Void (Boyxboy)

Hourglass

Alex's P.O.V

Echo lay breathless in my lap. I had removed my own shirt and put it on him, trying to clean his wounds as much as possible. My body was sore, but i I didn't have any wounds that needed immediate tending.

Neither of us had eaten since we arrived, and his body seemed thinner than usual . I held his shivering form close to my chest, sensing that he had already caught an infection. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I'd been able to make out several shapes. The door was across from me, hardly a yard from my feet. I wanted to investigate it, see if it would open, but the boy in my arms needed to rest.

Planting my head against the cool wall behind me, I looked towards the ceiling. Small cracks and dents webbed across the surface, creating images that tested my mind. I could feel my vision growing dimmer, making it harder to see. Several hours had pasted since Echo was brought to me, probably five or six. He unconsciously moved against me, and his face was flushed as he grasped my shirt.

Trying to keep him asleep, I slid him off my lap and stood on shaky legs. The light I saw from the crack of the door hours before had vanished, leaving the slim hallway deserted. Night had fallen, and we were safe for today. I tried the handle, and was surprised when it moved. It was heavy, steel, and my arms felt like lead, but it was manageable.

Taking a deep breath, I put all my weight against it, moving it inch by inch. The door was unlike the modern technology I'd seen since arriving. It seemed dated, as if it hadn't been used in years. When it was finally open, I walked over to Echo, shaking him lightly. Carrying him would slow us down, and I wasn't sure I would make it to the door with his addition weight. He was out of it when I woke him, but understood enough of it.

With every thought I had, I grew weary of leaving the room. I felt like I was being watched. The hallway was pitch black as we moved, and it was hard to navigate through the narrow space. The sound of my feet against the tile was the only thing to be heard, besides Echo's rapid breathing. Other than that, it was silent.

I kept a firm grip on his waist as I felt around the walls, trying the determine when the next turn would be. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up, and an overwhelming gaze burned the back of my head. When I turned, I only saw blackness. Nothing made a move, and I decided to ignore it, pulling Echo forward. He was falling in and out of consciousness, and I grew worried every with every step we took. He was in no condition to be moving like this, but I feared that we would both die if I didn't at least try. His grip around my neck began to loosen, and I felt his breathing even out. I held him tighter, trying to move faster than before. My whole body burned, and Echo fell weaker with every foot we moved.

I didn't know what they were doing to us, or what they planned to in the future. They hadn't killed us, and I felt like a liability. Did they need us alive? Or where they waiting for something bigger? I didn't like imagining it, but there was nothing else to keep my mind busy, so the thoughts continued. All they'd done since I got here was put me to sleep and bring Echo to me, but I still didn't know what happened to him before I got here.

~

The two figures wandered the hallway, both thinking of different things. For Alex, his mind was racing. He was in the dark, not knowing what to do. He always knew what to do. For Echo, his mind was slow. It slowed with every second they spent in the hallway, and everything was growing dimmer. Time seemed to stop occasionally, but he couldn't feel any of it. His life felt like an hour glass, each thought acting as a grain of sand. They slowly left his mind, and his time slowly ran out.

They thought they had a clear escape, and were optimistic even in the worst situations. Alex was, at least. He felt as if nothing could stop him from saving Echo, and had shown that he would put his life on the line to save the blonde boy in his arms. They kept moving, trying to ignore the stares they both felt. Alex held Echo like hie lifeline, and Echo held Alex because he was his world, which was slowly coming to an end.

So they continued, waking through the night, unaware of what waited for them at the end of their journey.