Short Stories

18)Children in the Corner

An orphanage isn't bad when it's done right, same with any concept.
But our orphanage was different,
Those my age don't get kicked out for new.
We get moved further into the massive building to be "trained".
We were to become a new assistant, instead of just an orphaned child.
The day I turned 18, it was. . . uneventful to say the least.
Unlike my previous birthdays, it was hardly talked about.
The other guardians and assistants almost completely ignored my birthday, it was as if they didn't acknowledge it, it would go away.
I was moved; taken to the training facility.
Apparently, I was to help with the kids individually, which meant I would be assigned to a group and check or help with only the orphans in said group.
One of the older assistants handed me a paper, it looked like a schedule of some type with a map of the quarter I was going to overlook for the next few years.
On the back had a list of every kid, their age, name, gender and... Status?
I turned the page to look at the quarter title,
"Fracti Haedos"
Was the name that read back to me, it was smudged badly as if the ink wasn't given enough time to dry.
The name sounded like an older but familiar language, which was odd considering every living quarter had a number assigned to it, not a name.
I looked at the woman who handed the paper to me, confused but she looked at me as if I was being sent away into a pit of hell.
Her eyes looked glossy, her brows were knitted and her face had a mix of worry, pity and regret all woven together.
"I'm sorry, we tried.  All we can hope is that you'll be different. . ."
She was hesitant.
"We. . .best be going, last we want is for them to become upset."
It took what felt like an hour to walk to my quarters, I guess I should have put 2 and 2 together.
Mine was at the very end, the last one.
I didn't pay much attention, but for some reason, my eye caught the number of the room before mine.
"665"
I blinked.
Odd.
Okay, nothing much to think of. I guess.
When we reached my quarter I knew something was off, just a skin-crawling unease that settled in the air that I couldn't shake.
The room was quiet,
This area of the orphanage was quiet,
No orphanage is this quiet.
No orphanage should ever be this quiet.
I noted that the numbers to the left of the door were so rusted only the last number was a semi-recognizable 6.
So rusted it bled its own metal until it leaked a tainted red.
The lady quickly showed me to my room and a list of tasks, she told me that I didn't have to worry about a quota to meet but just to keep them happy and calm.
She put a heavy emphasis on the word calm and it didn't make the thickly fogged atmosphere any better, you could probably shatter it like glass at this point.
The woman looked hesitant again as if she really wanted to do something but whatever it was she didn't want to go through with it.
She held up a hand slightly, however, she quickly turned around and left the room, saying a quick "goodbye and good luck".
That's the last I saw of her,
Or of anyone else to be honest.
When I went outside I didn't see anyone, actually, I didn't see anything.
It was pitch black as if I stared into the abyss itself.
It was concerning, considering the clock read 1:18 pm
It clicked with me though.
It was too late when it did, however.
I only really realized something was wrong when I went into the sleeping area and saw a single, twin-sized bed in the middle of the room.
And all the kids? Where standing, huddled next to one another in each corner of the room murmuring and whimpering to one another.
The only kid that wasn't sitting in the corner, was a little boy who, according to the list. Was named "Diabolus" and was sitting on the bed, swinging his feet and smiling.
But his smile was, demented.
It curved up into his ears, his eyes. God knows where they are as all that there was, was skin that indented into his face.
He "looked" at me and his smile had coils turn at the ends like a Cheshire cat.
It clicked just then.
'Fracti Haedos' is Latin
I felt my stomach turn with it.
It means "broken children"
"Come, you look tired."
He patted the bed next to him, and all the kids in the room went quiet.
The rooms number. . .
They turned their heads
Because that's all that was left.
No noses, no innocent or welcoming smiles, no bright eyes.
Just blank canvases faced towards my direction.
"Come lay down."
The children said, in perfect unison with one another.
"We want to welcome you to your new home."

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Words: 853
Hey! Oh my good lord it's been a while! And sorry if this one is a bit longer than the others, they were written with Instagram's dumb character limit in mind 😓Anyhow, I hope you all had a decent holiday and I'm grateful that 2020 is finally (almost) over!