They were dead. All of them. They could only find the strange boy, curled up in a corner. I hadn’t seen him around earlier. In fact, nobody knew him, or where he came from. There was no sign of the beast, either. There were so many questions, but no answers.
I was in the station bathroom, staring at the wall lost in thought. I came in here after a restless sleep, the shadows under my eyes evidence of that. The only thing I could remember was sitting down after my father told me the bad news, my legs too shaky to hold me. I had known, of course. But to have it confirmed caused it all to crash down on me, the realisation finally hitting me.
How I fell asleep remained a mystery, but one can only stay awake for so long. After a loud scream startled me awake – probably from that strange boy – I sauntered into the bathroom. In there, I couldn’t stop rubbing my face with cold water. Secretly hoping it would wash away the horrid images in my mind. But, I was granted no such luck. Every time the boy screamed it was a reminder that I let my friends die. I left them for dead to save my own life. But maybe if I hadn’t left, we’d all be lying there, never to be found.
If any of them did the same thing, I wouldn’t blame them. I would want them to save themselves, even if it meant that I would die a painful death. Sadly there was no going back. I’d have to carry this with me forever, hoping it wouldn’t break me.
I heard the door open and close behind me, the tapping sound of shoes bouncing off the tiled walls. From the corner of my eye I could see my dad standing next to me, silent. Neither one of us knew what to say. What do you say in a situation like this? Deciding the silence was too much to bear, I asked the first thing that came to mind.
‘’How’s the boy?’’ I finally turned to look at my father. His brown eyes were lacking the usual warmth, taken over by sadness. It seemed as if he had aged ten years in just one night. He just looked tired.
‘’He’s doing better. Calmed down, at least. He’s a sleep.’’
‘’Asleep? Where?’’ He seemed to hesitate for a second, giving me a guilty look before shrugging and trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
‘’In one of the cells. He wouldn’t give us any information, for all we know he could be the killer.’’ If I had been fully awake, this would have angered me to no end. But instead, there was a pitiful stirring in my stomach and a slight twitch in my hand. I knew it wasn’t the boy. I had seen the beast with my own eyes. What if he had been held captive? I needed to know more.
‘’Can I… can I see him?’’ I questioned. I wasn’t sure what I was going to accomplish by speaking to the boy, but a feeling in my gut was telling me I should try. Nobody was trying to help him. Instead, they were all trying to force answers out of him, locking him up because they were afraid he might pose a threat.
‘’I suppose… Maybe he’ll talk to someone his own age.’’ Nodding, I followed my dad through the lifeless halls of the station. Many officers had went home, catching up on some much needed sleep. Even though it was summer, a shiver ran down my spine. I didn’t like this part of the building - it looked empty, showing no sign of human life. When we finally reached the cell area, I began to grow slightly nervous, picking at the skin around my nails. Stopping a few feet away from the last cell, my father turned towards me.
‘’Be careful, ok? I trust you, so I’ll be leaving you alone. Don’t take too long, I’ll be expecting you home soon. We both need some sleep.’’
Giving him a quick parting hug, I watched as he walked away, disappearing from sight when he walked around the corner. I took a deep breath and shuffled forward, leaning against the iron bars when I reached the last cell. The boy was asleep, looking somewhat troubled, but peaceful enough. After getting cleaned up, he looked more like a normal teenager. His silky looking raven hair ruffled up and his tan skin visible after removing the layers of dirt. Taking a deep breath, I spoke up.
‘’Um, hello?’’ Mentally slapping myself, I held my breath to see if he would respond. He only stirred in his sleep, not moved by my pathetic attempt to wake him. It took a few more tries before his eyes finally flashed open, his body jumping up to press himself against the wall. I put my hands up to show him I meant no harm, and sat down on the ground. His hazel eyes were wide and frightened, but I waited. I didn’t make a single move, didn’t say a word. I just waited for him to calm down and decide for himself when he’d be ready to talk.
‘’Who are you?’’
Those were the very first words he spoke. His voice was hoarse from all the screaming, but it still had a softness to it. His accent was different, one I couldn’t quite place. There was a different kind of stirring within me, but I wasn’t familiar with it.
‘’I’m Harry. What’s your name?’’ I spoke gently. The boy seemed to hesitate at first, getting off his bed to look at the ground before him. He slowly moved forward, sitting in front of me with his legs crossed. It felt as if he was looking right through me, testing me. Apparently I had passed, because he finally granted me with an answer.
‘’Zayn. What are you doing here?’’ His fear seemed to have been momentarily replaced with curiosity, something he must not have experienced in a while. His eyes lit up and he leaned forward, hands grabbing onto his feet to slightly sway back and forth. There was something endearing about it.
‘’I just… I wanted to know how you were doing.’’ He stopped his movements, dropping his hands in his lap and glancing down, his long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks. There was a certain sadness in the gesture, something hopeless, like a man who had given up. His voice was trembling when he replied.
‘’You need to let me go. You’re not safe with me here.’’
So.. what's up with Zayn? I really hope you're enjoying it so far. Thank you for reading! The next update will be this Wednesday :).
See you then xxx <3
