The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 21: Exposed

Monday...
      7:30am...

  Elias couldn't deny it. The way Alene sat in his mind was different from other strangers. He'd had a slight crush on her; similar to that of an immature school boy distantly admiring his favorite female character in a show.

"...morning. Did you..."

  He adored her. To him, she appeared as a delicate flower, and each time he laid eyes on her, he found something new to appreciate. He knew she'd never be more to him than another stranger. It didn't bother him though--in fact, he preferred it that way. He didn't know a thing about her, which is what kept his illusion pure.

"...you there? Hey? Eli..."

However, for some reason he felt responsible for her.

She was gone now.

  Something happened to her last Thursday--while Elias was out resting his leg. Resting. Somewhere in that time, Alene was taken. He could have done something. He could have.

"Earth to Eli...?" He finally noticed Sunshine as his thin arms waved in front of his face.

"What?" He answered, not noticing his snapping tone.

Sunshine's concerned eyes looked between Eli's for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He replied firmly.

"How did you sleep?" Sunshine smiled.

"I..." He didn't sleep. Not after what he'd found out. He could barely shut his eyes. How do you sleep after something like that? No. Elias couldn't stop thinking. Thinking about Alene--about all the time being wasted, waiting, sleeping, getting ready for school.

Sunshine's smile faded slowly as Eli's cold stare lingered on the sidewalk; the airy breaks of the bus behind them being the only thing to break him away. "I...slept fine."

"Hazel?" Sunshine watched as he walked passed without another word, making his way onto the bus.

  Was she scared? Was she in a dark room somewhere? Was she still alive? There was a possiblity. Was she near? Did he pass her like everyone else as she screamed deep within a basement? Did he mistake the final echo of her cries for help as an animal call? Was she awaiting death? There was a possibility. Was her instrument of torture purposely displayed in front of her? Was Elias eating dinner while she sobbed? Was he enjoying a joke shared between him and Sunshine when the first droplet of her blood dripped to the floor? Had it already been done? Was she dead? There was a possibility.

  Elias couldn't stop the ongoing questions as they appeared swiftly, one after another. His jaw grew sore for how long he kept it clenched throughout the day. The image of her face in his mind only made him angrier the longer it stayed, but he couldn't depart from it. No matter how bad he wanted to. Instead, it cut deep into his thoughts, nailing him like a bear trap. It made him heavy, walking down the school hallways like an unstoppable bulldozer, not even bothering to acknowledge those he bumped into. The first class was a blur--the second nonexistent. His train of thought continued to deliver the same exact load, and he was growing numb to it. Almost as numb as his fists as he kept them bawled beneath his desk, and now beneath the lunch table.