An Underswap AU: A Tale of Seven Book 1

Entry # 10: INTEGRITY

"INTEGRITY: The sixth Human child who fell into the Underground. His inability to speak never hinders his dedication in telling the truth."

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Viorel watched in silence as his precious sketchbook was ripped to irreparable shreds. The bigger children laughed in glee, tearing even more pages before sprinkling the remains all over him like snow in winter.

Strangers would always tell him to speak up, that the bullying will stop if he told them off.

He gritted his teeth. How is a mute supposed to speak up, especially to people who never listened? To people who never cared?

Why bother fighting a war you can't win?

Viorel stared blankly at the pieces of his former sketchbook on the ground. This isn't the first time it happened. Sometimes, it's even worse; like the time they dunked his head inside a putrid toilet or the time they taped kitchen knives upright under his bed.

At the end of the day, those three will always have the last laugh.

The other orphans just stared when the three bullies began beating the defenseless blunette to a pulp. It doesn't matter whether they felt sympathy or apathy; they all just stood in the sidelines and did nothing.

Nobody came to help.

Jeff, the stoutest of the trio, slammed him against the only tree in the orphanage's backyard. Viorel slid down the trunk, slumped in defeat. His clothes are torn and dirty again. Headmistress Julia would surely whip him with a thick belt because of it. She might sentence him to wear rags for the whole year, too.

Nobody ever did.

Nancy slapped him and Nick kicked him for the umpteenth time. Viorel heard murmurs of "get Ms. Julia" and "someone help him" floating about in the crowd. But none moved a muscle. This made them just as blameworthy as the bullies.

Nobody ever will.

"Not even gonna say a thing, squirt?" Jeff cracked his knuckles, sneering down at the wounded younger boy. "Oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers as if realizing something. "You can't speak." The three bullies roared in laughter. Some of the kids in the background actually snickered at that.

"Look at him, how f*flower*king pathetic." Nancy jeered, roughly shoving him to the ground with her foot. Viorel made the mistake of sniffling softly. "Awww, the baby's gonna cry for his mommy." She taunted.

"Have you forgotten? He doesn't have a mommy!" Nick slapped her shoulder playfully.

"I bet they abandoned him cause he's mute." Jeff shrugged without care.

That statement ignited something inside Viorel. Something he should've felt long ago. An emotion so intense, so destructive, that letting it consume you would result to a catastrophic end. That emotion is anger.

Raising his finger, he wrote something on the dirt in front of him. He couldn't care less about what might happen next. It's about time he roasted those hypocrites. Once he's done, he glared at the three defiantly, his bangs casting a dark shadow over his eyes.

"You don't have a mommy either. I wonder why."

That is enough to infuriate the trio. Viorel didn't bother dodging their furious fists and shoes. It was amazing how his tiny act of rebellion made him feel.

Nick grabbed his collar and hoisted him inches above the ground. "Oh so you're fighting back now, little s*shoe*t?" The ravenette grinned evilly. "Let's see if you're still brave once we climb Mt. Ebott."

The crowd gasped. Viorel's navy blue eyes widened in horror. No one in their right mind would step a foot on that particular mountain. People go up, but they never came down. The previous year's missing girl can attest to that.

Nick's companions didn't look disturbed the slightest. Instead, they smirked disgustingly and dragged him towards Ebott.

Again, none of the children dared to stop them.

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Viorel wanted to scream, but his condition rendered him unable to do so. He struggled and fought all the way, yet their iron grip on his wrists and arms prevented him from escaping. The passerbys on the street ignored the quartet. For them, it's just another case of bullying. Nothing new.

He wrestled even harder once they reached Mt. Ebott.

"Stop it, squirt!" Jeff swiped his jaw hard. Viorel stopped struggling for a while. He did so again when Nancy forced the gates open.

After the disappearance of the Wright kid last year, a barbed wire fence was built around the foot of the mountain, coupled with a lot of warning signs nailed on metal posts. The gate, also created with barbed wire and metal posts, is located on the side of the Ebott that doesn't face the town.

With little effort, the three bullies threw him in and locked the gates.

"Good riddance." Nick huffed. He laughed at the scandalized expression on Viorel's face. "Don't give me that look, sketchboy. I'm sure the monsters wouldn't mind having you for dinner tonight."

Viorel trembled, utterly terrified. They're. . . They're actually going to. . . leave him. . . here!?

"See ya tomorrow!" Jeff waved mockingly as they retreated back to the town.

"If you survive, that is!" Nancy added. The trio cackled like winged demons and disappeared from his line of sight.

Shaking even harder than a homeless cat during a thunderstorm, the blunette curled up on the grass and unleashed a soundless wail. He can endure shredded sketchbooks, mud buckets on doorways, tattered clothes, beatings and spoiled food.

But this. . . this is inhumane! They locked him up within the perimeter of Mt. Ebott of all mountains!

Is this why people climbed up in the first place? Because this world is so cruel, so vile that they prefer death over living a life full of misery?

Wiping away his tears, he hiked up the summit of the mountain. Might as well grant wishes of the humans who want him gone for good.

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A/N: I can't find a blueberry emoji, so I settled with something that resembles a sketchbook.