Gale's fingers dug into the book's paperback cover, knuckles white as pages crumpled in his desperate grip. Mom and dad always said, 'stay low, blend in, survive'. He'd taken their advice to heart, burying himself in fantastical realms in the words he would read every night.
It was his last month at the orphanage. Soon, he'd either be put on a hearse from trying to survive to adulthood or live long enough to see what other people find magical about this thing called 'life'.
The boy above him snarled, pinning him down while fists rained down on him. Gale refused to relinquish his precious book. Let them break his body. They'd never touch his mind. It was the only part of him truly free.
"Think you're better than us, bookworm? Run out of things to do in real life?"
The boy's hot breath wafted at him, reeking of spaghetti from dinner. "You're not that great… Get over yourself."
Gale said nothing. It didn't matter. The punches were amateur. All force, no technique. He learned long ago that silence was the best reply. As blows rained down, he retreated into his imagination, where beasts were felled and heroes triumphed. In this world of bruises and neglect, stories were his armour, his escape, and his home.
"Even if you are special…" The boy paused, looking at Gale's smaller figure. "Forget it."
He got up, shoulders hunched, footsteps echoing through the orphanage's narrow corridor. Paint flaked from the walls as he brushed past.
Gale sat up, still pressed to the wall with his battered body and precious book. Although he couldn't get up from being beaten, a smile rose on his face. The book was still in his clutches. It was his win.
One day, I'll show you. I'll live peacefully. Away from this damned prison and from everyone. All of you won't be able to step all over me or beat me up whenever you want.
I'll go home every day and just read my books until I fall asleep. Then I'll dream of the stories I just read. Probably somewhere out in the woods where no one can see me or bother me. I'll even build a cabin for myself and maybe a pool. No one is invited except me. And I'll be…
Happy. Probably.
Mom and dad would say they're proud of me; maybe even come back. All three of us could read books and just survive in the woods together, away from people. Probably even hunt and forage together. We would even eat together, just like back then.
But Gale knew they were never coming back. They disappeared when he was only 12 years old. They taught him many ways to survive. He didn't know why. To them, survival was the most important. At his young age, he couldn't say anything back against them. He just thought it was normal. The way their family lived.
Gale gathered enough strength and picked himself up, limping back to his room. But before he could reach for the doorknob, the door swung open on its own. He looked around his room, expecting bullies trying to play a trick on him.
The desk lamp was on, shining dimly. The poster of a fictional star map his dad had given him hung on the wall. A couple of fantasy books laid on the desk. Luggage was half-packed. Two pairs of shoes were by the door. Then there it was.
A pair of eyes fixed on him. Its smile twisted, stretching too wide to be human.
Gale's blood ran cold. Its teeth were inhuman, and its eyes had a certain deranged expression, as if it had found a fun prey to play with.
Run away. His grip on the book slacked. The book fell, making a loud thud. He had glanced away from the entity just for a brief second, and the next it was gone. There was nothing.
It felt all too real. It was the first time he wanted to speak out about something that happened to him. Such supernatural events happened to him only a handful of times. This time, however, was too close for comfort.
Gale picked up his book and stumbled down the corridor. He had to tell someone about what he'd just seen. The staff room was just around the corner, and he burst through the door.
"There was something in my room!" he blurted out.
There were still two staff members working. One of the staff ladies looked up from her paperwork, frowning. "Gale, what on earth are you talking about?"
"I saw... something... like a smile. Probably not human. It was there, in the corner, watching."
"Not this again, Gale. We've talked about your overactive imagination before," the staff lady grumbled.
Gale couldn't say anything. He expected it. His awkwardness didn't help either.
The staff lady stood up, her face a mixture of concern and exasperation. "Gale, look at you. You had some rough play with the boys, right?"
Gale nodded reluctantly.
"You're just seeing things. It's perfectly normal. Next time, don't play too roughly and hit your head."
"I know what I saw!"
The staff lady approached him, her voice softening. "Gale, we understand you're upset. But there's nothing in your room. We don't let anyone get to the dorm."
There was no one in the world who would say that his bruises were from rough play. They never believed him. They never liked him.
"We believe you," she said. "But sometimes our minds can come up with all sorts of things when we're hurt in the head."
It was pointless to argue further. They already made up their minds. No one ever gave him the time of day to even hear him out, let alone when he was bullied.
"Why don't you lie down for a bit and see if that helps?" said the staff lady.
Gale nodded, knowing full well the staff didn't care. Pretend to be ok. That's what he was told to do. Just to live this nightmare. Forever.
As he reached for the door handle, he heard the other staff lady mutter, "Supernatural stuff again?"
The words stung, but he was too tired to care. He went back to his room, half expecting something to be there and half hoping there was nothing.
The corridor felt longer than usual. His aching ribs made each step an effort. Rough play, they said. Did rough play include getting bruises all over? But pain was nothing compared to the constant dismissal from the staff—he couldn't count on anyone.
He paused outside his door, hand hovering over the knob, dreading whether the thing was still there.
Taking a deep breath, Gale pushed the door open.
The room looked exactly as he had left it. Books were on the desk. A half-packed suitcase. Shoes blocking the door. Nothing in the corner where the thing was. Everything placed just as where they should be.
Gale let out a sigh. He sat at his desk, laying down the book still in his grip. Its pages sprawled on the desk. Maybe they were right. Maybe it had all been in his head.
A gentle knock on the door interrupted Gale's thoughts.
"Gale? May I come in?" the staff lady behind the door asked, her voice softer than before.
He didn't respond.
Even without a response, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She glanced around the room, pretending to check for any signs of the 'supernatural' presence he mentioned.
"Listen, Gale," she said, perching on the edge of his bed. "I want you to know that it's not that we don't believe you. It's just..."
She paused, then continued. "Things have been tough lately."
Sure. It's been tough lately. Hasn't it been tough for him the whole time he's been in this prison? They don't care.
"Gale, we already talked about this, right? The orphanage is going through some difficult times," she continued. "We're short-staffed, and there's just so much to do. Sometimes it feels like we're barely keeping our heads above water."
She sighed, rubbing her temples.
"I know it's not an excuse, but you understand, right? Other kids cause trouble with fists and screaming. And you cause it with these stories. It's already difficult," she sighed. "Trying to take care of all the kids and all… And with you being one of the older ones, well..." she trailed off.
Gale didn't bother looking back at her. He knew where this was going. They always expected the older kids to be more mature and self-reliant. But they were all still kids. Kids that grew up without parents who would have taught them what was good and bad.
"You're leaving this month, aren't you?" the staff lady asked. Gale knew it wasn't really a question.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but you know we just can't drop everything to investigate… something little," said the staff lady.
Gale wanted to argue that the thing in his room wasn't "little," but he bit his tongue. It was the first time he felt genuine fear. The first time he went to their office late at night to make a scene. The other kids made plenty of trouble compared to him, even the older ones. The least they could do was at least hear him out.
"Here," the staff lady said. She stood up and put the ice pack on his desk. "For your bruises. I'm sorry we can't do more right now."
Gale took the ice pack, pressing it against his ribs. The cold seeped through his shirt, numbing the pain.
"Thanks…" he whispered, not meeting her eyes.
"Gale… the other kids," she looked at him with warm eyes, her voice down to a soothing level. "They just wanted to play with you, just like back then, when you first came to us. I don't know what your… parents told you, but you're much more than you think you are."
The staff lady stood up, smoothing her skirt.
"Try to get some rest, okay? And Gale..." She hesitated at the door. "You're almost 18. You're almost free, so just… just keep your head down. It's safer that way."
With that, she left, closing the door softly behind her.
Gale sat there for a moment, the ice pack pressed against his side. What did he think was going to happen? They weren't magically going to believe him after all the multiple times he'd already tried. But… the least they could do was at least pretend to believe him. In just a few weeks, he would be gone from this place. At least pretend to care.
He stood up, wincing at the pain in his ribs, and walked over to the window. The orphanage grounds stretched out before him, bathed in the fading light of evening. Older kids were still walking back across the streets to the orphanage.
It's not like he wanted to avoid the other kids. He wanted to have fun too. He just didn't know how. For as long as he could remember, his parents had taught him how to survive from dawn to dusk without care, even as his hands and feet bled.
Gale leaned his forehead against the cool glass, closing his eyes. He tried to focus on the future, on the life waiting for him beyond these walls. He was confident that he knew what to do, all the tips and tricks his dad had taught him to survive out there and the cooking skills his mom had taught him. But he felt it wasn't enough. Those skills were for living in the woods—not enough for the real world.
He opened his eyes, scanning the room once more. Everything looked normal. Ordinary. Nothing felt out of place. It was just as he had left it before he went out in the morning.
Gale moved away from the window, his gaze falling on his half-packed suitcase. Maybe he should finish packing now. He can leave at a moment's notice in case that thing appeared again.
The thought had barely formed when he heard a soft thud behind him.
He spun around. His eyes frantically searched around the room, looking for the source of the noise. Nothing seemed out of place, then...
There. On his desk. A book had fallen to the floor, its pages spread open.
Gale approached cautiously, every nerve on edge. He knelt down, reaching for the book. As his fingers touched the cover, the book was ice cold, as if it had just come out of a freezer.
He picked it up and turned it over. It was one of his favourite fantasy books. One where the hero vanquishes invading demons from the kingdom. But as he flipped through the pages, his breath got caught in his throat.
On the page, right in the middle of where the demon was about to devour the main character at his lowest, a single word stood out. It hadn't been there before. Gale was sure of it.
The word was in a script that seemed to shift in and out of reality as he looked at it, but he could make out what it said:
"Soon."
Gale dropped the book, stumbling backward. What the hell happened? There was no way his eyes were playing with him. There was something here with him.
He looked around the room, half-expecting to see the entity or something again. But there was nothing there. Just the usual furnishings and his belongings.
Running away was the only option against something he couldn't see. Go back to the staff room. Show them the letters in the book. Maybe they would believe him this time.
Gale reached for the doorknob in a hurry, but discovered it refused to turn.
The drone of the air conditioner suddenly died down as if going on mute. Silence crept in. A chilling growl, gaining strength with each passing second, reverberated through the air behind him. Icy breath swept across the nape of his neck. He froze, muscles tensed, afraid to turn and face whatever lurked at his back.
When the growl reached its climax, the world became dyed in red. Crimson roots spread out across his entire view in an instant. And then the world was dark.
[Critical danger to host detected.]
[Force Initialize Dainv Origin System.]
[Started…]
…