Concrete Jungle || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Chapter eighteen

Noah closed his eyes, trying to push the man’s words away. His mind was emerging from a deep oblivion, and memories began forming like fragments of a puzzle. The image of Elise stood clear and vivid before him, but now it was accompanied by other visions. The life he had believed to be real was dissolving, replaced by a disturbing and terrifying truth.

He was a child, no older than five or six, sitting in the corner of a sterile, ice-white room. He was used to being alone when the adults weren’t around. And Noah hated adults. When they were with him, they filled him with needles, locked him in cold rooms devoid of any light. No one ever smiled. The cold enveloped him, but this time there was something warmer, something bright that caught his attention. In another corner, a little girl with dark, shining eyes was watching him with curiosity, and a strawberry ice cream in her hands. The only thing that gave them to make them feel like real children.

“Hi, I’m Elise,” she had said, her smile warming the frigid air around them.

Noah didn’t understand why they were there or what was happening. All he knew was that Elise was different, that there was an immediate and magnetic connection between them. And he thought, for once, the adults had given him a gift. They had given him a friend.

They spent days playing with the few toys available, exploring the limited environment in which they lived. In those moments, fear and uncertainty dissolved, replaced by the innocence of childhood.

As the years passed, Noah and Elise grew up together, sharing secrets and dreams. Every moment they spent together was a refuge, a corner of normality in a world that seemed twisted. They told each other stories, exchanged laughter, and comforted one another in times of sadness. Elise had always been his beacon, his anchor in a sea of confusion.

Until Noah realized there was something special between them. It was one sunny afternoon, in the facility’s inner garden, when they realized how much they had grown. Elise, now a girl with long, flowing hair, turned to him. “Noah, what would you do if you could leave here?” she asked, her eyes full of hope.

“I’d build a house for us, with a big garden,” Noah replied, his heart pounding. But suddenly, a palpable tension arose between them. Their gazes locked, and in that moment, both felt an electric spark. “Where would you want our house?” Noah asked, as a sweet embarrassment enveloped them.

“The doctor told me about the sea today. It’s a vast stretch of water where you can play with the fish” Elise whispered, her cheeks red. “We could swim every day.”

Noah moved closer, uncertain but irresistibly drawn to her. His heart was pounding in his chest, and when their hands touched, it was like lighting a flame. In that instant, their bond deepened, transforming into something more profound.

As the years passed, childhood gave way to adolescence, and their friendship evolved into something deeper and more complex. Noah realized he had fallen in love with Elise, and his love for her grew along with them. They shared everything: fears, dreams, and hopes, but also the fear that something dark lurked in their hearts.

One evening, during one of their games, they found themselves hiding in the small storage room. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and the air was thick with tension. Noah dared to hug her, and in that moment, Elise whispered, “What would you do if we could escape together?”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m with you,” he replied, his voice trembling.

Their lips met for the first time in that small dark space, a gesture full of emotion. Their bodies were drawn together by an attraction they had never experienced before. Each kiss was a mix of fear and desire, their first taste of a love they believed impossible. But when they pulled away, the darkness of their world weighed down on them once again.