The Disbanders

Chapter 5: The House

The boy is still pointing what looks like a large hunting rifle at me. I keep looking at him nervously, however, I have been in worse situations before. I take a moment to observe him.

He has blonde hair, which is mostly straight but has a small wave to it. His scowling green eyes stare down at me in hatred and defence, but which also hold a fear behind them that he's clearly trying to contain. Despite that, they're still distinctive looking, rather nice, like emeralds. He looks tall and lean from where I am on the ground. His white T-shirt and blue jeans have been worn of their colour and each have their own small stains, as if he's constantly worn them for years.

He has kept quiet this whole time.

Finally, I decide to move slowly. He changes his stance slightly, tightening his grip on the rifle. I crane my head up to look at him, with my elbows on the ground and my empty hands visible.

"What are you doing here? How did you find this place?", he asks me furiously.

"It-it was an accident," I reply. "I came across it by mistake. I saw nobody there, so I went to see it better, and I fell down the hill," I blurt out. I see him take a closer look at me, noticing how dirty I am. He emits a subtle look of disgust at me.

"Why were you here in the first place? Go back to where you came from. You never saw me, or this house!" he sneers. I feel my face, noticing that my hair is covering my beaten eye. I move it and reveal the wound to him. Still pointing a gun at me, his face changes a bit. The look of aversion on his face towards me partially melts away.

"This might help explain," I say. "I can't go back. I don't even know how to. I'm lost."

"Are you.... a runaway?" he asks.

"Yes," I continue. 'You can't tell anyone you've seen me. I need to go further." The boy starts to look concerned, as he slightly lowers his rifle. He looks as though he's deep in thought. "Listen, I'll go. I won't say a word about you," I say, slowly getting up. Suddenly, we hear another voice.

"Will! What are you doing? Who's this?" I see another boy coming up behind him. I guess Will is the blonde boy's name. This other boy has thick black hair and grey eyes, and is wearing a flannel with black jeans. His clothes carry the same look as the boy with the rifle, but he's more pleasant in his aura.

"Well, she came here by accident," he replies, "and was just leaving," he adds, turning to face me again and sneering.

"I am leaving. I won't say a word about any of this!", I repeat. I start to take some steps back, but then I see the dark haired boy squint at me.

"What happened to your eye?", he asks. I stop. The first boy, Will, looks at him.

"Chuck, what are you doing?", he whispers. I know now that Chuck is the second boy's name.

"I just want to know," Chuck whispers back.

"Here's what happened," I say over them. The two stop whispering and look at me. "I've been living with my drug-addicted abusive parents for years, and yesterday, my aunt tricked me into thinking I could leave. She ditched me, leaving me alone with them. I had nothing left to lose, so.....I ran." I hate how casually I can say that, as if it were a normal thing. However, I can feel tears building up in my eyes. Looking away from the boys, I wipe them discreetly. I see the second boy, Chuck, step closer to me.

"Are you trying to not be seen by anyone?", he asks. I nod yes. Will shakes his head and scoffs, before walking towards the house. Chuck starts to think.

"I believe that you've come to the right place then. I'm Chuck," he says.

"I'm Candice," I reply. "What do you mean by the right place?"