Chapter 1 (Edmund Pov)
"Shut up Peter. You think that you are better than me than prove it," I yelled at the blond across the room. "You are a coward. A bully. Do what you want to me but not to Lucy or I swear I will kill you."
"Hello," mum called from the hall. "We're home." We being her and the man she married. At first we liked Jon; he was rich, mom liked him, he got along with Peter. But then he started being rude to us and treated me and Lucy as little more than dirt. Peter and Susan he loved because they are like him: vain, hateful, self-absorbed and, with his help, made mom think that Luce and I are the bad ones. They even got Lucy's friends to distrust and even hate her.
"You. Boy," Jon barked at me. "Get our coats. And you." He turned to Lucy. "Go get us a bottle of wine. Now!"
"How was your day mother," said Peter as we left the room.
"We need to get out of this house," I said to Lucy as we entered the kitchen. "It's only going to get worse."
"You need to be patient and have hope," she said.
"I know but my shields are weakening and I can't hold out much longer not even against Susan for much longer and she is the best out of the four of them."
"If we were to run away where would we go?"
"The Professor," I said after a moment.
"That is where they would look for us first."
"No they wouldn't. None of them care ... not even mum."
That night I slipped out of the window and across the roofs after making sure that both mine and Lucy's rooms were locked and headed down to meet the only friends that I had a girl named Hanna and her brother, Malcolm. I met them when I escaped from the hell called my life for a bit of freedom. They taught me all I know about street fighting and return I told them where the police were stationed (because of Jon's influence on the city board and his inability to keep from boasting I could always keep them out of jail.) So tonight I was going to get them to go to the Professor so that the four of us could get out of the city and to the Professor's house.
"Hanna," I called.
"Edmund. How are you?"
"Better than you are going to be."
"What do you mean?"
"I need to get Malcolm first."
"What's this about," said Malcolm.
"I need you to get us four out of the city."
"Why," said Hanna as Malcolm said," Us four?"
"Us three and my sister, Lucy. And we need to get out because they are cleansing the city and they are about to turn me into one of them." I didn't need to elaborate they knew who they were. "And you two because of the fact that they are bringing in all resources to 'cleanse' the city of all they deem unfit and you two are the last two left in the city uncaptured. This Friday night at 10:30 they are going to end the 'filth' permanently and all who was sheltering them. And this is why I need you to go to the Professor and tell him that King Edmund and Queen Lucy are coming as soon as possible and that we will be on the 8:30 am train."
"Queen Lucy and King Edmund?" said Malcolm. "Is that some type of code?"
"Something like that," I said. "Go you must be gone by morning. Quickly I hear someone coming." They slipped off into the dark and I headed back to the house. As I rounded the corner and was crossing the street to climb back up and into the house I head an engine start and I whipped around to see a big black car speed down on me. Just before I got hit I saw the driver and the passenger. Peter was at the wheel and Jon was in the passenger seat.
