girl of about fifteen approached him, he knew her name but he stared at her as though she was a stranger because that was how she liked to be gazed upon. She stared back at him, questioning him with her eyes caked heavy in make up. He knew what she wanted and though he knew what they were doing was a risky game. He wouldn't care until he got caught, and even then he would struggle to care too much.

'Gemma,' he half smiled at her. 'What do you want?'

She blew a blue bubble from her gum and it popped as quickly as it had appeared. 'Whatever you are offering, just take me out of my mind.'

Ace looked about, nobody was present, just the two of them standing feet away from each other. Both of them showing no emotion. 'Let's go then.' He didn't take her hand or offer her to lead the way down the flight of stairs, instead he walked ahead of her, barely glancing at her as he lead her to the staff side of the building, up to the second floor and into his room. He barely noticed as she removed her skimpy outfit and roamed her eager hands over his trousers, the emptiness in his eyes was real, for Ace felt no adrenaline in this routine that had become invisible in the orphanage, and as Gemma indulged in her own pleasurable escape from this place, Ace began to wonder when his mind would take the plunge from the cliff it hung from, returning him to the person he vaguely remembered being. He listened as the naked girl on top of him chased her climax, and he imagined what she would sound like if she was being murdered.

A grin touched his lips, and just for a second he felt alive.