Blinding Lights | Skephalo

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thank you so much for almost 2k reads <3

•••

Darryl

"Today, we're going to try something new," the southern lady spoke as Darryl began to wake up. His feet and arms were firmly strapped down into the wheelchair he was sitting in, and his neck ached as sat up straight. The pain was back on the tips of Darryl's fingers; his hands now completely numb.

"Where are you taking me?" Darryl asks, struggling to focus his eyes on his surroundings. They were moving quickly down a long corridor, the wheels underneath him squeaking with every turn.

"Don't worry about that," She responds, a slight laugh escaping from her lips. Darryl thought her voice was soothing. "We'll get there soon enough."

"I want to see Zak."

"I know; you always want to see Zak. But he's not here. You know he can't come."

Darryl sighs heavily, leaning his head backwards to get a good look at the lady behind him. Once again, he couldn't see much, other than a bright white coat that she was wearing.

A doctor's coat. Am I in the hospital?

They wheel past a large window, and Darryl unconsciously glances out of it, realizing that they were high off the ground. He must have been on the fifth floor of the building, maybe higher. It was dark outside, and the sound of cars whirring by below him was very prominent as the lady standing behind him spoke her mindless chatter.

A few police cars suddenly flew past Darryl's line of sight, their sirens wailing after them. Although Darryl wanted to get up to take a closer look outside, the straps on his limbs prevented it. The corridor turned a dark blue for only a second as Darryl relaxed, turning away from the trouble below him, back towards his destination.

•••

"Darryl?" Zak shook his friend's shoulders lightly, gently waking him up. He immediately squints and ducks down as a cop car drives by them, the lights flashing wildly. Luckily, they weren't spotted.

"Oh, Zak. I must have fallen asleep," Darryl replies, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but we gotta avoid using your car for a while. I cleaned everything inside to get rid of my fingerprints, parked it a few blocks away in an empty parking lot, and reported it as stolen. We should be in the clear, at least from the car giving us away," Zak says, pulling the backpack off his shoulders. "I hope I didn't scare you too much earlier. I would never hurt anyone, much less a cop. We're not the bad guys, remember?"

"I trust you," Darryl responds, helping Zak pile the money back into the bag. Not all of it fit, which made sense, but carrying the remainder of it was manageable. Zak praises Darryl for taking initiative and filtering out the dirty cash, and Darryl couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride as they escaped from the alley into a crowd standing outside the bank, watching as the crime scene was beginning to be taped off.

Hiding in plain sight was Darryl's favorite thing to do. Being surrounded by people, yet at the same time, completely alone? It gives him the opportunity to be a shadow; to just watch as life moves around him. Before Zak was taken, Darryl would frequently go out to places such as the park, or the shopping center a few blocks away, just to be able to sit without reason. No one would ask him what he was doing or why he was there, he could just exist for a moment without needing to have a purpose. Darryl appreciated the silence, yet also appreciated the people who attempted to make small talk with him. He wishes he could do it again once this list thing blows over.