Albino Child

Five

The bell rung again, shrill shrieks that people sighed and smiled at relief to- people who packed away their belongings swiftly scampered away immediately when they heard the noise, others who indulged in after school chatting collected their possessions at a pace that would rival a dormant volcano- I was one of those who tried to cram their cheap property into their bags as nimbly as they could only to realise as they reach the door that they forgot an item that lay on their desk so scowling they retrieve that item then idly leave the school building; I trudged out of the site and onto the main road, pivoting leftward, I resumed wandering along the saturated grey concrete path with black flat-wired earphones jammed crudely into my ear canals- loud obnoxious screaming, harsh clashing chords and a syncopated rhythm resonating- I strolled to the beat of the blasting riffs and electric guitar scales and was actually enjoying myself for once as I wandered aimlessly around the area. I payed no attention to the ghastly noises of the real world and focused more upon the metal refrain that personified death as a rowdy teenager than seduced people into his midst only for him to play with them in the darkness of the twinkling night- the lyrics were typical of metal music, usually depicting bitterness and this was not an exception- typically people went around in groups of two, three or a pack- never alone- but no-one wanted or even considered going with me, I sighed- as much as I disliked talking just having someone's presence was appreciated, I just wanted to walk with someone and not have to be the one to initiate it, I deeply desired the idea of one day having someone come and walk with me, even just for a minute- but no-one ever did so and I was left lonely because of my foolish choice to not ever ask; the beat pulsed rhythmically as I switched into an auto-mode to indulge in the blank presence of my empty mind- there really was nothing in there, I was a pathetic jester and I knew that, bullies knew of this too and exploited my trait.

I took a sharp right at a traffic light, it was green for the motorised vehicles so I waited impatiently- tapping my foot lightly as I waited, dipping into the hollow realms of my find I adjusted the straps of my bag, ensured there was nothing in my pocket prone to falling and broke into a sprint, I had raced for about four-hundred and fifty metres and began to pant, I was not used to the running but my body could cope, lowering the pace to a gentle jog of about eight and a half kilometres per hour, I was used to knowing exactly what pace I was after spending part of my younger life running away from-

There it was, down the road there was an opening, a shortcut to where I believed my destination was, twisting my body harshly to compensate for the shrub-covered entrance, I felt a pain pierce the base of my fight ribs, on the side- it was likely that I had ran into a sturdy branch covered by wispy growths off the main body, I cursed mentally and resumed sprinting- lactic acid burnt the flesh internally but I cared little for it, I needed to get there, I promised him an age ago when I was much younger, it said so in his last regrets- I had never forgotten that day when everything changed and I became the subject to much happenings after that incident; I did not blame him for the occurrence though, I knew that he was the sole reason I was still alive- I did not condemn him for the actions he undertook, he may have died lamenting all that he had done with his life but I thanked him for his choices, it was not like I had any choice with what happened though. He seen much, taught many people all that they knew and was a major influence on a large mass of people including me- I was one of the last though; frowning, I found the end of the dark enclosed walking path and carried onto the end, where the light was- leaving behind me the dimness of the tunnel, my pace gradually deteriorated to a fast walk where I could feel heat permeate off my fabric-clad body.

Left, left, forwards, right, down there, left.

There it was, a large imposing building- shabby on the outside, it had lost its glamour and magnificence decades ago, it may not have actually belonged to my name but I trespassed into this place many a time and ignored the owner nextdoors plea for me to remove myself off this property- it used to belong to him and this was my home for a while, he had asked me to go to this place once a month on a certain date, the wooden porch had deteriorated into a mess of mouldy wood and lichen but I carried on into the building- the filthy glass on the door smashed by scrap-scavenging boys a couple of years ago but I respected the way the door was originally meant for and opened it with the key that all of us were given back then, my mouth split into a sorrowful smile, it was painful to witness the fall of my former home; a letter had been addressed to me yesterday which contained a key and a set of instructions, I had folded said piece of coffee-stained paper into my pocket and only now had I decided to unfurl the item after the initial read, I was almost afraid of what it contained even though already knew, frightened I pulled it out and did as it commanded- I recognised the handwriting as being something I had seen back then but I could not pinpoint exactly where I had noticed this style, I found this to be infuriating and scowled- racing up a set of stairs of the back left area, I almost ran into another boy, he was a few inches shorter than me and was dressed in the same way I did back then- I was confused but the smaller boy's grip was iron solid- like my own, now I noticed it, he bared many resemblances to me: frail figure, pale hair and piercing eyes.

I was led into a room, only known to me as 'Silence', I had never been in there but I knew of many second-hand experiences from the others who were with me in the younger days and none of them wanted to share them in depth so all I knew was a hazy story of imagination mixing in with what they said- I knew it was a white sanctuary where the modifications were made but there was a second room that served the same purpose, 'Mute', according to the bigger people in the place they were exactly the same but none of us really knew, we had never been in the other room- it was a place full of sterility and as I entered 'Silence', the boy pulled insistently for me to enter the room- he had not talked and reminded me of myself so I reluctantly followed him; as he pushed open the door, I was blinded with the sight of relentless cold light but my pupils shrunk swiftly as I adapted to the dry air, there were boys that resembled me greatly standing in a group all wearing the same garments I did formerly. A young, short and delicate child pointed weakly at a seat that I sat on, crossing my legs they began to swarm me- there were six of them and they all were of varying height and status- they all looked the same way I did when I was younger, it was as if they were taken out of my life, removing my clothes gently- I was used to this procedure, the big people used to do it like this but it was meaner, faster and less careful- they put on the same style of garment they wore and gave me a bit of space. Five of them circled me and the sixth bowed and presented me with a locked box, I was aware that there was a key given to me alongside the message but I was not expecting to be visited by other people, nodding, I grasped the tarnished putar box with my bong fingers and tightly brought it onto my lap where I dug into my pocket; the key was in there, forcefully showing the rod of metal into the lock hole I tenderly twisted it anti-clockwise, it clicked several times and once it had been spun four and two thirds open, it was unlocked- my hands were shaking as I placed my nails inside the thin gap between the lid and base and lifted the top of the chest, it squawked in vicious tenseness and revealed another container, this one was significantly cleaner and the plush interior lined with ermine and ferret pelts, not looking as to how the other boys were reacting to the box, I wrapped my hand around the round container. Lifting the glass jar out of its stale coffin, I brought a it out for the other boys to see, I looked at the contents of said item and peered through the tinted glass, it contained 'them'.

I began to scream uncontrollably, unable to shut my mouth I was triggered in an impulsive manner.

It contained 'THEM'...