Lassoing the Cresent Moon

21. Nightmare

I groaned.

My head...

Where was I?

I shakily stood up, my legs feeling like noodles.

There was no scrap metal, No gaps in the floor. Instead, I was in a hallway with old decorative wall paper and frames of children.

Home sweet home's walls had always been empty. They said having pictures of certain children and not all would be showing favoritism... but here they were.

Different ages...

Different races...

Different times...

I gently scratched the cracked picture frame of a girl in a dress. The photo was far too worn and yellowed to be of the past fifty years. My steps echoed as I saw them one by one. The children were all pale and unhappy looking, except her. Innocence radiated off of her smile, while the rest of the children's pictures offered a look into fear and helplessness.

I stopped when I found a familiar face.

Sam.

His skin was paler than usual, with his hair long and uncut. His cheekbones were prominent on his sickly looking face. I pulled the photo off of the wall.

What did they do to him?

I watched as the veins on his neck grew more pronounced and darker. Bright colors unnaturally began to show through his skin making me drop the animated picture with it's face to the floor.

What had they done to him?

I took a few steps back when I heard a radio recording.

"Tragic News this Morning at 9:45 AM"

My knees shook as the lights flickered. I reached for Sam's picture but felt my fingers freeze above it as the radio continued.

"locals report that the body of a young boy has been found on the estate of the late Elliot Ludwig, an esteemed toy maker and originator of the Playtime Co Company. At this time, an identity for the child awaits official confirmation."

I gulped as I pulled my cold fingers back up to cover my mouth. My eyes heated again. I couldn't do it. I took more steps closer to the radio deciding to leave the picture face down.

"Found in an upstairs bedroom in a large duffel bag. Officers on- scene report that the remains appeared to be disturbed. Organs as well as key skeletal structures were reported missing from the body."

My breathing grew faster as I backed up against the wall next to the radio.

There were so many pictures on the walls. Familiar looking faces that I once knew were staring at me. Their eyes bore holes in me- How many were they?

"It's unknown whether this extraction was in fact- the cause of death"

No-
Forget the radio. I needed clues but forget the radio. I ran past Sam's picture into never ending halls.

I should have taken the picture. I should have written notes. Instead I was running, like a coward. My feet skidded when I saw Terry's face.

He was so little. Was I that small when I was in here? I came closer to see his broken expression forced to be a smile. As a self proclaimed leader who loved to care for others, Theo and I especially, his face was always with a smile. Even if he were crying he'd bite his tongue and plaster a smile not to worry anyone.

That's how he had always been- and the smile on his face in this picture couldn't have been faker. The colors were stolen from his eyes. Despite his upturned lips he looked so – empty.