Willy on the Run

A Very Short Prologue

          Willy chased his little brother around their lawn, occasionally stumbling on the pebbles that lay scattered all throughout the grass. Sheep paraded around the nearby field like little white clouds in a green sky. The sun shone happily upon them, and all seemed well.
           Reilly had all-of-a-sudden suddenly stopped running. Willy grabbed him by the collar of is shirt and shouted joyfully, "Ha! I got you!" But Reilly didn't respond, he just covered Willy's mouth with his hand. The only sound was their mum yelling at us not to go too far. Then, Willy heard a crack in the bushes beside me. He sat up and grabbed the nearest stick and held it up in defense.
            Reilly was too scared to speak. He scrambled behind his older brother and peered around. A tall man had crept out of the bush with a longer and wider stick with a broad, stone blade at one end. He kicked Reilly on the side of his head and knocked him out. With a shout, Willy leaped towards the man and hit him with all the strength he could muster, breaking his stick. The man took the sharp end of the knife and cut Willy's arm near the shoulder. Crying for help, he fell to the ground and clutched his bleeding arm. The tall man picked him up and threw him against the concrete sidewalk. He saw the sun's rays disappear behind a cloud and his mother reaching out for him and the world went black.

*****

     Willy woke up in a dilapidated room and clutched his forehead wearily, noticing a bandage had been meticulously placed around it, another on his arm. "What happened? Where am I?"

      A shape he hadn't noticed appeared in the corner of the room. "You are in Dublin. You are working for The Boss now and you had better do as he says. If he catches you escaping you don't know what you're in for."

     "Where is my brother?"

      "He is in the adjacent room, resting."

       "Can I see him?"

       "No. The Boss wouldn't allow it."

         "Tell your boss that I will go and check on my brother, whether he likes it or not. I can pick locks."

          "I only came to bring you food. Here you are." The stew the shape placed bubbled, unnaturally. Willy's stomach lurched at the sight and smell of it.

            "What is that?!"

              "All we servants ever get to eat unless you have The Boss's favor."

               "I'm a servant?"

             "We are all this way, kid. I want to leave as much as you will. But we can't go."

              "We're stuck."

              I don't know how I am going to escape, I think sadly, but when I do with my little brother, there will be no stopping us. I'm not doing this for myself; I'm doing it for Reilly.