goofy ah oc story

Chapter two

"Night has come upon us!" Valery says. "It is time to enter our rooms, and receive our well-deserved rest. Nurses will take care of dishes while groups find dorms." She turns and Rowan sees her face. She wears the same smile as before, her posture pitch perfect. What a joke...

Jayden doesn't seem too amused either, but stands up anyway. The others do the same, along with the rest of the room. Valery begins to lead the way out of the cafeteria. The chatter of others fills the hall as they all follow Valery.

Rowan feels the cedar floorboards creak under his feet as he walks. The musty maroon coloured carpet only partially covers the floor. The hallway is long, with worn wallpaper walls along each side. A rose pattern on them, although in awful shape. Paintings are hung as well, with depictions of people in them. One in particular stands out to Rowan. It's silver frame glimmers, unique to the others, and the picture inside is of a beautiful woman. Olive skin, long, dark hair swirling over her shoulders. In the background are mountains, although not nearly as eyes catching as the lady. Each stroke can be made out when closely observed, seemingly intentionally.

He looks away from the painting when somebody speaks. "Oh, by the way Rowan..." Jayden starts.

Rowan looks over. What else could she possibly say? Her first notice hadn't been wanted, and had certainly lowered his mood. "...yeah?"

"Actually, nevermind. It's probably best we tell you later." She says without much context. "Anyway, here's our group's dorm." Jayden escorts him and the others inside.

The rusty door opens with effort, creaking as it does so. It seems to have bars on it... similar to a prison door. Rowan doesn't like the idea of being caged in. He suppresses a shiver when Jayden closes the door shut, and locks it.

"Is it really necessary to lock it?..." Rowan asks hesitantly, gesturing to the lock.

"It is." Rae confirms for Jayden. "Keeps us in one spot." She turns to the beds, and sits down on the one nearest to the back wall.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rowans continues his questions, as begins to grow nervous. "I'm not really enjoying all these cliff hangers, guys. I'd really like some straight forward answers."

Before one of them can reply, the speakers buzz, with Valery's voice echoing through them. "Well friends, enjoy your spectacular rest! Make sure to lock your dorm doors..."

There's a loud beeping sound outside as a few lights flash, which lasts around a minute, before stopping. Rowan tenses, covering his ears, and then realizes it has stopped. He briefly looks around, seeing the rest of his group is unphased.

"What was that about?" Rowan asks, still tensed up.

"Lock down. They were closing the gates and whatnot, you know, making sure it's all safe. They don't want any animals getting in." Jayden answers nonchalantly.

The smoky walls of the room are likely the most colorful thing here, and then the silver lantern sitting on the single bedside table. Not that it matters, because the lights all shut off soon after the alarm. It's pitch black, but that's soon changed when Jayden lights the lantern, illuminating some of the room.

Rowan lets out a grumble of frustration. "Alright, cut the small talk, what's the deal with the precautions?" He demands. "I'm sick of people finding their way around my questions." Desmond looks up, although he seems to be staring past Rowan. "What, are you going to ignore me too?"

"Ignore him. He's probably dozing off. It's late after all," Jayden mutters, blinking. It's clear she's running low on energy too.

Willow approaches him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "How about we all just go to sleep as always? We can discuss this in the morning." Her eyes meet his. Rowan can tell she's feeling rather nervous, but is remaining calm to settle him down.

He sighs, nodding slowly. Rowan would get an answer out of one of them sooner or later. Willow helps him up, sitting him down on the empty bed, before returning to her own.

It's only then that he notices Rae has fallen asleep, perhaps a while ago. How is she able to sleep in such a dreaded place? The gloomy atmosphere feels so wrong.

Rowan lies against the single pillow, tugging the flimsy blanket over him. Jayden puts out the lantern, and the room falls into complete darkness. Rustling as somebody adjusts their pillow, and then eventually the room has gone silent.

Around thirty minutes pass, and Rowan still can't fall asleep. It seems everybody else has, except him. He sits up, blinking. As his eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and his vision clears, he sees the outline of somebody. They sit near the caged door, staring out into the hallway. Desmond. The once slicked back hair is now ruffled.

Rowan whispers, "Desmond?"

Desmond doesn't even look over, but instead sighs. "Can't sleep either?" He stirs, suppressing a yawn.

"No, not really. Are you a night owl?" Rowan laughs softly, trying not to wake the others. He knows it isn't exactly appropriate to be joking around, and isn't even sure why he did it. Perhaps self consciously to lighten the mood. He climbs out of bed, joining Desmond, as he sits down next to him. "So...how long have you been here?'

"Four years."

Rowan flinches, rather startled. "Sorry? Did I hear you wrong?" His skin prickles. Must have been a slip of the tongue.

"Quiet down, you'll wake the others." Desmond scolds, and then adds, "no, you heard correctly. Four years of this." He looks over for the first time in their conversation. "I've been here the longest out of our group."

Rowan returns the steady gaze, but his wavers. "You have... experienced four years of this torment? It's only my first night, and my optimism is wearing thin. Yet you..." he shakes his head. "What about the rest of them?" Rowan gestures behind him to Rae, Jayden and Willow.

"Jayden has been here for around a year." Desmond says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Rae... the same as Jayden, and Willow arrived just a few months ago." Rowan nods, finding himself growing tired. His eye twitches. "You're falling asleep." Desmond says, eyeing him. "You should really get some rest, you'll be in for a rollercoaster of activities tomorrow."

"Eh, I'm fine..." Rowan yawns, staring ahead. "What were you even doing earlier?"

"Passing time, I guess." Desmond leans closer to the door, sighing. The rust is visible even in the dark. Outside, the lamp that was lit earlier, has gone out. The dorm across is silent. They must've fallen asleep already. "Oh, by the way..." Desmond turns to Rowan, to find him dozing off. "Well, that was quick." He murmurs, a bit amused. He helps him up, and lays him into a bed. Desmond pulls the covers over him, studying Rowan momentarily before turning to his own bed. He should probably sleep too.