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“Yes!” he exclaimed. “He used a needle and they would sleep. He would take them outside and leave them in the trees.”

It sounded like they were drugged, and I was grateful that their passing was as peaceful as it could have been under the conditions. Some would argue that their fate was better than Silas’s, growing up in the darkness, having the only people he knew snatched away at a moment's notice, knowing he would be alone again. But Silas was alive; he got to breathe, to learn, to grow, to experience. And no matter how slim, he still had a chance at freedom again.

Those poor souls lost in the darkness were only echoes to be remembered by a boy who hadn’t seen the sun, hadn’t felt the wind on his skin, hadn’t heard it rustle through the trees…

But he knew they were left in the trees.

“Silas?”

He hummed in response.

“How do you know where your friends ended up? How did you know they were left in the trees?” I asked tentatively.

His grey eyes grew wide. “I-I, umm, it was just a guess. I don’t actually know for sure.”

“Silas,” I demanded, still keeping my tone calm but desperate to know the truth—how he knew what the world was like outside of these walls. He stared at me in worry and swallowed hard. “Have you been out of this place before? Do you know how to get out?”

“Yes.” His voice was just above a whisper, one I could barely hear, but it was powerful enough to send me staggering back.

“How? When?” I demanded. I struggled to keep myself calm, but it had been over a month of absolute pain. The damage to my heart, my soul, my fucking mind… I didn’t know if it was reversible.

“Please don’t yell,” he whispered, his voice growing even quieter.

I rubbed my hand over my head and began to pace back and forth a few steps. “Silas, is there a way out of here?”

“There was.”

“When?”

“Three friends ago.”

I nodded to myself. Three years ago, there was a way out. A lot could change in three years. Father was here once a week and could have patched whatever hole Silas had climbed through.

“Can you show me?” I begged.

He shook his head. “No. No, it hurts. I couldn’t see; I couldn’t find a way out. We can’t go, Goldie. It’s bad. It’s very bad out there.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make sense of what he was saying. “What hurt, exactly?”

“My eyes. It was… it was white outside. It was bad.” He was desperate to explain and make me understand. I racked my brain, trying to understand what had made his eyes hurt and caused it to be white outside. The snow, maybe? But it shouldn’t have been painful, just cold.

The sun…

This poor boy hadn’t seen the sun in a decade. He had forgotten what it was. “Was it too bright to see? Could your eyes not adjust?”

“Bright?” he asked in confusion.

I took a steadying breath and did the unexpected: I wrapped my arms around him tightly in a hug. He froze for a minute, unsure of what to do. His tense body finally relaxed into my hold, his arms dropping around my shoulders, hugging me back finally.

I spoke against his chest. “Silas, can you please show me how you got out? I promise you, it won’t hurt. I can get us out of here. I can get you home.”

He let go of my hug and stepped back, his shoulders slumped, and it was a reminder he was still just a kid. “This is my home.”

I felt a tear start to trace a path down my cheek, breaking through the dirt that I couldn’t free from my skin. “Then we’ll make you a home, okay? Can you trust me to get you out of here?”

He swallowed, and I could see everything in him wanting to say no. This place, while a dungeon to me, was all he had ever known. It was all I had ever known…

I couldn’t remember my life outside of this place, but I knew it existed. I knew there were people out there who loved me. I couldn’t find their faces in my mind, but I felt them deep in my heart. A kind smile, a warm laugh, green eyes. Jade-green eyes. Those I hadn’t forgotten. I didn’t know who they belonged to, but I knew they were safe. And I wanted to be safe again.