Children of Dawn

April
Ashley’s POV
“Dude what are you doing?” I asked as I limped over to the area of forest that Jinxx had deemed his own. None of us were allowed to touch it. He turned and regarded me for a second, leaning on the long branch that he’d been walking around with.
“Use your crutches,” He said, before turning back around and looking at whatever he’d been writing in the wet dirt.
“My leg barely hurts,” I said, it was a little bit of an understatement, but my leg had been feeling miles better, especially since it was steadily getting warmer outside. Jinxx cast another sideway glance my way.
“If you rebreak it I’m not helping you. How’s your shoulder?” Jinxx asked.
“It’s fine, literally all better,” I said, moving my arm all around to prove it too him. He nodded and turned away.
“You never answered my question,” I said, mildly annoyed.
“If you used your fully functional eyeballs and looked at what I’ve been working on you might be able to figure it out,” Jinxx snapped, he thought I was stupid.
“I have been looking at it and I cannot figure out what it is,” I was looking at the lines and numbers that he’d been busy drawing on the ground for the past few weeks.
“It’s a blueprint,” He said, I thought I heard him call me a numbskull as he turned back to his work.
“A blueprint for what?”
“My new orphanage!”
“Why the fuck are you planning on building an orphanage?” I asked and Jinxx’s head dropped into his free hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“It’s not an orphanage you idiot, it’s a house, for us,” Jinxx said looking at me as if to make sure I wasn’t missing a chromosome or two.
“You want us to build a house?” I said, deciding to ignore the fact that him calling me an idiot only happened because he had an awful sense of humor.
“Well unless you want to continue sleeping on top of each other for God knows how long in that shack, maybe we should build something a little more permanent, and spacious,” He said gesturing to the little shelter we’d been sleeping in.
“And so you just want to build a house out here,” I said.
“Yes,”
“How?”
“Well we’ll start by chopping down some trees for the materials--”
“And how are we supposed to do that? I don’t see an ax around here,” I cut him off, I was tired of his attitude.
“Then get one,” He said turning around and raising his eyebrows like it was obvious.
“We can’t just get one, if I try to go buy it they’ll ask for an ID and then they’ll report me to the cops when they figure out that I’m wanted!” I said, raising my voice slightly. Jinxx turned and looked at me, for a moment we had a stare off.
“Steal it,” Jinxx said, matter-of-factly.
“I’m not going to steal it!” I said.
“Then make Jake do it. I know he doesn’t like having to sleep next to you, and he’s sneaky. He can be in and out of a department store at night without a single person knowing he was there,”
Jake’s POV
“He wants you to steal it,” Ashley said. He had come to the stream where CC and I had been fishing to tell me that Jinxx had a crazy plan to build us a house.
“Why doesn’t he just steal it?” I asked.
“I don’t know, he says that you should do it because you’re sneaky,” Ashley said, holding up his hands exasperated.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, looking to CC. He just shrugged.
“I think you should do it,” Ashley said.
“You think I should do it,” I said in disbelief. I turned to CC and he was looking into the water, I wasn’t going to get any help from him. Ashley shrugged.
“You’re wanted for associations with a terrorist cell. I don’t think that they’re going to care about you stealing if you get caught,” Ashley said. I ran a hand through my hair.
“If I get caught I’m going to jail for the rest of my life,” I said and Ashley nodded.
“Same,” he said.
“Same here,” CC said from behind me, when I turned to scowl at him he was still looking into the water like he hadn’t said anything.
“So what I’ve just been selected to put my hide on the line while the rest of you hide here in the woods!” I said standing up. Ashley shuffled back a bit, but didn’t say anything.
“I’ve had it with you guys, I’m leaving. I’m better off on my own,” I snapped. I walked quickly away before either of them could try to protest. As I climbed up through the woods to our camp some part of me wanted to go back and apologize. They were the only friends I had I knew it was stupid to leave them, but I was mad and wanted to be taken seriously. I pushed through the brush and into the camp I didn’t stop to look at Jinxx, I knew he was there, but I didn’t want to see him. I was almost through, about to climb up through the rocks that lead back to civilization when a hand clapped down on my shoulder. I knew who it was before he said anything. I turned around slowly to face the blue eyed little brat who thought he was smarter than the rest of us. He met my eyes steadily, he knew what I was doing.
“I need more than just the ax,” He said pushing a paper into my hand. I looked at it ax, nails, hammer, and a few other basic tools needed to build anything of substance. He wouldn’t break eye contact with me. I noticed a backpack on his shoulder. He slid it off and held it out to me.
“There should be everything you need in here for the trip there and back. If you don’t come back we’ll come looking for you, because we care about you and don’t want you to be eaten alive by wolves,” Jinxx said as he steadily held out the bag to me even though I wasn’t taking it.
“Fine,” I said and I took the bag from him, pulling it over my shoulders. It was heavy with whatever he packed for me.
“So you’ll be back then? In 36 hours, tops? And if you don’t come back by then we should start looking for you because you fell off a cliff and got hurt?” Jinxx asked, almost hopefully. I wanted to be stubborn, but I knew that it was stupid.
“Yes,” I grunted. Jinxx nodded and I turned around and started marching off into the woods before he could say anything else that might make me decide to leave them for good.
Andy’s POV
I was running through the hallways of the school, as fast as my skinny legs would carry me. My chest was burning, I’d been running for quite some time. I had had detention after school for my late homework. Unfortunately, some guys on the football team had heard about it, and it was the Thursday before prom weekend, and I was their prime target for humiliation. They were after me, and I knew that whatever they were planning was not going to be pretty. I slipped around a corner and stood with my sweaty back pressed against the wall, trying to catch my breath and almost praying that a teacher came by and saved me. I was trying to listen for the sound of footsteps coming for me, but I couldn’t hear anything over my labored breathing. I held my breath for just a second, and I didn’t hear anything. I thought that maybe the coast was clear.
I took a deep breath and looked around the corner. It was a big mistake. One of the meat heads from the football team was there and he was holding a baseball bat. He saw me and took off running in my direction. I ran away as fast as I could. I was heading towards the entrance of the school, the only door that wouldn’t set off an alarm if I went out it at that time of night. The footballer was right on my heels, but he wasn’t catching me, maybe he was fatter than I thought. I felt a glimmer of hope that I might be able to escape. I could see the doors of the school, if I could get out I would have a chance of squeezing between some fences that they were too big to fit through. I might live. Then just as I was feeling hopeful another big guy stepped out from a hallway right in my path. I stumbled back and turned as fast as I could, nearly falling. The only place I had left to go was the pitch black auditorium. I thought that maybe there I could hide.
I pushed through the doors and sprinted blindly down one of the rows of carpet between the seats. Suddenly the lights in the auditorium came on. I winced closing my eyes against the bright light stopping in my tracks. As I opened my eyes I saw that the room was decorated for the prom weekend assembly that would be going on first thing the next morning. It was already set up, no reason for another living soul to touch the place until the entire senior and junior classes came in for the assembly in the morning. Other than the nicely decorated room I also saw boys, about ten of them. All of them taller than me, all of them stronger than me, most of them on the football team, most of them holding some sort of weapon. My stomach sank as I realized that they’d been letting me get away, they’d been corralling me. In the middle of the group stood Cody, head of the football team, he was sneering at me and looking awfully proud of himself. I took a few steps back and ran into a solid wall of muscle, I didn’t know who but they shoved me back into the center of the circle. I stumbled and fell, very nearly avoiding breaking my wrist as I caught myself. I picked myself up quickly looking for any escape route but I was surrounded, and I thought that they were going to kill me.
“Well, well, well Andy. It’s my senior prom, and this weekend I’m going to have more fun than I ever have before,” Cody said. I heard some guys jeering and egging him on.
“Let me go,” I demanded. Cody shook his head.
“You know, everyone knows you’re nothing but a spawn of satan, and all the teachers say that we’re supposed to make those around us more like Jesus in any way we can,” Cody sneered, “We all know you need Jesus more than anyone else in this school,” I heard the sound of wheels rollin on the wooden stage. I whirled around quickly and I felt my stomach hit the floor. A few guys were rolling a wooden cross onto the stage.
“No, please, no,” I begged, they really were going to kill me.
“Take off your clothes,” Cody said. I shook my head feeling panic rising up in me.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” I said, I didn’t even care that I was begging, it was my life.
“Do it now!” Cody screamed, all I could do was shake my head. He grabbed a baseball bat from the guy next to him.
“I said now!” Cody screamed, he lunged forward and hit me in the side of my leg with the bat. I crumpled to the ground, the pain was bad, but I didn’t think my leg was broken. Suddenly there were hands on me. I fought and kicked as hard as I could but there was no stopping it. Within seconds I was stripped down to nothing but my boxers. They dragged me onto the stage laughing and hitting me all the way. They threw me up onto the cross and all at once people tied my hands and feet to the cross. Luckily for me they must not have been actually planning on killing me, and they’d been paying enough attention in class to know exactly how being crucified killed someone. Rather than just hanging from the cross I had a tiny ledge to stand on so I wasn’t dangling from my arms. They also wrapped ropes around my chest, holding me up so I could breathe. I realized as they did that that they didn’t want to kill me, they just wanted to make me suffer. As they finished they started taking pictures on their phones and laughing while I hung there, completely helpless and bleeding from a few minor wounds they’d given me. Then they left and I screamed for hours, but no one came to my aid. No one could hear me because the auditorium was nearly sound proofed. I hung there all night, with my arms aching and my throat burning from screaming. At some point I either passed out or fell asleep.
When I came back around I could hear gasps and whispers before anything else. I peeled my eyes open and lifted my head slowly, tasting the blood in my mouth. A crowd of students stood, frozen after spilling only a little way into the auditorium. Everywhere I saw shocked faces, but no one was doing anything to help me, at least not for the first few seconds. Then someone screamed for a teacher to call for an ambulance. It seemed like only half a second after that and people were messing with the ropes holding me to the cross, trying to get them off of me. They were teachers and students alike. Eventually someone pulled the right rope and I fell forward. Only to be caught in the arms of a guy who I knew was a part of the drama club. My arms and legs were numb as he gently lowered me to the ground. All around me was commotion as people raced to get help. Someone put a jacket over me and the next thing I noticed was that there was a girl holding my hand and stroking my cheek. I didn’t know her, but she was saying things about me being okay, and that people were coming to help me. At that point I didn’t know if I could be helped.

Notes

That was a thing to write, I think I'm subconsciously making these chapters longer because I might have to take some time off soon for finals and holidays and all that jazz. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought.