The Lost Child
Chapter One: ---Origins
Once, there was a small town. The people who lived there weren't very rich, but they all cared for each other. The village was a little shard in the mosaic glass picture. In this century, the future was the present. Everyone had a car if they had the money, and every car floated off the ground. Wheels were obsolete. The technological age basically took over, but there were still the higher and lower classes.
Among the ranks' of the society , at the top there were royals, then servants, after that were the average, second to last were runners, and at the very bottom were slaves. Everyone was categorized by how much money they had. Anyone on top lived separate from everyone else. Servants lived with the royals, and royals basically ruled every one.
Royals were at the very top of the social class. They were the richest people in the world; anyone in a royal family was given incomprehensible treatment. Because royals were so elite, there were only about three families. Each family was richer than the one before them. The richest was called the Kagima clan; they virtually owned two and a half fifths of the small world. The second in command was the Amichi clan; they basically owned one and a half fifth of the rest of the world. The last and final family in the royalty class, the Mochi clan; had power over one fifth of what they called the world.
The second class is the servants. They are directly below the royal class. Servants served the royal class. Most of them were given extraordinary treatment, the rest of them were treated as if they were mere special slaves. A servant is normally paid well with money, food, housing, clothing, and basic necessities. Most servants were in the average class, but then were most likely in debt to a royal. It eventually becomes a lifetime job; most servants can suspend their time spent as one if they wish to.
Average class is in the middle. People in the middle class are not poor nor are they rich. Some Middlemen, as their referred to, are richer than others', and some are not as rich as most. They live average lives. Every man and woman has some type of job awaiting them each day. This class is the higher working group in a way.
Runners are like runaways, or the homeless. Basically, if someone became wanted or homeless, then they were a runner. Some runners' are orphaned children, but very few are. Most people in this class are confects that are running from their punishment, thus the class is defined as 'Runners'. A small take of this class were the homeless, or people that have lost their homes. A bit less than half of runners are orphaned teenagers, and children; most of which are caught and put into slavery.
Slaves are at the bottom of the food chain in a way. They are made up of people who owed large debts that they couldn't pay, children with no homes', confects put on probation, and the poor. Some slaves have families, while others have nothing to lose through hard labor. Children were abused and brutalized, but adults didn't need discipline for the children were hurt instead. Those who owned slaves could do basically anything to them.
People were very strict in this time. The world went back in time in a way. In this time war, slavery, poverty, democracy, all of these things were natural. Nothing was ever truly sacred. No one had true privacy, not even in their own home. There was a group among runners called "The Lost".
In this place people protected one another. They had no actual leader, so it was easy to get along. No one tried to get onto trouble. The Lost was made up mainly of children, and teenagers. This was because "The Lost" was orphaned children who stuck together. They didn't want to be slaves, so they banned together and hid. People call them 'Lost'. Every kid in The Lost had no family to go to. That or they just didn't want to be a slave. The Lost was like an underground railroad in a way.
Some people gave the orphaned children from 'The Lost' food, shoes, and clothing if the child or children came to them. Others would push them away or turn them in. A house that would give the lost supplies was referred to as a "Safe Place". Children who strayed from this, organization of sorts; were either on their own, or they just didn't trust people after they lost their family.
One day a small family of five was preparing dinner. A loving husband helped his wife in the kitchen, while a son played with his baby sister, while a small puppy ran around. Everyone was happy, even though they didn't have much money. The boy was about eight, the girl was four. The woman was twenty nine going on thirty, the husband was thirty two, and the puppy was maybe two weeks old.
Dinner was set out on the table. A warm loaf of bread in the center; with a hot succulent turkey, though it wasn't to big; a cube of butter, with a knife next to it; a pitcher of water to the left of the bread; with four plates around it all, nicely placed with silverware for each person, and a food and water dish on the floor for a dog.
The woman called the children for dinner, and they came running with a twinkle in their eyes, as the puppy trailed after them. Everyone washed up, sat down, and thanked god for the food set out before them, and for their loving wife and mother for growing older. "Now kids just cause' your mama's getting older doesn't mean she's old!" Everyone laughed.
They dug in, giving the pup on the floor shreds of delicious meat. As the made small talk, the father arose from his seat with a smile on his face, "Honey…" he declared," Me and the kids made you a little surprise!" he basically screamed his words as he walked into the kitchen. When he returned, he held up a steaming hot apple pie. It didn't look like much, but the mother enjoyed it. She couldn't stop smiling. They all rejoiced, even the puppy was overflowing with joy.
There was a knock at the door. Everyone jumped. The father got up again, "Who could it be way out here in the country at this time. I mean come on we live in the woods. No one comes out here!" he sounded almost annoyed. He walked to the door. The rest of the family took the plates and silverware to the sink. The door opened. "No…"The man stood still. The mother paused, "Imma see what's taken' your dad." She seemed worried, and rushed out of the room to the front door.
The children walked out into the hallway. They peered at the people at the door from behind a wall. Their father fell to his knees, and their mother gasped for air as she covered her mouth in shock. The men at the door were grim. They stood in black attire; one looked up, he stared past the adults, and glared at the children. The young boys' eyes opened wide. What is this feeling? He thought nervously. The man smiled an evil twisted grin.
"Sis we should leave." He whispered in his sisters' ear as he crutched down to her. "But mom and dad don't look to good." She shot back at her brother as if she was the older one. The man whom set his eyes on them looked at his comrades, "Over there the kid…" he said as if he was in a state of delight. "…I found im'. That's the one we need right there." The man smiled evilly. The mother turned to her children, and then wiped back at the men, "No, please, I beg you don't take my family from me." She screamed desperately, "Please, I-"The man through her to the side."Mom" The girl screamed.
"No, stay back, Shima." Her father screamed, he jumped to his feet, and swung his fists at the men as they attempted to invade his home. He stopped dead in his tracks. The boy was silent. He couldn't move; his fear wouldn't let him. The man his father swung at hastily flung his own arm to the right, blood followed as his father fell to the floor. A knife glimmered in the moon light, blood dripping off it; the blood of the boy's father.
As he lay lifeless on the floor, the mother began to rise. She turned to her spouse, only to see him cold and dead on the floor. She looked as if she were choking on her own breath. The man whom had killed her husband came closer to her; she sat in silence. He crouched down in front of her, "Do you want to save you children?" he said. She sat silent, and glanced at her children. The boy was in shock; the girl simply stared at her father. The woman looked back to the man, and nodded her head."Well then…" the man wrenched her up onto her feet, "…you'll have to die." he raised his knife to her throat.
"Mommy!!!!" cried the young girl. She ran towards her her."No, sister!" shouted her elder brother, "Don't!!!" The man swiftly turned to the youngster. "No respect." he said softly. He stabbed her directly below her heart. She stopped dead in her tracks; let out a small gasp; and fell back.
Her mother screamed at the site of her daughter's fresh corpse; still breathing; then not moving at all. The man set his gaze on the terrified boy; then back at his mother. He slashed her throat without a word, and dropped her to the floor.
The boys' eyes were wide as he stared at his family, lying there; blood still pouring out of their wounds like the waterfall to the east. The man who killed his loved ones turned to him. The boy looked directly at the floor at that moment. Don't look at him. He thought. Father, mother, sister…why? Father always said, "When you're scared of someone, look directly into their eyes. Memorize their face, and be brave."
The man came within an arm's reach, he looked up at him. He was grim, and tall. He looked into his eyes, one was red and the other was black. The man pulled him up by his neck collar. He stared into his eyes, and they both were silent; but the silence didn't last long. "Look boy, your family would have gotten in the way. They needed to be terminated for the better good." The man spoke as if he were a servant of god, making judgments on earth in his place. Bastard, He thought. "You have no right to decide when or why a person dies. You useless fool." The boys' voice was strict, like his father's when he was angered by someone.
"You sure got a lot of nerve, for a kid who lost his only relatives just moments ago." The man spoke with authority. The child looked away in regret and realization. That was my only family. He thought. That makes me an orphan, but…I don't want to be a slave. No…I won't…ever. Mom, dad, you wanted better of me. I'm sorry; I'm already letting you down.
"Now then kid, you're coming with us." The man lifted him higher. He gasped, and held the man's wrist to support himself. He bit his lip as the man smiled at his pain. The boy opened his mouth wide, and then bit the man's hand as hard as he could. "Agh!!!" The man screamed out in pain. He slashed at the boy as he let go; cutting his face. The child landed almost perfectly on his feet; he ran away from the men, through the back door in the kitchen. They chased him, but lost him in the woods.
One of the men took out his cell phone. "Yes…This is twenty eight, the target has gone runner, repeat, the target has gone runner….What? Yes the family is dead. Yes sir good bye." They left, and returned to their base.
The boy returned to his home later that night, hoping the men were not there waiting. No one was there. He walked through the house mindlessly; taking in every memory that came to mind. Each room was trashed, they had searched for something. Why? He thought. A puppy came out from under a side table. The boy ran up to him, and swept him off the floor into his arms. He hugged him tightly afraid to let him go.
He walked out to the front room. There they lay. He thought. Each one cold and dead, lifeless and still, unable to breath another breath, unable to think another thought. Yet I'm standing here…breathing, thinking, moving, seeing, feeling; I'm alive. All of the memories of his family came rushing into his head.
Tears swelled up his eyes, and ran down his cheeks. His dog licked the tears from his face. He looked down at him. "I'm so idiotic. You're sad too aren't ya boy?" The dog looked up at him with big blue eyes. His brown fur tinted with dirt; he licked his face. They both stood there, staring at the bodies of their family, wishing they would spring back to life and laugh again. Loneliness found its way into his heart. A single tear ran down his face.
The dead are the dead…they can't spring back to life. He thought. "No matter how much I want them to. They won't come back for me. No one can bring them back, but at least I still have you boy. Let's clean up and get out of here, before anyone comes back." He sat the dog down on a chair, and dusted the shelves, fixed the beds', swept the floor, and put everything back in its' rightful place. He grabbed some things' he would need; a change of clothes, a bit of food, some spare money he found in the couch cushions, and a jacket.
He signaled for the dog to follow him; the pouch hopped off the chair, and ran to him. They walked slowly, towards the town, were it would be difficult to find them. Those men might come after us, so we'll have to be careful. He thought as they walked across a big intersection. He was carrying his dog, so he would not stray from him and get lost.
Cars floated a foot or two above the street, city folk walked quickly, ignoring the wondering child. He walked into a dark alley way, wondering to the very back. He squeezed into a crack between two semi small trash cans, which were big enough to hide him from the view of pedestrians. He held his dog close to him, so he wouldn't get to cold.
They fell asleep after about an hour because of the city noises. They were awoken by footsteps running by them. He sat still, hoping he was not seen. The footsteps halted, they started coming closer. Fear stuck him; he held his puppy closer to him, and tensed. The footsteps got closer and closer.
A girl peered at him from the side of the trash can. She looked about fifteen. "Hey…" she whispered, "…are you lost?" He looked around, and then looked back at her in fear. "I'll take that as a yes." She said calmly. He hugged his dog even closer to him. The girl smiled with sincere emotion, and held out her hand. "Come on. I'll take you somewhere safe." She said in a normal tone.
He moved back, but then looked down at his dog for reassurance. The boy slowly held out his hand. Hers moved a little closer into his reach. He took her hand, and kept good hold on his dog, so he would not run loose and be lost forever. The girl helped him up. "Okay then. Let's get back to base. Since you're coming with, I'll tell you were we're going to go…" She spoke in a happy tone. He looked up at her. It would be nice to know if it's really safe. He thought. "I am from 'The Lost', and I'm going to take you back to base where you'll be safe. Okay?" She seemed cheerful, believable; there was no wavering in her eyes to say she was lying."Okay." He answered kindly.
They walked on for thirty minutes; when finally they reached an empty patch of land. They stood in the center of an abandoned lot. A boy who looked about eighteen stood in the far left hand corner of the lot. He looked gloomy. "Who are you?" He asked from across the lot. "I am fourteen lost." She answered back in a loud voice. "What of your company?" He asked suspiciously. "He and his canine are new lost, I retrieved them." She yelled back to him.
The boy kicked the ground eight times; then stomped twice. A cavern entrance opened in the ground, revealing a stair case that lead down. "Accepted!" The man yelled from across the lot. The girl dragged him down the stairs' to a large door. "Numbers' nine, four, zero, zero." She said firmly. The door opened slowly, letting out a bright light. He closed his eyes; when he opened them again, he saw at least a hundred kids. He blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Now then we'll need your name, age, birthday, and your dog's name too. That's how people will get to know you, so fill out this form." She said dryly. The girl handed him a few papers', and began to walk away. "I need to go, so when you're done, turn them in to that big building in the middle. Okay? Bye Bye."She smiled and left him to fill out the papers'.
He put his dog on the ground, and walked around a bit; his dog followed. He walked up to a tall kid who seemed to be at least nineteen. "Can you please help me with these? I can't read or write." He held the papers up to the man. He stared shyly at the floor, wishing he didn't need to ask for help. "Sure, why not." The boy took the papers out of his hands, and pulled out a pen."Thank you." The young boy said.
"Okay then…What's your dog's name?" He read off the sheet. The boy sat there a moment."His name is Ace." He answered, smiling at his dog; that let out a squeaky bark in agreement. "Okay…" The man wrote it down. "Now then… When's your birthday?" The guy looked at him, waiting for an answer. "I was born on June Twenty third, year three thousand." The man jotted it down as he spoke."Got it, got it…Okay, How old are you?" The man asked sarcastically, for he could do the math."I'm eight." He stated as he pointed to himself."Now then…Lastly, what's your name kid?" He leaned in with a curious look on his face."My name is…is…"He paused nervously. I can trust him. He's just like that girl from earlier. He thought."My name is Akio Hajime." He said bashfully.
"Okay that's it then. Go turn it in to the building in the center of our little organization. Okay kid?" He handed the paper work back to the boy with the dog."Okay, sir. Thank you for helping me." The child took his papers, and ran off; his dog following at level speed.
They came up to a monument with a front door. He hopped up the steps, pausing only once to check to see that his dog was following him. At the top of the stairs were two giant doors; he walked up to the one on the right, and pulled it open with ease. He was shocked that the door was so light. He and his dog trotted in to the front desk.
"Um… Hello?" He stood tip-toed in front of the desk. A woman who looked twenty at the mast looked down at him. "Turning in your paperwork?" She asked cheerfully. He looked at the papers, then looked back at her and slipped them on to the desk. "A silent type I see. That's fine. Let's see. Akio and Ace, Right?" She looked at each one prier to saying their names. "Yes Ma'am. That is correct." He said sweetly.
"Okay then. He can be called Ace, but you shall be referred to as Haru. Got it. That way anyone looking for you will have a harder time." She spoke in a crude, cold voice; it scared him."Okay." He spoke as if he had been beaten into submission.
For nine years, the boy trained, thieved, and hid from the men whom killed his family. He had few friends, but the people who were his friends were strong and brave. Yet he could never fully trust anyone. Every year he and his dog, Ace, would make several trips back to his old home to leave roses for the dead.
They both became stronger, and more skilled. No one could ever catch them when they took something. Both Akio and Ace were considered wanted runners, but they were also wanted as members of The Lost. Life wasn't easy; they could only get rest when they were at the base. Akio went by Haru, but never truly accepted the name. His dog wore a hanker chief around his neck; it was impossible to ever remove. Akio had pure black hair with brown mixed in, he always had it down, for it wasn't long enough to be put in a decent ponytail; he wore a white undershirt with a blue fitted jacket over it, and a pair of blue jeans; he had cheap shoes, they were black vans. Anyone who dressed like him was an outcast in the fashion world.
People dressed as their class. If they were rich then they wore the most expensive clothes. Anyone who wasn't in the upper classes would dress in the clothing that they could afford. Average classes wore fancy looking shirts, and no one wore jeans; they were considered obsolete. Vans were incredibly cheap, and completely out of style; no one wore them. Pets' wore mechanical collars'; all of with looked expensive, but were actually cheap.
Akio was an outcast; not many people liked him. Both he and his dog were considered a nuisance. The Lost didn't care for someone whom didn't accept his name. Since Akio wouldn't truthfully respond on beat to being called "Haru" the organization wouldn't accept him.