“You are nothing but a loser” the tallest of the bullies spat out as he shoved Leo hard sending him across the corridor and into the lockers on the other side. Thomas was bigger than most of the other kids in the school and he knew it. Even some of the teachers were afraid to confront him so he got away with torturing the other students and they tolerated his disrespect when he was in class. Leo's books and papers flew out of his hands and scattered through the air like rain and Thomas laughed as he pointed, making sure to stomp on the calculator that skidded across the floor towards his foot. Some of the other kids snickered as they watched, pulling out their phones to record. Victoria, the head of the cheerleaders, a slender blonde haired girl with too much make up and expensive taste crouched down down for only a moment, a smirk on her face as she crushes the flowers Leo had tried to give her and tossed them on the ground in front of him before she spoke pure venom dripping from her lips “What would make you think I would ever be interested in some one as pathetic as you”

Before they could continue to torture the poor boy the bell rang and the kids scattered, leaving him to remain on the ground yet again tears welling up in his eyes. Slowly he began to gather up the pieces of his smashed calculator as Miss Simons cautiously stepped out of the office and walked towards him. Her voice was low and hesitant “Are you ok Leo?” Her words stung because he knew she would do nothing to help him just like the rest. He wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, gathered up his books and papers, shoving them into his backpack before standing up. He mumbled something about being ok then ran for the front door of the school and shoved it open, rushing outside into the morning air. He ran and ran till he felt the ache in his legs then and only then did he stop to finally take notice of his surroundings. He found himself in a part of the town that time seemed to have neglected and he hesitated for a moment as he leaned against a rusted iron gate that seemed to lock it away from the rest of the world.

Beyond the gate stood an old abandoned factory with broken windows that looked like sad eyes the way his felt, the mocking still ringing in his ears, the way no one would step in and stop the torture. He tugged at the gate, rattling it till it gave way enough to allow him to squeeze through.  He ignored the no trespassing sign as his worn out running shoes shuffled against the cracked ground beneath him. Every little sound made him jump as he walked farther away from the gate and towards the building that loomed in front of him. Would anyone even notice that he was gone? Would they even look for him? Going  home was simply not an option for him. He was soon going to age out of the foster system and he would truly be on his own so what would it matter. His eyes kept darting from side to side as he approached the massive steel doors of the building, noticing the lock that sat perched part way up but undone like the last person out the door left in a hurry and forgot to close it. With nervous hands he reached up to the handle and pulled, the metal groaning as if it did not wish to be disturbed before it gave way just enough to allow him to slip inside. Once his eyes adjusted to the streams of light that filtered in through the broken windows, he could see overturned desks, chairs, piles of boxes that look like they had been tossed around and a platform near the back with a heavy tarp draped over it which seemed to cover a mysterious object. He coughed a little as his footsteps stirred up the dust that had built up over everything.

He paused for a moment unsure if he should go farther or leave but curiosity got the best of him and he reached out, gripping the edge of the tarp. He held his breath and closed his eyes, tugging at it till it fell to the floor with a thud. He slowly opens his eyes only to see nothing…wait a minute that can’t be right he thought to himself as he stepped closer. He could feel his heart starting to pulsate in his throat as he tried to comprehend the situation. For a split second, his mind told him to turn and run but his feet felt like they were frozen to the ground. Before he could stop himself, he reached out with his left hand to what seemed like an impossibly empty space only to have it come in contact with a smooth type of metal. As he pressed his hand closer, he could tell that there were spaces between the metal, as if it were bars. His fingers hover over the space inches away from slipping inside then he hears it. It starts off with what shallow breathing which he thinks is himself then it changes and turns into a low rumbling growl. He yanks hand back and suddenly turns on his feet, staring into the empty room but sees nothing before slowly turning his head to look at the empty space on the platform once more.

He reaches again, trembling as he listens closely. He is still trying to convince himself that he is imagining things until something slams against the invisible bars causing it to shake making him jump back and almost scream. He turns on his feet ready to bolt when the sound changes into a whimper as if whatever is making the noise is now afraid. Leo is unsure of what to do..does he leave and pretend that it never happened or does he try to figure out what is inside the invisible cage that he can not see. Backing away slowly he turns his attention to the overturned desks and begins his search. Perhaps somewhere in the chaos there might be something , anything that might explain what he was touching and hearing but not seeing. Layers of dust and debris were layered and covered everything. Amongst the scattered remains near a desk nearest to the platform he found a clipboard with scribbled panicked writing on it. It said “We have gone too far. We can not let anyone find it and we can not set it free. What have we done…”