At first Toby was tempted to hide the book before looking out of his door. But the severity of the scream had replaced his caution with curiosity. Toby wasn't aware of its origins, but he guessed that it was the scream of a mother watching her child die right before her eyes.
He was partially correct.
Before Toby had a chance to open his door the footsteps of the adults rumbled past him. He hesitated until he was sure that the risk of his getting trampled was minimal.
Looking out into the hallway, it was like there wasn't anything wrong at all. The silence seemed welcoming at first. Nothing appeared out of place. Toby wished that the hallway was usually like this.
"What's going on?"
Toby turned around to see a small and frightened girl wearing a set of pink flower pyjamas.
"Did you hear the scream Lily?"
"Yes"
"Then shouldn't you know that something bad has happened?"
Lily didn't respond, but she did walk a little closer to Toby and try to hold his arm. The pair walked along the bleached walls until they heard panicked footsteps coming towards them. A young man with sweat underneath his arms came around the corner towards them and spoke in bursts as he tried to regain his breath.
"Listen, kids..."
He panted for a few seconds.
"You should both...go back to your rooms. Something bad has happened...and you really shouldn't be here"
Toby's face remained expressionless as he replied.
"We can look after ourselves just fine"
"No kid...you really can't"
"You do not decide if I can look after myself, I do"
"Look I really...don't have time for this shit. Just go back to your rooms and I'll call you when everything..."
He panted for a few seconds more.
"...When everything is...safe...OK?"
Toby remained static in both his visage and tone as he responded.
"I don't have time for this either"
The man let out a groan, despite his lack of breath, and picked up the pair and carried them to the entrance of Toby's room. Once there he set them down and told them to stay before shutting the door behind him. Toby walked to his bed and rested his head between his knees. Lily sat besides him and held his arm. They both said nothing.
Lily eventually let go and looked around at Toby's room. She was rarely allowed in it by Toby, but this was the only time an adult had told her to go in, so she thought it was allowed.
There wasn't much in it to observe. There was a calendar with several medical appointments marked on it, but other than that it was mostly just empty shelves and bare walls. She walked around Toby's bed and saw the book laying at its side. As he opened it, Toby looked up at her, his eyes watery, and Lily instinctively looked back. The gaze he was giving her was that of sheer disapproval.
"Can I read this?"
"No"
"Is anyone allowed to read this?"
"No"
"Why would you write something if you won't let anyone read it?"
"I wrote it for myself"
Lily sighed and put down the book, making sure to leave it exactly as she had found it. With boredom now taking up most of her mind she once again turned to Toby.
"How long do we have to stay here?"
Toby shrugged without looking back, his head facing the floor.
Lily went towards the door and carefully placed her hands around the handle, standing of the tips of her toes as she did so. It gave a tiny creak as she opened it. She strained her head back to Toby and asked him...
"Do you want to stay here?"
"No"
"Do you want to come with me?"
"No"
Lily checked to make sure that Toby was still looking at the floor before rolling her eyes.
"Well you have to pick one"
"I don't want to"
"That doesn't stop you from choosing. It's not like you can avoid both options"
Toby didn't reply. Lily was starting to get a frustrated, but then she thought of something.
"Are you upset that people don't trust you?"
"Yes"
"I just had an idea on how you could maybe change their minds"
"..."
"What if we go to whatever emergency just happened and try helping the people there? Then they'll see that you can be trusted!"
"They won't let me go anywhere near someone in need of help"
"Well...you can just help them anyway. They sounded like they need all the help they could get"
"From other adults, yes"
"Don't you want to be thought of as an adult?"
Toby looked up and wiped his eyes.
"Also my arms and feet are starting to hurt from being like this, so I want to get going"
Toby tried to hide a laugh as he got up from the bed went towards the door. Lily pushed it open, then she and Toby shut it as they went out into the hallway.
They continued past where the man had spoken with them, and walked silently until they reached the service elevator.
And saw the streaks of red on the outside.