New Kid
"You don't have to hide. I only want to help you."
Martha searched around the abandoned alleyway. It did not help that dark clouds began to block the sunlight too early in the afternoon. She thought she saw that boy run through here.
"Please come out. I know I can help you, if only you'll let me."
She had seen that boy for days now, running around trying to survive. He would always dodge her help. Probably because he knew better than to talk to strangers in this part of the Satellite.
"I promise I only want is to help you find a place to stay. I have a lot of children under my care, who are just like you."
Martha yelled, scanning the area for any signs of movement. If she could, she would help every child in Satellite find a home. That was her dream. The first day she saw that boy standing all alone, she made it her mission to take him in, just as she had done a number of times before.
"Fine. Keep on rejecting me and my help. Maybe one day you'll look back and wonder what could have been if you'd come with me. You can be a part of something bigger. You don't have to be alone."
Suddenly, there was a sound coming towards her. Martha looked over her shoulder and saw the boy standing a few yards away. He was a bit tall for his age, skinny, and had blueish hair that amplified his golden eyes. But he did not look scared.
"If...if I go with you, I could leave if I want?" The boy asked, in some what of a demanding tone. This one child seemed to have a certain spark that Martha had not seen in any other kid she had confronted before.
Martha stepped forward. "Of course. I only want to help you, not tie you down."
The boy walked up to the older woman. Finally, he nodded his head and agreed to go with her.
The two made their way to Martha's home, where she and all of her other children lived. It was not at all a glamorous building, or even a pretty one at that. But it had the space, running water, some electricity and heating that they needed to survive.
"How many other kids live here?" He asked as they approached the house.
"It depends. Never more than ten." She replied. "I'm sure you'll fit right in with the rest of the children and maybe even make a friend." Martha walked the boy to the backyard.
There, sitting under a large oak tree, were three young boys playing with cards.
"Jack. Yusei. Crow." When Martha called for them, all three looked up and ran towards her. "I would like to introduce someone who will be staying with us for little awhile. I'm entrusting you three to show him around."
Crow, with his bright orange colored hair, smiled. "Hi! I'm Crow. What's your name?"
The other boy hesitated at first, not knowing how to react to the overly friendly hello. "K-Kalin."
"Just Kalin?" Crow stepped on his toes to get eye-to-eye with the new kid.
"Kessler. Kalin Kessler."
"Hi, Kalin. I'm Yusei and this over here is Jack." The blue eyed, raven haired boy smiled. The blonde behind him nodded his head slightly with approval of the new arrival.
"Hi." Kalin responded.
"Do you have any dueling cards?" Jack asked a bit abruptly.
"Some. Not a complete deck." Kalin answered, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Before Kalin could say another word, Yusei, Jack and Crow grabbed his arms and began showing him around their home. They showed Kalin where they all slept together and the duel cards they had collected. The first few hours with Kalin around were awkward, but Martha had a feeling that her boys would become best friends with the new kid.
As weeks turned into months, Kalin did in fact become great friends with Yusei, Jack and Crow. The group of four started doing everything together, almost like they were brothers. Kalin turned out to have no intensions of leaving, realizing he was wrong to avoid Martha's help in the first place.
Yusei, Jack, Crow and Kalin grew up together and made a pack to always stick together. If only they would have kept it. If only Martha would have known that spark she had seen in Kalin that made him different from the others, was the same spark that would tear them apart.