Chapter 3-
The next prompt I received was from AOSISMYLIFE who requested: "Maybe one where some of the Challengers and some of the nicer villains (like Emma) are orphans in an orphanage where they're all mistreated and then they slowly begin to discover their powers, but they can be younger like 10-13"
Oofta. Yea, this one was fun though. XD So, a few notes: I took out Daedre, because he's an alien, and (as Xy-Guy said in his submission form) he was actually test tube grown, so no childhood for him. I included all of the original Challengers, Naia and Daniel (it was partially necessary to the storyline) along with Emma , because of the request. :) There are cameos for some of the other characters.
SO! Important note: I CHANGED THE PROMPT! I know, I shouldn't have, and it's not much. Instead of having them discover their powers, I have them discover unique talents. It's cooler than it sounds. You'll see. XD
Disclaimer: Don't own the prompts. Don't own the characters. Don't own nothing.
Ps. Dear challengerslover: your second request will be coming up, I'm just trying not to do two consecutive prompts from the same person. ;)
Shall we?
Oh, and Warning for language and drinking
Hydra Orphanage – Owned by Marcus Stefans
Queens – New York
"Get in there ye little bitch!"
A figure was thrown into the crowded girl's dorm room. She landed on the floor and coughed harshly.
Emma yanked the covers up to her chin. Go away, go away, go away, don't see me, please don't see me. The door slammed shut and Emma was torn. Should she stay in her bed, or should she go help? She was sane. She wasn't like that Coren girl. She knew what she was doing.
So she chose to help.
Pushing down the covers and slipping off the bed, her bare feet met the splintery wooden floor, but could barely feel it. She stared uncertainly at the coughing figure on the ground. She was 10 now. She wasn't scared. Approaching with light footsteps, she wrinkled her pale pink nightgown in sweaty hands.
"Are…are you alright?" she whispered. If Mr. Stefans heard her, she'd get a whipping. His son was nice. She wanted his son to come back. He'd visited once, and she'd never seen him again.
"I'm fine," the girl snapped back. She wiped her mouth and Emma saw blood staining it. The winds were only covered by ratty pieces of cloth with giant holes worn into them. Emma crouched next to the girl.
"I'm Emma," she introduced herself. The girl was older than her, 12 or 13. Blankets ruffling caught her attention.
"Mhmm…" came a tired groan. "Emma? Is that you? Are you okay?" came the concerned whisper.
"I'm fine, Ellie, but Mr. Stefans dropped someone off…"
Eleanor was the only one in the place who was her age. All of the others were older. Except Vandella, but she was adopted two days ago. She was lucky. Emma wasn't. More sheets rumpling and a taller girl stepped out from under her ratty covers. She wore a pale blue nightgown, matching her eyes.
"What's your name?" the girl asked it gently, but Eleanor knew the girl wouldn't hesitate tackling the new girl if there was sign of threat.
"Naia," answered the new girl. She got to her feet, now standing a good foot taller than Emma. She had pretty long black hair, and she had been dressed in her own pink nightgown.
"What's going on?" grumbled a new voice from her own bed. A girl with blonde hair shaved off on one side lifted her head, bed hair her enemy.
"Is it Stefans again?" mused a third tired girl from her own bunk. There were eight total beds, all occupied except one.
"God, I hope not," added a fourth, quietly as if Stefans would jump on them any moment.
"It's fine Pat, go back to bed, just someone new. You too Marie, Skylier," assured the other girl.
"Whatever," nodded Pat, rolling over so she was facing away from them.
Pat scared Emma. She was a little…unsteady…at times…
"M'kay," Marie tucked back into her own blankets.
"Yup, you can handle this," smirked Skylier from her bed.
"Nice to meet you," the other girl nodded. "I'm Piper. That's Emma, over there is Eleanor. Sorry you ended up here."
"Yea, me too," huffed Naia. She took in the area around her, obviously unimpressed.
"That bed is open," Emma assisted, gesturing to the one free bunk.
"Yea," was all Naia said before clambering over and sitting down. The bed—previously Vandella's—was closest to the window, and Naia gazed outside longingly.
"Alright, back to bed," Piper urged, helping Emma up and leading her back to her bed. She tucked Emma in like she usually did, helped Eleanor back under her covers, said her goodnights, and then returned to her own bunk.
Emma didn't sleep much that night. She watched Naia instead. She was the oldest now, or at least, Emma assumed so. Piper was 11, so she had been the oldest. Well, no, Pat Coren was the oldest, but she never acted like it, so Emma didn't count her. And Marie and Skylier were older by one year, but Piper was more mature.
Maybe Mr. Stefans would be nicer to Naia. Emma hoped so. No one deserved what they received. Then again, maybe Mr. Stefans would be sleeping tomorrow. He did that sometimes, just kinda stumbled up to his room and passed out.
Piper had told her and Eleanor once that it was because of his drinking. Figures. Stefans drank three bottles a day and his breath always reeked of alcohol.
With the wary thought circling her mind, Emma eventually drifted off.
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Girl's Side
The Main Hallway
"What do you mean it's split in half?!" Naia hissed, tugging again at the locked door.
Emma gave a shrug. "It's…it's just split in half. The mansion is so big that Mr. Stefans put girls in one side and boys in the other. The only way to get from one side to the other is through this door."
"And he locks it?" the newer girl growled, yanking hard on the knob.
"Mhm," nodded Emma. "He doesn't like us talking to each other, but we get to see each other during lunch."
"How do you all get lunch if 'Mr. Stefans' is always passed out in the freaking basement?"
Emma had already explained to Naia that Mr. Stefans' quarters were the entire bottom two floors. He'd put a door at the bottom of the staircase down to those floors, which always remained locked. He had a watch dog and easily kept the kids upstairs.
The orphanage, as previously said, was a massive mansion. It was completely symmetrical on both sides, with one main hallway through the middle. Stefans had only one door connecting the two sides, in the center of the long hallway, and he never unlocked it. The only time the two genders saw each other was lunch, which was in the backyard.
"That," Emma pointed up at the school bell hanging high up on the wall. "When it rings we go downstairs. The back door is unlocked, so we go to the backyard, and then we eat lunch with the boys. I think Mr. Stefans son brings it…or maybe this girl who lives down the street. Her name is Johanna. She's nice. They're a little older than I am. Mr. Stefans doesn't like us talking to his son…" she frowned, looking at her feet.
"Ah ha," Naia muttered with a frown. "What about breakfast? Or dinner?"
"Those to…except, usually we don't have breakfast. Mr. Stefans hit Kris for bringing it one time."
"Kris?"
"His son."
"Hm."
"So, what about you?"
"What about me?" Naia raised an eyebrow.
"What's your story?" prodded Emma.
"You're 10 years old, it's not happy or anything."
"I can handle it. Just…you know," she shrugged. "Give me the basics."
"My parents and I were on a road trip. We stopped at a restaurant. They got drunk. They drove off, and they forgot me there. The next day I hear on the news that there was a car crash. Ta da. Orphan."
"Oh," Emma said sadly. "I'm sorry."
"What about you?"
"Huh? Me? Oh…well…my parents were police…they…um…they left for an assignment and didn't come back…"
"Sorry," sighed Naia. She set a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You don't deserve that."
"None of us do," agreed Emma. "And yet, here we are."
"Emma! Naia!"
The two turned, peering down the long carpeted hallway. The mansion was made in the 1800s and looked like your everyday cliché horror-story haunted mansion.
"Coming Piper!" Emma called back. The two girls picked up into a jog, back down to the small kitchen area in this side of the mansion. It wasn't really a kitchen, since there was no food, but there were the marble countertops, a sink and a wood table.
Emma entered and was met by Eleanor and Pat sitting on the table and Piper sitting on the counter, near the sink. Marie hung by the second entrance to the kitchen, connected to the small empty living space, and Skylier was perched in one of the two wooden chairs. The kitchen provided one of the only windows to the backyard, although it was unable to open, and three stories up.
"He's here," Piper beamed, eyes sparkling with hope. Kris. Kris was here. Emma cheered internally. If he was here this early it meant breakfast! They hadn't seen the boys all of yesterday. Stefans had forgotten to feed them. Emma had stopped caring. She was just excited for today.
Naia helped Emma onto the counter. She was 13, two years older than Piper, the same age as Pat, as Emma had found out, and could easily lift the 10 year old. Piper scooched over and Emma peered out fondly.
Sure enough, Kris was setting two rotten picnic benches.
"We should get changed," recommended Eleanor.
"Yea, Stefans'll have our heads if we don't," agreed Pat. "Like a killer unicorn." She added as an afterthought.
Emma ignored the second comment, instead jumping down and heading back to the dorms briskly. They had only been given one pair of clothes, the ones they came in. Naia had been brought in in the nightgown, but they'd realized earlier that Stefans had also thrown in Naia's old clothes.
Emma slipped on her usual plain pink t-shirt and jeans. The other girls did the same. Piper wore a graphic sky blue t-shirt with a singing bird printed on the front, and her own jeans. Pat slipped on a dark purple long sleeved shirt with a black bucking unicorn on it, black jeans, and a pink sweatshirt with 'YOLO' scrawled on it. Eleanor put on a green shirt with a sun printed on the front, and a pair of lighter jeans.
Skylier put on her plain gray muscle shirt and basketball shorts, and Marie slipped on a red t-shirt, jeans and a black sweatshirt with the brand 'The Port' scripted on the breast. It looked a size too big. Naia noticed and mentioned it.
"Bit big," she scoffed.
"It's not mine," responded the brunette. Naia tilted her head.
"It's Tamashi's," Skylier sing-songed, making kissing noises and puckering her lips.
"Shut up," Marie snapped back, shoving Skylier's shoulder.
Emma made a note to explain to Naia later.
"Besides, what about Victor and Pat, huh?" Marie sneered, bobbing her head at Pat.
"Yea, ain't he dreamy?" Pat smirked, crossing her arms. "If the prettiest sparkly unicorn took human form, it would be called Victor Valentine."
Emma and Eleanor giggled, while Piper shook her head and Marie face palmed.
"And what 'bout you, Songbird?" Skylier smiled goodheartedly. Piper had received the nickname for her singing. Emma enjoyed her singing.
"Drew?" Piper's eyebrows raised, taking the hint. "No. It's not like that."
"Mhmm," Skylier nodded. "I'm sure."
"Whatever," Piper waved them off. "Let's just get to breakfast."
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Eleanor wandered into the backyard the same as the other girls, quiet and cautious. The girls were always the first ones out. Piper glanced at Pat and the two got to work shoving the two picnic tables together, to make one long table. The girls took seats around the table, Emma chose a seat next to Eleanor.
Soon the boys arrived, flooding out of their own side of the building. You'd think one gender could just walk from one side of the building to the other, via backyard, but they'd tried that…poor Aeron. She'd been moved from the orphanage to some crappy building in the country. She left just before Naia came, actually.
Food was only the best. Psh. As if. Food was soup usually. Soup and bread. Very rarely, Kris would sneak in a delicacy like sandwiches or salad. But today wasn't one of those days. Today it was soup and bread. Eleanor took her own dish and filled it with soup, snatching half a slice of bread, and passing it on down the line.
She took in her calm surroundings. Pat and Victor (a dark skinned boy who had good aim with a slingshot) were fighting over the last half slice of bread, in a good natured sort of manor. Lachlan (an Irish boy, the oldest one here) was chatting with Piper on something that Eleanor couldn't hear, while Drew sat protectively on Piper's other side, cracking jokes and making the two laugh. Spencer (a friendly brunette known for his snarky humor) was messing around with Tamashi (an Asian with a tendency to miraculously appear somewhere new), while Tamashi attempted to chat with Marie. Skylier sat in-between Victor and Marie, now joining into the fight over the final piece of bread.
Eleanor took notice that Naia hadn't joined them at the table quite yet. Instead, she had met up with a strange athletic white haired boy near the back of the table. Unable to stop from speaking up, Eleanor let out a call.
"Hey Naia!"
Naia looked up, as did the boy. Woops. Now everyone at the table was looking at them. Sorry about that.
"Come on," Piper joined in. "Food's good." She gave a polite smile.
"It's most likely the only meal you'll get," added Drew.
"You too, Danny," smirked Spencer.
The two looked a bit confused, but finally joined, earning playful cheers from the others. Over all, lunch was very pleasant…until Naia spoke up again…
"Have you ever tried to escape?"
Everyone froze. Eleanor looked up at Naia, setting down her spoon in the soup.
"Escape?" she repeated in disbelief.
"That's what I said," agreed Naia.
"You know," Daniel explained. "Be free kids. Fend for ourselves. It seems a helluva lot better than staying here."
"I mean…" Emma frowned.
Tamashi covered for her. "We haven't tried it." he stated shortly.
"It's risky," added Lachlan, ripping a piece of bread off and popping it into his mouth. "Someone could get hurt."
Pat nodded, "Or worse."
"With the drunken bastard you never know," Marie sighed.
"We out number him. 13 to 1," Naia persuaded, leaning her elbows on the table and clasping her hands together.
"He has two German Shepherds, nearly took Tamashi's arm off," Spencer retorted. He and the Asian were about as close to brothers you could get, without actually being blood related. Tamashi rubbed his right arm subconsciously.
"13. To. 1." Daniel repeated, staring the two boys down with a serious gaze.
"And if we were to beat the dogs, what then?" Victor inquired.
"Yea, if you haven't noticed, we're kinda in an orphanage. No families," Pat concurred with a frown.
"We snatch a car. Drive to the next town. Take a train wherever we want. Daniel and I have money on the outside, stuff we saved up when we were out there."
"Can you drive?" Piper furrowed her brows, obviously worried. Naia frowned.
"I can," Victor announced.
All eyes went to him.
"My parents thought I should know at a young age. I know the basics, nothing fancy. They were gonna teach me that stuff, but…you know…" he shrugged and the others nodded sadly.
"We can't even get into each other's buildings, how would we form a plan?" Lachlan sounded interested, but not totally convinced.
Daniel lifted his arm from under the table, revealing a nice looking watch. "We have ten minutes left in lunch. Consider it forming plan time. Otherwise we have countless more meals." Lachlan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Eleanor marveled. He was right. Naia was right. Daniel was right. They could do this.
"The police are going to look for us," brought up Skylier. She seemed to be contemplating the entire thing.
"This," Naia threw a hand at the orphanage. "Is child abuse. Police catch us? We didn't do anything wrong. We were only doing what was right for our safety. That happens and all that happens to us is we get put into a better orphanage. There you guys can either stay, or we can escape again, depending on everything."
Piper raised her eyebrows.
"This…could work…"
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Hydra Orphanage – Owned by Marcus Stefans
Queens – New York
2 Days Later
Naia crossed her arms and peered around at the girls in the dorm. They didn't prepare backpacks. They put on their favorite outfit, and Eleanor snatched a small plushy keychain, clipping it to one of her jean belt loops.
"Everyone knows what their job is?" she clarified.
Nods and murmurs of 'yes' swam nervously around the room.
"Right," she looked down at Spencer's watch. He'd lent it to her so the girls could tell the time. "Five minutes to ten. Help me get the grate off."
Marie and Skylier stepped forwards. The two both held nails pried out of the rickety floor. They began prying off the small vent grate. Naia joined in, digging her fingers in and yanking as hard as she could. It popped off with a loud creak and Piper jumped in, catching it before it clattered to the floor.
"Good luck," the songbird sighed, locking eyes with Naia. Marie and Skylier dropped the nails from their hands into Naia's. She wedged them into her pocket.
She gave a nod of thanks and crept into the small vent.
The plan was relatively simple. The vents had been the only accessible point where the two groups could connect. The wooden door had posed too much noise, and Stefans seemed to have eyes in the sky when it came to swapping dorms during lunch or dinner. The vents were relatively quiet, and totally unnoticed.
Halfway between the boys and girls dorms, the vent shafts met in a 'T' shape. The girls came from the left, the boys came from the right, and a long corridor dropped downwards, too the first floor (or so they hoped). Two thick wire meshes were in their way. One separating the two sides, and one blocking the tunnel downwards. Another metal grate covered their way out of the exit tunnel, on top of that. And Naia was armed with three rusty screws. Yup. It was a good plan.
It had been agreed that Naia would work the grate from the girls' side, while Tamashi would work it from the boys' side. They formed Team 1. Team 2 consisted of Emma, Eleanor, Spencer and Piper. The two youngest had been deemed the most important. Spencer had a tendency to protect, as did Piper. They'd be the second ones to meet the first floor.
Two German Shepherds were awaiting. The team of six would move, hiding wherever they deemed necessary, clearing a path for the artillery group (Daniel, Victor, Lachlan and Pat, armed with slingshots and other various homemade weapons), who would drop down and take out the dogs. Finally, the Stealth Squad, or Team 4, would arrive. Marie, Skylier and Drew would make their way into Stefans' lounge, where he was most likely passed out, and scrounge up whatever money they could get their hands on, along with the keys to the door.
It was risky.
If all went to plan, the large group would leave the house, swipe a car, and drive away.
Huff.
They were on Step 1.
Naia crept through the vent. She dragged herself along, and eventually clicked a button on Spencer's watch. A light lit up the pitch black confinement and she was met by an Asian three feet away from her head. He looked up, wincing at the brightness. Naia passed a rusty nail through a small hole in the wire mesh, and the two got to work sawing through the vent.
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Boy's Dorm
Three clangs rang through the metal shaft.
"That's me," Spencer sighed. Victor slapped him on the back and gave a reassuring smile. Spencer shrugged his shoulder, stinging pain running through his back, and began creeping through the vent.
It sent dust into his eyes and made him sneeze twice before he could actually continue.
"You sneeze like a panda!"
Spencer froze, rolled his eyes and flipped the bird to no one in particular. It didn't help when more dust was sent up by the movement, and he sneezed again.
"A panda!" cheered Pat in a whisper shout.
Spencer didn't respond, instead glaring at her general direction and continuing through the vent. He met the halfway point, coming face to face with Emma. He held up a hand before she could continue.
"T," he hissed down the long shaft leading downwards.
"What?" came the annoyed reply from the bottom.
"Clear?"
"Yea, otherwise I wouldn't be down here. I'd probably be shouting. No sign of the dogs yet."
"Check," Spencer held out his hands and Emma crept forwards.
After much arranging, Emma's feet dropped into the downwards shaft. "Okay?" Spencer met the 10 year old's eyes.
Emma frowned nervously, peering down into the long black corridor beneath her. He held her beneath the armpits and was currently the only thing keeping her from plummeting. "Mhm."
"T!" Spencer whisper called again.
"What?!" came the snappish reply.
"Can you catch Emma?"
A huff. "Ready."
"Ready?" Spencer looked back up to Emma.
"Uh huh," Emma closed her eyes.
"You can't scream," he said sternly.
"I won't," Emma's eyes were wide, and her breaths were panicky.
"Three," Spencer tensed. "Two," Emma closed her eyes. "One."
He released and Emma plummeted downwards. An loud grunt came from the bottom, but much to Spencer's to relief, no scream was heard.
"Got her," grumbled Tamashi from the bottom of the shaft.
Spencer lifted his head, looking to Eleanor, the next in line. She was gazing down the black vent with slight horror. The brunette felt pride as Eleanor shuffled around, and stuck her feet in. "I got this." She muttered half-heartedly.
"You sure?" Spencer titled his head. Eleanor gave a nod. "Tamashi," Spencer alerted. "Elean—"
Eleanor leapt and Spencer, mouth still open in mid-warning, grimaced as a loud thump sounded from the bottom. Spencer heard Eleanor list out a series of sorry's and Tamashi command to get off him. Before Spencer could stop her, Piper was down the hatch, earning another loud curse from the Asian below, and a squeak from Eleanor.
"Alright," Spencer crept forwards a bit, readying himself to drop downwards into the pit. He'd given his watch to Naia, so no light could be seen. "You guys can come!" he called down the vent.
Much to Spencer's dismay, the downwards vent had been closer than predicted, and all of the creeping forwards to hear better had sent his body weight into an uneven balance. Without much control, he to fell downwards, and landed onto a previously recovering dog pile.
On the bottom was a very pissed off Tamashi, laying on his stomach. On top of him, on her back, was Eleanor. Sprawled across Eleanor, in a starfish position on her stomach, was Piper, and now, flipped onto his back, Spencer landed, topping off the painful sandwich.
Emma paled from where she and Naia stood off to the left. Spencer sent his best smile.
"Get. Off," Tamashi wheezed.
Spencer rolled off, followed by Piper, who muttered a 'sorry'. She then turned and gave Eleanor a hand up, while Spencer gave his hand to Tamashi.
"That's gonna leave a mark," remarked the brunette, rubbing his lower back.
"You think?" snarled the Asian, cracking his back.
A small 'incoming' echoed down the vent, and the two quickly dodged as Pat came flying down the vent in the ceiling.
"A panda!" she chirped quietly as she got to her feet.
"What?" Tamashi cocked an eyebrow.
"He sneezes like a panda!" she marveled quietly.
"Shut up," grumbled Spencer.
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Drew was the last to exit the vents. He was met by a group of determined teenagers fighting with three abnormally large and vicious German Shepherds. You know how great the surprise was that there was three dogs not two?! Not great!
He quickly snatched up Emma, who was falling behind as Naia herded everyone into the next room. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck, head poking over his shoulder. Drew ran like heck, the massive brute of a dog biting at his heels and snarling viciously.
The four defensive team, Lachlan, Pat, Daniel and Victor, were distracted by the first dog, which was chasing the biggest piece of the group. Daniel had stocked small stones in his pockets, and currently whipped them with precise accuracy at the dog's eyes. Victor had a slingshot, and was pelting the dog with stones. Meanwhile, Pat and Lachlan were throwing various objects at the second dog, who was snapping its jaws loudly and barking with mad rage.
It would be a miracle if Stefans didn't wake to this noise.
Drew jumped with Emma onto one of the many tables filling the small space. It was some sort of living room, with tables and lounge chairs everywhere. Drew whipped his leg away from the bloodthirsty dog, just before it closed its jaws.
He looked down at the small girl in his arms, only to find her reaching for something behind him.
Drew frowned, but kept his nervous glance at the dog. "Emma, what're you—"
Fire sprayed from whatever was in her hands.
"Holy shit!" he couldn't help himself.
The dog whimpered and retreated with a growl. Drew took his chance and swept up Emma, bolting for the door. He whipped through and someone closed it behind him. The dogs had been closed in.
"What the hell was that?!" hissed Piper in surprise.
Drew set down Emma in a tired manor. In her hands she clutched a lighter, one used for cigarettes, and a small bottle of hairspray. Ah ha. There was the answer. Spray some of that on the lighter and you got your own mini flame thrower.
"You're one crazy kid," Pat raised an eyebrow.
"If Stefans hasn't woken up already," Naia hissed, glaring at Drew and Emma. "Then I suggest we go snatch the keys."
"Agreed," nodded Daniel. "Stealth Team?"
Drew gave a sigh before stepping forwards.
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Skylier held her breath as the door gave a short creak.
As expected, Stefans was sprawled out over his bed, unconscious. It reeked of alcohol in the large bedroom. Glass sprayed across random spots of the carpet. A small fire was lit in the fire place. None of them had shoes, so they'd have to keep open eyes.
"Spread out," Marie whispered. A nod from Skylier and Drew.
Skylier took to the man himself. He breathed rotten breaths and stank of urine and puke. It was putrid. She reluctantly began sifting through the disgusting man's pockets, while Marie searched the cluttered desk and Drew fingered the packed hooks on the wall.
Skylier felt her fingers touch metal. She carefully began pulling. Soon the keys were fr—
A loud crash tore through the air. Stefans' eyes fluttered open. Skylier whipped the keys from his pocket as his eyes widened, clear as day. The alcohol flushed through his system. Marie and Drew both froze. Skylier turned as Stefans roared.
The three fled the room, Marie slamming the door behind her.
Skylier entered the door hall. A large bookcase had been tipped on its side. Behind the bookcase, which had been tipped on its side, books strewn across the floor, sat a door. The teens remaining in the door hall fumbled with its handle.
"What're you doing?!" Marie shrieked. "The door is this way!" she threw a crazed hand at the exit. Drew was already there, and Skylier threw the keys his way.
Daniel, Victor and Lachlan noticed the commotion and quickly crowded Stefans' bedroom door, holding it shut just barely. Angry curses filled the air, cutting through the noise, and he rammed the door multiple times.
Skylier turned back to the rest of the group, who were clearing the books and case frantically.
"What's going on?!" Skylier demanded.
"Someone's in here!" Piper answered loudly.
"What?!" Skylier's eyes widened. Stefans locked someone in a room and blocked the door? He was a crazy man. He was insane. He was filthy. He was horrid. He was a monster. Who in the world would he—
"It's Kris." She realized quietly. "It's Kris!" she announced again out loud.
Realization crossed everyone's face. Cracking wood sounded.
"Running out of time!" Daniel growled, shoving with all of his might on the door.
"Kris!" Naia shoved the bookcase hard. If they left them his father would kill him. "We're going to get you out!"
A muffled reply came through the door.
Skylier ran over and together, between herself, Naia, Piper, Eleanor, and everyone else, they managed to shove the heavy oak bookshelf to the side. The door cracked open and Kris quickly slid out.
"Let's go!" Victor ordered, seeing Drew unlock the door.
Skylier sprinted for the door as the three boys let Stefans loose.
~AOS~AOS~AOS~
Victor kept his eyes peeled for a car. CarCarCar.
The brisk night wind hit his face like a slap in the face.
Stefans shrieked behind him and he felt the man's filthy hands skim the fabric of his shirt. He held back from shuddering and shoved Kris forwards, as the boy was falling behind. Kris was about his age, but Victor still felt everyone in this place was a younger sibling than him.
Next he gave Pat a push, as she had begun to drop in speed as well.
"Car!" Marie suddenly shrieked. Victor peered over his shoulder. Stefans was large, with long legs, but his beer belly had slowed him, and he slowed to a trot, before stopping and yacking in the flowerbeds. Victor cringed and continued forwards.
The car was a white van with the orphanage's logo painted on the side. It had barely been used, and it would be miraculous if it started, but Naia dove into the front seat, beginning to hot wire it. The teens scrambled into the vehicle, Victor harshly—but necessarily—shoving Naia into the passenger's. The van had room for 12, but 13 could be crammed in.
3 seats in the front, another row of 3 behind it, another behind that and a final in the back. Four rows. Victor and Naia took the front, Pat crammed between them. Daniel, Tamashi and Spencer took the next row. Piper, Skylier, Marie and Emma somehow managed to stuff into the third row. Lachlan, Drew and Eleanor took the back.
Victor slammed the gas and the van sped off, leaving a very angry Stefans behind.
"He'll have to go back inside to call the police," Naia announced, staring into the rearview mirror.
"He'll have to find a new phone first," Marie commented, pulling a phone out of her pocket with a smirk. The teens cheered tiredly. She chucked the phone out of the still-open door. It was broken on impact.
"That gives us a good fifteen minutes for him to find a phone, another half an hour for the police to arrive," Daniel gave a smirk between panting breaths.
"And they might not even find us," agreed Pat.
Naia nodded.
"No. They won't."
Unsure where to end this because of the elongated plan, so I kept writing till I deemed worthy. I hope you all found it interesting. :) I included as many Easter eggs as possible (ie. 'The Port', the flamethrower, Daniel's accuracy, the various t-shirts). I had tons of fun writing this, so I hope you all enjoyed reading it. :) Let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you! Thanks again to AOSISMYLIFE for the prompt! ;D
A whopping total of 5,136 words! (these are turning out longer than expected. XD)
Update soon! Love y'all!
-AG