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Screaming, silence then screaming again. It came from his own mouth of course. He didn't know what time it was. The feeling of being wide awake, full of energy yet completely exhausted. His eyes hurt. Stained red from tears and dry from lack of sleep. It was probably night. No one even opposed his pleas anymore. The silence was driving him insane.
A raspy cry yet again left his lips, banging on the padded walls. This time something changed however. The shriek was cut off by a loud "SHUT UP". The voice sounded as if it came from an old radio. He didn't know or really care at this point. It might not be the nicest greeting but the fact that someone had heard him.. he bolted up, moving closer towards where he thought the voice came from. "Hey? H-hello?!" He called to the wall. Nothing. The lonely feeling only seemed to expand. ".. Please! Say something! Anything!" More Silence. He almost thought he'd imagined the voice.
That was until "jeez, are you dying or something? Why are you even awake right now?" There was the voice again. Hope sparked in his chest. "I- i don't know.." he said back, cutting himself off before he could say something stupid. In normal circumstances talking to strangers was a chore. This time however it felt like he'd just won the lottery. It took a while before the radio-like voice spoke up again. ".. still there..?" His voice was nothing more than a quiet plea. "Yeah- shit, are you bleeding out or?" He didn't know at this point. His knuckles, throat, stomach and lungs screamed for rest but the energy keeping him going was far from wearing off. Then he realized he should probably respond.
".. No i'm- everything hurts.. i can't- i can't sleep.. w-what time is it??" He desperately answered, a sob threatening to choke his words. They hurt to get out. Every second of silence between responses felt like an eternity. "Night. I think. And what are you even doing here?! You sound like a kid!" He had no response. Why was he even here? Revenge. Revenge he hadn't even gotten. A few tears fell. He wiped them away. It was no use. "I-it's a long story.." the voice unsettled him. Men yelling had never been a sign of anything good, even if the radio voice didn't sound like much more than a kid himself. Still. Better than silence. "I did some bad things.." he got out at last. That's the understatement of the century. He knew it was selfish to not tell him the full truth but who would talk to him then? He shoved the thoughts down. Deep down. The voice was quiet for a moment. "Alright- Alright." He didn't know if the voice was trying to calm him or itself. The entire time it didn't seem very sure what to answer. He could hear a sigh. "I- i can't really sleep either so.. let's- let's talk, kid." The voice said at last. It felt like he was going to explode with happiness. "Alright!" He replied shakily, his throat felt like sandpaper had been used to scrape it but it didn't matter.
And so they did. About everything from college to tv shows. Not that he knew much about those but hearing the voice was calming. He wasn't alone. "Kid?" The voice yet again spoke up. "Yes?" The lonely paranoia had long since evaporated. The voice felt more like an old friend, as silly as that seemed.. how stupid that seemed. he supposed it didn’t really matter at this point if he was foolish. not that it was anything new. “I- I’ll get you out of here, alright. I promise.” The boy had to suppress a sob. deep down he knew the voice could do nothing about their current predicament. nothing at all. and yet, the voice meant every word. he could tell. hah. a promise from a stranger. That's enough to make me cry? maybe. and maybe that’s ok… at last he managed to choke out a broken “thank you”. tears streamed down his face. He let them. they hurt. a strangely comforting hurt. still he felt stupid letting them out. “By the way, what’s your name?” he asked. the stranger fell silent. “hey- it’s ok if you don want to-” “No- no it’s not that. i just.. I don't know anymore.” again silence. It was deafening. “Enough about me, what about you, kid?” It caught him off guard. “i-” should he even give the stranger his name?
“I’m Harry.”
He said. The words felt odd on his tongue. More like a reminder to himself than an explanation to the stranger. “Alright, Harry. I- you’ll be ok. you’re getting out of here.” The strange comfort felt alien. Yet there he was. smiling. a few more tears left his eyes. “Alright,” he replied. his limbs felt almost numb, twitching every now and then. even speaking in this state felt odd. In this place they were nothing more than two wounded mutts cleaning each other's injuries in the light of a streetlight, pelts stained with mud and puddle water. yet they had each other. for now at least. the promises weren’t guaranteed. they both knew. Yet that false promise was all the hope they had. In the end it’s better to live on false hope than no hope at all.
and there they sat. backs against the same cursed wall. their shared isolation made them one in the same. just two mutts trapped in a cage. they may have been unworthy but at least they had each other…