Short stories and scrapped ideas [1]

Bitter sweet treat rewrite

I grew up in an old orphanage, many of the kids were 'misfits'. The one who clung to me, Gale, was also one but I thought differently; we had too close of a bond. He was born early and it messed up his blue eyes. His left one specifically, the pupil was deformed and made him half blind.

Our caretakers, the nuns, made the orphanage weirder. Their lack of attention to the kids was confusing. And when a kid was adopted, they'd leave without a proper goodbye or celebration; the info would never be disclosed to us. Yet as Gale and I grew, the constant urge to know something, anything, about the candy the nuns made overtook me. I was an obsessed fool.

"Come on we've gotta hurry," I urge, a breeze blowing in my face as I race down the hall.

"Slow down my eyes can adjust to this lighting," Gale huffs, lagging behind.

"We're gonna miss our chance," I say, hurrying to grab his hand and take him to the front of the orphanage. The sun was already going down as we stood in the fresh air.

"Should we really do this?" Gale asks, holding himself closer to my body. I ruffle his hair a little.

"Heck yea we should, nothings' better than sweets." I watch the sun finally fall below the horizon waiting for the darkness to cover us. This plan had to go flawlessly.

As we crept through the hall, lights were dimmed and some off. The familiar stench of the musty, old, wood wafts towards us, but leaves as we get closer to the table. The yellow-white walls were scattered with growth measurements, and old scribbles made by the children prior to even the eldest kids' arrival. The names written down had faded beyond recognition; an altar at the end of the hallway. With each step, a small creak rang out plaguing our ears and nerves. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat as I kept moving. The small scrap of a doorhing opening sends me into a panic. I grab Gale and dash under the table cloth. We stay hidden till the footsteps pass us.

"We have to go, it's too risky-," my hand covers his mouth to stop him from talking. His hands gripped onto mine. I waited, making sure the coast was clear. As soon I don't hear anything, I reach onto the table and snatch a candied eye. It was covered in a sticky sweet substance that smelled, I quickly bit into it. It was sweet with a faint bitter aftertaste. I hold it out for Gale, and he takes a bite but gags, startling me.

"We gotta get outta here," I say, grabbing Gale's hand and swiftly leading him to the bathroom. He vomits, while I wash the substance off my hands.

"I'm tired," gale mumbles wheezing to regain his breath; paled from the adrenaline.

"Sorry ya threw up, I'll get ya some chocolate in the mornings." My hand combs his hair out as he walks into his room, I return to mine, and just as quickly as when night came the morning did too.

I get up, walking towards Gale's room but find it empty. I turn, walking down the hallway, and see the table set with a new batch of candy. I look around before grabbing a candied eye. The stickiness of it made me feel nauseous, my eyes fell upon the deformed pupil of the blue eye.

"Gale has been adopted."
A sharp pain, a muffled scream and then, black.