❁ Everyone had escaped certain death when they found her crying on the side of the road, ballads of lost love escaping her cracked lips.
Unbeknownst to her, a boy with a sheriff's hat and a fistful of daisies would inadvertently mend the cracks of...
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𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Tilly's arms ached terribly as she carried stacks of boxes down the dark and desolate halls of Hillcrest School. The halls dim, never opening itself to any lights no matter the number of windows the building had. The soft tapping of her broken converse filled her ears as it echoed through the darkness, although the school was filled with a considerable amount of children it always felt perpetually empty.
The sounds of yelling suddenly entranced her as she walked further to the cafeteria. Quickening her pace, she moved towards the barking noises and finally made it to the wide room. The cafeteria was similar to all the hallways, with no colour nor light. The food always looked and tasted like it was picked out of the dirt, even before the world fell.
Unfortunately for her, Tilly's presence was announced by the loud clanging of the top box falling from her grasp and smashing onto the ground. Even more unfortunately for her, the box was filled with plates and cups that all fell into small cracked pieces when they hit the ground. She placed the other boxes down and slowly rose her head, meeting the cold eyes of Ms Bradley.
The woman whipped her head to the girl so fast that Tilly thought she must have snapped her neck in the process. The hunched and wrinkly woman stopped yelling at another innocent child to barge closer to the small brunette, her steps sounding like the drums of war as they filled Tilly's head with all-consuming dread. Bradley reached out her boney hand and wrapped it around Tilly's collar so she could pull the girl forward with a force only imaginable to a body builder.
"Matilda Webb!" she yelled with a screeching voice that could send ringing into your ears. "You horrible reckless child!"
Tilly scrunched her face at such words, ones she had heard all her life but never failed to make her squirm with guilt. She slowly opened her eyes and parted her lips, struggling to find the courage to speak back
"It was an accident" she started yet was rudely interrupted by the sharp pain that went through her cheek. Bradley had slapped her across the cheek, something all too familiar to the students at Hillcrest.
"Your room now! A week without leaving and two days without food! God knows we need the rations" she screamed as she took the scrunched-up fabric of Tilly's shirt and pushed her back down the hall with such brute force that the girl fell down. Tilly pathetically got up and limped back to her cold room thinking of how bad she wanted to escape but how slim her chances of survival alone were.
Turning the worn-out doorknob of her room, she noticed it was hot, almost boiling. Her face contorted with confusion as she backed away, the heat from the door slowly getting to her and sending her mind into overdrive. She leant forward again and knelt to the floor, taking a look through the small gap under the door. Much to her surprise, all Tilly could see was the orange flames that consumed the inside of what was once her room. Tilly let many profanities slip from her lips, not caring if Bradley was behind her or not because of the raging destruction coming from behind the door.
