The Prisoner and the Paper Planes
Chapter 2
((Alfred's POV))
It was really hot outside when we finally arrived at the place we were headed. I thought I was blinded when the door was opened and I saw nothing but light. It took a second before my eyes adjusted to the light and finally I could see what was going on around me.
The first thing I noticed was the fence. A massive fence with barbwire on it, preventing anyone from escaping. I turned my attention to in front of me when a guard shoved me forward.
The building was tall and was very intimidating. I started shaking slightly but tried to at least look brave, for a hero has to be brave! Brave and strong, and that's what I am!
I looked around when I entered the building and it was disgusting. The walls had spots of some sort of liquid that looked that someone halfway cleaned. There were people here and there on the floor, either too sick to get up or dying.
The trembling got worse when I saw one person look up at me, eyes full of fear but at the same time pity. Flies were flying around the person too. I just stood at my spot,frozen from the look that person gave me. I watched as the person slowly put their head back down on the ground and close their eyes.
What snapped me out of my trance was when a guard nudged me forward. With lighting speed I spun around to him.
"You're just going to leave that person there?"I yelled at him.
The guard gave no response other then narrowing his eyes and pushing me forward. I glanced back at the person, trying to see of they were ok, but no movement came from the person.
I rapidly blinked tears away from my eyes when the we arrived at a cell. I could make out another boy already in the cell. Though it was dark, it was hard to not see the silver hair of his.
The guard shoved me into the cell and closed it. I looked over at the boy,who raised his head and looked at me.
"So, I assume you are either someone new, or they're getting too many people in cells.."he said with a thick German accent.
"N-No,I just got here.."I said,feeling a bit angry at myself for stuttering like an idiot and not acting like I was brave.
"Well then, welcome to hell,"he said,putting on a smirk,"My name is Gilbert, what's your name?"
"I'm Alfred.."I replied.
"Well, it's nice to meet you,Alfred. Be grateful you got someone like me as a roommate, some people here are real jerks.."he said.
My mind flashed back to the person I saw just a little bit earlier. I sat down on a bed opposite of Gilbert and sighed.
"Why are we here?"I asked.
"We're prisoners, obviously."Gilbert replied.
"No duh..but what would they want to do with us? Why younger kids and not soldiers and people like that?"I said.
"Most people would do anything for their soldiers, after all, they protect the country. But children are looked to as a hope for the future. If you take them out, then there's no hope for anyone."Gilbert replied.
"Then are there only kids here?"I asked.
"No, they separated the adults from the kids...The other side of this place has a building for them."Gilbert replied.
"So...they're taking protection and hope away from others..?"I asked hesitantly.
"Exactly.."he replied.
"So, I guess you've been here a long time.."I said,glancing over at him.
"Yeah...I don't remember exactly how long I've been here..I kinda lost track of the days..."he said.
I opened my mouth to reply but he cut in.
"Anyway, we should get some rest. I'll have to show you around tomorrow!"Gilbert saying,laying back on his bed.
I quietly went over to my bed and curled up under the thin covers. It didn't help keep out the cold much, but it was better then nothing. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
((Alfred's Dream POV))
I quickly opened my eyes to find myself in a field. The field looked like it was dying. Weeds covered most of it and the grass was tall and black. I pushed through some of the grass until I saw someone.
I tilted my head slightly in confusion. Why would someone else be here? They were facing away from me so I couldn't see their face, but I could tell that the person was a girl.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"I said to her,getting closer.
Her head snapped up, as if she was shocked. She didn't turn to face me, only looking forward.
"A-Al.."the girl said,voice sounding shaky.
"How do you know me..?"I asked, confused.
"How could you forget me..? I'm the only flower here, after all.."she said,turning to me slightly.
Time seemed to flash by then. I could only make out a single tear that fell down the girl's cheek before I woke up.
((End of Dream,Regular POV))
"Hey? You ok?"I heard from across the room.
I looked over to find Gilbert sitting up,looking at me in worry. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"Bad dreams,right? Everyone has them the first couple of nights..."he said.
I didn't respond. Slowly, I sat up, trying to picture the girl's face. I was so confused. What did she mean by 'she was the only flower there'? I shook my head and looked to see the cell door opening and a guard waiting.
"C'mon Alfred, its time for breakfast."Gilbert said.
I only nodded and followed.
The cafeteria looked almost like the first part of the building I saw. Except nobody was on the floor dying. The tables had stains and writing on them. The walls and floor looked like once upon a time they had been white,but now they had become too dirty so they looked brown and red and green and a whole lot of other colors.
Gilbert led our way to the line where some other kids were waiting. From what I could tell, it seemed like a lunch line. Well, to be more true, a breakfast line.
"Be careful of what you get, some things have more things in them then what they tell you..."Gilbert said as he grabbed a tray.
I nodded and watched what Gilbert got. I decided to play it safe and follow him and got what he got.
As we sat down together, another boy came over to us. He had blonde hair and it looked like no one could ever figure out how to tame it.
"Hey there,Mathias.."Gilbert said.
"Hej, Gil! Who's this kid?"the blonde said, gesturing to me.
"I'm Alfred, but you can call me Al.."I said.
"Awesome! I'm Mathias!"he said,grinning.
I almost felt at home again. Well, as much at home as a thirteen year old could be at a prison. Mathias and Gilbert talked some, and I joined in the conversation every now and then, but something felt off.
I glanced over at the cafeteria door and my eyes widen and I froze. There at the door was the man who had picked me up. He was in a military outfit now, instead of looking like a common soldier, and he watched the room as kids talked and ate.
I gulped nervously when he looked over at me. Gilbert caught what was going on and nudged me.
"Don't stare at them, it just makes them more scary.."he said.
"O-Ok.."I said.
I looked down and started to eat my food, trying not to glance at him.
After breakfast, kids started walking out the door, past the man. I followed Gilbert and Mathias, but a hand came in front of me when I was trying to get past him.
"You stay.."he said, nudging me aside.
I nodded and stepped to the side, allowing the kids behind me to scurry out in fear.
The man looked at me, and fear prickled back into me as I stared back into his violet eyes.
"You haven't been numbered yet.."he said.
"N-No.."I said, slightly confused.
The man grabbed my hand and dragged me around the building. After a couple of minutes we finally reached where we were heading. A small room with a chair in the middle. A dim light was above the chair, so I could only make out shapes of other things in the room.
The man told me to sit in the chair and so I did. I nervously looked around, trying to make out what the other objects were in the room.
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck and I winced. It was a horrible sensation like I was burning, then I was left with a sore feeling afterword. I glanced over at the man to see him putting away something like kinda resembled a taser.
I rubbed my neck at where it felt sore but it made it hurt more so I put my hand away. The man escorted me to what seemed to be an area outside where some kids were playing. I saw Gilbert and Mathias looking around, as if they were looking for me. They saw me and their expressions changed to relief.
The man left and I went over to them.
"You're ok! I was worried when you weren't behind us!"Gilbert said.
"It's nothing dude, but my neck feels kinda sore.."I replied.
"Well yeah, they numbered you.."Gilbert said.
"Numbered me..?"I asked.
"Yeah, no one calls the kids by names, just numbers,"Mathias said, joining in.
"And it looks like you're number..070476.."he said,leaning in to read the number on my neck.
"Oh...then what number are you guys..?"I asked.
"I'm 022547.."Gilbert said.
"And I'm 040940!"Mathias said.
"Oh..."I said.
We all talked for a while about anything we could come up with. Mathias and Prussia were talking about how beer would taste like when a little kid came up to them.
"U-Um..M-Mathias..?"the little kid asked.
The blonde turned to the girl and smiled.
"What's up, Aednat?"he asked.
"I-It's Anna..."the little girl said.
"Eh? What about Anna?"Mathias asked.
The girl looked down, as if she was afraid to tell him.
"Well, go ahead,spit it out.."Mathias said.
"S-She died.."Aednat whispered, her voice cracking at the end.
Mathias's eyes widen and he got up suddenly.
"Where did they take her?"he asked.
"I-I heard they burned her body last night.."Aednat said.
I was confused at what was going on, but whatever it was seemed bad. Mathias looked down and I could see tears come down his cheeks. I stared, just dumbfounded. Whoever this 'Anna' was, she was apparently close to Mathias.
I saw Gilbert lead the boy back inside, for it seemed he didn't like crying in public. I turned to the little girl who was looking down,crying as well.
"Who's Anna..?"I asked nervously, trying not to make the little girl cry more.
"S-She was really close to Mathias...a-and my older sister..S-She was really kind and nice...b-but they left her when she fell.."she said,trying to wipe tears from her eyes.
"Fell..?"I asked,confused.
"S-She had been sick for a while...b-but when she fell to the ground near the entrance way and couldn't get up, n-no one came to help her...t-they let my sister rot there.."she said, bursting out into more tears.
I felt bad for questioning her so I just hugged her, trying to comfort her. I don't like seeing people cry, especially little girls.
"Don't worry..it'll be ok.."I said,holding her close and rubbing her back.
"T-Thank you...A-Alfred..?"she said, unsure of my name.
"Yeah, I'm Alfred, I assume you heard Gil and Mattie talking about me, didn't you?"I asked.
She nodded. "My sister told me if anything happened that I should stay around Mathias, because he would protect me.." she said.
"Well,from what I heard you're Aednat,right?"I asked.
She nodded.
"Well, Aednat, how about we head back inside, it's getting too hot out here.."I said.
The girl nodded as I picked her up and carried her back inside. From how little she was, I assumed that she was about 7 or 8 years old.
"Thank you,Alfred..."was the last thing I heard from Aednat.
With no word from Mathias for the rest of the day, Gilbert and I quietly ate our food and went to our cells.
"You know we start work tomorrow.."Gilbert said.
"Work..?"I asked.
"Yeah, they hardly ever let us older kids outside with the younger kids, tomorrow we start doing chores again.."Gilbert said.
"Oh.."I said.
"Mostly it's outdoor stuff, so we'll still be outside.."he said.
"Alright then, well, let's get some rest then"I replied.
Gilbert nodded as we both laid back in our beds.
NOTE: Ok, so the girls that appear in the chapter, Anna and Aednat, are actually Ocs of mine and my friend who I dedicated this story too. Anna is my personification of the Faroe Islands and Aednat,(if I'm spelling her name right XD), was just a random one that my friend came up with to be her sister.
Also, the numbers for the boys arent just random. Alfred's actually comes out to 07-04-1776, otherwise known as Independence Day. Prussia's comes out to 02-25-1947, the day when Prussia was dissolved. Mathias's number comes out to 04-09-1940,and it's when Germany invaded Denmark during WWII.
That is all!