Love you Both, Love me Too

Dash: Discovery of Demons

We entered the house together, easily finding the key the old man had hidden away for our expected visits. Inside, nothing seemed disturbed, but then neither myself nor Thomas had been further than the foyer and small reception room in over a decade. We had declined each time the Director had invited us both up to visit our old rooms, and I had noted the sadness in the man's eyes as we did so.

"So, you wanna..."

Thomas gestured to the old staircase, and I nodded, though I swallowed a lump in my throat as he took the first step, issuing a loud creak that echoed out through the house.

As he continued, I stupidly thought talking would help me through my fears. I was sorely mistaken.

"So, what made you decide she was the one?"

I couldn't stop thinking about Sela, even at a time like this. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Thomas was about to ask her to marry him.

It wasn't the time, and Thomas threw a look at me that made me swallow thickly and shut up.

Almost immediately, we heard a thump come from upstairs, followed by the distinct sound of footsteps running from one room to the other.

"What the f**k was that?"

Thomas had stopped mid-step, looking up and over the banister before glancing down at me. Dust fell from the cracks in the wooden ceiling, and the light fixture waved back and forth slowly. The footsteps stopped, then started again before a door slammed shut from the far end of the hall.

We shared a look before Thomas pulled out a gun I didn't even know he had.

"What the f**k is that?"

My voice came out a harsh whisper as he walked up the stairs, my footsteps shadowing his own. When had Thomas bought a gun? I thought I knew everything about the man I lived with, but clearly, I was wrong. I was terrified as the footsteps started again in the room at the end of the hall, and every instinct told me that we were making a mistake. One call and we would have backup from the guys down at the police station. One call...

Thomas shushed me again, and I realized that I had still been speaking out loud.

We reached the top of the stairs, and the familiar sight brought both comfort and terror to my heart. Three doors left. Two doors right. One at the end of the hall. The one which had slammed shut a moment ago belonged to the Director, and Thomas didn't hesitate to approach, gun low and ready for trouble. We passed the door to our old room, and we passed the one that had belonged to three other boys: Michael, Anael, and Ruffio.

Raphael. None of us had escaped the Director's love of biblical names.

Across the hall, nine other boys had lived, though I had been so young when I arrived that most of them were leaving by the time I was old enough to remember them.

Thomas glanced back at me briefly, and I nodded before he turned back to the door and I stepped forward to open it.

He moved into the room without hesitation, gun leading the search through the tiny space filled with the old man's belongings. The room was messier than I had imagined it, and each corner was packed to the brim with belongings that could not have all been his. I picked through some of the toys on the dresser, and a few awards in the drawer. I picked through pill boxes filled with baby teeth and lockets of hair. I picked through jewelry and hair bows that could not have belonged to any of us. All the orphans had been male.

In the final drawer, I found a pile of wallets, purses, and car keys. Some of them had come from as far back as the 80s, but I did not recognize any of them.

The room was empty of threats as far as I could tell, but Thomas still checked the bathroom, the closet, and beneath the bed as I stood transfixed by the pile of pictures that covered the bed. They were all face down.

Thomas moved to the drawer of wallets, picking one up and letting out a sound that brought my attention.

"Whoa, take a look at this Dash. Who does this woman look like to you?"

He handed me the ID card, and sure enough, I instantly recognized the face that was looking at me.

"Conner. Was this...could this have been his mother? Why did the director have all of these? What the hell is going on, Thomas?"

A sound came from the closet, and Thomas drew his gun again, flinging it open to reveal nothing but the old man's clothing.

When he was certain we were alone, Thomas came back to stand next to me, regarding the pile of pictures with confusion. They were all named and dated, but neither Thomas nor I recognized any of them.

"What's all this?"

He leaned down to pick up a photograph that read 'Eligos, 2003,' and I looked on as he turned it over to reveal the image.

He dropped it immediately, and we both stepped back in horror.

In the photograph, a young boy lay in the forest, clearly dead. He had a bullet wound through his forehead, and his eyes were clouded over and white. Fanning behind his back on the moss-covered ground was a pair of great black wings.

I reached down to uncover another photo, and then another. Soon, Thomas and I had turned each and every photograph over. Each and every single one was a picture of a murdered boy ranging in age from infant to teenager. Each and every single one had a pair of huge black wings.

"Dash, what is this? What the hell did we find?"

There was a darkness that settled over both of us, and instinctively we knew. Despite the overly fantastic nature of the wings, these boys were very much real, and they had very much existed.

"I don't think we were the only children the Director found, Thomas. I think we were the only ones he chose to save."