Flaw

Chapter 20- leaving the woods

A few hours later:
I got up and went into the cave to grab my bag. I took out some of the antiseptic and bandages from my bag and left it on the makeshift table at the entrance of the cave. I didn't make it very far when I heard the tiny voice behind me, "Hey, Flaw? Thank you."

I stopped and turned around to face the sweet and innocent Sophia who probably just woke up standing right out of the cave. I walked over and knelt down so I was her height, "No thank you Sophia, for letting me stay with you for a day. I promise you I'll find your brother okay?"

"He is turning 15 this year, blue eyes and blond hair. You remind me alot of him. I don't remember his name, dad used to call us by nicknames in case mom sent people to hunt us down."

"Thank you Sophia, that helps me a lot," I pet her head gently. "Why don't you go back to bed first, you must be tired waking up so early."

She hugged me and a sense of calmness instantly washed over me, making me think that maybe everything was going to be alright after all. Then she let go, running back inside the cave, making me instantly miss the peacefulness I got in those 2 seconds.

After she disappeared through the vines of the cave, I continued to retrace my steps until I arrived at the outskirts of the woods. The plan I had was simple: sneak back home, grab more things then go to school, both times of which I needed to find out as much about the C.U.R.E as possible.

I walked on the outskirts of town, keeping to the dark streets and alleys so that I would not be seen by anyone. No doubt by this time practically the whole town has heard about me. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bounty on my head by now.

Finally, I arrived back home, or the apartment I am supposed to call home at least. I stood at the bottom of the stairs to the building and took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. If I get caught, I will probably be sent to the C.U.R.E, and I'm terrified of that happening. I don't need an electric collar around my neck or to be put on some sort of container for experiments.

I took the stairs so that there was room for me to escape if it comes to that. Eventually I reached the 13th floor and peaked around the corner. No one was there so I approached apartment that I call home. I turned the door handle and of course it was locked. Reaching to the small crevice between the window and the window frame, I pulled out a key. I kept that there in case dad ever came home when I was out and forgot about his keys, which happened way too often to count.

Hearing the soft click of the lock, I quietly slipped into the house and shut the door carefully behind me. Saying I was afraid was a huge understatement as I went to my room to grab the remaining set of clothes from my closet, an envelope filled with money from my last paycheck, some water bottles filled with water and stuffed them inside my bag. Then I sneaked into dad's room and looked through his closet, drawers, anything hoping to find some files or information or anything about C.U.R.E. The search came back in vain. To be fair though, there was no reason for him to bother even trying to keep them, so any files he might have had would've probably been lost already.

Eventually I gave up and took my bag before walking out the front door, leaving home behind me for the very last time.

I didn't want to go to school just yet- it was far too early and everyone would still be in school. So I went back into the forest and hung out there for the rest of the day, seeking cooling shelter amongst the leaves of the trees.
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At night, I headed back to school and snuck in again through the back fence. I hissed as my hand got cut again but I eventually got over the metal barbed wired fence and went to the principals office.

I tried the doorknob and it was clearly locked, so I took a few steps back and held out my hand, palm facing down. Scrunching my eyes tightly together, I imagines the silver pin inside the lock getting triggered, unlocking the door. Instantly, I heard a click on the door and it swung towards me, open.

I went inside, not bothering to close the door behind me- if someone came by I would be caught anyway.

Principal Thomas's office was extremely plain. It had no decorations whatsoever and right smack in the center sat a large desk with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, a chair with wheels on one side and the side nearest to the door had a simple, plain classroom chair. There were no windows, the walls and ceiling is a pure white colour without a single speck of dirt on it, giving it a mental hospital kind of vibe. The only really colorful thing was the floor, which was a dull brown colour made out of wooden planks, small dents and scratches scattered all over the place due to years of wear and tear.

I went to his desk and searched through each drawer for any files or documents containing anything about the Cursed. Obviously, this is illegal, but then again I'm already a criminal to, well, everywhere in the world, really. My very existence is basically illicit. So what more can one crime do to my life that is already deemed a crime?

After digging through everything, all I came up with was one thin as fuck file about C.U.R.E and one slightly thicker file named FLAW HOOKER. I cringe at my own name.

I left the 2 files to one side first and turned to face the monitor. When I turned it on, the very lockscreen itself didn't allow me to click anywhere else until I provided a password. I facepalmed and knocked my head against the wall several times. Fustrating? Yeah. I was horrible with electronics. Don't have any curses related to electricity or gadgets. One would think I'd have learnt how to hack by now but I don't even know why, I just didn't. And now it's coming to back to bite me. Ugh there's no fucking way I was ever going to unlock it- it's not like there is a random piece of paper lying around saying "my password is:" in big letters for me to use. There's literally no point trying, the password could be anything.

I want to get out of there as soon as possible in case someone decided to check up on the school, so I stuffed the two disappointing excuses of a file into my bag, zipped it up and left the principals office, not caring about locking the door again behind me.

As I was climbing the fence, I heard someone call me over to my right somewhere in the darkness. Flashbacks of last night's nightmare came back to me and I wondered if I was dreaming again. I slowly got off the fence and grounded myself, preparing for the worst.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slight movement at the steeetlamp not far from where I stood. I turned to face that direction as a figure stepped into the light, calling for me again. When the figure finally stepped into the steeetlamp that illuminated ever so slightly the space in front of me, I got a good look at what they looked like.

What the heck?
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End of the chapter guys :D Now, go do something actually useful like read a book or do homework. For those of yall in holiday right now, go finish your homeworkkkk

Um take care, stay happy, go get yall vaccination and baii