Categories > Original > Fantasy > Moment of Darkness: A Shattered World
/ RUNAWAY/
Travis was sat by the window in his bedroom. He had been there since entering. The walls in this petite room are splashed with dark rose. Flooring carpeted in nondescript beige. The conversation he heard last night kept replaying in his head. There were so many questions flowing through his mind that he wanted answered. Who was the man in the shadows? What was the owner of an orphanage involved in? Why did they want some boy from this place? Was it him they wanted or was he jumping to concussions? Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Wake up! Get dressed be quick about it the master wants to see you." a croaky voice yelled from behind the door.
Travis recognised the voice as Miss Raffbone's, who was second in charge at McNamara's Orphanage. She was the one out of the two that saw the kids every day, even though all the children there never wanted to see her. Although Walter McNamara owned the building, his cowardice made it easy for Miss Raffbone to get what she wanted from him.
Travis's suspicions grew wilder as Mr McNamara never wanted to see any of the kids; he seemed to hate them all even if he had never talked to them. It was as he had been forced to do the job. Travis quickly got changed, chucking the old clothes on his bed. Then made his way to Mr McNamara study.
A big oak door was now the only thing between him and somebody that might want to kill him. He knocked a couple of times, the sounds echoing throughout the vacant hallway. "Enter!" yelled a voice from the other side.
Hold of the handle and went into the office. A sick murky green was splashed on the walls, bright red carpet covered every single inch of the floor. Only a desk with a mug, folders everywhere on it and three chairs occupied the room with Walter in one of them. Nothing on the walls at all making this room seemed impersonal to be talking to couples about adopting a child and adding to or starting a family in.
"Ah Travis my dear boy. Please take a seat, I have fantastic news for you." said Walter seeming to have put on his excitement as well as flashing a fake grin towards him.
Taking took a seat opposite Mr McNamara but didn't say anything. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air for a few seconds but to Travis it felt like minutes.
"I had a phone call last night. It appears caller; a very important man is looking to adopt a young lad like you."
Travis finally opened his mouth. "I think he might prefer one of the other boys Sir. There are a minority of younger boys than me, like Alex or John." said Travis trying to squirm out of it as his worries seemed to be turning out right. The conversation the night before appeared to be about him, if so this man was only after him.
"Nonsense Mr Conway you're a very healthy and intelligent young man. Plus you've been here for a long time now, the longest one in fact and we always enjoy seeing children like yourself find a home before it's too late." Walter took a sip of water from his mug in front of him. "Even if what you say were true, the man has asked for you personally."
Travis's sunk as he watched Mr McNamara shuffle through some folder placed on the desk. So it is me! Travis thought.
"Ah here we are! The particular gentlemen's name is Mr Tai Danton and is coming to see you later today; he cancelled an appointment just so he can see you." Mr McNamara leaned over the desk passing the sheet over, his oversized belly bulging against the table. Travis grabbed the paper. A face shot of a youthful man was staring at him; it filled the top half of the document. He had surprisingly bushy eyebrows for a man his age, dark brown spiky hair, a strong chin and brooding facial features. He looked in his early-thirties though his eyes made him seem much older.
"What happens if I don't want to go with him?"
"Well nothing has to happen if you don't want it to Mr Conway. You are being given a wonderful opportunity here. Not every teenagers are able to find somebody that wants to adopt them, let alone a young person like yourself that will be turning into an adult in a couple of years."
Walter leaned back in his chair; Travis was surprised break underneath him. "Believe me Mr Conway that this orphanage only wants what's best for you. I and Miss Raffbone both think that this is the right move." Walter waited for Travis to respond. Travis said nothing.
"Well unless you've got any questions, I guess that's it of give you some more information about Mr. Danton for you to have a look through. Sure once you know more about him you'll be as eager to do is we are." Walter grabbed the folder inside of his desk with his stubby little fingers and walked round from behind his desk. He was wearing a tatty grey suit and tie with the white shirt. Handing the file to him on his way to the door.
"Thanks." Travis seemed to mutter unwillingly as he got up and left the room three the door held open by Mr. Walter McNamara.
Travis was in the lunch hall with the other kids stuck in the orphanage. This room is three times bigger than any other in the building. A long table took up most of the hall. Miss Raffbone was standing by the door as lifeless as a statue her eyes transfixed upon the only other exit. A fire exit was placed in the right corner.
She did the same it every morning for breakfast and at evening for dinner. It was as if she was expecting someone to just try and make a run for it. To however today someone was planning on escaping.
Travis had made his decision; he had to get away no matter what. He had read the little information that he had been given earlier by Mr. McNamara, the more he read about this Mr. Danton character he seemed too good to be true. It mentioned that he was a fairly wealthy man who did a lot of work for charity, and given a lot of money to the poor. The word model citizen was used at least three times during a few small interviews of people supposedly his close friends.
Though every time Travis looked a picture of this man, something in his stomach told him that there was much more to Mr. Danton them all was written down in front of him. And none of it was good.
Suddenly the door swung open and reviled a short plump stature of Walter McNamara strolled in. "Please could I have a moment to speak?" Said the man, his voice seemed to carry a lot more power than Travis ever thought it could have and travelled throughout the room without him even having to raise it. Everybody stopped talking immediately.
"Thank you. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask everyone to be in their rooms a two clock, as were expecting an important and we don't want to be disturbed."
Children's faces a gone from enjoyment to annoyance.
So he's coming at 2.00 in the afternoon Travis for to himself. He looked on wall behind him; it was just coming up to 1.00. You don't have much time.
Talking of recommenced among everyone in the hall, for even Miss Raffbone has come out of her weird stature and is now chatting to Mr. McNamara.
Travis knew that he had to act fast. He scuffed down rest of the meal that was in front of him when collected his plate and placed it on the rack outside the kitchen. Rushing towards the door he was only a few steps away from escaping when he heard a voice behind him.
"Ah, Mr. Conway." Said Mr. McNamara.
Travis stops and felt his heart sink. Maybe he's going to keep me here it's too late.
"I hope you're not trying to escape now. Might have to do something about that." Said Walter trying to make a joke but something in his tone told Travis that he meant it.
"No sir, and is going to get ready for when Mr. Danton arrives."
"Excellent Mr. Conway I like to see a person who tries to make a good impression. You may continue, but just remember to be quick. We don't want to keep Mr. Danton waiting now do we?" A faint smirk appeared on Mr. McNamara face. Shivers ran down Travis's back on.
"No McNamara." Said Travis hurrying through the double doors and almost zooming down the hallway, up the stairs and into his bedroom.
The draw, now empty was pushed back to its original position. Everything Travis owned was now packed into a single backpack. This made him release how sad his life was for the first time but he shook off the feeling as he knew he didn't have time to think about that now. He had already checked to see if he could escape by the front door but as he opened his door about to walk out of his room, he quickly noticed Mr McNamara stood at one end of the hall and Miss Raffbone at the other.
It was 1:50 according to the clock in his room. Ten minutes were left until he'd be taken away. Travis knew what he had to do, it had taken him twenty minutes to think of it and he could have kicked himself from stupidity for now thinking of it sooner.
The window, his room was next to the drain pipe outside.
Opening the window he climbed out. Shaking off an old memory that had suddenly burst into his head from when he was four. A boy double his age at the time had tried to sneak out using the drain pipe to go play with some of his friends. Unfortunately he had ended up breaking the pipeline and cracked his head open on the pavement below.
With the memory now suppressed, he took one last deep breath and stepped out onto the ledge outside. One hand clinging to the window behind him, the other stretching for the tube. Realising he couldn't reach Travis panicked when he heard footsteps in the hall. Without thinking he jumped!
Fingers only just hooking round the black plastic, he was able to catch his balance and squat onto the pipe. Taking a couple of seconds to reclaim the breath that had been knocked out of him, Travis slid down until his feet came in firm contact with the ground.
Glee filled Travis's face. I did it! He thought. Then started to run, making as much space between him and the orphanage as he could.
An hour had passed since Travis had begun running until he came to a complete stop. His surroundings were cars parked on the curb, children played a friendly rivalry game of football in the park on the other side of the road. Slowly making his way forward, Travis kept getting this feeling which made him look over his shoulder every so often. Ignoring what might be coursing it he concentrated on finding out where he was, he had never been this far before.
Coming to the end of the road Travis was confronted with only one way which would lead him on, the other seemed to just lead him back where he had just been. A small alleyway to his right was the way forward; it was barely big enough to fit a car through it.
Strolling down the alleyway, he was quickly sure that he had made a mistake in taking this route when a chunky hand covered his mouth. He tried to escape but all his attempts seemed to fail, the person was abnormally strong.
A soaring pain went throughout Travis's head, he could all of a sudden see blood dripping down the side of his face out of the corner of his eye. Travis felt faint after a minute, his legs buckling underneath him.
The person let Travis go and watched him limply fall to the ground, catching a glimpse of his attacker. It was Walter McNamara. How did he find me this quick? He managed to think through the pain, everything was slowly seeming to black out on him.
"Good job Walter, it almost makes up for your idiotic carelessness to begin with." Said the same creepy deep voice that had been talking in the little room at the orphanage the night before.
Travis heard the unidentified man mutter several words that weren't English or any other language that he recognised. His stomach lunged as if he was falling through the air.
Everything became a blur, and then Travis lost consciousness.
Travis was sat by the window in his bedroom. He had been there since entering. The walls in this petite room are splashed with dark rose. Flooring carpeted in nondescript beige. The conversation he heard last night kept replaying in his head. There were so many questions flowing through his mind that he wanted answered. Who was the man in the shadows? What was the owner of an orphanage involved in? Why did they want some boy from this place? Was it him they wanted or was he jumping to concussions? Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Wake up! Get dressed be quick about it the master wants to see you." a croaky voice yelled from behind the door.
Travis recognised the voice as Miss Raffbone's, who was second in charge at McNamara's Orphanage. She was the one out of the two that saw the kids every day, even though all the children there never wanted to see her. Although Walter McNamara owned the building, his cowardice made it easy for Miss Raffbone to get what she wanted from him.
Travis's suspicions grew wilder as Mr McNamara never wanted to see any of the kids; he seemed to hate them all even if he had never talked to them. It was as he had been forced to do the job. Travis quickly got changed, chucking the old clothes on his bed. Then made his way to Mr McNamara study.
A big oak door was now the only thing between him and somebody that might want to kill him. He knocked a couple of times, the sounds echoing throughout the vacant hallway. "Enter!" yelled a voice from the other side.
Hold of the handle and went into the office. A sick murky green was splashed on the walls, bright red carpet covered every single inch of the floor. Only a desk with a mug, folders everywhere on it and three chairs occupied the room with Walter in one of them. Nothing on the walls at all making this room seemed impersonal to be talking to couples about adopting a child and adding to or starting a family in.
"Ah Travis my dear boy. Please take a seat, I have fantastic news for you." said Walter seeming to have put on his excitement as well as flashing a fake grin towards him.
Taking took a seat opposite Mr McNamara but didn't say anything. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air for a few seconds but to Travis it felt like minutes.
"I had a phone call last night. It appears caller; a very important man is looking to adopt a young lad like you."
Travis finally opened his mouth. "I think he might prefer one of the other boys Sir. There are a minority of younger boys than me, like Alex or John." said Travis trying to squirm out of it as his worries seemed to be turning out right. The conversation the night before appeared to be about him, if so this man was only after him.
"Nonsense Mr Conway you're a very healthy and intelligent young man. Plus you've been here for a long time now, the longest one in fact and we always enjoy seeing children like yourself find a home before it's too late." Walter took a sip of water from his mug in front of him. "Even if what you say were true, the man has asked for you personally."
Travis's sunk as he watched Mr McNamara shuffle through some folder placed on the desk. So it is me! Travis thought.
"Ah here we are! The particular gentlemen's name is Mr Tai Danton and is coming to see you later today; he cancelled an appointment just so he can see you." Mr McNamara leaned over the desk passing the sheet over, his oversized belly bulging against the table. Travis grabbed the paper. A face shot of a youthful man was staring at him; it filled the top half of the document. He had surprisingly bushy eyebrows for a man his age, dark brown spiky hair, a strong chin and brooding facial features. He looked in his early-thirties though his eyes made him seem much older.
"What happens if I don't want to go with him?"
"Well nothing has to happen if you don't want it to Mr Conway. You are being given a wonderful opportunity here. Not every teenagers are able to find somebody that wants to adopt them, let alone a young person like yourself that will be turning into an adult in a couple of years."
Walter leaned back in his chair; Travis was surprised break underneath him. "Believe me Mr Conway that this orphanage only wants what's best for you. I and Miss Raffbone both think that this is the right move." Walter waited for Travis to respond. Travis said nothing.
"Well unless you've got any questions, I guess that's it of give you some more information about Mr. Danton for you to have a look through. Sure once you know more about him you'll be as eager to do is we are." Walter grabbed the folder inside of his desk with his stubby little fingers and walked round from behind his desk. He was wearing a tatty grey suit and tie with the white shirt. Handing the file to him on his way to the door.
"Thanks." Travis seemed to mutter unwillingly as he got up and left the room three the door held open by Mr. Walter McNamara.
Travis was in the lunch hall with the other kids stuck in the orphanage. This room is three times bigger than any other in the building. A long table took up most of the hall. Miss Raffbone was standing by the door as lifeless as a statue her eyes transfixed upon the only other exit. A fire exit was placed in the right corner.
She did the same it every morning for breakfast and at evening for dinner. It was as if she was expecting someone to just try and make a run for it. To however today someone was planning on escaping.
Travis had made his decision; he had to get away no matter what. He had read the little information that he had been given earlier by Mr. McNamara, the more he read about this Mr. Danton character he seemed too good to be true. It mentioned that he was a fairly wealthy man who did a lot of work for charity, and given a lot of money to the poor. The word model citizen was used at least three times during a few small interviews of people supposedly his close friends.
Though every time Travis looked a picture of this man, something in his stomach told him that there was much more to Mr. Danton them all was written down in front of him. And none of it was good.
Suddenly the door swung open and reviled a short plump stature of Walter McNamara strolled in. "Please could I have a moment to speak?" Said the man, his voice seemed to carry a lot more power than Travis ever thought it could have and travelled throughout the room without him even having to raise it. Everybody stopped talking immediately.
"Thank you. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask everyone to be in their rooms a two clock, as were expecting an important and we don't want to be disturbed."
Children's faces a gone from enjoyment to annoyance.
So he's coming at 2.00 in the afternoon Travis for to himself. He looked on wall behind him; it was just coming up to 1.00. You don't have much time.
Talking of recommenced among everyone in the hall, for even Miss Raffbone has come out of her weird stature and is now chatting to Mr. McNamara.
Travis knew that he had to act fast. He scuffed down rest of the meal that was in front of him when collected his plate and placed it on the rack outside the kitchen. Rushing towards the door he was only a few steps away from escaping when he heard a voice behind him.
"Ah, Mr. Conway." Said Mr. McNamara.
Travis stops and felt his heart sink. Maybe he's going to keep me here it's too late.
"I hope you're not trying to escape now. Might have to do something about that." Said Walter trying to make a joke but something in his tone told Travis that he meant it.
"No sir, and is going to get ready for when Mr. Danton arrives."
"Excellent Mr. Conway I like to see a person who tries to make a good impression. You may continue, but just remember to be quick. We don't want to keep Mr. Danton waiting now do we?" A faint smirk appeared on Mr. McNamara face. Shivers ran down Travis's back on.
"No McNamara." Said Travis hurrying through the double doors and almost zooming down the hallway, up the stairs and into his bedroom.
The draw, now empty was pushed back to its original position. Everything Travis owned was now packed into a single backpack. This made him release how sad his life was for the first time but he shook off the feeling as he knew he didn't have time to think about that now. He had already checked to see if he could escape by the front door but as he opened his door about to walk out of his room, he quickly noticed Mr McNamara stood at one end of the hall and Miss Raffbone at the other.
It was 1:50 according to the clock in his room. Ten minutes were left until he'd be taken away. Travis knew what he had to do, it had taken him twenty minutes to think of it and he could have kicked himself from stupidity for now thinking of it sooner.
The window, his room was next to the drain pipe outside.
Opening the window he climbed out. Shaking off an old memory that had suddenly burst into his head from when he was four. A boy double his age at the time had tried to sneak out using the drain pipe to go play with some of his friends. Unfortunately he had ended up breaking the pipeline and cracked his head open on the pavement below.
With the memory now suppressed, he took one last deep breath and stepped out onto the ledge outside. One hand clinging to the window behind him, the other stretching for the tube. Realising he couldn't reach Travis panicked when he heard footsteps in the hall. Without thinking he jumped!
Fingers only just hooking round the black plastic, he was able to catch his balance and squat onto the pipe. Taking a couple of seconds to reclaim the breath that had been knocked out of him, Travis slid down until his feet came in firm contact with the ground.
Glee filled Travis's face. I did it! He thought. Then started to run, making as much space between him and the orphanage as he could.
An hour had passed since Travis had begun running until he came to a complete stop. His surroundings were cars parked on the curb, children played a friendly rivalry game of football in the park on the other side of the road. Slowly making his way forward, Travis kept getting this feeling which made him look over his shoulder every so often. Ignoring what might be coursing it he concentrated on finding out where he was, he had never been this far before.
Coming to the end of the road Travis was confronted with only one way which would lead him on, the other seemed to just lead him back where he had just been. A small alleyway to his right was the way forward; it was barely big enough to fit a car through it.
Strolling down the alleyway, he was quickly sure that he had made a mistake in taking this route when a chunky hand covered his mouth. He tried to escape but all his attempts seemed to fail, the person was abnormally strong.
A soaring pain went throughout Travis's head, he could all of a sudden see blood dripping down the side of his face out of the corner of his eye. Travis felt faint after a minute, his legs buckling underneath him.
The person let Travis go and watched him limply fall to the ground, catching a glimpse of his attacker. It was Walter McNamara. How did he find me this quick? He managed to think through the pain, everything was slowly seeming to black out on him.
"Good job Walter, it almost makes up for your idiotic carelessness to begin with." Said the same creepy deep voice that had been talking in the little room at the orphanage the night before.
Travis heard the unidentified man mutter several words that weren't English or any other language that he recognised. His stomach lunged as if he was falling through the air.
Everything became a blur, and then Travis lost consciousness.
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