DISCLAIMER! This story involves characters that belong to Taboso-sama. I own nothing except the made up story, and I do not profit from this in anyway.
Chapter 4: Breach
Ciel ignored Alois's cries and sprinted down the rough path to his house. It had began to rain, but Ciel didn't care at all because no one else did. He felt like he was totally alone in a world where you need others in order to get by.
He threw open the back door and heard a few thuds, but didn't care at all. He slammed the door again and thought he heard it echo, but locked it back before throwing his over-shirt on the floor with his keys. His telephone started ringing, but he also didn't care. Ciel only wanted to take a shower and start fighting his hunger pains early so maybe he could get a good night's rest.
He left the kitchen and went through the living room to a hall that housed three doors, and the second door to the left was the bathroom. Ciel entered and stripped, threw his clothes in a basket by the sink, and turned on the water for the shower. He only had ten minutes to shower before the hot water ran out, so he learned to shower fast. He also had to make sure he turned the water off after exactly ten minutes to prevent the bathtub from filling with water because the pipes were long overdue for a cleaning.
He finished his quick shower and bent over the side of the tub so that he could grab a towel from the first shelf under the sink. He toweled himself dry and began drying his hair when he heard something in his living room. He jumped at first, but listened hard and heard nothing else.
"It was probably the front door popping. I need a door that actually fits there." He said to himself.
Ciel finished drying himself and deposited the towel in the same basket as his clothes before walking straight across the hall to the only door on the right, which was his room. He only had a single fitted sheet and one blanket on his bed. The bed was built for two people, but it was pushed into the corner to the right so that the headboard was pressed against the wall the door was hinged to, and the left side of the bed was against the far wall.
On the left side of the room was a single dresser with a broken mirror, a comb and hairbrush on the surface, and two pairs of shoes were on the floor in front of the dresser. The entire piece of furniture was run down, and the top drawer was missing, leaving only two for storing clothes.
Ciel opened the middle drawer and grabbed some underwear, put them on, then closed that and retrieved another school uniform to put on for tomorrow, which consisted of a pair of dark green slacks, white t-shirt, and a dark green over-shirt to match the pants which bore the school's mascot on the front. He put on the shirt and pants before closing the drawer.
He stood up straight and looked at himself in the broken mirror. He nodded in satisfaction and folded his over-shirt and left it on the dresser.
It was going to get dark soon, and Ciel knew too well the dangers that came with the night. He shook off his bad thoughts before he became frightened this soon. Ciel walked out of his room and into the living room where he sat down on his rough sofa and turned on the television to a game show in the hopes that it would calm his nerves.
He began to doze eventually, but was jerked awake when a loud roar of thunder shook his small house and his power went out.
He was completely alone and in the dark with no hope of finding a flashlight or sleep. Ciel pulled his knees up to his chest and closed his eyes tight. He was afraid of the dark more than anything else in the world. His parents were stolen away in the darkness, he had to hide from thieves in the darkness, he had to be brave for himself in the darkness, but worst of all, he had to suffer alone in the darkness.
He tried to think of anything else that would take his mind away from the current situation, so he thought of what Alois might be doing right now. Alois was probably curled up in Claude's arms with lit candles and soft words of comfort.
'I could sleep like that.' Ciel thought to himself.
He thought he heard footsteps outside, but shook his head and mentally told himself to shut up and not be scared. He tried to listen again, but the sounds were very real and growing closer with each passing moment.
Ciel's heart started to race. He was alone in the darkness, completely defenseless, and worst of all, he didn't have time to hide because he heard the intruder at the back door. They were messing around with the doorknob, probably trying to pick the lock.
He couldn't tame his breathing and tried to clutch at his chest. It felt like a massive weight had just settled itself on him and he couldn't breathe at all.
The doorknob kept rattling in the background, but the sound was growing fuzzy and all Ciel could think about was drawing his next breath. The rattling became more rapid and louder, but the whole scene was fading in and out for Ciel, and he could feel that he was losing grip.
He was growing weaker with each passing second, and eventually his leg slipped and crashed hard on the floor.
Then he heard a voice, "Ciel? Are you awake? It's just me and Claude!"
Ciel heard Alois's small voice cry out over the hard rain and thunder, and it brought him out of his spell, "Do you need me to open the door?" He barely managed.
Alois shouted, "No, we've almost got it!"
The door came open and the kitchen was flooded with light, "Ciel? Ciel!"
Claude rushed over to Ciel and put the lantern on the floor next to him, "Are you okay? You're so pale!"
Ciel barely managed to get in a few more breaths, "You scared me is all. No big deal now that I know it was you two."
Claude sat on the sofa next to Ciel, "Here, lie down in my lap. The radio said the storm was going to be rough, so we thought we'd stay here for a while."
Alois shut the kitchen door and locked it back, "I brought the rest of the stew for you, Ciel."
"I don't need it. I'll be fine." Ciel managed, but chose to lie down in Claude's lap anyway.
Alois shrugged his shoulders, "We can all have some in the morning then."
Claude petted Ciel's hair, "Ciel, don't try and act like you have everything under control with us. We know your situation better than anyone else does, and I know you don't have any food in those cabinets or that refrigerator."
Ciel looked away from Claude's face but knew it was all true.
"Actually, there's some fruit in the drawer in here. Oh! And some fresh cheese!" Alois shouted as he discovered these fresh foods.
Ciel didn't remember bringing anything home, but the thought quickly left his mind because he was settling down as Claude continued to pet him.
"I've offered you so many times to come and live with Alois and I, and I even offered to put in a recommendation for you to work part time at the grocery store across from my workplace if you still wanted to feel independent. You're still just a child, Ciel. You shouldn't have to deal with all of life's burdens by yourself."
Ciel wasn't really listening because Claude was petting his hair. He couldn't concentrate on anything else except the fact that he was so comfortable, and he was beginning to doze off.
Claude stopped stroking his hair and asked him, "How about I put up your house for sale and you come live with me and Alois? You'll get the money from the house being sold, and then you can start work at the grocery store."
Ciel was beginning to wake from the absence of the petting so he agreed only half-knowing was Claude offered.
Claude continued to stroke Ciel's hair, "Thank you."
Ciel eventually fell asleep, and Claude took this opportunity to move the boys. He roused Alois from the end of the sofa where he was holding Ciel's feet and he decided to carry Ciel into the bedroom.
Alois crawled in first and took the side of the bed next to the wall then Claude placed Ciel down onto the side of the bed closest to him and tucked both boys in.
'He doesn't even have a pillow here.' Claude thought to himself. He turned down the lantern's fuel usage so that it was dim and left it on the dresser for the boys incase they woke up.
Claude then returned to the living room and settled himself onto the couch with Alois's coat for cover.
'When did Ciel ever have the money to get that food? When did he even have time to go between school and home?' Claude wondered as he, too, fell asleep despite the raging storm outside.