The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 15: Borderline

Monday...
          11:28 pm...

  It was time. After hours of staring at his ceiling with the occasional glance over at his alarm clock, finally it was time. Eli's body was drained. He could tell from the way it sluggishly pulled itself out of bed, aching and protesting against another all nighter. He knew at some point his lack of sleep would catch up to him eventually, but he refused to let his exhaustion consume him. At least not tonight. It couldn't be tonight.

  He quickly threw on a jacket, and crept his way downstairs, being sure to skip the steps and floor boards with the tendency to creak.

Jade Phillips.

  The man who caught his attention from the very start; the fuel powering his will to step into the icy cold winds. At last, he was going to get the information needed to get started. All he had to do was meet up with Sunshine and get to the playground. That was where they had decided to meet. It was easily accessible and everyone had been there at least once. Some more recent than others, but the location was well known nonetheless.

  After successfully sneaking out and meeting up with each other long enough to grow comfortable in the habit, Elias thought they would continue the same procedure. Though they weren't sneaking out to go to the toy shop, the first part of their routine should've been the same, right?

  Elias furrowed his brows when he didn't see Sunshine waiting by the yellow car as usual. He wasn't twirling wildly in the middle of the sidewalk nor dimly sitting on the street curb. Curiously stepping around the yellow car, to Eli's surprise, Sunshine wasn't crouched beside it smoking a cigarette either.

Did he sleep in?

  How odd. Elias was usually the one sleeping in and running late; always being whisked away from his dreams by Sunshine continually calling his phone. This wasn't like him at all, though Elias couldn't blame him. Taking out his phone, he leaned against the yellow car about to call rainbow boy, when the flailing legs appeared in the corner of his eye.

"What the..." it didn't take him long to recognize the short boy dangling out of the room window. His small frame, twisting and turning as he struggled to realign his grip. Snapping out of his state of confusion and shock, Elias ran over as he noticed his grip begin to fail.

Sunshine let go.

Elias looked up.

Slam!

  Unable to brace himself quickly enough, he collapsed to the ground; sending a sharp shot of pain through his leg. "God d-mmmm!" Elias shut his eyes tight as he gripped his ankle as if his hand could somehow relieve him of the pain. Sunshine immediately moved from above him, almost shocked to see him laying there.

"Oh my--what were you doing right there? I-I checked!" He frantically began grabbing at Eli's arm in a fruitless attempt to lift him back to his feet, suddenly noticing his pained expression. "What is it?" He asked, letting him go.

"Nothing." Elias took a breath as the pain began to dissipate. Looking up at the worried boy, Elias almost chuckled. "You do more damage than I thought."

  Sunshine's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed as he smiled. "I'm telling you." He rolled up his sleeves, flexing his arms until they shook. "It's the hidden muscle."

"Pfft." Elias shook his head, getting to his feet. "More like sharp ass bones--ah!" The piercing sting returned, this time more violent.

Sunshine's eyes widened as Elias caved to the ground; his smile leaving once more. "What is it?"