misplaced trust

.1

*??? POV*

Bright. Busy. Scary.
I'm by no means a dumb kid. I'm very smart. But this? This is a situation I have never prepared for or been prepared for.
I'm standing here, all alone in the middle of a massive building. I arrived with someone I loved less than ten minutes ago. But they're gone now. It's just me and the vast, shiny, chequered floor.
Everyone in the shop keeps looking at me with peculiar stares. I'm just looking for my mother so I tell them to leave me alone. Surprisingly, they listen and return to whatever mind-numbing activity they were partaking in. I walk through the big aisles looking for the one familiar face in all the crowds. The tall shelves are staring down at me, like millions of skyscrapers surrounding me. The lights, so high above me, glare down like spotlights all around - its nearly blinding me, assaulting the back of my head and it hurts.

Eventually, I get used to all the lights and the ache in my head begins to subside. I come to a realisation; I'm all on my own, and no one is coming to get me, to take me home. I walk around for what feels like hours, stumbling among the walls of products. no one gives a second thought to the kid, the one with the velvety blond hair; not a hint of attention given anymore.

It's getting darker on the outside, beyond the glass walls. I don't want to leave the shop, it's giving me a sense of security, the lights, the people, the warmth, it makes this whole situation more bearable.

An hour or so later, I approach an area much colder than the rest of the building. The seemingly endless rows and towers of fridges and freezers are creating something like a heat vacuum, absorbing all of the heat just to leave the sharp, frosted cold behind. The freeze drills deep into me, straight into the marrow of my bones.

It's been longer than I can remember since I got here, with the one person who I thought had cared for me, but I guess even they didn't love me. I slowly drag my feet around, not taking note of where I'm going anymore. it's getting colder and I'm getting tired. My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton wool, everything is blurry and I can't see clearly.

Quite a while into the evening, while the sun sets much quicker than I want it to, I'm staring at what I guess are cleaning supplies, the smell is near intoxicating. Suddenly, out of the blue, a pair of strong but comforting hands grip my shoulders; like the owner was holding on for their or my life. A low whisper worms its way into my head, grounding me to the situation immediately. "It's alright, kid. I'll help you. Just come with me...". At this point, I'm exhausted and I just want to go home so I have to make a decision; one, take the strange person up on their offer, ignoring the scratch at the back of my brain that is telling me this isn't right; or two, ignore the stranger and walk away, hoping they don't follow me. No matter the implications, the way my body feels it needs to rest is eating away at my soul and I've just come to realise I don't remember the last time I ate. So, I take the offer and turn around moving as directed by the hands, still rooted on my shoulders. I turn and see a young man, with eyes looking back at me; not a trace of malice in the soft, swirling galaxies of his kind eyes.

Slowly, I succumb to the guidance of the man and he leads me out of the store, to a sleek black car with full blacked-out windows. He gestures to the back door and it opens, he places me in the back and I'm barely holding on to consciousness and as I slip away into a dream world, I fail to notice the sharp pinch and sting of a needle just above my collarbone. Then, as quickly as it came, the pain ceases and the world goes black.

"I've got the kid, we're on our way. back"