Born and Bred

Chapter 1: Ordinaries

London, England,

Whipton, Exeter, England,

San Francisco, U.S.A

Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England,

Sandy, Bedfordshire, England

Five locations, five people ordinary teenagers, living five ordinary lives, but under their skin and running through their veins lies something not so ordinary. They may not know one another, but little do they know their going to become closer and having to depend on one another sooner then they think.

London, England is homed to one Jock Haythem, fresh out of school and enjoying what he can of the summer holidays before he goes back to sixth form. But his parents want otherwise. They want him to go to some special school further in the city, they say he's gifted and that those gifts should be developed, that their something that will make him an incredible person one day. He doesn't know what they're on about, he didn't know he had gifts or talents, if he did they were rarely seen. He was now in school as the top kid, the one that got all the girls and the back seat on the bus home. He had a good reputation, something he didn't want to lose by going to this special school. But it seems his path was set on going to this other school.

Whipton, Exeter, England is the home of Madeline Grey, sixteen years old and one hell of a free spirit. She didn't care much for her reputation and how good it was, she just wanted to live freely and without a care. She liked her music and dancing randomly as she walked down the street with her friends. She was set on becoming a doctor when she was older, she wanted to go to university and do anything she could that would guarantee her future that she so desperately wanted. Her parents told her of a holiday they'd be taking to Great Yarmouth on the other side of the country, but they were going to make a stop of and spend the day in London on their way.

In San Francisco, U.S.A lives Ryan Clearwater, British and not new to the area as he and his parents had lived there for a majority of his life. He didn't get along well with his parents; they had arguments weekly; pointless, silly arguments about nothing in particular. His parents dismissed it as simple teenage hormones running through his body that made him a little grumpy and aggressive. But it wasn't that, not to him anyway. He could just sense on his parents that they wanted him to be different, he had a thing where he just knew when they were keeping something behind his back, he knew they were planning something. They told him they were going to go back to England to visit relatives soon, but why now? They never had before, and they've lived out here and never spoken to family for years, Ryan had never even seen his relatives. But maybe that was the reason why.

Carrie Weeks is the fourth and lives in the heart of Lincoln. Well spoken and mature young lady, but she likes her good times, she likes to have a good laugh and do the opposite to how her parents brought her up. Her family were rather rich, had plenty of money and wanted all of it to go towards her and her education. They wanted to send her to a finishing school in the heart of London. She wanted to study animal care and in the future disappear up to Canada to either work in or run her own wildlife park. But as much of a parenting rule breaker she might have been, she knew that wasn't going to happen and she was destined to go to this school in the country's capital city.

Lastly, in Sandy, Bedfordshire in the south east of England lives Cole Anderson, another simple, ordinary kid, fresh out of school and looking forward to going back to finish off sixth form. He's a chump he's that ordinary, a bullying victim every now and then, but he's not afraid to give the punches back. He's won he's fair share of fights, so therefore he's earned his fair share of detentions and home calls. Another average person, gets bullied every now and then, has good grades and has his plans for the future. He wants his own business, a nice house, a wife and kids, everything a normal kids wants at his age.

So, five teenagers, five ordinary lives that are about to take a turn up the road beyond weird. Little do they know, but they are all going to have to depend on one another more then ever in the coming years, their lives will depend on it. As good and fine as their lives have been, dark clouds are forming over their heads, and little do they know, but they have been watched all their short lives.

Finally, the last day of school had arrived and Cole walked out of his class and dashed for the nearest exit. It was the longest day he had ever lived through, but then again he'd been watching the clock all day, so seconds felt like minutes and minute's hours, the downsides to it being the last day of school and the results of watching the clock. But now it was all over, this day felt like it went on twice as long as ever, Cole was just eager to go home and plan out the summer. He walked around the corner and made for the bus, weaving around other happy students saying their goodbyes and talking about their plans for the holidays. He said his own goodbyes to other friends before reaching his bus, but before he clambered on board, two other of his friends called out for him and boarded. Shaun and Emily, his closest friends and the only ones he could have wished for. They've been by his side while he's been by theirs, they've had fun, helped one another through the good and bad and just enjoyed each others company. Cole and Shaun sat side by side midway on the lower deck of the bus while Emily sat looking back and them on the seat in front. "So, what are you doing over the holidays?" She asked and resting her chin on the back of her chair.

"I'm going to Greece with my family." Shaun answered.

"I'm not doing anything, but my parents are being secretive about something, so I guess we're going somewhere." Cole replied.

"What makes you say that?" Shaun asks.

"They keep having these private talks and giving me these weird looks, not to mention the fact they keep telling me they know something I don't know. It's so obvious." He said just as the bus started to pull away. "It's either somewhere nice for once and not the caravan in Devon, or it's somewhere even worse then that." Cole sighed.

"Don't worry about it." Emily reassured. "It'll only be for a week or two, so we'll still have the rest of the summer to hang out." Cole smiled. She had a point, thinking of all the things they could do before and after he goes will help him get through the boredom of it. They gossiped and talked the journey until Cole's stop came, a path in the middle of no-where that led through a woodland, it was the closest stop to his home on the outskirts of the small town, and he enjoyed walking through the trees after a long day, it was peaceful. The bus came to a stop and he grabbed his bag.

"Meet us at the den at five?" Shaun questioned as he shuffled off the seat.

"See you at five." Cole smiled and knuckle bumping his friends before walking off the bus. He waved them goodbye as the bus pulled away before turning to walk on his own down that path, he was the only one out of around fifty to get of at this first stop the bus takes on its route, but he never felt awkward about it.

The leaves crunched under his weight, the faint smells of the plants, the dryness of the day and just the scent of this nature flooded his nostrils. He loved living out here, it was great, peaceful. It wasn't a private wood or anything, so others in the town walked through together or with their dogs. Sandy wasn't exactly the largest town, but it was a great place, named after the sand dunes on one side of the woods, a great place for sledging in the winter and to play in any time of the year. The woodland itself was a good size, it was incredibly uneven, hills and bumps in the ground provided great spots to roll down and hide behind. A small lake resided on the far side, a secluded spot not may goes to, a place Cole liked to relax in, but it was also the place he, Emily and Shaun kept their den, their own spot.

The walk was only twenty minutes long, a good walk to help wake himself up in the morning and a good one to wind down from after school before he came to his home. An old looking house, right at the woodland's doors at the edge of town. He's lived here as long as he can remember, never moved and neither has the family as he's been told. He walked through the gate and up to the door which was never locked, so all he had to do was pull the handle and walk inside. He threw his bag across the landing and skilfully hanging it on the peg the other side, a challenge he always set himself when he walked through the door. He turned left immediately and found his mother in the kitchen cooking away. He froze and looked down at his feet, muddy and leaving prints behind him. He seethed quietly and took a few steps back to undo his shoes and put them away. The stairs were across the kitchen, so he began to tiptoe across without making a sound. He mentally cheered himself as he placed his foot on the first step when…

"Where do you think you're going?" He froze again and looked back at his mum, she wasn't even watching. How did she know he was there?

"Huh?" He questioned.

"Clear that up or you're not coming on holiday with us." She replied and pointing the muddy footprints he left behind on the landing.

"Oh great, another week in the same old caravan." He said sarcastically as he made his way over to the story cupboard to grab a mop and begin mopping up, it was all he'd have to do on laminate flooring.

"What makes you think that?" She grinned and leaning back on the work surface.

"It's what we always do." He replied. He looked up to her, and her face said otherwise.

"Well, you'll be happy to know we're not this year."

"Really?" He gasped and she nodded. "Where are we going?"

"Oh but I don't think you'll like it." She smiled and turning back to wipe down the surfaces. He dropped the mop and walked over to her intent on knowing what she was talking about. He wrapped his hands around her and blew in her ear, something he knew she found ticklish but more so annoying. She laughed and struggled to get out of his grip, but her son was too strong for her.

"What about France?" He let her go as soon as he said it and gave her mercy.

"France!"

"Yep, go ahead and pack, we're leaving tomorrow morning." She grinned. He finished up mopping and ran up the stairs faster then he had ever before. Finally he was going somewhere other then Cromer like he has done for as long as he can remember. "We're staying a night in London, so be prepared for that."

"Ok mum!" He called down as he burst into his room.

Two hours later

"France!" Both Shaun and Emily exclaimed in unison.

"It's better then Cromer." Cole replied. Shaun and Emily couldn't see how going to the country next door could be any better then a sunny beach. If anything it was either the same or worse. After packing, he made straight for the den in an excitement filled sprint that only made his journey fifteen minutes. He ran over the numerous hills and bumps, weaved around the thick parts of the woods and darted up that final hill until he came to that secluded spot that was a part of the small lake that only the three seemed to know. It was concealed by trees, but in full view of the sun's rays. Within their spot were old car tires, some crates, tarpaulin and a tire swing they made, the one Emily sat on while the three spoke and Shaun a crate.

"How the hell is France better then Cromer?" Emily questioned.

"At least there they speak English." Shaun added.

"We're always there, that's the thing, so it's boring after a while." Cole replied as he sat up in a tree looking down at the two. "This is something knew, I've never been abroad."

"Mate, I wouldn't count going to France as going abroad." Shaun said.

"It's not that good, I've been there loads of times, no-one understands you." Cole shuffled off the tree and landed on the ground with a thud.

"That's the point." He said brushing off the dirt from his palms. "It's different; it's a change from a stuffy caravan, it's going to be fun."

"Ok, fine, whatever you say." Shaun said holding his hands up and giving up trying to tell him otherwise.

"We hope you have fun." Emily added.

"I'll send you a postcard from Greece." Shaun smirked. Cole picked up a small twig from the ground and threw it gently at him playfully. So what if his friends had been there and their experiences weren't so pleasant, this was something different for him and it was something he was going to enjoy. But little did he know, four other children were headed the same way, and they were going to have to depend on one another despite the fact they don't know them.

Well guys, i'm back. It took a little longer to get this up i'll admit, but i think that was because i'm not as in touch with this story as i was with the Starnik series or A Son of Wolves. but this was the second story idea i came up with a while ago, admittedly i don't have many ideas for this, so i'll make it up as i go and see how it turns out, so i can't predict how long it'll be. I'm going to try and make it at least twenty chapters, so a good length. I hope you'll all enjoy it.

On another note, and something you might get excited about. I've been getting a lot or requests for a sequel to A Son of Wolves, and i might be able to answer them. Some day, and i can't promise anything, i will see if i can. If i do, i have a few idea that could go into it, but i don't have a story plot or anything for it, i don't know what direction it'll go in. I just thought i'd let you know, but i can't promise anything. Until next time. :)

The FalconWolf