Into Darkness

[Julia]

Awakening

Then suddenly, it must have been around four in the morning, screams. They were echoing throughout the corridor and even worse, the screams were either quite close or almost next to my room. God... what the hell was happening there? Was Mellanie in danger? I couldn't get it off my mind that it was Mellanie that was screaming, but that wasn't possible. The voice wasn't even remotely close to that of Mellanie. But despite that, I was worried sick. Was I supposed to check and see what was happening? I still remember Mellanie telling me to stay in my room. But that should be an exception in this case, I thought to myself. I was planning to leave my room and check out the source of the screams, but for some reason I just couldn't gather any courage. I was eventually more scared than worried. I decided to stay in my room and simply pretended that the woman was having some sort of nightmare. A few minutes later the screams began to let off, followed by me falling asleep again.

It was a miracle. Despite what was happening around me. Nothing could ever stop me from falling asleep. It was a curse but also a helpful thing in certain occasions. But my dreams were different this time. They started to begin like a usual dream.

I was sitting under a tree on the grass, leaning my back against the tree while looking around me, a green, stony landscape, together with a small river running through it next to the tree where I was sitting. Right behind the river, there were the cliffs and further away, one could see the sun shining through. Everything was the same as before. I looked up to where the sun shone in the sky. It was a clear blue sky with a few clouds here and there. The air was rather fresh and cold. I watched the clouds flying their way, when suddenly I saw a figure in the distance. It was a person, no doubt on that. The person was approaching me in a slow pace and eventually I recognized the person. It was Mellanie. She smiled happily while she continuously approached me. Moments later she disappeared, quickly followed by me standing up and looking around me. Where did she go? In the same moment my breath was getting colder and a shiver ran through my entire body. I was freezing out of a sudden and the sky was getting grey. I just wanted to run, but before I could even take a step with my foot, I felt a warm kiss on my cheek. I turned around to see who or what that was, and saw Mellanie right next to me. She whispered into my ear and promised me that she will protect me, no matter what happens. Right after that I woke up.

"Miss... Hayes." A man said hesitantly after checking a document. "It's time for the shower. Please take your clothes and go through the door next to your room, there are the shower cabins."
Before I could even say something, the man already had left the room. He sure was in a hurry. I stood up, picked up my clothes and made my way out of my room, directly towards the door that the man was speaking of. There was a sign next to it, saying 'Showers'. That must be the right place.

I entered the showers and looked around me. All I could see were two doors, one for women and the other for the men. It was clear where I had to go and so I entered the door to the women cabins. There were a few girls just leaving the cabins and there was only one girl left. It was Mellanie, smiling broadly again. I wonder if she was waiting for me.

Just when I was approaching her, I realized that I was still wearing my pajama. I looked down at myself and blushed deeply. I never wanted her to see me in my pajama. It was... embarrassing, to put it mildly. I turned my head away and tried to cover my pajama with my hands.

"Uhm... uh... hey." I stuttered nervously.
"Morning. Slept well?" Mellanie asked as she had greeted me with a smile.
"Uhm... y-yes, I... I guess. Did you wait for me?" I asked curiously, slowly stepping closer to Mellanie, but not daring to look at her eyes yet.
"Maybe? At least someone to talk with, right?" She replied, her obviously not caring about how my pajama looked like.
"Hah, yeah. So... what do I have to do now?" I asked with a clueless expression, looking around, but still not towards Mellanie.
Mellanie was already ready to head into the showers, by the looks of it. Her clothes were neatly folded on a bench behind her in a changing room, while she kept herself covered with a big towel that was wrapped around her, it kind of looked funny on her.
"You can change in one of these. Showers are around the corner." She replied.
"O-okay... is there a towel inside already? Or did I have to take one with me myself?" I asked her in a worried tone, approaching one of the changing rooms meanwhile.
"In that closet you can pick one." She replied.
"I bet they all look the same." I joked and walked over to the closet, opened it and took out a white towel.
"Thought so... anyway, will you wait for me?" I asked her while heading over to the changing room again.
"Sure, if you want me to." Mellanie replied with a soft smile.
"Yes, that would be great! Uhm... thanks!" I said nervously and entered the changing room. Upon entering it, I let out a heavy sigh, looked around and eventually took a seat on the bench in the changing room.
Mellanie took a seat on another bench outside in the main room. Seeming to be more cheered up, now that she found someone to talk to after the first few silent days she had been here, that was clearly noticeable.
"I am feeling terrible..." I said quietly to myself and frowned slightly. Should I really confront Mellanie about the screams I was hearing or about the dream I was having? The other day, Mellanie said that she wanted to know about my dream. I, for one, hope she forgot about it.

After taking in a few more deep breaths, I stood up from the bench and began to take off my pajama. I placed both the pajama down onto the bench, as well as my other clothes I was supposed to put on after the shower. After that, I wrapped the towel carefully around myself and opened the door.
"Got any shampoo of you?" Mellanie asked the moment I came out of the changing room.
"Hm... no, I thought they had some here." I replied with a frown, looking briefly at her.
"You can use mine I suppose." She replied, showing her a plastic bag in which she had shampoo.
"Yours? Are you sure?" I asked unsurely, wondering if I should really accept the offer, but hell, why not!
"If you're okay with neutral shampoo?" She replied with a smile.
"Hm, I don't mind. But how do you plan on handing it over to me? Aren't we separated?" I asked her, still having no idea about how the things run here.
"Can slide under the panel; just have to pick a shower next to me." She replied.
"Hm... should work. But don't peek, okay!" I said giggling and stepped closer to Mellanie, wanting her to go in first so that I could follow her.
"This way." She said after giggling with me about how I didn't want her to peek and led me to where the showers were.
I let out a sigh and followed Mellanie quietly. I was still undecided whether to mention the things or not.
"We have to be quick though, breakfast is soon. And then we have to go to school. Well, it's more like them giving you a bunch of homework." She replied.
"Homework? Oh dear, do I have to do them on my own?" I asked amused. "If so, I am so screwed."
"Guess I can help you, but I'm probably a few classes higher than you. We only have one teacher though, mixed class kind of thing." She explained while picking a shower cabin.
"Oh, I see. And that would be nice, really." I said with a smile and entered a shower cabin next to Mellanie's.
"Just say it when you need the shampoo..." I heard her saying before Mellanie turned the water of the shower on.
“Yes, of course." I said and turned on the water as well. I took some time for myself and eventually asked for the shampoo. "Hm... now would be great."
Without a word the plastic bag with the shampoo tube got shoved under the panel.
"Thank you." I said quietly, picked up the shampoo, applied it on my body and washed myself thoroughly before I shoved the plastic bag with the shampoo back.
"Going to get dressed, I'll wait in the hallway." She said from her own shower cabin.
"Okay." I replied simply and finished washing myself completely before I left the shower cabin after having wrapped the towel around me again, making my own way back to my changing room.
Mellanie was dressed up by that time, but still brushed her hair in front of one of the mirrors that was hanging on above a few sinks. Them being used to get a quick clean up, or do one's make-up or even just brushing your teeth before going to bed.
"Showers aren't bad, are they?" Mellanie asked me as she could see me leave my shower via the mirror.
"They are alright." I replied simply before I disappeared into the changing room and began to change into my regular clothes before I came out of the room again with my pajama wrapped around my arm.
"I need to bring my pajama back into my room. How much time do we have left?" I asked as I stepped closer to Mellanie.
"Hm... 20 minutes." She replied, looking at a clock that was hanging high up on the wall, the same clocks being spread across the building, so that everyone knew which time it exactly was, making it impossible to use 'not knowing the time' as an excuse for being late.
"That's enough time! Want to see my room? Even though I doubt it will look any different than yours." I asked giggling.
"Every room mostly has their own colored theme though." She replied with a smile.
"Hm, at least something." I shrugged softly and without any hesitation I grabbed for Mellanie's hand, wanting to lead her out of the showers and back to my own room.
Mellanie got a bit surprised but didn't mind to hold my hand.
"So did you dream about anything last night?" She asked, taking her bag with her and began following me back to my room.
"Oh... uhm... yeah, I... I did." I replied nervously, but refrained to tell her the details. I opened the door to my room and guided her inside.
"Was it a nightmare?" Mellanie asked carefully, sounding slightly concerned due to how held back I sounded.
"I... I am not quite sure. I think it was more like the opposite." I replied and let go off Mellanie's hand when we were inside.
"You were in my dream." I said with a soft blush.
"Was I?" Mellanie asked, now seeming only curious as she smiled at me.
"It was weird... the entire dream. But since when did a dream ever make sense." I replied and moved over to my bed and took a seat there after having grabbed for my plushy. "I was in a beautiful environment, the sun was shining and everything was just nice. Then out of a sudden you appeared in the distance and approached me a few meters before you disappeared again the same way you appeared. Shortly after, the sky was suddenly getting grey and the air cold, myself beginning to freeze. Then, before I woke up, you appeared right next to me and..." I stopped telling and looked away with a blush coming up on my cheeks again.
"And...?" Mellanie asked with the same curious smile.
"Y-you... uhm... you kissed my cheek and told me that you would be there to protect me." I replied with a deep blush, looking embarrassingly away from her.
"Hm? did I? 'Guess I will then." She said smiling a bit more broad, thinking it was somewhere cute that she dreamed about her even when they barely knew each other.
“You will? Do what? Kissing my cheek or protecting me?" I asked jokingly, looking at her again, but still blushing.
"Look after you..." She replied with a slightly broader smile to me.
"Promise me!" I said with a cheeky smile and held my plushy close to myself.
"I promise." She said more clear as she looked into my eyes.
"Going to help you with school, and... well not with fitting in, because I'd like to see you keep talking, instead of becoming as quiet as the rest." She joked.
"Oh, the same counts for you too, though! You have to remain talkative just as much." I said with a smile and stood up from the bed.
"I will... I promise, and you'll make sure of that." She replied.
"But we should go and get breakfast, can never be late here. That's the one thing I learned already." Mellanie said while glancing around my room, probably thinking that it was almost identical to hers.
"Hm, yeah. Let's go get breakfast then. There you can tell me about your dreams." I said with a smile, placed the plushy back on the bed and stepped closer to Mellanie, gesturing her that I was ready to go.
"Sure... let's go." She said, not willing to take my hand again even if I wanted it, as it wasn't allowed by the rules.
"Okay!" I said joyfully, being happy about the outcome of the conversation. The only thing that was bothering me now were these screams that were heard in the night. I stepped close to Mellanie, myself being ready to follow her to the dining table.
"Read the rules manual yet?" She asked as we walked further through the building.
"Hm no, I haven't yet." I replied rather simple while following her.
"Guess they will give it to you at class. Should keep a few in mind, they don't really like us hand holding like before." She replied with a soft smile.
"Really? What's wrong about hand holding?" I asked with a frown, clearly not being happy about it.
"Nothing but they like to keep things strict I guess. So that some kids here don't feel less than others." She replied.
"They can't stop me from doing that when I want to do it!" I said sternly, clearly not agreeing with this rule.
"Best to just follow the rules." Mellanie replied calmly
"Rules are meant to be broken." I joked, shortly after followed by a loud sigh.
"What if all the other kids are so silent because they broke the rules once?" She asked in a concerned manner, seeming to take her obligation to look after me, highly.
"If that's the case we will have to do something about it." I replied, sounding confident.
"Just follow the rules for now, okay?" She replied, sounding more pressing in her voice, yet it remained soft.
I let out a deep sigh and grabbed Mellanie's arm, wanting her to stop and face me.
"You know something, don't you? I have heard these screams of a woman today at night. What is going on here?"
"Screams?" She asked surprised, having stopped and faced me as I insisted.
"Yes... there was a woman screaming... it was close to my room. Is it the first time something like this happened around here?" I asked in a more stern tone.
"I didn't hear anything last night." She only replied.
"How couldn't you hear that... it was so loud." I asked with a frown and let go of Mellanie's arm.
"Guess I'm a good sleeper?" She replied with a small shrug.
"Or maybe I was just imagining it." I replied with a sigh and made my own way to the canteen.
"Not another dream?” She asked carefully.
"I don't think that was a dream." I replied and continued to go my way.
"Hm... I don't know then." Mellanie replied while beginning to walk with me to the canteen.
"What are the consequences for leaving the room at night? You don't happen to know that by any chance?" I asked curiously while we entered the canteen, making our way to the table where we were the last time.
"It says severe consequences, so I doubt it's anything good." She replied honestly.
"Severe, as in damaging one's mind so that they can't talk anymore? That sure looks like normal to me." I replied ironically, taking a seat on the table, at the place I was sitting the last time. I looked around and noticed that one of the orphans that used to sit on the table, the last time, was gone.
"And how do you explain this?" I asked and pointed to the empty seat.
"Overslept, I don't know." Mellanie said, clearly not wanting to look into it too much.
"I think this has something to do with the screams I was hearing." I said quietly and sighed.
"How come you always seem to be looking for the worst?" She asked slightly annoyed.
"Should I just let the things pass as they are? I won't be getting anywhere if I do that." I replied with a glance at Mellanie.
"I just think the rules are there for a reason." Mellanie replied while looking around the canteen. Seeing the others eat quietly.
"Sure... but when you end like all these people here when you break them. Then there's clearly something wrong." I said while shaking my head.
"Who said they broke them?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What else did?" I asked in return, being confident that they were responsible for it.
"Look I don't know, can we just go and eat now?" Mellanie said a bit deflated.
"F-fine... sorry." I replied with a frown and looked down at my plate.
"Right..." Mellanie mumbled, beginning with her sandwiches to start the day with.

"So you said you were spending a lot of time in the library? Well, before you met me." I asked to break the silence, while beginning to eat my own sandwiches.
"Hmh..." She hummed with her mouthful, giving a nod with it.
"What's your favorite?" I asked, meaning the books.
"Hm... it's called seven hills. Some story about mountain climbers." She replied with a smile
"Do you like the mountains?" I asked her out some more.
"Well not really. It's just the story that's nice. Kind of a romantic one." She replied.

We talked some more about the book while we would finish our breakfast. The question about why these other orphans were this quiet wasn't discussed anymore.

We would head to class, Mellanie having shown me around before we headed to the class, there being two. One for the younger children up to 12, the other class was for the older ones, where we would fit in.

The teacher introduced me to the rest of the class but they were all quiet and there wasn't much response. The teacher would give me some new study books and other information such as the school times and the rules within the orphanage. The first lessons I was told to simply look around and try to fit in.