Out of the darkness and into the sun (Active/Closed)
Characters: Anna, Red, Lorenzo
Setting: Basement tunnels
Time: Day 005, afternoon
Summary: The two prisoners are released from the labs, and barely begin their escape towards the house proper when Lorenzo finds them.
Warnings: Shota angst, dumb maleness, and a frustrated mommy. :<
He had finally found...not peace, exactly, but something close enough to it. His guilt had been slowly ebbing, each moment spend away from his Pokeballs easing his feelings.
After his horrible experiment, Red and his Pokemon had been returned to the cages. The thought of being near them again nearly made the trainer sick. It wasn’t that he couldn’t stand them any more; on the contrary, Red likely cared for them more than ever. But every time he looked at the red-and-white globes, he saw the experiments all over again. He saw his Pokemon’s insides, handled and held like so much meat, and was reminded over and over of his failure to protect them. They didn’t deserve him for a trainer. They deserved a person who wouldn’t have let that happen to them.
And so, after being locked in his cage once again, Red set his Pokeballs to one corner, then huddled in a ball in another. Other experiments went on, but Red took no notice of them. And slowly, ever so slowly, his mind began to replace the pain with chilling numbness.At least until he was once again grabbed by the phantasms.
This time, they dragged him back to the dark tunnels and left him there. They had probably just given Red his freedom, though the trainer didn’t care. But then he heard a distinctive clattering sound and looked to see that the phantasms had taken his Pokeballs out as well. He stared at them, eyes wide, guilt rushing back. Slowly, he raised his hand to point at them and spoke in a shaky voice. “Some….somebody….get them out of here…”
Even if he didn’t have the will to leave, it was only fair to make sure that they got out safely. It was the least the ten-year-old could do.
Anna had been the last experiment. The last one, forced to wait and watch and wonder as people were brought back one by one, changed and traumatized and upset, handled far worse than the most degraded lab rats in the United States, living in terror until they finally came for her. And so they had, and so they had returned her, much like the others, terrified and traumatized and changed immeasuarbly. Bereft. Voiceless. Deprived even of the ability for basic communication with her fellow prisoners.
They had taken them all out soon, thank God. She didn't know what she would have done if there was a second round. What else was there for her to lose? The tunnel was cold, lightless, and dark, but at least it was freedom, at least there would be no more.... She hoped. Either way, she could dimly see a shadow beside her, then hear a clatter, and a distinct voice--Red's?--asking for someone to get them out of the tunnels. She could only assume 'they' were his pokeballs, but she couldn't fathom why he wouldn't want to take them himself, nor why he had been staying away from them for so long.....
But he was right, it wasn't an option to just leave them sitting there. Tenatively lowering herself to the ground again, Anna felt along the floor, picking up the balls one by one and counting them until she had found all six. She slipped them into the pouch on her belt for now, simply to have both arms free--she had a feeling she'd need them--and moved to find Red, putting a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of silent concern and assurance.
The hand didn't help at all. Red had only intended for his Pokemon to be looked after; he didn’t care about himself. If anything, Anna’s compassion only served to remind him of the terror Red himself had been put through. He sat on his knees, forehead to the ground, with his hands wrapped behind his neck. Tears began flowing, and once they started, they didn’t stop. Soon, Red was gasping and sobbing, his body trembling with every cry.
It was sick. Sick for these monsters to treat children like this. He was only ten years old, for God's sake! Ten! What kind of bastards thought he deserved something like this? What kind of twisted, sadistic mind thought it was right or justified to rape a child's innocence so? She felt sick with horror and rage, and the terror and grief that churned in her own gut along with the machine they had placed in it.
But now wasn't the time for that. Now.... Now Red needed her, the way any child needed their mother after a nightmare or accident. Anna lowered herself to her knees again to more easily stay at Red's height, leaning forward to pull him into her lap, wrapping her arms around the boy and brushing her lips against his forehead. Even if she could have spoken, how could she have brought herself to tell him that everything would be okay, when even she wasn't sure if that was true?
A hug. How long had it been since another human being had hugged him? Someone who could speak his language and was willing to provide comfort. Red couldn’t remember; it was probably his mother, some time ago.How Red wished he had called her more often.But he couldn’t. Stuck in this house, there was no way to contact the outside world. Right now, all he could do was cry as the older woman held him, planting a kiss on his forehead.
After a few moments, the trainer realized he was being selfish. ‘It’s not fair to Anna,’ he thought, ‘to be ignored when this happened to her too.’ Though she didn’t have Pokemon, so…what could they have done?The trainer blinked a few times before speaking, though he couldn’t look Anna in the face as he did so. “What did they do to you?” he asked quietly.
Anna held Red the way she had held all of her children, just as she'd remembered them. Nightmares, scraped knees, bumped heads, arguments with other children, terrifying thunderstorms, disappointments, temper tantrums..... She remembered it all, the way her blouses had always grown soaked, the way the tiny bodies against hers had sobbed and heaved, the small hands clutching fistfuls of cloth. He was no different than Mario, or Irenia, or Elizabetta at that age.... Her heart twisted again as she rubbed his back, and she forced back tears of her own, wondering again how Elizabetta was doing. She was legally an adult, old enough to live on her own, going to college..... But still. Still, she wasn't out of the nest yet, she wasn't supposed to be without her mother this soon. It had been months.....
She wouldn't let harm come to the children here, HER children here, not if she could help it. Anna steeled her determination again, though she faltered for a moment at Red's question; how to answer that? How, when it was too dark to see by here, even for the glimmer of white in the dark..... With no other option she could think of, Anna simply took gentle hold of Red's hand with her own, bringing it up to her own throat so he could feel the bandages wrapped around her neck. This. This was what had happened to her..... This and more, but it was the one thing that had broken her, and made the rest pale in comparison.
Red grew still as Anna’s hands stroked his back, almost afraid to let himself take comfort in her presence. Eventually, he relaxed, though slightly. He was becoming increasingly aware of the machine shifting around inside of him, and sitting in Anna’s lap was making its movements more uncomfortable.
The trainer breathed sharply as Anna brought his hand to her own neck, his mind fearing the worst. Had they slit her throat to collect more of her blood more quickly? Had they removed part of her flesh? But no, she simply could have told him that.
It took him a few moments, but the boy eventually deduced that the phantasms had done something to her voice. ‘They must have removed it someone, otherwise she’d have just told me,’ he thought. He gulped, almost afraid to ask his next question. “So…you didn’t get the machine, then?”
Anna thought for a moment; it was difficult to answer questions this way, or really tell him anything.... She could barely see at all down here, and certainly could make no more noise than she could by tapping on the walls or floor, or something to that effect.....No words at all, and nothing visual like a simple nod could get through.
Supposing that if it had worked the first time, it might the second, Anna touched Red's hand to her own stomach, fingernails lightly tapping their way over the back of his hand in the sort of skitter the insect moved with. Yes, it was there inside her, just like him.....
Red winced; how quickly he had forgotten that Anna couldn’t speak! He took her tapping fingers as confirmation, hoping he was getting the signal right. “Yeah, that’s what they did to me,” he said. “And…to them.” The word didn’t need to be spoken aloud; it was obvious the trainer was talking about his Pokemon.
On the other hand, just thinking about them gave the trainer the courage to look directly at Anna, though it was too dark to clearly see. “Promise me you’ll take good care of them,” he pleaded. “…but if you can’t, give them the Mewtwo. I know he’ll look after them.” ‘He’ll be a much better protector than I’ll ever be,’ the trainer thought.
Anna bit her lip at the thought, squeezing Red's shoulder sympathetically; she had seen how much Red must have cared for his pokémon, how he must have been devastated at the way the phantasms had defiled them.... After all, hadn't he spent days staying away from them entirely? He must have been horrified and ashamed..... That was as close to running away from the problem as he could have gotten, at that point.....
......But running away was never the answer to a crisis like that, not when he shared such a bond with them. Not when he cared so much for them, and presumably they cared so much for him. That was betrayal, far greater than an inability to protect them..... Avery had run away. Avery might not have even cared anymore, the cold-hearted bastard. She had been upset at the thought of her children being abandoned by their own father--she was upset at Red abandoning his duties to his own pokémon now.
Chosing blindly, Anna pulled a pokéball from her pouch, pressing it firmly into Red's hand and moving to wrap his fingers around it as she looked at him, lips moving soundlessly; she could have screamed for the frustration at her helplessness to get such a point across. They need love just as much as you do right now. They need strength like you need me to be strong for you. Care for them. Prove to them what they mean to you, make up now for what you couldn't do then. Even if she couldn't speak, she didn't intend to let him run. Not here, not yet. Not ever, if she could help it.
Red was confused, then almost angry as he felt Anna press one of the Pokeballs into his hand. Didn’t she understand what had happened? Didn’t she see how much he had failed? If he couldn’t protect them now, how did she think he’d protect them later? They needed someone strong to take care of him, not someone who used them to fight senseless battles and couldn’t do a thing for himself. Red let out a frustrated cry, flinging the Pokeball into the darkness.
“Don’t you get it?!” he nearly screamed. “What can I do for them?! I can’t protect them, I could never protect them! They never needed me, and I never deserved them! They need and equal, and I’m…I’m weak. I’m broken. I can’t do anything - I never could. They deserve so much better…” The sobs returned once more; the trainer pressed his face into Anna’s chest, hands clinging to her shoulders.
Anna almost drew back at the sudden flare of anger and frustration from her young companion, but she knew better than that. This was the anger of a child in agony, lashing out to keep from falling even deeper into despair. An obvious red flag of trouble for sweet children like Red, and a way of life for many schoolyard bullies. She couldn't take it personally, being pushed away when he obviously needed someone more than ever to be close to.....
Instead, she listened to the pokéball bounce against the wall and roll into the darkness, making some half-educated guess judging the sounds and trying to figure out where it had fallen; she didn't want to leave it behind. But for the moment, it could wait a little while longer--it was impossible to argue with Red about it here, not without a voice, without any light to see by, without even so much as a pen and paper..... She simply couldn't express such complex ideas through touch.
Rather, she put that argument aside for now, in favor of hugging Red once again, leaning her cheek against the top of his head and rubbing circles against his back. She could feel him soaking through her shirt already--even if it was a little uncomfortable, the normalcy and familiarity of it was almost comforting in and of itself. This, at least, she knew she could handle.
Red clung to Anna for a few moments more, before the movements of the insect-machine became unbearable. He sniffled, drawing away from her as he did so to let the machine scuttle to a less painful location.
The silence began to grow, for the trainer realized there wasn’t much to talk about. In a normal situation, he’d have gone off endlessly about Pokemon - about their different types and uses, his own, and his travels. But now, the trainer couldn’t even bear to think of them. And he couldn’t ask Anna any questions; it would almost be rude to do so.
After a while and some thought, he spoke. “You should get out of here,” he began. “It’s too dark, and cold, and damp. Maybe you’ll even be able to get back home.”
Anna let Red cling and move away as he would, silence blanketing them like the darkness, thick and heavy and almost sickly-slick--something you could draw your fingers through and feel the ripple, feel it sliding against your skin and making your hackles raise as it caressed and constricted you. It almost would have been better to be naked.
Still..... she frowned at him for his words, even if he wouldn't have been able to see it. What did he think he was, some piece of baggage? He was a person too, a boy who needed care, and as far as she was concerned, she was his guardian until they got out of here, at least. Until they reached the rest of the house, he would have a mother again. Anna shifted to get back onto her knees, reaching to take Red's arm and give him a gentle but insistent tug. He was coming with her, that she knew for sure.
Red decided not to fight against Anna’s tugging; he was suddenly overwhelmed with how exhausted he was. All of the emotional and physical pain from the previous night had gotten to him, and it was all he could do to remain standing. But he didn’t pull away from Anna’s grip, letting her know that he would follow if she was willing to force him.
Not that he was going to be especially helpful. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Anna to make it out safely - the boy just didn’t particularly care if he made it out as well. If anything, Anna would get fed up and leave him there to rot. Red wasn’t whether or not he welcomed the idea, but if only one of them were to make it out, he felt that she deserved it more.
She could feel it in the way he moved, the lack of resistance coupled with a lack of volition. He wouldn't disobey, but he didn't have it in him to do it willingly--he was the stubborn child who refused to admit he was tired, the pouting boy who wouldn't say what was wrong. It was the sort of thing that, if she was back in Iowa years ago, would have made her pick him up and carry him the rest of the way around the zoo or park, and buckle him into the car to sleep all the way home.
But she wasn't in Iowa, and she wasn't at the zoo or carrying a picnic lunch. She was in some dark hellhole with incomprehensible fiends, and a boy she barely knew who had been traumatized past what the limits of his young mind should ever been able to endure....
Still, he needed her more than he would want to admit, just like any boy. She had carried her children for nine months each; what was a few miles more? Anna let go of Red's arm and shifted to step in front of him, falling into the familiar crouch and reaching out to pull Red onto her back.
He hadn’t expected that. Most people wouldn’t have put up with him beyond refusing to walk, but here was Anna, willing to physically carry him out after going through so much trauma herself. It was heartwarming, and selfish of him. “D-don’t. I can walk,” he said, ashamed of himself. “You’ll rip out your stitches, anyway.”
He reached out for her arm, gently pulling the woman up, then looked around in the darkness. “Which way do you think it is?”
Anna almost smiled in the dark, a wry expression that she might have used, half-laughing, were she sharing an anecdote with another mother over coffee and cookies. Children were fickle creatures, weren't they? One moment flagging, the other mustering up their reserves and asserting their will, contrarily or not. What child hadn't poked at their food before, only to screech when it was taken away? Scorned a toy, but refused to relinquish it to a sibling? Oh, to be young again.....
She straightened herself out in response to Red's tug, offering him a gently reassuring squeeze, looking around as well. She had no idea, honestly..... Regardless, she started leading the way that Red had thrown his pokéball, if only to go pick it up and put it with the others. It was as good a way as any, she supposed, and definitely led away from the labs they had been released from.....
((OOC: Done in an AIM log. :D More to come!))
Setting: Basement tunnels
Time: Day 005, afternoon
Summary: The two prisoners are released from the labs, and barely begin their escape towards the house proper when Lorenzo finds them.
Warnings: Shota angst, dumb maleness, and a frustrated mommy. :<
He had finally found...not peace, exactly, but something close enough to it. His guilt had been slowly ebbing, each moment spend away from his Pokeballs easing his feelings.
After his horrible experiment, Red and his Pokemon had been returned to the cages. The thought of being near them again nearly made the trainer sick. It wasn’t that he couldn’t stand them any more; on the contrary, Red likely cared for them more than ever. But every time he looked at the red-and-white globes, he saw the experiments all over again. He saw his Pokemon’s insides, handled and held like so much meat, and was reminded over and over of his failure to protect them. They didn’t deserve him for a trainer. They deserved a person who wouldn’t have let that happen to them.
And so, after being locked in his cage once again, Red set his Pokeballs to one corner, then huddled in a ball in another. Other experiments went on, but Red took no notice of them. And slowly, ever so slowly, his mind began to replace the pain with chilling numbness.At least until he was once again grabbed by the phantasms.
This time, they dragged him back to the dark tunnels and left him there. They had probably just given Red his freedom, though the trainer didn’t care. But then he heard a distinctive clattering sound and looked to see that the phantasms had taken his Pokeballs out as well. He stared at them, eyes wide, guilt rushing back. Slowly, he raised his hand to point at them and spoke in a shaky voice. “Some….somebody….get them out of here…”
Even if he didn’t have the will to leave, it was only fair to make sure that they got out safely. It was the least the ten-year-old could do.
Anna had been the last experiment. The last one, forced to wait and watch and wonder as people were brought back one by one, changed and traumatized and upset, handled far worse than the most degraded lab rats in the United States, living in terror until they finally came for her. And so they had, and so they had returned her, much like the others, terrified and traumatized and changed immeasuarbly. Bereft. Voiceless. Deprived even of the ability for basic communication with her fellow prisoners.
They had taken them all out soon, thank God. She didn't know what she would have done if there was a second round. What else was there for her to lose? The tunnel was cold, lightless, and dark, but at least it was freedom, at least there would be no more.... She hoped. Either way, she could dimly see a shadow beside her, then hear a clatter, and a distinct voice--Red's?--asking for someone to get them out of the tunnels. She could only assume 'they' were his pokeballs, but she couldn't fathom why he wouldn't want to take them himself, nor why he had been staying away from them for so long.....
But he was right, it wasn't an option to just leave them sitting there. Tenatively lowering herself to the ground again, Anna felt along the floor, picking up the balls one by one and counting them until she had found all six. She slipped them into the pouch on her belt for now, simply to have both arms free--she had a feeling she'd need them--and moved to find Red, putting a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of silent concern and assurance.
The hand didn't help at all. Red had only intended for his Pokemon to be looked after; he didn’t care about himself. If anything, Anna’s compassion only served to remind him of the terror Red himself had been put through. He sat on his knees, forehead to the ground, with his hands wrapped behind his neck. Tears began flowing, and once they started, they didn’t stop. Soon, Red was gasping and sobbing, his body trembling with every cry.
It was sick. Sick for these monsters to treat children like this. He was only ten years old, for God's sake! Ten! What kind of bastards thought he deserved something like this? What kind of twisted, sadistic mind thought it was right or justified to rape a child's innocence so? She felt sick with horror and rage, and the terror and grief that churned in her own gut along with the machine they had placed in it.
But now wasn't the time for that. Now.... Now Red needed her, the way any child needed their mother after a nightmare or accident. Anna lowered herself to her knees again to more easily stay at Red's height, leaning forward to pull him into her lap, wrapping her arms around the boy and brushing her lips against his forehead. Even if she could have spoken, how could she have brought herself to tell him that everything would be okay, when even she wasn't sure if that was true?
A hug. How long had it been since another human being had hugged him? Someone who could speak his language and was willing to provide comfort. Red couldn’t remember; it was probably his mother, some time ago.How Red wished he had called her more often.But he couldn’t. Stuck in this house, there was no way to contact the outside world. Right now, all he could do was cry as the older woman held him, planting a kiss on his forehead.
After a few moments, the trainer realized he was being selfish. ‘It’s not fair to Anna,’ he thought, ‘to be ignored when this happened to her too.’ Though she didn’t have Pokemon, so…what could they have done?The trainer blinked a few times before speaking, though he couldn’t look Anna in the face as he did so. “What did they do to you?” he asked quietly.
Anna held Red the way she had held all of her children, just as she'd remembered them. Nightmares, scraped knees, bumped heads, arguments with other children, terrifying thunderstorms, disappointments, temper tantrums..... She remembered it all, the way her blouses had always grown soaked, the way the tiny bodies against hers had sobbed and heaved, the small hands clutching fistfuls of cloth. He was no different than Mario, or Irenia, or Elizabetta at that age.... Her heart twisted again as she rubbed his back, and she forced back tears of her own, wondering again how Elizabetta was doing. She was legally an adult, old enough to live on her own, going to college..... But still. Still, she wasn't out of the nest yet, she wasn't supposed to be without her mother this soon. It had been months.....
She wouldn't let harm come to the children here, HER children here, not if she could help it. Anna steeled her determination again, though she faltered for a moment at Red's question; how to answer that? How, when it was too dark to see by here, even for the glimmer of white in the dark..... With no other option she could think of, Anna simply took gentle hold of Red's hand with her own, bringing it up to her own throat so he could feel the bandages wrapped around her neck. This. This was what had happened to her..... This and more, but it was the one thing that had broken her, and made the rest pale in comparison.
Red grew still as Anna’s hands stroked his back, almost afraid to let himself take comfort in her presence. Eventually, he relaxed, though slightly. He was becoming increasingly aware of the machine shifting around inside of him, and sitting in Anna’s lap was making its movements more uncomfortable.
The trainer breathed sharply as Anna brought his hand to her own neck, his mind fearing the worst. Had they slit her throat to collect more of her blood more quickly? Had they removed part of her flesh? But no, she simply could have told him that.
It took him a few moments, but the boy eventually deduced that the phantasms had done something to her voice. ‘They must have removed it someone, otherwise she’d have just told me,’ he thought. He gulped, almost afraid to ask his next question. “So…you didn’t get the machine, then?”
Anna thought for a moment; it was difficult to answer questions this way, or really tell him anything.... She could barely see at all down here, and certainly could make no more noise than she could by tapping on the walls or floor, or something to that effect.....No words at all, and nothing visual like a simple nod could get through.
Supposing that if it had worked the first time, it might the second, Anna touched Red's hand to her own stomach, fingernails lightly tapping their way over the back of his hand in the sort of skitter the insect moved with. Yes, it was there inside her, just like him.....
Red winced; how quickly he had forgotten that Anna couldn’t speak! He took her tapping fingers as confirmation, hoping he was getting the signal right. “Yeah, that’s what they did to me,” he said. “And…to them.” The word didn’t need to be spoken aloud; it was obvious the trainer was talking about his Pokemon.
On the other hand, just thinking about them gave the trainer the courage to look directly at Anna, though it was too dark to clearly see. “Promise me you’ll take good care of them,” he pleaded. “…but if you can’t, give them the Mewtwo. I know he’ll look after them.” ‘He’ll be a much better protector than I’ll ever be,’ the trainer thought.
Anna bit her lip at the thought, squeezing Red's shoulder sympathetically; she had seen how much Red must have cared for his pokémon, how he must have been devastated at the way the phantasms had defiled them.... After all, hadn't he spent days staying away from them entirely? He must have been horrified and ashamed..... That was as close to running away from the problem as he could have gotten, at that point.....
......But running away was never the answer to a crisis like that, not when he shared such a bond with them. Not when he cared so much for them, and presumably they cared so much for him. That was betrayal, far greater than an inability to protect them..... Avery had run away. Avery might not have even cared anymore, the cold-hearted bastard. She had been upset at the thought of her children being abandoned by their own father--she was upset at Red abandoning his duties to his own pokémon now.
Chosing blindly, Anna pulled a pokéball from her pouch, pressing it firmly into Red's hand and moving to wrap his fingers around it as she looked at him, lips moving soundlessly; she could have screamed for the frustration at her helplessness to get such a point across. They need love just as much as you do right now. They need strength like you need me to be strong for you. Care for them. Prove to them what they mean to you, make up now for what you couldn't do then. Even if she couldn't speak, she didn't intend to let him run. Not here, not yet. Not ever, if she could help it.
Red was confused, then almost angry as he felt Anna press one of the Pokeballs into his hand. Didn’t she understand what had happened? Didn’t she see how much he had failed? If he couldn’t protect them now, how did she think he’d protect them later? They needed someone strong to take care of him, not someone who used them to fight senseless battles and couldn’t do a thing for himself. Red let out a frustrated cry, flinging the Pokeball into the darkness.
“Don’t you get it?!” he nearly screamed. “What can I do for them?! I can’t protect them, I could never protect them! They never needed me, and I never deserved them! They need and equal, and I’m…I’m weak. I’m broken. I can’t do anything - I never could. They deserve so much better…” The sobs returned once more; the trainer pressed his face into Anna’s chest, hands clinging to her shoulders.
Anna almost drew back at the sudden flare of anger and frustration from her young companion, but she knew better than that. This was the anger of a child in agony, lashing out to keep from falling even deeper into despair. An obvious red flag of trouble for sweet children like Red, and a way of life for many schoolyard bullies. She couldn't take it personally, being pushed away when he obviously needed someone more than ever to be close to.....
Instead, she listened to the pokéball bounce against the wall and roll into the darkness, making some half-educated guess judging the sounds and trying to figure out where it had fallen; she didn't want to leave it behind. But for the moment, it could wait a little while longer--it was impossible to argue with Red about it here, not without a voice, without any light to see by, without even so much as a pen and paper..... She simply couldn't express such complex ideas through touch.
Rather, she put that argument aside for now, in favor of hugging Red once again, leaning her cheek against the top of his head and rubbing circles against his back. She could feel him soaking through her shirt already--even if it was a little uncomfortable, the normalcy and familiarity of it was almost comforting in and of itself. This, at least, she knew she could handle.
Red clung to Anna for a few moments more, before the movements of the insect-machine became unbearable. He sniffled, drawing away from her as he did so to let the machine scuttle to a less painful location.
The silence began to grow, for the trainer realized there wasn’t much to talk about. In a normal situation, he’d have gone off endlessly about Pokemon - about their different types and uses, his own, and his travels. But now, the trainer couldn’t even bear to think of them. And he couldn’t ask Anna any questions; it would almost be rude to do so.
After a while and some thought, he spoke. “You should get out of here,” he began. “It’s too dark, and cold, and damp. Maybe you’ll even be able to get back home.”
Anna let Red cling and move away as he would, silence blanketing them like the darkness, thick and heavy and almost sickly-slick--something you could draw your fingers through and feel the ripple, feel it sliding against your skin and making your hackles raise as it caressed and constricted you. It almost would have been better to be naked.
Still..... she frowned at him for his words, even if he wouldn't have been able to see it. What did he think he was, some piece of baggage? He was a person too, a boy who needed care, and as far as she was concerned, she was his guardian until they got out of here, at least. Until they reached the rest of the house, he would have a mother again. Anna shifted to get back onto her knees, reaching to take Red's arm and give him a gentle but insistent tug. He was coming with her, that she knew for sure.
Red decided not to fight against Anna’s tugging; he was suddenly overwhelmed with how exhausted he was. All of the emotional and physical pain from the previous night had gotten to him, and it was all he could do to remain standing. But he didn’t pull away from Anna’s grip, letting her know that he would follow if she was willing to force him.
Not that he was going to be especially helpful. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Anna to make it out safely - the boy just didn’t particularly care if he made it out as well. If anything, Anna would get fed up and leave him there to rot. Red wasn’t whether or not he welcomed the idea, but if only one of them were to make it out, he felt that she deserved it more.
She could feel it in the way he moved, the lack of resistance coupled with a lack of volition. He wouldn't disobey, but he didn't have it in him to do it willingly--he was the stubborn child who refused to admit he was tired, the pouting boy who wouldn't say what was wrong. It was the sort of thing that, if she was back in Iowa years ago, would have made her pick him up and carry him the rest of the way around the zoo or park, and buckle him into the car to sleep all the way home.
But she wasn't in Iowa, and she wasn't at the zoo or carrying a picnic lunch. She was in some dark hellhole with incomprehensible fiends, and a boy she barely knew who had been traumatized past what the limits of his young mind should ever been able to endure....
Still, he needed her more than he would want to admit, just like any boy. She had carried her children for nine months each; what was a few miles more? Anna let go of Red's arm and shifted to step in front of him, falling into the familiar crouch and reaching out to pull Red onto her back.
He hadn’t expected that. Most people wouldn’t have put up with him beyond refusing to walk, but here was Anna, willing to physically carry him out after going through so much trauma herself. It was heartwarming, and selfish of him. “D-don’t. I can walk,” he said, ashamed of himself. “You’ll rip out your stitches, anyway.”
He reached out for her arm, gently pulling the woman up, then looked around in the darkness. “Which way do you think it is?”
Anna almost smiled in the dark, a wry expression that she might have used, half-laughing, were she sharing an anecdote with another mother over coffee and cookies. Children were fickle creatures, weren't they? One moment flagging, the other mustering up their reserves and asserting their will, contrarily or not. What child hadn't poked at their food before, only to screech when it was taken away? Scorned a toy, but refused to relinquish it to a sibling? Oh, to be young again.....
She straightened herself out in response to Red's tug, offering him a gently reassuring squeeze, looking around as well. She had no idea, honestly..... Regardless, she started leading the way that Red had thrown his pokéball, if only to go pick it up and put it with the others. It was as good a way as any, she supposed, and definitely led away from the labs they had been released from.....
((OOC: Done in an AIM log. :D More to come!))