Birthmarks and Bruises

Grim Reality

As the trio of terrified teens walked out of the safety of that dark alleyway, they started to realise the unsettling truth around them. Defenceless, young, and scared, they were trapped in a world where what they were used to had been suddenly ripped from them. There was no humming of late afternoon traffic, no yells of bored teenagers, no squeak of neglected swings and roundabouts in the parks. The familiar sounds which Felix had taken for granted before he was now sort of starting to miss. He longed to hear his mothers voice, or the smell of his dad's cooking. But in their place stood Daniel, who was just as confused as he was, and Andrea- traumatised and shaken by stories the two boys had no choice but to believe. After all, it was the only grasp on this sudden, new reality they could get.

Andrea had managed to force out her experience through a few gulps of water Felix had brought with him in a flimsy, plastic bottle- along with a few snacks and- yes, the toy gun.

The occasional scream could be heard in the distance, along with Andrea's soft whimpers. After introducing themselves to one another, Felix and Daniel decided to let Andrea tag along. After all, they needed as much help to figure out what the hell was going on as they could get.

"So. So far, we have figured out that all of our parents have gone..." announced Felix, taking a shaky swig of water to try and get rid of the sour taste in his dry mouth. "... which can't really be a coincidence, right?" He swung around to meet Daniel's tired eyes, and Andrea's wide, alert ones. "So... what do all our parents have in common?"
Daniel raised his hand.
"What?"
"They've all fucked at least someone." He grinned, smugly. Nobody laughed.
"Daniel we're in a fucking serious situation here. Is everything a god damn joke with you?!" Felix snapped, his voice wobbling.
Daniel's eyes widened in shock. In the 12 years they had been best friends, he had never seen Felix' happy-go-lucky personality break down like this. He watched a single frustrated tear roll down his best friend's cheek- and, reflexively, pulled him into a hug. It always seemed to calm the touched starved ginger down. Like that one time he was nervous for a presentation in class and started crying so loudly the whole school could hear it.
"I'm sorry man. I know. I am taking this seriously, just trying to lighten things up a bit, you know? I'm sorry." He reassured. Felix sniffed.
"Woah, you're willingly hugging me? That's... that's pretty gay dude." The redhead choked out through his tears. Daniel released him, giving Felix a stony look- before cracking a smile. And then, the pair were laughing.
"Jeez. What a hypocrite."
Through all the confusion and fear- even Andrea managed to brighten up a little after seeing her companions happy.
"Hey, um... sorry to ruin your moment and all, but do you know where we're going?" She croaked. The pair turned towards her.
"Sorry, I just- well, I only just moved here a week ago." She smiled sheepishly. Felix beamed.
"Yeah, no problem. Well... just around the corner there's a shop, and a library. I don't know any places we could find information though." He shrugged.
"Mm. A library would be pretty useless in this situation, unless you're searching in the fantasy section." Daniel added, tugging a curl of dark hair back into place from where Felix had messed it up.
Andrea pulled her hoodie closer to her, shivering in the cold.
"Honestly..? I just wanna get inside. I'm freezing."
The boys nodded in agreement.
"Right!" Felix chirped in his usual, feel-good confident tone, as if nothing had disturbed his mood a moment ago. "First order of business: Shelter. Food and shelter." He pointed towards the supermarket.
"Did anyone bring any money? I'm starving."
"That's what the snacks are for Danny!"
"Seriously dude? Granola? Ew."