Whispers After Dark

Chapter 20

 The throbbing pain in my body seemed to amplify with each passing minute as I sat uncomfortably in class. I tried my best to ignore the curious glances from the other children, their eyes darting to my bruised face and body. It was hard to concentrate on Roy's lessons, my mind preoccupied with thoughts of escape and the prior events of the day.

To my surprise, Roy didn't ask any questions as I entered the class with new injuries. Surely he would recognize that these weren't playful wounds. I half-expected him to grill me about it, but he seemed to stick to his unattached mood.

As the lessons dragged on, I couldn't help but zone out, and my mind drifted away from the classroom and into the realm of possibilities for escape. But no matter how hard I tried to come up with a plan, my mind remained blank. The orphanage seemed like a fortress, and I felt trapped with no way out.

As the day wore on, I felt more and more like an outsider. Emily seemed oblivious to my presence, and Holly deliberately sat with Elliot and his friends, both of them avoiding any interaction with me.

During supper, I felt like an outcast again, with Elliot and his friends throwing nasty looks my way to make me feel even more isolated. The laughter around me felt mocking like it was directed at me, but it was just my imagination running wild.

I ate my supper in silence, trying to avoid eye contact with the curious eyes. The food tasted like cardboard and I could barely muster the energy to eat. The desire to escape was burning inside me, and I couldn't focus on anything else.

I felt a mix of anger and frustration bubbling inside me. I was tired of being the victim, tired of being powerless. I wanted to escape this place and leave the drug operation I was involved in once and for all.

As supper ended, I was craving some sleep. I just wanted to rest my head in bed. As the medication was passed around. I was too exhausted for this. I didn't have the energy to operate with the fish and the drug. It didn't matter whether I was aware of it going on at the moment. What difference would it make besides being susceptible to sloppy work?

"Maybe taking the medication will help," I reasoned, as I knew the plastic cup with the sedative would numb my senses and offer a temporary escape from the harsh reality of the orphanage.

I took the cup and swallowed the drug, feeling a sense of relief wash over me as the drug began to take effect. The pain in my body started to pain, and my mind felt hazy and detached. It was as if I was floating in a sea of dreams and distant memories.

As the drug fully took hold, my body relaxed, and I felt myself slipping away from the present reality. The desire to escape and uncover the truth became a distant whisper in my mind, replaced by a desperate need to find freedom, even if just for a little while.

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Following the clean-up of breakfast the next morning, I had completed devising a plan. It was time to put it into action. I was nervous about pulling it off, but there was no time to guess myself. If I wanted to escape, this was my best shot at getting away as soon as possible.

I still didn't know how I would tell Emily but I had a back-up option for that. It didn't matter how much she liked this place, it was too dangerous for her, and we needed to leave. I wasn't going to leave her behind.

As the usual chatter that accompanied breakfast filled the dining hall, I took glances at the other children. Elliot and his friends were completely ignoring me, laughing every couple of seconds at someone's joke. Their aggressive playful behavior resulted in someone getting messed up while eating. Emily was starting to get back to her usual self. She had given me a couple of band-aids in the morning for my face and body. She didn't look like she wanted to, but I already knew her pouting mood would last a couple more days. Holly kept her presence hidden behind her brother's friends, and frankly, I liked that. I didn't want to see her anymore, much less know where she was and what she was doing.