Ambrosia • TMR

C.4

"The sun'll come out Tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun." -Annie
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It was safe to say the two children were beyond traumatized by the experience, but not as much the man was after Tom accidentally (not so accidentally) ripped his mind to absolute shreds in a fit of possessive rage. If he can even remember anything with how beyond fried his brain was.

The grown man was left braindead and unable to continue his work by a mere child. He later died after being taken to a hospital. They simply didn't have the technology to support a brain dead person in this time period. Tom did the world a favor and got away with murder without so much of a slap on the wrist. The matron didn't dare speak up against Tom under Irene's frigid stare that was almost challenging her to when she was prompted.

Irene was glad she was just as under Tom's protection as he was hers. She now knew they were in it together what ever it happened it be. The matron was beyond horrified and the two children were just not spoken to again in hopes they would either forget or forgive her.

She just could tell by the looks on their faces that night that if she so much as tried them wrong she could very well be next. She made sure that a another priest was never sent in again to examine the children. Not one incident occurred over the next 2 years after that.

The children grew closer, they still shared a room, Tom was still hers, and Irene was still his. It was established and it was known by both though never voiced out loud.

Today was a day that Tom wanted to go to the public library in research of books on some type of math that she was positive was  above their supposed grade level. Not like they went to school though.

Tom and Irene we always together no matter what now. She went to the bathroom he waited outside for her and vice versa. They did everything in tandem or nothing at all. Never were they seen not together, never were they seen arguing over possessions like other children.

It was like a switch flipped in Tom. Before Irene came he used to snatch shiny toys from other children and keep them to himself not unlike a magpie. Now the stolen toys were shared between the two children if they decided to play with them. Many children still reported missing things to the matron with accusations of Tom and Irene on their lips. The matron was frightened by the two 'devil children' and simply claimed that she would look in to it knowing she wouldn't.

Together they ventured to the library hand in hand having light conversation while walking the busy streets of London. The lightness of the conversation suddenly dropped as Irene felt a pit of dread grow in her stomach. She'd long learned to follow her gut.

"Tom..something-something doesn't feel right." she said worriedly looking around and tightening her grip on his hand ever so slightly.

He had felt it too. A deep foreboding feeling in the darkest pits of his stomach and right as he opened his mouth to voice his agreement, the ominous wail of sirens pierced the loud streets of London. The streets were startled into a deadly silence as chills ram up and down his spine. He was frozen in place and the panicked screams of, "An air raid!!" that broke out after a second didn't even snap him out of it.

"Tom! Come on Tom! We have to go somewhere safe!" Irene was shouting and tugging on his hand trying to pull him along with her through the chaos. The tugging snapped him out of his shock and he took off, leading the way to the closest safe house to their location that he knew of. The matron was required to give all of the children a run down lesson showing them where all of the safe houses were and where their landmarks were.