Cause a Riot

Chapter 14

'Malroy held Cuzo's hand tight as they stood in front of the receptionist desk inside the homeless shelter. He was standing close, eyes transfixed on a pair of men walking out, with dirty hair, coughing out smoke from cigars, and holes in their clothes. One man looked at them with his bloodshot eyes, causing Malroy to wince and scoot even closer to Cuzo. His older brother gave the man an irritated glare which caused him to avert his eyes and walk away.

Cuzo looked back at the officer in front of him, talking to the man at the receptionist's desk. He was making arrangements for them to live inside the shelter, despite it being for adults only. They had been kicked out of their orphanage just a few days ago because it had reached its capacity. There were no extra beds nor enough clothes for them, and the caregiver, already frustrated with the task of handling so many children, kicked them out. They stayed at the orphanage steps for a couple of days before it got nerve-racking, so they went back to the police. And now they were here.

If Cuzo thought the orphanage was bad, this shelter was a nightmare. All the men who entered or left this place looked like the murderers in the Thrillers Janna used to watch. Cuzo stiffened significantly when the officer looked down at them. "You're all good to go," he said. "Just walk in through those doors and pick an empty bed. There should be racks to put your belongings in and everything else you need."

Cuzo nodded, fear drowning his heart, but he put on a brave face. "I understand. Thank you for your help."

The officer nodded and bid them farewell, walking out the glass doors of the shelter. Cuzo took a deep breath, feeling Malroy's grip on his hand tighten, his sleeping sister propped on his shoulder with the other hand. Cuzo took Malroy and walked toward the doors into the room at the end of the hall. There was a heavy smell of smoke in the air, and muck. He felt like barfing out of nausea and fear. Malroy pushed open the doors at the end since both of Cuzo's hands were occupied and they entered the room. It was large, filled to full capacity with beds every five inches from one another, clothes hanging off the ledges. Many pairs of eyes flew in their direction and Cuzo suddenly wanted to disappear.

Men.

Grown, gangly, dirty, foul-smelling, creepy homeless men.

They filled the room end to end, eyeing the strange three children curiously and some – most in fact – uninvitingly. Cuzo ducked his head and avoided eye contact, pulling Malroy, who was practically pressing his body into Cuzo, toward an empty bed at the far side of the room. They walked through the narrow path between the beds, avoiding feet and belongings on their way. Finally, they reached the bed, where Cuzo put his sleeping sister down. He felt nervous – so intently nervous that he wanted to disappear. He didn't want to be here. His parents would never let him look at such a place, let alone go inside. But where were his parents now? His mother was shot dead in the hall of their home, an incident that felt more like a nightmare than reality. Many times Cuzo thought he might have imagined it, but if he did, they wouldn't be here now. Their dad shot their mom and Janna. He didn't know why. He didn't even know where he had gone. And the good-for-nothing police they had turned to for help didn't give them those crucial answers. All they did was bring them here – to this freakish place. And did Cuzo want to be brought here? No! He felt even worse for Malroy – just eight-years-old. He looked so horrified and scared that it made Cuzo want to cry. Still, they had no choice. At least they had a roof over their heads and a bed to sleep on.

Cuzo dropped his bag of belongings to the floor and sat on the bed. Malroy never let go of his hand. He gripped it tighter. Cuzo looked at him and motioned for him to lie down. Malroy shook his head.

"Sleep," Cuzo said. "I'm right here." Malroy shook his head and looked at the floor. Cuzo sighed and pushed his brother's head down, on the pillow beside his sister. Malroy laid down and Cuzo put the blanket that was folded at the edge of it over them both, not letting go of his brother's hand still. Malroy looked so shaken that even as he shut his eyes, his whole body quivered in fear. The environment was no doubt strange and the siblings were too young to be in such a place.