The Orphanage
There was yelling, bangs, slamming of doors, children screaming. Pip hid under his bed. There was no other place to go, the orphanage scaled three stories and there was no closet.
He’d managed to hide by himself despite there being enough children to fill four beds per bedroom. He covered his ears and shivered, the door had been kicked open.
“Search the place, this is the last room, he has to be here somewhere,” came a gravely voice.
Curtains flew to the ground, a floorboard had been ripped up, mattresses began being tossed aside like socks. Oh god.
Then silence and three shadows crept over him.
They pulled him out by his legs, despite his thrashing the built man of the group held him up by the scruff of his neck, pinning his arm to his back. “This one must be him, Zak.”
“Tie ‘em up then! we haven’t got all day.” Zak must have replied. He felt rough rope trace his wrists.
“Wait. STOP!” He kicked and wriggled, knocking free. Grabbing hold of the bed legs he cried, “What do you want with me?!”
They laughed, tugged on the tuff of his hair, lifting his face to the ceiling, “it’s not what we wants with you, it’s what Zero wants. Right Zebedee, right Zug?”
“Zak, Zug, Zebedee.” Pip echoed. “Zero…”
“Yep,” they tossed his head to the floor. “Starting to get it now, Zip?”
He screeched, dug his nails into the flesh on Zebedee’s back. The front door was in front of them now, the nuns that raised him watched in a gawk at his attempts to escape. They… they aren’t going to help him. They did this to him, had to have planned this with the Zedstacks. Sister Diana was counting a stack of bills.
“Shut the FUCK up will ya?” The backside of a gun hit his skull. Zak leaned close to his ear. “Next one’ll go through your face, ya dig?”
Copper and ocean air grazed his senses nulling him completely.