The Conversion Bureau: Ten Days

by Windchaser


The Nightmare

Jay trembled. He was hiding in the dark, and the little voice in the back of his head whispered for him to be absolutely silent. Making any sort of noise meant the end for him. He saw nothing but the slice of light coming from underneath the door, and heard only the heavy footsteps on the floor above him. They felt rushed, but heavy with determination. They scared him, more than he thought they should.

Jay gripped his legs closer to his chest and started crying to himself. What did he do? Jay was always good. He never missed his homework. He always showed up to school on time. He was kind to everyone he met.

The door began to creak open. The sliver of light that lit the floor bloomed, blinding him with its brilliance. He shut his eyes, the light distorting from the tears streaming from his eyes. He heard a loud noise, something that filled his head with terror beyond description.

In the blink of an eye, he was being lifted by his arm and dragged up the stairs, into the blinding light. He cried out for help, but only the noise greeted him back. It only fueled his terror. He felt the carpet under the heels of his feet, scraping away at his skin as he was dragged up another set of stairs. His legs hit each step, each one hurting more than the last. He was lifted into the air one more time by his leg.

He felt the blood rushing to his head, and a cool breeze waft across his skin. The light had dimmed, and the noise had stopped. He saw nothing but darkness, now. He heard the noise say one last thing before letting go.

He felt himself falling…

---

Jay awoke with a start. His brow was damp with sweat and his heart beating heavy in his chest. He gasped for air, feeling around the darkness of the room for something to hold onto.

“… outside? Great. I’ll be right out.”

Jay quickly fell back into his bed right as the door opened, flooding the room with another blinding light. A dark silhouette walked in and grabbed something on the ground before walking back out in a hurry. The footsteps faded down the hall for a moment, leaving hims in silence once more.

Jay looked around. Austin was still asleep in his bed, a goofy smile on his face. He turned around more and saw that Andrew's bed was messed up and empty.

Jay milled over the possibilities in his head, trying to make sense of what just happened. From what he could gather, Andrew left in the middle of the night. He was supposed to get converted tomorrow morning with Chloe.

Did he just run away?