Somnium Online

Lies

Eric gingerly undid the ribbon on the box, and carefully opened the lid. The inside of the box was a mess of frosting and small bits of cake, but in the corner, lay a single undamaged cupcake.

Eric took it out of the box and unwrapped it tenderly. "After all these years, she still remembers, huh?" He smiled sadly. "Too bad the kid she knew isn't the one who came back, huh."

Eric gently put the cupcake back in the box and closed it. He got to his feet and scanned the area briefly, there wasn't anyone nearby, he could leave without leaving any witnesses. He turned and started walking back to the school.

The cupcake remained in the box, alone among it's crushed brethren, uneaten.

Elizabeth's feet hurt from running. Her face was a mess from crying, and her clothes were ripped from the tree branches.

She had been so miserably stupid. It had been foolish to think Eric had been there as anything more than another pointless guard. To think her family would have given her a say in her life... Ridiculous.

She was back at the school now, it was dark, but the gates were always open. She quickly made her way back to her dorm room, rushed inside, and locked the door, and collapsed on the bed, tears still in her eyes.

The door was locked. Eric had already known it would be, but it wasn't a problem, he was patient. Of course, now was not the time for patience.

Thinking fast, he ran to the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time, he made it to a door marked Roof Access.

A small sign declared that no students were permitted on to of the building. Ignoring it, he pushed the door open and stepped onto the roof.

A small group of juniors was loitering around, cigarettes held lazily in their hands. He ignored their stares as he walked over to the roof's edge.

The drop was considerable, at two stories, but he had seen worse. Calmly, he stood directly above his dorm room window and swung his feet over the edge.

He took a deep breath, and rolled, sliding down until he was hanging by his hands over the edge of the roof.

Gritting his teeth, Eric kicked his feet to build up momentum, then, let go of the roof and dropped like a stone.

For less than a second, he hung in free fall, weightless, then, he slammed into the outer ledge of the window, and clung to it with all his strength.

His inertia tried to wrest him free and let gravity drag him the rest of the way down, but he stubbornly held on, sweat beading over his brow.

Hauling himself up, he sat on the small ledge and rapped on the window quietly.

Elizabeth was fast asleep and showed no sign of stirring. This would be bothersome. Rolling his eyes, he clenched his fist and punched through one of the glass panes.

Grimacing at his bleeding hand, he wrapped the injured fist in his jacket and undid the latch holding the window closed. Climbing inside, he re-latched the window and slumped against the wall.

"You know it's funny." He said to himself. "That stupid promise we made all those years ago... I ended up keeping it."

He laughed "though I can't say I thought it would be so difficult to do it without you noticing." Elizabeth lay still, keeping her breathing slow and even. "I guess that doesn't matter now though. Once you call home, they'll probably send me back."

He paused thoughtfully "or kill me, that's the usual punishment. At least I had some fun though. I even got a cupcake, so thank you."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror, and it was all she could do to keep from yelling. How could he talk so casually about dying? What the hell had happened to him over the past few years?