"Max?" Angel asked tiredly. I didn't say anything, but just kept searching, leading my underage family to safety.
"Yeah Angel?"
"When are we going to find a home? A real home?" she asked sweetly, looking up at me with her baby blue eyes. My chest tightened.
Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Total, and I were 6 (well seven if you counted Total, but he's a dog) homeless orphans living on the streets of New York City.
We didn't have a home, but we had shelter and safety. About a year ago I had found the small and abandoned tunnel under Central Park. And for an entire year, that tunnel had kept us safe and hidden from the authorities and the brutal beatings of the winter weather.
Well, until some park people came down to put the tunnel back into use. In a rush I had ushered everyone out, leaving behind all of our most useful possessions. It had taken Fang forever to find those heat-giving matches, and had taken ages for Nudge to scrap out a pan that we used daily to try and provide ourselves with some food. All we had left was the old sneakers on our feet and the torn, oversized coats that barely blocked the huge gusts of cold wind out.
Fang, Iggy, and I were all at least 15. Nudge was 12, Gazzy 11, and Angel was now 7. We had all been on our own, each of us wandering the streets unsafe. Bit by bit, we had slowly grouped together. First I found Fang, and then the only blood siblings in our group. My chest tightened again at the memory of seeing two innocent babies abandoned in a cardboard box. Slowly, we became this big group of 6, safe and together.
And now we didn't have anywhere to go. I felt like a cornered mouse, with a cat swiping its paw in front of me. Six homeless, raggedy-looking, starved children was certain to catch the public eye. We had to find someplace safe. And fast.
"I dunno Angel, I dunno."
~~
"Hey, Fang. Can you watch them? I'm gonna go see if I can scope out any potential shelters," I said quietly. Fang nodded and sat down, keeping an eye on the others who continued to gaze at the ducks from under a bridge. Less people meant less attention, and for now it was worth the risk to wonder off alone.
Minutes had turned into hours, and I still didn't find any place suitable. Just then, something caught my eye.
A large apartment on the first floor. I remember watching the happy looking people go in and out during the summer time. Now it was empty, with no car parked out front. Even though it was considered a crime, I quietly hatched out a plan. Running, I went back to my family.
"Iggy. Iggy, come. I need you. Now. Quick!" I demanded, out of breath. Iggy's blind eyes turned towards my voice. I plucked a hairpin our of Nudge's hair. "We're gonna need this."
As soon as Iggy and I arrived at the apartment, I guided his hand towards the door nob. "Break through this," I told him.
"You want me to break into- What? No! Max, you said it yourself. No stealing," Iggy quickly refused, shaking his blonde head back and forth.
"Not stealing.. Just.. borrowing. Please Igs, come on! You know we need this. The owners are away for the winter, and its just till we find ourselves a place of our own. Please?" I begged. Anything for my family, anything.
As Iggy muttered something about 'getting fried by the cops', he went to work at picking the lock. After five minutes of anxious silence, the door popped open. I grinned. "Thank you so much Iggy! You get first pick on rooms."
~~
"Wow, Max, look at this place! Why can't we stay here forever?" Nudge asked excitedly, the first joy I've seen come across her face in a long time.
"Nudge, you know its only for a little. Just until we find someplace else," I smiled gently. All of a sudden, Gazzy started thundering up the stairs.
"THIS IS MY ROOM!" he yelled from somewhere upstairs. I rolled my eyes.
I took the time to take in my surroundings. It may be called an apartment in New York, but elsewhere it would be considered a mansion. With countless bedrooms and living spaces, this house felt like heaven.
I turned around towards a table filled with picture frames. 3 people starred in them, one of them being a girl around my age. She was really pretty, with her Hispanic tan, big brown eyes, and perfect looking hair.
What on earth was I doing here? These were nice, innocent people. And here we were, invading their homes. What did they ever do to deserve this? A memory of the mother and daughter hugging through the windows, looking so happy.
This was something that we'd never have. We'd never have the luxury of sleeping in a warm bed each night, or the luxury of full meals. Or the opportunities that education gave you.
Because once you are where we are, there's no chance of climbing back up the ladder, You've fallen too far down.
"Max?" I heard, the deep voice snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, Fang?" I asked, looking at him. Fang has been my right-hand man, my best friend. Right now I looked into his gorgeous, dark, mysterious-
No! Max! Snap out of it! Forget I ever thought that. Damn hormones..
"What's for dinner?" he asked, grinning. I nearly had a heart attack, his smile so bright… Damn it! There I go again!
Well, since we currently resided in this huge, warm, lit up house, we might as well live the rest of the dream. "Uh, let me check what they've got in the kitchen."
I entered the mansion of a kitchen, and started pulling open cupboards. Aha! I grabbed the box of uncooked pasta, and took out a pot.
"IGS! Come cook dinner!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping he'd hear through the spacious walls. Feeling warm, I shrugged off my ratty winter coat. I nearly gagged at its sight.
"Pasta?" Iggy asked, shaking the box up and down.
"Yup."
Let me clarify something right now. Iggy was blind. He's been blind since we found him years ago. The strangest thing? He doesn't remember how he got that way.
As a matter of fact, I don't remember anything before age ten. None of us did. We didn't know who we were, why we were abandoned, or how we got here in the first place.
Anyways, even though Iggy is blind, he's a better cook than I would ever be with one hand tied behind his back.
~~
"Hmmm!" I sighed, gulping another forkful of pasta. I hadn't eat like this, ever. The warm pasta heated my body up from the inside. Even Fang looked like he was worshipping his own food.
"So.. Guys.. Tomorrow we start searching for someplace else. We can't stay here forever," I said, breaking the silence.
"Whyyyyy? Why do we have to go Max? I really love my room. Well, Ella's room. That's the name of the girl who lives here. She has, like, ten BILLION gorgeous dresses. You reckon it'd be too rude if I tried them on?" Nudge rambled off. I wished just as much as she did.
"Sorry kiddo, but someone actually owns this house. Not us." I explained. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge's eyes all saddened. "Hey, where's Total?"
"He's upstairs, sleeping on my bed," Angel explained, stuffing down another mouthful of pasta. "We need to something for him to eat."
"I know Sweetie. Tomorrow Fang and I will go out and see what we can find, but we'll get dog food too," I explained, getting up and heading upstairs to the last available bedroom.
~~
I was just falling asleep. This close to sleeping! But then some idiot came along, opening the door and letting light in.
"Go away," I grumbled, waving my arm as if to shoo them away.
"Stay very still Maxie.. this will be very quick," a deep voice grumbled. No, not the nice Fang-kinda deep (darn it! This is going to have to stop), but a creepy, old man kinda deep. I instantly tried to get up, but something restrained me. That was when I noticed the sickly sweet smell coming off the cloth that was shoved against my face. Why do these sorta things always happen to me?
"Be still."
And that's when I saw the plunger of the needle go down, emptying the mysterious orange chemical into my blood stream.
And then it was dark.