The 5 orphans ran like mad through the thick Floridian forest, desperate to get to their destination before nightfall hit them once again. They had run from Louisiana (near Baton Rouge) to just south of Lake Kissimmee, Florida. It had been nearly a 2 week journey on foot, but sometimes they could hitch rides in the back of semi trucks. They stole food from anywhere whenever they could, mostly bags of chips and candy bars.
Among the 5 young orphans, there were a set of twins, two brothers, and the oldest being an albino 11 year old boy. The 10 year old twins were named Jake and Jade Harley, and the brothers were Equius and Horuss Zahaak. Equius was three years younger than his 9 year old brother, but he acted the most mature out of the whole lot. The albino boy would never tell anyone his true name, because he wanted to have a reputation of a strong and mysterious leader, so he went by the name Turntech.
They all pulled their weight in different ways. Jade and Jake were pro hunters, even though they had been stuck in an orphanage since they were 6. It seemed hunting came naturally to them. So when the group couldn't steal any food, the Harley twins were off with their handmade spears and knives. Equius and Horuss were exceptionally talented at making shelters out of large tree trunks and sometimes stones if it was a stormy night. Turntech was skilled in befriending kids and tricking them into getting supplies and money for him. He used his torso that made him look like he was starving to pierce the hearts of softie girls to get what he needed for his group. With the money, Turntech would buy everyone bottles of water or Gatorade and any snacks that they could afford. Sometimes they'd stop at a fast food place if they were doing exceptionally well.
Their journey lasted from May 28th to June 12th, but once they found the land that had been passed down to Jake and Jade after their grandmother had died, they rejoiced and celebrated for hours. They all camped out in the large and dusty old home that was located in the 100 acres of land. Most of the land was dominated by forest, and a medium sized river ran through the upper half of it. The woods were teeming with wildlife, which could only mean good things foodwise. As the group got accustomed to the forest and learned where everything was, they set in the second huge part of their plan in.
These 5 orphans all ran away for the same reasons. They were all bullied and teased and picked on in their orphanages. Being sick and tired of it like anyone would be, they all ran away together. Jake and Jade had recalled that in their grandmother's will, they were given all of her wealth and land and everything in between. After Turntech was given this information, he stole a map that covered the Southeastern part of America from a gas station and mapped out their trail. And well, you already know that they got there in one piece.
As for the wealth the twins had received, it turned out they couldn't withdraw a single penny until they turned 18, so they were 8 years short. This was a minor setback, but they still had the vast amount of land. Now, Turntech decided it was time to put the second part of their great plan into action.
They all looked for a set of trees that donned sturdy and large branches. They found exactly what they were looking for near the river, which made everyone's lives a lot easier. With the use of the chainsaws and axes found in Grandma Harley's shed, the group cleared out an area of trees. Equius and Horuss's strength of 10 men worked wonders for this part, for it took just one of them to lift an entire tree and move it wherever they were directed to move it. Dave and Jade then started working on the blueprints of their tree house orphanage, where they planned many great things.
You could say that these five young orphans were complete geniuses, and you would be completely right. In about 3 years of nonstop working, through sweltering hot summers and mildly cold winters, through every ache and pain, through hundreds of mosquito bites, they had managed to make a rather grand tree house. They liked to call it the tree home, though. For they felt that they had all finally found their home. Of course Turntech had went out and befriended some wealthy kids. John and Jane Crocker, the grandchildren of the famous Betty Crocker, were some of those kids. John would always sneak him sweet snacks and cakes whenever he could, which was often. John's 13 year old big sister, Jane, would often just annoy Turntech to the point of he went to his house at last resort. Twins Rose and Roxy Lalonde were the other two he went to for things. Rose acted like a doting older sister to Turntech, which he used as a way to get money and seeds for food he needed to be able to grow on his own, since Jade had a knack for such things. Roxy was nice to him, and would give him textbooks from her school for him to borrow and learn. It helped Turntech a lot, but he only took the science and language arts books. None other.
Another thing about Turntech and when he was out with his supply givers, he went by Turner around them. He didn't very well know why he did this, but it stuck. He didn't think going by Turntech around John and Rose was all that great, but he couldn't use his true name. Therefore Turner is what he decided on as his second codename.
As the tree home orphanage thrived with the just five of them, turntech thought it was time for them to recruit some other reject orphans. They started off by going to a large orphanage, it was just Jake and Turntech at this time, and they were surprised to see at least 4 kids there were being tormented by their fellow peers. Turntech was so angry that he decided to take all four instead of just one. He found out their names were Meenah (age 12), Feferi (age 8), Cronus (age 10), and Rufioh (age 13). They were all grateful to run away with Turntech and Jake, because what did they have to lose? Everyone hated them already for being so freakish, who would really miss them in the long run?
That night Turntech and Jake helped the four sneak out as easily as he had snuck in. Turntech was surprised at how large the orphanage was, but was grateful for its size because then the four misfits would have gone unnoticed easier.
It took all night, but Turntech and Jake successfully got the four runaways to their tree house haven. There, they were all given rooms on the boy and girl lofts located opposite from each other. That night, Turntech declared a feast for their first successful assisting of getting orphans.
The next few months rolled on, and the tree home orphanage was booming with people. They were all younger than Turntech, which no one ever complained about. Everyone looked up to him as a leader, and he graciously accepted such a role. As anyone would have expected, Jake, Jade, Equius, and Horuss were right beneath him. Their community thrived wonderfully, they all lived on vegetables and fruit trees that Roxy had supplied for them. Jake and Jade would teach eager orphans how to hunt for small game, such as rabbits and squirrels. Others went out to look for wild blackberries that were native to Florida. Water was supplied by the ever so helpful river that they soon named the Orphan's River.
Nearly a year passed since Turntech and Jake's first run for rejects, and the tree house had grown to 53 orphans, including the five who started it all. He would look off from the highest balcony in the forest and smile down at all their hard work. He was 15 by this time, nearly turning 16. He decided that he would go for one last run, for one boy. The girls were all filled up and the last orphan he got was 3 year old Nepeta Lejion. She slept with Jade until she was accustomed to living here. But the Boys' loft had one last vacant room, and Turntech decided to go on his own to fill it up.
Turntech would go off to the first orphanage he went to to get Rufioh, Meenah, Feferi, and Cronus. The Carcino Genesist Orphanage.