The Revolt

Chapter 1

    Cursing silently, Arrol sighed in despair as he tossed his blanket off of him. This was the third night of not being able to sleep.. He was beginning to think something was genuinely wrong with him. He stared at the ceiling above him for a few moments pondering on what he should do until Mistress Sybil came home for the night. His body seemed to have made its decision as he carefully scooted down the ladder without waking up Caleb who was sleeping soundly below him. He'd go for a walk in the tunnels, just as he'd been doing for the past two days whenever he couldn't sleep.
    Looking around to make sure everyone else  was still asleep, he shrugged on a black zip-up hoodie that was two sizes too big and headed towards the door. Once he'd reached it, he looked around one more time before opening the door and heading into the barely lit tunnel. After much begging from the other kids, Mistress finally allowed him and the other kids to explore the tunnels outside the dorm but under one condition: Don't let anyone see you. He'd been really good at avoiding being spotted by unsuspecting servants and thaumaturges. No one really came down here except for the thaumaturges that are involved with whatever research project Sybil was running.
     There were 8 thaumaturges in total who knew that shells weren't actually being killed and Mistress had made sure to alert them that she'd allowed her kids to roam about in the tunnels. "Evening, Thaumaturge Bennett" Arrol greeted a middle aged man in a red coat with bell shaped sleeves and gold runes. "Good evening, Arrol." The thaumaturge responded, "I see you're out for a stroll." Arrol nodded, "Yes sir. Couldn't sleep so I figured I'd go for a walk and clear my head"  The thaumaturge blinked in sympathy then began walking towards the door to Dorm-3A.
     "Oh, and should you happen to pass by Dorm-8A...", Thaumaturge Bennett called after him. "Please be careful, your Mistress will have my head if anything happens to you lot". Arrol looked over his shoulder and called back, "I will, no worries!". Dorm-8A is the last dorm on this particular section of the tunnels. Arrol has had a weird feeling about that room since he first passed by it. The only thaumaturge he hasn't met yet was the one taking care of the kids in Dorm-8A. He wasn't sure if they just had a really bizarre schedule or if they even existed at all. All he knew was that the kids were really fucking weird. He'd occasionally see one of them just hanging out in the tunnels, crouched down and facing the wall while muttering something to themselves. Arrol made sure to stay clear of them.
  Arrol slowed once he spotted the hanging sign that said "Dorm-8A". The tunnel was the same as ever, quiet and almost deserted apart from the occasional servant that passed by. Arrol was about to pass the 8A dorm when he noticed something. A ghastly and putred stench was wafting up from underneath the door. Trying not to gag, he quickly covered his nose. A shiver ran up his spine as he stared quizzically at the door, wondering if he should knock and ask what was going on.
    After staring for another minute or so, he decided he should head back. Desperate to get away from the strange smell, Arrol hurried down the corridor back to his own dorm. Mind spinning on what could possibly have been the cause of the weird smell that came from Dorm-8A, he tripped and yelped as he landed on his face. Embarrassed, he got up and started rubbing his now sore nose. He looked around to make sure that no one had seen him faceplant and continued on his way.
     Arrol made it back to Dorm-1A without any further issues. He had made it back to the bunk he shared with Caleb and was in the process of taking his hoodie off when he got the feeling that someone was watching him. Spooked he looked around to make sure that the others were still asleep. The quiet thunk of a cabinet door being closed made him jump out of his skin. Spinning around towards the noise, he spotted a small figure in the portion of the dorm that almost resembled a kitchen. "Jesus Christ, Barry..you scared the shit out of me" Arrol's heart slowed as he recognized the figure. It was Barry, who was grabbing a glass of water before heading back to bed. "Sorry, Arrol" giggled Barely as he placed his cup in the little nook of the fridge that dispensed water and ice. "Just grabbing a glass of delicious H2O before I head back to snooze land. Want some?". "Sure", Arrol replied now noticing that his mouth was dry. "I noticed you weren't in your bed when I woke up", Barry said. "Yea. Couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk.." Arrol pondered if he should tell Barry about what he had smelled coming from Dorm-8A.
   Just he opened his mouth, the door opened and Mistress Sybil walked in sighing in relief as she quickly took off her white coat.  Nearly jumping out of her skin as she spotted Arrol and Barry standing in the kitchen, she said "You two are supposed to be in bed..." Barry nearly choked on his water from laughing while Arrol quickly apologized. "Sorry Mistress..." Arrol also began to laugh as Sybil let out an exasperated sigh. Trying to hide her embarrassment and fried nerves, Sybil ran her fingers through her long black hair. Barry finished the last of his water and made way towards his bed and wished Mistress a good night as he settled into the bottom portion of the bunk bed he shared with Cody. Arrol was still standing by the counter sipping on his drink when Sybil made her way into her room to settle in for the night.
     Yawning, Arrol finished the last of his water before washing the cup and setting it in the drainer. He walked towards his bunk and climbed back up the ladder, hoping that this time he'll be able to sleep. Wiggling back under his blanket, he was about to close his eyes when someone farther down the row of beds let out a small whimper. His eyes had snapped back open and was searching for whoever made the noise when Mistress reappeared, walking hastily towards one of the beds. One of the younger kids must have had a nightmare or something. He decided he would let Sybil do whatever she needed to do in order to comfort them, he slipped quietly into a long needed sleep.