Past and Present 3
"Hello kids, I am caretaker Dean, one of many caretakers of Mother Mary's orphanage. The man in white said as he showed an ipad.
"Welcome, I am Mother Mary. You are all my children now. We will do our best to find everyone of you a family that will love you and take care of you. Until then you are to stay in the orphanage learning and being a better person overall. Our caretakers will help you with that. You will meet others just like you. All we need is your obedience and cooperation." A middle aged lady said. Her hair was straight and long, her face was riddled with very few wrinkles that only made her more amiable.
There were 5 kids on the van and they all took turns to get off, with Mitch being the first. It seemed that these people were very promising, well atleast they looked the part. Even though he only saw the video, he was hooked in by Mother Mary's motherly charms which made him feel good about this place.
"As you have heard from our Mother Mary, you are all to stay here. We will take care of you until it is time for you to go." Dean said as he kept the ipad.
"Follow me, and say goodbye to our friends." He politely waved at the 2 men in black suits.
One by one, the kids said their thanks in their own ways as the proceeded to follow Dean into the elevator.
Going up, the elevator played jazz tunes. It was catchy, atleast that's what Mitch thought. Soon the music was overpowered by a loud ding sound. The doors opened and what greeted them was an enormous living area where hundreds of kids sat and played. Mitch couldn't help but gasp. 'All of them are like me?!' He thought. Finally he got a little expectant. Maybe this is it. My chance for a better life. A new start.
In contrast to his reaction, the other 4 with him were crying tears of joy. The crowd did no disappoint. They cheered back at them saying It's alright now, welcome to the orphanage, save your tears for when you get adopted and many more witty cheers filled with good intentions.
...
It was a bright evening for everyone but as much as how the 5 would love to stay with the others, they had to finish their admission into the orphanage first. The 5 were still together as the continued to follow after Caretaker Dean. He explained the dynamics of the orphanage, the do's and don'ts, the schedules and the most important part, the adoption. Each of them were settled into their new home. Mitch went to Hall 1200 as 1217.
When he got there, he was already cleaned up, wearing the protocol clothes of the orphanage. He had to be clean because he needed to go through a series of check-ups which includes checking for diseases, blood samples, age, height, weight and the such. It was lengthy but it didn't bother him that much. What he liked though, was the dinner time. It was only 5 of them, as the chef caretaker said the other kids were already sleeping at their rooms due to the curfew.
"It's eat all you can tonight, don't be shy." The chef said as he took out dishes after dishes. The kids then started working, they gobbled everything. In less than an hour, the plates were clean. They were hunger beyond belief, Mitch himself looked like he just ate a cow, let alone the others who did not have a garbage man beat them up and then shared them their food. Bloated, they all headed to their respective hall, with a guiding caretaker.
"Here's your room, 1217. Tomorrow, wake up early and familarize yourself with your new environment. Ask your roommates for help, or you can always find me, I am the caretaker of hall 1200. My name is Gian." He said, as he guided Mitch to his room.
"Thank you Sir Gian. My name is Mitchell, by the way." He replied.
Gian nodded and walked off.
Left alone at the hallway, Mitch took hold of the cold door handle and yanked it open slowly. He didn't want to disturb others. There was a dim lamp which made it possible for him to navigate his way through. There were 2 bunk beds and one ordinary bed. He took the vacant bunk bed. Climbing up, he heard a soft voice.
"Hi, I'm Ali, pleasure to meet you."
"Mitchell."
No reply was heard after, so Mitch let sleep consume him.
...
"Wake up, Mitch!"
"Mitch!!"
"MITCHELL!"
A loud voice dragged him out of dreamland and made him abruptly sit straight on his bed. With his eyes half-closed, he scanned for the source of his anguish. A large bulky frame yet a delicate looking face greeted him as he glanced down from up high.
"Come on, I'll show you around." He said as he went off to another room.
Realizing, that Mitch was still dazed, he called out once again. Moving like a drunkard, Mitch had no choice but to descend the steps and follow the bulky kid.
"It's me, Ali from last night, I am your roommate. There's only 3 of us for now, but someone new will take the number 1220 some time soon. Just like you." He said all those as he brushed his teeth in rhythm. Aside from informing him about his roommates, he taught him how to brush his teeth. He explained how to take a bath. They left after brushing their teeth.
"This is the living area." A huge room filled with toys, books, sofas, tv playing tom and jerry re-runs and an elevator.
"This is the most famous gathering area in the orphanage. We also have a playground, cafeteria, training room and the most important, the adoption hall." He said as they visited them one by one.
Soon everyone was called to perform chores. Cooking food, sweeping garbage, cleaning, mopping and ironing. All sorts of chores were tackled. By 7 PM they were done. Going back to his room, a girl happened to catch his eyes. Out of nowhere a name echoed in his mind.
"Jane..."
With the name spoken, lightning struck as everything collapsed into nothingness. Darkness was everything he could see. Forcing himself to see past the dark, he stumbled upon the light.
...
Mitch's face was rather swollen as his eyes trembled ever so slightly. He opened his eyes. What he saw, he could not explain. The caretakers' coat, one which was always white and pure, free from dirt, was now dyed in crimson red. Metallic tables were all over the place. He looked around and saw big tubes filled with green water, inside were children wearing his attire. A few of them were missing limbs. But that was still a good thing. What made Mitch terrified was that there were other with extra arms, protuding bones, badly deformed. There was even one who was just a head, with and exposed heart floating around the green water. If Mitch knew what Hell was, he would have thought that he must have entered it somehow.
'Where am I...' The carnage he was witnessing, caretakers, writing notes in front of the tubes not concerned for the well-being of the orphans was something dare not believe in.
He turned to examine himself. He was in one piece for now, however, needles were poked into his body, and they didn't look ordinary. It was thicker than the needles he knew.
The most primal emotions of men took it's stage. Fear. Fear creeped up on him.
Soon he was able to witness a person he was familar with. Martin!
He was strapped on a bed, howling for mercy. He was taken out of the room into the unknown. His screams were inaudible at this point. Seeing how Martin was being treated, Mitch shouted but because of the water, it was futile. He screamed but he was not heard at all. Bubbles were all he got.
Mitch turned around hoping to find a caretaker that would give him attention. Instantly, terror struck his face. He was scared of what he saw, it was like a nightmare but it wasn't. It was more than that because he knew, everything was real.