XII - Josh
Josh
reached the stairwell and punched the doors open, not bothering to slow for the
steps, nearly stumbling as he reached the landing for the second floor. Again he punched right through and found
himself in a patch of corridor where the fluorescents weren't flickering at all
- they were dead.
"Stupid
fucking old man!" His voice echoed along the industrial beige walls. They sounded good to him, right somehow,
justified. "Like I don't
have a right to care about this, just 'cos I'm - what? - still a teenager? Fuck him!" There was a loud thud as his boot impacted the wall, denting the
weak plaster. His hands hit the wall
palm first, fingers spread and the impact of his forehead against the cool
paint was light. "Fuck it..."
The
trickle of blood at his feet went unnoticed.
XIII - Paige
"Why
were you arguing with him?" Paige
asked angrily as she examined Henry's jaw.
"The last thing we need right now is a fight!"
"He
was just getting on my nerves!" He
flicked her hand away. "I'm all
right for God's sake!"
Paige
frowned at him. "I heard the
impact! Now let me look at it."
She
waved her hands past his makeshift barrier of arms and shrugs and grabbed at
his chin once more. "It's quite a
bruise! When I see that boy-"
"Ha! Didn't you see? He's run off! Back to his
mother if he knows what's good for him."
"He
needs to explain himself, and you need to give him the chance." She let his head drop back down. "You don't look too bad, but be
careful, alright?"
"I
told you I was fine! Bloody
women."
He
picked himself up off the chair and walked over to the television, flicking the
off switch in disgust. Paige watched
him carefully as he walked over to the window, wiped the smiley face away and
stared out into the dark.
"I
did see people here...” He muttered to himself.
Paige
sighed and turned back to Charlie, but froze as she saw the empty
corridor. "Charlie? Oh,
no..."
XIV - Charlie
Charlie
ran down the corridor as fast as his feet would let him. He felt the slap of his shoes against the
floor as painful blows and his mind replayed the scene from the ward. The crack of that blow seemed to echo after
him.
Why
did Josh do that? Why did he hit the
old man? Why was he so angry? Questions circled around his brain to the
rhythm of his feet. Why? Why?
Why?
Memories
of his father interfered.
"You
useless boy, you're just like your mother!" The prelude to another beating.
Or, "I come home from work, and I find the place like this? You must be kidding me lad!" An affectionate patron.
I
haven't escaped I haven't escaped I haven't escaped I haven’t-
His
thoughts ran on and so did he.
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