The Doomed Man (Open)

[LUCUS ROY ROSWELL]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: transparent, width: 400px; height: 300px;] “Bet you had plans for when got out of this joint.” His voice had been low and calm yet each word echoed off the dungeons walls like the distant hoot of an owl in the night. Not Luke minded. He had slithered his way into the dungeons alone not believing that anyone else had followed. If somebody had or somebody else was already down there, well, they could flag him as mentally unstable. It wouldn’t be the first time he been caught talking to inanimate objects. Usually it was a string of curse words towards some sort of electronic. Today it was towards the remains of prisoner. The bones were safely locked away within a cell. Age had caused all but the old tattered clothes and rusted chains to wither away. It was hard to tell exactly how long the skeleton had been there, but it looked as if it were a very long time. Luke had never tried to break into the cell but even if he had it the door wouldn’t have opened. It was locked and its hinges were glued into place long ago by the dust, dirt and rust. It was this skeleton, who Luke named Sr. Kingly, that marked Luke’s hiding spot. Four stones from the center of the floor was a loose stone. Luke had found it by mistake one day when he had been wondering around the dungeons looking for something to do. Since that day he had used the loose stone as a hiding spot for small objects he didn’t want others to know about. Mostly those objects consisted of things he had stolen. He kept the items hidden until he was in the clear to sneak it out of the school or until he became bored with it. Every now and then he would hide personal objects that he found embarrassing. Mostly things his grandmother sent him. Like the old broche she thought he would look so handsome in. Honestly, what boy wore a broche? “Guess you didn’t expect to be forgotten about.” Luke continued his conversation with the skeleton, “Heh, or maybe you knew it was to be your fate. Who knows? It’s not like you can get up and tell me.” The brown haired, blue eyed man had been huddled in front of the cell. His head had been resting between the bars, knees bent to his stomach and his shoed toes had been all that were touching the ground. He had already managed to hide his goods, which this time was a small gold chain. For once in his life, he hadn’t stolen it. Well… sort of. Someone had dropped it on the floor in the Mess Hall. Being unable to help himself, he had scooped it up. Who was to say he hadn’t tried to find the owner? So why hide it? With his history of having sticky fingers, who was believe he hadn’t stolen it? “Bet yah wouldn’t tell me if you could.” Luke’s voice had raised, a slight melody clinging to each word. He had pulled his head away from the bars, using his hands to keep from falling over as he leaned back as far as he could. “The doomed man doesn’t untie his tongue even after death.” He chuckled at this, pulling himself back up. With all the noise he had been making, it was hard to tell if anyone else had heard him or if anyone else was around. Even so, Luke hadn’t been paying enough attention to his surroundings to notice anyone even before his voice had been risen.

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[ZOEY TAYLOR PRICE]

[atrb=border,0,true] I'LL COME CLEAN

AND IF I RECOVER

[atrb=border,0,true] WILL YOU BE MY COMFORT

Zoey hadn't been down to the cellar in maybe as long as a decade when she was in twelfth grade at the academy. The only reason she'd gone down there originally was on a dare made by her friends. It was the only trouble they ever got into. She was usually part of the straight and narrow group. They were good in class and they were excellent students. They studied hard and kept their fun clean. But everyone once and a while they would play something like truth or dare. Usually, Zoey always picked truth, but after being teased about never taking a dare, she finally did. They told her to spend two minutes in the dungeon. It wasn't her fondest experience, but it had been strangely quiet. She ended up spending twenty minutes in the dungeon that day and her friends came rushing to find her. She told them she was exploring and she hadn't been back since. Until now that is. She found herself retracing her steps. She hadn't been back for long, but she wanted to see how much had changed - if anything had changed since she left to pursue her own life away from the Academy and Maple Hollow. The dungeon wasn't her first destination of course. It wasn't exactly a sight she enjoyed, but she found herself there none the less. She was roaming the halls and she had yet to come across any students. She'd heard the rumor that fires liked to cause trouble here, but she was glad to see that no one was breaking the rules. But then she heard a voice bouncing through the hallways and she followed it curiously. She turned a corner to see a man rising to a stand before a rusted and sealed cell. She looked over his shoulder to see the skeleton was still there. It was unsightly and it made her nervous, but she approached nonetheless. "They still haven't gotten rid of these things?" she announced softly in an attempt to make herself known without startling him. She took a few steps and came to stand some ways away from him, beside him, looking at the depressing skeleton of whoever the poor sap had been. She wondered just what he had done to land him the glorious opportunity of rotting away, chained and alone.

I'LL GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE

TO SAY WE CAN CHANGE OR PART WAYS

Lyrics by CHVRCHES

[LUCUS ROY ROSWELL]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: transparent, width: 400px; height: 300px;] The force of a loud, threatening voice or the calm of a soft, soothing voice wouldn't have a made a single difference in Luke's reaction. He knew there were other students in the building, but he had let himself lower his guard. When the woman's voice reached his ears, Luke jumped a good foot off the ground as the word "Shit," slipped past his lips. Moments later his right hand was placed on his chest and dull blue eyes had fallen upon the teacher. Where one would have expected a frown, there was in fact a large grin spread across his face. "You just about gave me a heart attack," he exclaimed, using the line most people had heard over and over again. Luckily he didn't press it any further then that and instead turned his attention back to the skeleton. "I don't think they've attempted to clean out anything down here. Well, except for some of the rude graffiti left near the entrance. Said something about Fire elements licking their own..." He once again faced the woman, his grin growing with embarrassment, "Heh, well, it doesn't matter really." If Luke hadn't of recognized the woman as one of the teachers he probably would have told her exactly what the graffiti had said. Luckily he had caught himself before he could let it fully slip out. Not that most of the teachers and professors weren't use to Luke's big mouth. It wasn't unusual for the young man to get into trouble for speaking his mind. He couldn't help it. He loved to talk and he loved getting attention. Even if it wasn't always good attention. "Soooo... why are you down here?" He asked, before a hint of panic filled his voice and he quickly added, "You weren't looking for me, right? Cuz I swear, what ever it is, I didn't do it! I've been good all day!" Because you know, that didn't sound guilty at all. But it was true, he had been good all day. Unless you counted the golden chain he had scooped up. Or the small jokes he had been making to a younger girl earlier that day.

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[ZOEY TAYLOR PRICE]

[atrb=border,0,true] I'LL COME CLEAN

AND IF I RECOVER

[atrb=border,0,true] WILL YOU BE MY COMFORT

Zoey hadn't meant to startle him and she felt slightly guilty that she had. She tensed her lips and looked over at him apologetically. But he just smiled at her, saying she almost gave him a heart attack. As if contagious, she smiled back a bit, but she was still sorry for having frightened him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," she said truthfully. As he addressed the skeleton, Zoey looked away from him to follow his gaze. He made mention of the crudely phased graffiti and she couldn't stop the nostalgic smirk from crossing her lips. She remembered when the fires liked to show off and run the dungeon. But every once and a while someone would vandalize their 'territory' with some carefully chosen prose. Of course, being the good student, Zoey never too part in such recreational activities. Even when she was in college, she avoided alcohol and had only tasted it a few times, deciding she didn't really care for the taste. Getting in trouble wasn't her M.O. He asked her why she was there and she was about to answer him truthfully before he got nervous and started to sound incredibly guilty. She gave him a hard side glance, eyeing him carefully. Being a teacher for as long as she had been, Zoey was able to pick up on subtle cues. While he may have not done anything bad, he certainly felt guilty about something. Students liked to come up with all kinds of excuses for missing class, and through her experience, she'd been able to pick up when a student was telling the truth as opposed to be dishonest. "Oh?" she said a bit lightly, but with an edge to her tone, if only in mockery. "Can you swear to that?" she smiled lightly. "Don't worry. I was just trying to see if anything had changed much," she admitted. She hadn't been back long... less than a week and she was still getting her barrings, but it seemed things hadn't changed much.

I'LL GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE

TO SAY WE CAN CHANGE OR PART WAYS

Lyrics by CHVRCHES