Kenny lie resting his head against the cool wall behind him. His gaze drifting from the white ceiling down to Craig who was lying down facing away from him. Craig hadn't said a single word to Kenny since the day he was taken for experimenting and tossed back in the room holding his neck. To say that the silence is uncomfortable would be an understatement. The feeling of it in the small confined room was so thick in the air that, even dropping a ten ton bomb in it wouldn't even make a sound. Because the silence would smoother it whole.
He lets out a sigh, he wasn't quite sure just how much more of this he could stand. He was waiting patiently for Craig to be the one to engage with talking to him first and telling him what's wrong. But, if things continued on like this the whole entire time they were together in the small room then, he would for sure be driven to madness.
Why won't he just tell me what's wrong? What did I do to make him push me away so much?
He thinks to himself. He had tried talking to him yesterday but, Craig just flat out ignored him yet again. He figured that the only way Craig will talk to him, is when he sees fit to it. But aside from Craig not talking to him, he also won't even look at him. If Kenny goes to one side of the room he's facing, then he'll look away from him. And if he tries to go near him, he tenses up and moves away rigidly from him.
Kenny's gaze drifts away, elsewhere from the other boy. It hurt him that Craig was acting this way towards him and he didn't know why. But he had made up his mind that he would wait a bit more for Craig to come to him. Although, for how much longer he could wait, he wasn't sure of. He had hoped that when they were still at the orphanage, Craig would've come to talk to him about it, but he didn't. He would even go and look for him too and try talking to him himself but, Craig always found somewhere to hide from him. Out of sight out of mind, he figured.
But now that Craig was here, right in front of him in plain sight, it made this all the more harder for him. He leans forward and runs a hand through his hair, grabbing some of it out of frustration, trying to stop thinking about it. Because thinking of it would only end up making it worse. Instead he thinks of being much more concerned about the place they've been taken to, and why these horrible things were being done to them. But he had no idea what the hell was going on. All he knew right now is that, those men in uniform haven't come back at all since two days ago and that they haven't eaten since they got there.
However, he hadn't felt all that hungry since the day everyone was moved from the orphanage. Thinking back on it, he recalls one of the masked people from that room had said something about a nutrient serum when that needle with the clear liquid was injected in to his arm. He wonders if that has something to do with it. He also wonders what the hell was stuck inside of him then too, remembering a small packet of some sort. He can't help but shiver at the memory of it. The thought of possibly being taken back to that room again, wasn't something that was pleasant to imagine.
He looks around the room, knowing that they needed to find a way out of this place. Well, at least out of the room first. But the door to the room is sealed, with no handle on the inside, and the only other thing that would lead out of the small room, is a tiny drain that rests in one of the corners. Which he seemed to have figured out that it's usage was like that of a urinal. He also noted that he only ever had the urge to pee every so often since being there, nothing else. At least not since the first day, when he was taken to that small room with the toilet and forced to drink down that slimy stuff that was in that tube. That stuff probably had something to do with it he guesses. That and not eating any actual food either.
He looks back at Craig and thinks that maybe he should try to get some rest too. Anything to try and distract his mind from thinking so much right now. But he doesn't get the chance to. The door to the room slams open, causing him to flinch at the loud sound breaking the deafening silence.
"Subject 122 come here," one of the two men at the door orders.
Kenny looks at them confused before remembering that they had called him that before, and realizing that they were talking to him. One of the men starts to make their way over to him, and he tenses.
"Subject 122, if you resist we will use force to move you."
The sense of unease Kenny felt from not only the words, but knowing where they would probably take him, made him want to not move even more. But it wasn't like he had any other choice either. It was either go willingly with them or possibly get beaten and dragged off by them. He stares for a few more moments before rising up to his feet and walking towards the door.
This was not what he meant when he was thinking about needing a distraction from his thoughts.
…
Back in a bedroom, from around five or four years ago. Kenny and Craig sit in the dimly lit room, where the moonlight from outside shines in through the window. They sit on Craig's bed laughing about something or another. Craig laughs so hard that he snorts and stops almost abruptly when he does so. Kenny looks at him surprised, never having heard him laugh like that before.
"Did you just snort?" Kenny asks.
Craig covers his mouth fast, "N-No!"
Kenny smiles, "You don't need to cover your mouth. It's a normal sound to make," he moves Craig's hand away from his mouth.
"No it's not," Craig replies, "it's a weird sound that people would make a ton of fun of me for."
Kenny frowns, "Well... I think it's a really normal sound, that's kind of cute. So there," he smiles again.
Craig falls silent and looks down towards his knees that are pulled up to his chest. Kenny reaches a hand up, placing it on Craig's head, causing him to look back up because of it.
"You don't have to hide it from me okay?" Kenny says softly.
"...Okay," Craig mumbles back, "I um..."
"What is it?" Kenny asks now removing his hand from Craig's head.
"I'm... glad that you came in to my room that time... and we became friends and stuff."
Kenny's eyes widen slightly, being a bit surprised by Craig's sudden words. Craig averts his gaze from him, from what Kenny guesses is some small embarrassment at having said that.
"Me too!" Kenny exclaims, leaning forward fast and placing his hands onto Craig's knees. Craig quickly looks back at him at that. "I'm glad that we became friends! And that I got to know you and stuff! I'm really glad!" he smiles widely at Craig.
Craig looks at him for a moment, then slowly smiles back at him. And before they know it, they both start to laugh again. Any silence that may have been there, being taken over by their laughter.
…
When Kenny comes to, he's lying on the cold floor of a very familiar small white room again. He groggily sits up, placing a hand on his head from dizziness.
A dream? He thinks to himself, No, a memory...
He looks around the room and sees that he's alone, and begins to remember that they took Craig away for experimenting on yesterday. He wonders vaguely if he will be brought back to the room or not. He hopes it's the former rather than the latter. Thinking of Craig, reminds him of that memory. When Craig seemed so happy back then. He let's out a sigh, knowing that he won't be able to wait much longer on Craig.
He looks up at the small window and begins recalling what had happened to him the last time he was taken away. Which was a few days ago now. He remembers being taken to that room and another incision being made on his stomach and them sticking another weird small patch inside of him. He also remembers all of the needles poking and prodding him. And although he's glad to not have been taken back there since, he has a very strong feeling that he will be returning there soon.
The door to the room opens, and Kenny looks towards it. There in the doorway is Craig being held up by the arms. He gets shoved into the room a second later and falls to the ground.
"Craig!" Kenny exclaims, getting up.
"Subject 122."
Kenny stops in place and looks over at the two men by the door.
"Come with us. It's your turn now."
Kenny looks back at Craig who's collapsed on the floor, and without another thought he rushes over to him and kneels down next to him.
"Subject..." one of the men warns.
Kenny glares up at them briefly before looking back down at Craig. He notices Craig inhale and feels a wave of relief wash over him because of it, being glad that the other was still breathing. Suddenly he's yanked up by the arm, and the next thing he knows he's face to face with one of the men.
"We will drag you out of here if necessary," the man threatens.
"Fine," Kenny glares at him and pulls his arm out of his grip.
He walks towards the door, glancing back once more at Craig lying on the floor, before the door closes harshly behind him. All he can do is hope that the other is alright by the time he gets back.
When he is brought back to the room hours later. It's dark, having been nighttime now. The door closes behind him, and he slumps down onto on the floor in a sitting position. His gaze wanders around the small area until it lands on a familiar figure that now lies next to the wall on the left side of the room. He hopes that the other boy had moved himself over there, and that it wasn't somebody else that did. With some effort he gets up again, making his way over to the other. When Kenny reaches him, he kneels down beside him, looking for any signs that the other boy was still alive and breathing.
"Craig?" He says quietly, " are you okay?"
No response.
"C-Craig?"
Hesitantly he reaches out a hand and goes to touch the other boy's neck. He lightly presses his index and middle fingers onto it and waits to feel for a pulse. After what feels like forever from some really strained out seconds, he feels one and let's out a sigh of relief, moving his hand away. Just as he does, he sees Craig shift a bit. He stops, half expecting Craig to wake up and turn around to ask what he's doing. But when a good some seconds go by and he doesn't move again, Kenny figures that he's probably just sleeping. He stares at the other boy's back for a bit longer. A part of him wanting to lie down next him, but knowing that if he did, the other would most likely freak out upon awaking because of it.
Not having enough energy to get all the way back up, Kenny just crawls at a sluggish pace to the other side of the room and lies down, facing towards the wall. Thinking it's best to just let Craig be for now. He closes his eyes and drifts off.