The Haunted Orphanage

Chapter 37

Reagan's POV

I froze upon seeing Jack's beaten body on the ground in front of me.

I took a deep breath before calling out across my dreamscape, "Jack?"

He moaned and grumbled something under his breath. After he had stumbled to his feet, he frantically looked around the room. His eyes stopped once we saw me. "Reagan?" He took a step toward me but stopped himself. "They're using my memories against me again, aren't they?"

"What? Jack, don't move," I demanded as I began jogging toward him.

He stumbled backward. "Stay away! If you're another delusion, I want no part of this!"

"What are you–"

"Back off!" He began quietly sobbing.

I sighed as a million thoughts raced through my mind. What had happened to him?

"Jack, I'm not a delusion or whatever you called it. I brought you back to my dreamscape."

He looked up at me and for the first time, I got a clear view of his face. Blood and tears mixed to form an odd coloration.

He slowly stood up. "You mean, you aren't going to stab me or some weird shit if I walk over to you?"

I laughed nervously, "No? What the hell has the voice been doing to you?"

Jack let out a sigh of relief, "The fact that you think the voice is torturing me proves that you aren't a delusion."

"Delusion? And what the hell do you mean the voice isn't torturing you? Who did this? And where the heck are you?" I questioned.

"I'm not really sure where I am, but I'm pretty sure I'm not in the orphanage anymore. I don't recognize anyone, and everyone's always carrying weapons around. Though, I've only seen a few people, since the second I got here some douchebag locked me up somewhere."

"What did you do to get locked up?" I asked, confused.

"I'm not really sure. All I heard was something about me being a human, which doesn't make any sense because everyone's a human, right?"

I shrugged. "You know, it could all just be in your head. Maybe none of what you think is happening is actually happening."

Jack let out a hesitant laugh, "That'd be nice, but it feels too real to just be in my head. Does that make sense?"

I sighed, "Kind of, but that means you're somewhere away from the orphanage. Plus, if you don't know where you are, it's gonna take forever to find you."

Jack took a few steps toward me as tears ran down his face. I sprinted at him and wrapped my arms around him, enveloping him in a hug. He hugged back immediately and began sobbing into my shoulder.

After a few minutes, he choked out, "At least you're with everyone and can tell them what I told you."

I froze as I realized Jack didn't have the slightest clue that I had gotten split up from the group. "Uh, Jack? There's going to be a small problem with that."

He pulled away from me and tilted his head a bit. "What do you mean? You are with them, aren't you?"

I laughed nervously, "Well, no. I don't have the slightest clue where anyone else is, actually."

Jack's eyes widened. "Do you mean to tell me that the voice took you? Are you being hurt?"

"No, I'm actually not sure why the voice took me in the first place. It just keeps asking for forgiveness."