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When In Between Two Places

Summary:

There it was, that awful building. Tyler had despised its confines from the moment he first came through the entrance, yet he felt himself gravitate towards it tonight.

Notes:

hi everyone! i’m back, i hope you still remember me. This story takes place after the events of All The Glowing Eyes. If you haven’t read that one, I’d recommend doing so before you start this one.

perhaps we’re starting off a little dark, sorry about that…

this chapter contains mentions of drugging and past abuse/neglect.

Chapter 1: I Despise You Sometimes

Chapter Text

Every once in a while Tyler got that urge again, the urge to run away and leave everything behind. Tonight was one of those nights. He knew the feeling would blow over, like the time before that, and the one before that. Still, he felt compelled to give in to it this time. Perhaps it was because for once, he had a clear direction in mind.

Tyler left a message for Josh and promised himself to not put his phone on silent. It would be a fairly long walk, if he even found the location again. He started  doubting the plan. Was he ready for this yet? Would this end well? It didn’t really seem to matter.

He took the shortcut through the forest, the one he had accidentally discovered on the night everything changed. The flashlight barely gave enough light to see what was in front of him. 

A bit later, Tyler walked across the giant field again. Suddenly he understood why no one found him during all those years. Not a soul came to this part of town if they had a choice.

There it was, that awful building. Tyler had despised its confines from the moment he first came through the entrance, yet he felt himself gravitate towards it tonight. He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that a part of him was missing ever since he escaped. For years on end he had felt like he was supposed to work towards something, so that his parents would want to see him again, but it was all lies. 

He pushed against the doors, they didn’t seem to be locked. His footsteps subtly echoed in the long hallway, but they stopped abruptly when he reached his old room.

*

“Am I getting tests again today?” Robbie asked.

“Not today.” the man replied, being more interested in the special child. They’d give Robbie tests to compare his development with Jenna’s, but he was hard to handle. He asked too many questions, couldn’t control his emotions. Everything about him made it clear that they had made the right decision locking him up; this kid would have told everyone in town about their experiments.

*

Tyler looked around the room, it had been entirely untouched since he ran away. It almost felt as if this space was someone else’s, like he wasn’t supposed to be here, even when he knew this was his old home. 

Home. Yeah, sure.

He chuckled bitterly at his dark blue bed sheets, decorated with colorful dots. It created an odd contrast with the rest of the room, which seemed empty, cold, devoid of any joy. All he had to entertain himself with on most days was that stupid old television. How the hell did he survive all those years? 

Tyler hated this place with every fiber of his being. 

*

His throat felt raw and tears were streaming down his cheeks. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. He was trying his best to distract himself with movies, shows, disappear into a fantasy world to avoid dealing with reality, but that wasn’t enough. 

I’d sell a kidney to be able to hug mom again.

“Robbie, take your medicine, you’ll feel better.”

He wanted to protest, but it felt like there was nothing left in his body. Not having another choice, Robbie swallowed the pill and only felt weaker.

*

Tyler nervously walked further down the hallway. Somewhere on his left side was Jenna’s room, which he had never really seen from the inside. The only place he’d meet Jenna was the common room, where they were sometimes allowed to play together with the strict rule that Tyler shouldn’t talk about seeing the glowing eyes. According to the men, that would upset her. He’d never want to upset her. 

Jenna’s room didn’t appear as cold as Tyler’s, the walls were painted with a nice shade of pink. Their rooms weren’t as different when it came to furniture, although Jenna had a table with some drawing supplies. It had been untouched since she left. Just like Tyler’s room, it appeared to have frozen in time. 

He looked at one of her old drawings on the wall. There were two figures, one with short brown hair and one with long blonde hair. The letters above the figures read “Me and my brother Robbie”.

*

Today was Robbie’s 18th birthday. They’d forget about him more often since after the first few years he’d been there. He wasn’t entirely when the shift occurred, maybe it was a very gradual process. It started with more free time, but eventually it progressed into forgetting to feed him or to give him clean clothes. The neglect also came with him being watched less attentively, giving him the ability to sneak out of his room and fulfill his own needs.

At first they’d remember his birthday briefly, he’d get a little treat. Not this year, but it didn’t really matter to him. What hurt was the fact that his parents hadn’t reached out to him on any of his birthdays, no matter how hard he had tried to be good. 

Maybe they never loved me after all.

*

One room at the end of the hall stood out, the door was wide open. If Tyler remembered it correctly, this was the forbidden room. There was no one now that would care if he looked in there, but something deep inside still made him hesitate. 

Then he looked around the corner. There was paper all over the floor, this was probably where she stole their files. He still hadn’t read his. Only now Tyler noticed the ashes on the floor and immediately stepped back. It took a few seconds to realize what he was standing on: the only remains of the ones that had taken care of him during his childhood.

Tyler felt like throwing up. Jenna had told him about what she did, he should’ve known, but it didn’t feel so real until now.

He didn’t think twice before he ran down the hallway, to the exit, and before he knew it, he was running across the field again. How much time had passed while he was running, he wasn’t sure of, but he was about to enter the forest again. His legs were trembling harder with each second, making Tyler drop onto the ground. 

It occurred to him how dark the forest was. He couldn’t think straight, with his body shaking and his irregular breathing.

Josh. Josh. Josh. I need Josh. Josh.

The phone in his pocket, right, he had a phone in his pocket. With trembling fingers he unlocked it and dialed Josh’s number.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please.

“Hello?” Josh answered immediately, Tyler? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m- I’m- I’m so sorry. I’m s- sorry. Please. Help. Please.”

“Tyler, are you in danger?”

“N- no. I’m just scared. Please. Please pick me up.” Tyler said through sobs.

Josh could barely hide his own anxiety, “H- hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay, can you send me your location?”

Tyler made a vaguely confirming noise and did as Josh asked. 

“What are you doing out th— nevermind, I’m on my way. stay on the phone.”