*The Beginning*
~~~Chapter One~~~ |*Jack*|
My name is Jack.
But why do I always bother with this? That's my name. It just always has been. It always will be. It's a name. A simple name.
It's been many years since I've slept in a real house. Had a real home. A real family.
Besides, of course, my sister Fi. She's all I have right now. The only one keeping me from self-destruction.
But she's still two years younger than me.
I'm still just ten. Fi is eight. But would you just know it...she's really smart for her age. Not book-smart...but life-smart. She knows what's going on...and she has this odd power of being able to tell what you're thinking. Not quite a psychic ability, but amazing all the same.
Sometimes I often wonder if we were abandoned. How could I know? We've been in these woods for who knows how many years...At a young age I was capable of taking care of myself and of Fi. It was a miracle that we had survived this whole time. Miracle.
"Jack," she asked softly, coughing lightly. "Jack, are you with me here?"
"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my daze. Back in the woods. The dark of the night. The glow of the fire. The warmth of Fi cuddled up to me in the cold.
"Jackson..are you alive here? You weren't answering me."
"Oh..yeah...I - I'm fine, Fiona," I said, clearing my throat lightly.
"Mmm," she murmered, coughing again. She buried her head in my chest. Something she often did. Feeling the once again steady breaths from her lungs, I knew she was asleep.
I sighed lightly, wrapping an arm around her small figure. She was a petite sort of person. Not something I was. I was actually quite tall for my age. Somewhat strongly-built. I'd never had any experience with girls, though. The only girl I'd ever known for so many years was my little sister, cuddled up right here in my arms.
I didn't care, though.
All I wanted was a family again. A home. House.
"Jack?" a small voice whispered softly.
"Hmm?"
"Jack..it's going to be okay...we're going to be okay, Jackson.."
I smiled lightly down at her. "You think so, Fi?"
She looked up at me with the all-too blue eyes of hers. "I know so, Jack. I know so."
~~~Chapter Two~~~ |*Jack*|
The next day, Fi and I got right to searching for food. Something we had to do very often. We hiked for miles every morning...just searching for any sort of food.
"Here, Jack! Over here!"
I followed the sound of her voice, making russeling noises as I pushed the leaves and branches away. The snap of twigs under my feet was a noise I'd been hearing forever. It was like music to my ears.
I pulled a branch out of the way. And lo and behold...a tree full of apples stood right before Fi. She was up on her tiptoes, attempting to reach the delicate fruit. The lowest branch was well over two feet taller than her. She leaped off her tiny feet and shot her hand out, snagging an apple off the tree. She grinned over at me.
"Oh Fi...it's like a dream come true," I murmered. "The basket. Basket."
She handed me the self-made basket of branches. I immediately began pulling fruit off the limbs of the tree and tossing them gently into the large basket.
She took one from me and looked up me with her doll-like blue eyes, as if pleading.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes...take one."
She smiled and reached a small hand into the basket, bringing out a rather small apple. She took a bite of the fruit as if it would run away at any given moment.
But, luckily, she'd never been one to eat a lot. Eating was actually a rather rare thing to see Fi doing. A good thing that it wasn't like a sickness to her, either, because there was seldom edible food in these woods.
"It's a bit too ripe..but it's delicious," she announced.
I smiled. "Good." I took one myself and bit into it. She'd been more than right...it was delicious, all right. Not too ripe. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
She smiled her small smile. "Good?"
"Great," I agreed.
Carrying the basket, we began to hike off again.
Carrying now a large basket of apples, topped with some raspberries and blackberries, we had food that could last us for at least a week now. We've never really tried to kill animals. Fi's a vegetarian, and so am I. And she's really close to the animals of the woods. Sometimes I hear her talking to them..weird, I know, but what else can you expect?? The girl grew up with no Barbies, stuffed animals, or toys of any means. It was still amazing to see her as comfortable with our home as she was.
She skipped through the woods beside me. Although she was skipping and I was merely walking, she had a hard time keeping up with me. I was happy to see the grin on her face. It was a nice sunny day outside...Fi skipped along merrily as her long brown hair sparkled in the sunlight. Her eyes were as blue as ever, exactly matching the tint of the cloudless sky above us.
I laughed lightly. "You having fun there, Fiona?"
She grinned. "Lots." She reached her small hand over and snatched a small blackberry out of the basket, popping it into her mouth and continuing her fun.
I smiled lightly. She was an energetic little girl, all right. I at least hoped she would find a home.
Amazing really, that we could have even survived in these woods all this time. But also, amazing that we hadn't found our way out of it. The woods must stretch on for hundreds of miles. I had no doubt they did.
I tried to push the thought out of my head and focus on my sister skipping carelessly at my side. The day was perfect; and I wasn't going to let a thing spoil it.
~~~Chapter Three~~~ |*Jack*|
Night once again. We attempted to make a fire in the chill of the night wind, but the cold was like a poison. It surrounded our bodies, as the chilly wind froze all other movement in the woods.
"Winter must be coming," Fi predicted softly. She got cold easily, so this wasn't helpful to me. I pulled off my sweater and wrapped it around her small shoulders. The wind wouldn't bother me too much.
"Yes..winter," I agreed, grumbling. Winter. I hated it. The snow..the cold...last winter Fi and I had hardly survived at all, shut up in our small cave with our lack of provisions. One day more and Fi probably would have died.
I shuddered at the memory.
"Jackson..." Fi whispered, shivering. "Why...so cold??..."
"It's ok, Fi...Fi, it's ok...don't worry," I said, more trying to convince myself than her.
"It's ok if I die..." she whispered softly. "I'm...not afraid of death..."
I looked down at her. She was wrapped in my ancient sweater made of some fibers I had found in the woods. All of our clothes had. Along with our blanket.
She was wrapped in the blanket tightly. Her cheeks were tinged blue. She was so skinny...
I gasped, trying to push the memory away from me.
I snapped my head up as I heard a low growling from the woods to my right.
"Freeze, Fiona," I whispered softly, freezing myself.
Curiously, she raised her head to see what was at my right.
"Fiona, get DOWN," I demanded. No doubt a wolf. We'd had them come close to us before, but never attack. Amazingly.
Too late. The wolf leaped out of the woods and straight at me, knocking me over with its paws and pinning me to the ground.
I gasped for breath, staring up into the emotionless yellow eyes of the canine. I'd never had a dog. With my experience with wolves, I didn't want one, either.
"Jack, don't move," Fi whispered.
Without moving my head, I moved my eyes towards her with hesitation.
Slowly she moved forward, extending a hand.
"Fiona!" I hissed.
She ignored me. Her hand touched the flank of the wolf. She softly stroked its fur, whispering silently and soothingly. But not to me. To the wolf.
The wolf looked at her, eyes no longer seeming emotionless. He cocked his head, and climbed off me, but not before knocking the wind out of me once again, and over to Fi, allowing her to silently comfort him.
I scrambled off the ground, brushing myself off and staring at Fi. She'd always had a magical gift for animals, but this was a bit amazing. Being able to woo a wolf from its prey was a gift beyond me.
"Shhh," she whispered softly to the wolf, stroking its fur. Another amazing thing was that she looked absolutely comfortable in petting something three times her size that could rip her head off in an instant. She wasn't afraid at all.
She gave the wolf a small pat on the head, and he trotted off to find a different place to hunt.
The silence sat for a minute. She looked up at me and then back at the ground, looking ashamed.
"Fi--that was--" I laughed lightly without humor. "That was amazing!! How did you--oh, man...you had that wolf--geez..." I patted her small head. "You're one of a kind, you know that little sister?"
She smiled lightly up at me. "Of course I'm one of a kind. Then I wouldn't be me."
I laughed. "Ok, well, you have a point there, Fi." I rubbed her head, messing her hair a bit. "C'mon. Let's get some rest."
~~~Chapter Four~~~ |*Jack*|
The next day, Fi and I silently climbed out of our small home and into the sunrise. We began to walk. We needed all the food we could get before winter hit.
"Jack, do you realize that cardinals --"
"Shh," I hissed, stopping in my tracks.
"What, Jackson? What is--"
"Shh!" I repeated, motioning for her to be silent.
She looked at me questioningly, but obeyed.
"Voices!" I said triumphantly, looking around eagerly for the source.
"Yes, well, these woods are terrible, Mother! They are so--oh, I don't know! Unsanitary," a voice was saying from not far away.
"Teresa, toughen up. This is what we like to call 'the woods'. Not a hotel. If we wanted a hotel, we wouldn't be here with tents, would we?" a second voice asked.
I grabbed Fi's hand and began running towards the source of the voices. When she was unable to keep up, I snatched her into my arms and ran around aimlessly.
Then, I spotted them.
A woman, age of probably about thirty-four or so, and a girl, at least four or five years older than me. She appeared to be in her mid-teens. She sighed and sat down on a rock. "We could at least rest, Mother. Ever heard the meaning of the word?"
"Oh, plenty of times, 'Reese," she agreed, sitting down on a rock next to the other. She rolled her shoulders a bit to stretch her back.
"Now's our chance!" Fi hissed at me.
I looked down at her, forgetting she had been in my arms. I set her feet back on the forest floor and emerged from the woods, walking towards the woman and her daughter.
She looked at me and gasped, but smiled and tried to cover up for the scare. "Hello, there."
I nodded. "He--Hello," I said, trying to sound as mature as I could.
Fi, being herself, jumped in before I could say anything. "We're lost in the woods. We haven't got a home, we haven't seen our parents in at least four or five years..will you please take us in??"
"Fi," I hissed, but glanced at the woman for her reaction.
She put a hand to her mouth and looked at Fi. "Oh...you poor things...of course I'll--take you in. Right away. I'll try and find your parents..."
Teresa looked up with hope. "Does this mean we get to go home?"
Her mother ignored her and scooped Fi into her arms. "What a beautiful young girl you are," she said, smiling lightly.
I nodded. "Yes. Fi has always been a beautiful little one. And don't worry..she's always been that petite."
The woman nodded with understanding and looked up at me. "You're a handsome boy, too, don't get me wrong," she agreed, standing from her seat on the rock. "Yes yes yes, of course I'll take the two of you in. Of course."
~~~Chapter Six~~~ |*Jack*| *SIX YEARS LATER*
Six years with the Andersons now. They were two amazing people. Molly, the woman, lost her husband a while before we had moved in with them. She was a woman of about forty now, but her age didn't affect her beauty at all. She'd recorded a few records in her time, but never gone on tour. Her records (CDs now) were absolutely breath-taking. They moved you like nothing ever could. The words were like magic. But you know...hearing this from a guy like me...
Her daughter Teresa was about twenty now. She was a bright young woman with beauty like her mother's. She was one of those supermodel types; her crimpy copper hair reached her rear and her green eyes were like emeralds. She was smart, too. She could be anything that she wanted to be, really. She had the unlimited talent, the brains, the beauty, and the sense of humor to get any job.
And Fi. Oh, man...Fi. She'd really turned into a beautiful teenager of fourteen. She was surprisingly quiet. I don't know if it was the fact that she didn't like the Andersons, or that she just wanted to be at her real home. She was still the petite person she was before, and her wavy brown hair stopped at the bottom of her butt, and those sky-blue eyes got bluer every day. But they also seemed to get sadder everyday.
And I was a guy of sixteen now. I won't brag about my looks, but you know.
The phone rang, and I dived for it, picking up the reciever. "Yo, Jack here."
"Hey, man."
My friend Richard. I smiled. "Hey, man, s'up?"
"Eh, nothing much. That little worm Christina snagged my Smashing Pumpkins CD."
"Aw, that bites," I agreed, leaning against the back of the couch. "I've never had a problem with Fi."
"Oh shut up. Just because Christina likes to swipe my CDs doesn't mean you have to brag about your totally awesome, non-nosey sister who's friends with Chris, ok?"
I laughed. "No problem."
I heard a voice at the other end of the phone. "RICHARD PETERS! Get off that phone! I need the line, worm!"
His older sister Marina. She was just as bad as Teresa. Equally as beautiful. She had the same, thick blond hair as her sister Christina.
"ALL RIGHT, SKANK! HOLD UP!" he yelled back.
"EXCUSE ME, RICHARD IAN PETERS??! You fag!"
The sound of the dial tone.
I shrugged and hung up the phone. I was used to their sibling rivalry. It was nothing new to me.
I sighed, pulling myself to my feet and walking upstairs. I passed Fi's room, seeing her in there, curled up and deeply involved in a large book that I wouldn't have thought anybody at the age of fourteen would be able to read. But with Fi, of course, you'd never know.
She silently turned the page, showing no sign of recognition of my presence. I continued on down the hallway and to my room, going in and closing the door.
Later at dinner, Fi sat in silence, just picking at her food with her fork. Molly looked at her, looking somewhat concerned, but said nothing.
"It's good," I complimented, smiling lightly.
"Mmmhmm," Teresa agreed, flipping a large strand of copper hair off her shoulder.
"What do you think, Fi?" Molly asked softly, looking at Fi hopefully.
Fi nodded lightly. "It's good," she whispered.
"Fi, c'mon..you haven't even touched a bit of it," I pointed out. "How would you know how it tastes?"
She gave me a pained look, pushed her chair back, and left the room.
Molly looked at the door and then at me, as if questioningly.
I nodded. "I'll figure out what's going on with her," I offered, pushing back my chair and following Fi.
I walked up the stairs and knocked on her door. No response. "Fiona, it's me. Open up."
I heard what sounded like muffled crying. "Fi, please!" I begged, turning the knob only to see that the door was locked.
Defeated, I let my forehead fall onto her door, trying to remember what Fi taught me about picking door locks.
Lifting my head a bit in hope, I looked down at the carpet.
"Ah ha..." I whispered, dropping to my knees and snatching up a stray hair pin. I fitted it into the lock and moved it back and forth again. The door sprang open.
She looked at me, eyes slightly red and small black smudges under her eyes. She looked away again.
I smiled lightly and shut the door behind me. "Hey, I learned how to pick locks from the master."
No reaction.
I cleared my throat, pulling her desk chair beside her bed and sitting, chair flipped backwards. "Okay, Fiona...what's going on?"
She sighed shakily and wiped her eyes. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, Fi! I've known you my whole life. You'd think that I would know when you were lying."
She bit her lower lip. "Jack..do you realize that our real family is out there somewhere?" she asked thoughtfully, gazing out the window at the night sky.
"Yes," I replied, standing and shutting the blinds of her window, trying to regain her attention. "But Fi, what's wrong? We've got a great family right here...right here!! I mean, our other family abandoned--"
"They did NOT!" she protested, standing and looking me in the eye.
She was no match for me. She was a foot shorter than me. I scoffed, rubbing my forehead. "Then how come they never came back, Fi? Tell me that. How come they never searched for us? Huh?! What about that?! If they gave a fucking DAMN about what was happening to us, then they would've come back to us long ago!"
She looked at me with pain, the tears flowing down her cheeks, a sob escaped her throat as she began to cry.
I went on, despite the fact I had already upset her.
"They wouldn't have left us to die in those woods, Fi. They would have come back and looked for us. We were in there for at least six fricken years, Fi," I said, holding up six fingers. "SIX FRICKEN YEARS."
"Stop," she whispered, shaking her head.
I ignored her request. "At least Molly and Teresa cared enough to take us in. Have we ever heard of our parents since? Our real family? We were abandoned, damnit. And you know it!"
"Jack, please!" she pleaded through tears.
Ignoring her pleas once again, I continued. "Nobody is that heartless. Nobody that I could ever give any credit to, anyway."
I stormed out of her room, slamming the door behind me.
It wasn't until then that I realized how horrible I was to her. I ignored the guilt and returned to my room.
~~~Chapter Seven~~~ |*Fi*|
I sat in my room, glaring at the slammed door.
I looked away, sniffling. I didn't need Jack. I didn't need his sympathy, or his advice. Ever since we had moved in with the Andersons, he was different. We never talked anymore. We never told secrets. We hadn't in so long...
I curled up on my bed, silently hugging the teddy bear I'd gotten from Molly for my ninth birthday. I released a shaky sigh and opened the blinds to my window again.
They were out there...they were. There was nothing in the world that was going to stop me from finding them. Nothing.
Looking away, the truth hit me. I'd never get anywhere in this world without Jackson. I never had.
The phone rang. I glanced at the Caller ID. It was somebody over at the Peters' house. Taking the chance that it was Christina, I picked up the phone. "Hello?" I asked, wiping my tears away again.
"Hey, Fi."
Yep. It was Christina.
I smiled lightly. "Hey..."
"Hey, Fi...I uh...well." She cleared her throat.
"What is it?" I asked, settling back against my head board.
"Fi...we're...we're moving tomorrow."
I sat bolt-upright. "You're WHAT?"
"Yeah..I know..it comes as a bit of a shock--"
"A BIT of a shock?" I demanded, groaning. "I can't believe this!"
"Fi, I didn't find out until ten minutes ago, I swear. My parents have gone ballistic!! What else can I say?"
I sighed. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Fi...is something wrong? Cuz you know..I could come over there for a while before I left tomorrow..."
"No..I'm okay," I reassured, patting my eyes with a tissue. "I'm okay."
"All right...I'll see you..." she said softly. I heard a click from the other end.
I hung the phone up and glanced around my room. Nothing was the same anymore...I'd honestly rather be stuck in those woods instead of here and feeling I didn't know where I belonged anymore.
"Fiona? Fiona..wake up, sweetie..."
I groaned softly and opened my eyes, looking up into the eyes of Molly. She looked down at me with concern. "Fi..you okay??"
I sat up, looking away. "Yes. I'm okay..."
She cleared her throat. "Fi...I've planned on a small trip for the family..."
I looked at her. "Christina's moving--"
"So I heard," she agreed, looking at the bedsheets. "Jack told me after he heard it from Richard."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"Fi...Honey...I--I don't want to get your hopes up...but I believe your family may be in this town.."
I eyed her. "What did you say?"
She smiled. "I meant what I said. Pack your things. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
~~~Chapter Eight~~~ |*Fi*|
It was the next day...we'd just rented our room for the vacation.
I looked around the hotel. It was beautiful...expensive-looking.
Molly took our room key and smiled over at me. "You two are going to school, right? I mean, we're gonna be in this town for a while...I have a CD to record next month here."
I nodded. "Mmmhmm," I said thoughtfully, gazing out the window of our hotel room.
"Okay.." she agreed. "School starts for the city in one hour...you'd better go early and get a schedule, hmm?"
I nodded again, grabbing some of my schooling stuff and shoving it into a backpack, slinging it over my shoulder and beginning to walk out of the room.
I stopped, and turned to look at Molly.
She smiled faintly at me.
I smiled at her. "Thank you, Molly."
The beginnings of tears shone in her eyes. "No..I should be thanking you. You and Jack and Teresa have made my life wonderful, Fiona...if you find your parents, I will of course let you go to them...but it won't mean I don't love you."
I smiled. "Thank you," I whispered, and walked out of the hotel room, shutting the door softly behind me.
The school. Eek, what a mess.
"Excuse me," I murmered constantly, trying to make my way down the hall and to the office. After much fighting the crowd, I pushed the heavy door open. The room smelled stale, and the ceiling fan slowly turned.
I cleared my throat and walked up to the desk. "I'm going to be visiting for a few months here...may I have a schedule?"
After asking my talents and giving me a few questions in math and social studies (Which, I don't know what the point of was), the secretary, looking terribly bored, shoved a schedule in my hands. "Thank you, have a nice day, I'll send you a fax."
I lowered my brow in confusion, backing up. "Okay..." I pushed the door of the school open again, still confused. "Crazy secretary..." I murmered, hurrying out of the room.
I backed up still, trying to get away from the office. I gasped as I bumped into somebody and heard the clutter of books falling to the tile floor of the hallway. I turned around without hesitation, bending down to pick up the books. "I'm sorry," I apologized, without looking at the person. "I'm such a klutz..."
There was a small laugh. "It's okay, really...I'm probably more of a klutz. Some people actually find me responsible."
I laughed lightly and looked at the person. I fell back on my butt. "Oh...um..."
He looked back at me with the same confusion, extending a hand. "Jake Phillips..."
I nodded and took his hand. "Fiona Anderson..."
As his hand clasped mine and shook lightly, I looked away from him.
"You look a lot like me," he said, laughing lightly.
I nodded. "Mmmhmm...I noticed..."
We both laughed, and both stopped when our laughs seemed somewhat similar.
I tightly hugged my books to my chest, avoiding looking into the eyes that seemed to be a mirror, aside from the fact that they were brown and mine were blue.
"What's your first class?" he asked, helping me to my feet and seeming to ignore our similarity in personality and appearance.
I looked at the schedule, pushing the hair out of my face and studying it.
Advanced Algebra Plus~~Kliandson
Co-Ed Gym~~Phellps
Biology~~Karson
'A' Lunch
English~~Harrison
Health~~Earl
History Plus~~Ttarb
Symphonic Band~~Pearson
I rubbed my forehead. "What looks like...'Klee-andson??'.."
He laughed lightly. "That's cranky old Mrs. Kliandson...c'mon, that's near my first class...I'll escort you."
After school, Jake showed me around town a bit. A lot in common was something we definitely had. Something so creepy that I had to force myself to overlook it.
"This is my house," he said with a smile, pointing to a large, comfortable-looking house.
I smiled up at it. "It looks wonderful..."
He laughed lightly. "Well, it's enough."
He pushed the front door open. "C'mon in..I have a minute."
I followed him inside and into the livingroom.
"Here...sit down for a sec. I'm gonna get my parents, kay?"
I nodded, sitting on the couch and looking around as the silence coated the room.
A few minutes later, Jake came back in with a couple. They smiled. "Hello."
I smiled back the best I could. "Hi."
His father extended his hand. "Greg Phillips."
I took his hand and shook it lightly. "Fi Anderson."
He stopped and looked at me, laughing lightly. "Uh..say that again?"
"Fi Anderson..." I said, feeling myself blush with nervousness.
His parents exchanged looks with each other, but sat down on the couch beside me. "So...Fi...do you have any siblings?" his mother asked, smiling lightly.
"Yes...I have a brother Jack and a sister Teresa. Actually, though...Teresa isn't my sister by blood. Jackson and I...we were stranded in the woods for a long time..separated from our family...Jack still slightly remembers what our real parents look like, since he was five at the time and I was three.." I looked down. "It was hard on us...but then Molly -- the closest person I have to a mother -- took us in...everything like that," I explained softly.
Jake's mother nodded, putting on what I knew was a phony smile. "Yes..yes..." she tapped Jake's dad's arm and cleared her throat. "Greg, may I talk to you in the kitchen?"
He looked at her. "Yes..."
They both got up, without saying another word to me and left the room.
I looked at Jake. "What was?--"
"I'm about to find out," he reassured, getting up and walking out.