Break the Rules!

Try to run

After Maran had put away the last letter, the kid carefully crossed their arms in front of their chest, trying to hide their hurt and bloody hands between layers of fabric. William looked at the few pieces of partially stained paper. The man had placed a fresh cut on Marans hands when he thought they were going too far. He'd only do this on their right hand the first few times. But as the kids grip on the pen loosened, he gave them a small break and then evenly spread the cuts over both hands.

The kids' whole body was shaking, and they watched him as he leaned over the letters and wrote a few lines underneath all of their own words. As he put away the pencil, the kid asked quietly:"What did you write?"

"Who said you could just do as you please around here?", he snapped back,"You talk when I tell you to, and the other times you just shut up. If you don't, I will cut out your tongue. Are we clear?"

Maran pushed themselves deeper into the chair, starring at the adult with wide eyes. William waited a few moments for the kid to reply, and as they didn't he leaned forward and grabbed the kid's hands, causing them to whine with pain. The tears from before had just dried, and now they already teared up again, the first few drops running down their cheeks and dripping off their chin.

In a cold and loud voice, he repeated:"Are we clear?" He locked eyes with the kid, pushing their hurt and cut skin together painfully. As Maran lowered their gaze and nodded, he let go of their hands.

Looming over the kid, he demanded:"Stay here, don't stand up. Don't touch anything. I'll be back."

Without waiting for a response, he just turned and left. The door screeched as he closed it. Maran sat still, their heartbeat fast. The kid carefully lifted their hands up and looked at them closely. They could use their fingers fine, as well as their wrists. The cuts on them variated between bloody scratches and deep, long cuts.

They put their hands back down, their attention shifting to the toys on the table next to them. The kid studied all three of the plushies closely, having enough time to memorize all of them.

A few long and dreadful moments later, and William came back. As he entered the room again, Maran felt as if they were going to throw up. There was nothing in the kids stomach that they could throw up, which probably was one of the reasons they felt so sick now.

William was carrying a small bag in his left hand. As he closed the door again, the kid suddenly noticed that the walls of the room were covered with soundproof foam. It was a realisation that just suddenly struck them. The man put the bag on the desk, then pulled out a bottle of water and bandages.

His grin returned, as he started to wrap the strips of fabric around Marans hands tightly. "We don't want you to bleed out yet, do we now", he said to himself, his voice was cold like always, but also somewhat cheerful.

Then he handed the kid the bottled water. Maran had trouble opening it, but as they finally managed to do so, they drank down nearly the whole bottle in one. The purple guy watched their movements closely.

"I could have poisoned that", he said as the kid put the nearly empty bottle down. They were taking deep breaths and then shook their head. The man raised an eyebrow and asked:"How come?"

Taking another deep breath, the kid slowly replied:"That'd be too fast for you. I don't know if I'm getting boring by now, I can't look into your head. But it seems to me, that even if I, as a person, get boring to you, you'd still want to... well, make it hurt."

As the man looked down at them, he harshly said:"Explain." Maran knew that he didn't like something about their statement, either the kids thoughts went into the exactly right direction or they were terribly wrong.

Their voice was quiet and shook worse than before as they replied:"I, I'll get boring, you've said that yourself. I don't know when that changes, don't even know if you're going to act different towards me. But I'm sure that you'll kill me slowly", the kid held up their hands, blood was already staining the bandages,"bleed me out or something."

Maran felt lightheaded as they finished, he'd either kill them now, or they were right about that. William stepped closer, his expression was cold and disinterested as he pulled the kid up by the hair. He opened the chain around their wrist and easily picked them up.

The kid didn't dare to move or make even the slightest sound as he carried them through the door. Their heartbeat was faster than just seconds ago, a million thoughts rushing through their head.

There were no windows in this room, which made Maran feel certain about them being underground. The room was poorly lit and didn't contain many things. There were three doors, the one they just came through, a big white one on the opposite wall and a wooden one on the kids left side. This room looked somewhat like Emem's living room, there was an open kitchen on the right side and a sofa, a table and a few chairs in front of it. The room wasn't big, but the lighting was terrible. Maran felt tears stinging their eyes again, as the man put them down.

"I'll be outside the white door. From the second I close it behind me, you've got two minutes to hide. Any questions?", he harshly explained. There was something childish and easy about his voice.

Maran shook their head. As William opened the door, the kid could see sunlight and a staircase leading up. As soon as the door closed, they looked for a hiding spot near the door. With a bit of luck they could get outside after he'd enter the room and he'd look for them and not even notice they left. They ducked behind the corner of the sofa that was pointed towards the door, they weren't visible if William entered the room.

As the door opened, the kid got ready. The man stepped into the room, the door closed slowly. As he was a few steps away from the door, the kid ran. Their legs felt weak and their heartbeat seemed to be faster with every step. The kid risked a short look at William, he didn't look surprised. As Maran was running up the stairs, they heard the door shut.