Caught Between Worlds (Re-Write of The Will to Survive)
Chapter 1: Arrival
William looked over at his younger sibling, who was resting his head against the finger-print stained window of the bus. The young boy looked exhausted. There was no doubt as to why that was. They had just completed an extensive journey traveling across the states. It consisted of a severely draining bus-trip from their home of West Virginia to Oregon. However, it was much cheaper than a flight, which would have cost them far more. Thankfully, the bus station was only a few miles from their destination. From the station, they would call for a taxi. William was eager to finally rest. This ordeal had begun to wear on the young man's nerves. Thankfully, they had a few weeks to prepare for the upcoming school days since it was part of an arrangement the two had made with the nearby schools they would be attending. The vehicle passed by the endless trees of the interstate, and it soon began to become a repetitive blur. How he wished he could entertain himself somehow. On long rides like this his mind raced. That was the downside of having Borderline Personality Disorder. He began to pass the time by identifying the material that other people's travel bags were made of. He had odd habits like that, but it was better than nothing. The bus must have hit a pothole or some other obstacle, for it made a noticeable lurch. His brother stirred, and slowly rose his head. The younger boy said, "William? Are we there yet?" The older brother merely grunted, saying, "Go back to sleep short-stop. We aren't there yet." The younger boy tucked his blanket up to his chin. It was slightly chilly on the bus, and the younger boy was using the only blanket they had. William said, "It should not be much longer until we reach the bus station." The younger boy looked up and said, "Aren't you cold?" William merely shook his head, saying, "Winter weather doesn't really get to me that much short-stop. You should know this." His younger brother said, "Can't you just call me Joey?" William didn't answer. Joey put his head on a pillow he had, and they sat in silence for some time. The city of Ashland came into view on the horizon, and it wasn't long before they entered the city. William looked around, admiring the various architectures of the buildings. It certainly was much different than West Virginia.
Joey tugged at William's sleeve, and the older boy turned towards him, eyebrow raised. The younger boy pointed at something out of the window, and the bus station soon became visible. The massive machine turned into the garage, engulfing the aisles and seats in darkness. Several of the passengers had become restless and were beginning to stir from their sleep. The vehicle rolled up to a pair of doors on a curb, coming to a complete stop. A monotonous droning voice spoke on the PA, telling the passengers to disembark from the bus. William was glad they didn't bring much with them. Not that they had much. They were able to place their luggage in the overhead storage compartment they had so little. Joey rolled up his pillow and blanket, placing them inside of his suitcase. The two brothers rose from their seats, and shuffled along with the sleepy crowd out from the warmth of the bus and into the cold of the winter air. They walked inside the doors to the administration area, wanting to get their hands and feet warm. Joey looked tired. He wanted to sleep, no doubt. William was tired as well. Joey said, "Can we go get some food?" William shook his head. Joey groaned softly, and William said, "We are low on money, you whining runt. Silence yourself." Joey stopped talking, not wanting to annoy the older boy. William said to Joey, "Stay here, don't move, and remain quiet. I am going to go use a phone to get a cab. We are lucky we got here when we did. The land-lady told us she would have a key waiting for us under the stairs in an envelope." Joey nodded, and remained silent. William rose from his chair and went to the nearby pay phone. Dialing the number, he managed to get a hold of the taxi service, and the man over the phone told him it would be ten minutes. Putting down the receiver, he returned to Joey, grabbing his wrist. William said, "Come on. We have ten minutes before they get here." The brothers walked outside with their bags, waiting for the driver.
When one is waiting for the taxi in decent weather, time goes by normally. When waiting for it in very cold weather, time drags by. The two brothers stood there, getting increasingly cold as the minutes passed. Joey had wrapped the blanket around himself again, trying to shield his frigid body from the frosty air. It had started to snow, and that only made matters worse. Even William had begun to feel the effects, when the cab chugged into view. The driver pulled up and asked, "You rang?" William nodded, and Joey proceeded to get in the back seat, while William placed their luggage into the trunk. William placed himself in the front passenger side, and the driver pulled off the curb. The drive was rather silent, nobody saying much. The driver coughed once then said, "You know, the place you're going to is really old. It's one of the older buildings in this city. It's sort of on the outskirts, kind of rural." William nodded and said, "Oh really?" The driver said, "Yeah. I don't really know much about it, but apparently it was originally a single, massive house. Technically, it was a mansion in its prime." William nodded again. He then said, "Interesting. I like historical facts. Good to know it is still there." The driver said, "Apparently, it's slightly banged up, but still holds strong." William laughed. The conversation was cut short when the driver pulled up to a rather old looking stone path. William and Joey could see their destination looming in the distance. William said, "So...This is the Pink Palace Apartments?" The driver said, "Yes indeed. Looks more grey than pink I think." Joey seemed a bit stunned. He didn't really like the way it looked. It looked old and boring. William said to the driver, "Thank you sir. Here's your funding." He passed the money to the driver and exited the vehicle. The two brothers grabbed their belongings and the cab pulled off.
The two brothers trudged up the path, and gazed at the area surrounding the house. It was massive. A dilapidated barn stood at one end, and what looked like a garden was on the other side. The building itself was in moderate disrepair, but it did have an air of comfort. They made their way up to the door, and there was a multi-directional signpost, each with different names on it. The signpost read three family names. Jones, Bobinsky, and Miriam/Forcible. Apparently, their flat was opposite the Jones' on the rear side of the house. The two brothers walked around the side of it in silence, taking in the scenery. It wasn't too bad. It was just...aged. Arriving to their flat, William looked around for the key, and proceeded to find it in the exact place where the land-lady said it would be. They entered through the door threshold, and were slightly taken aback. The flat was much larger than they had expected. It was only single-story, but was indeed spacious. The kitchen was near the entrance, directly to the right. There was a sitting room to the left, and further down the hall to the right was the bathroom. At the end of the hall, was a room to the left and right, which William guessed were the bedrooms.
William calculated inside of his head and came to the conclusion that, in terms of space, the only flat smaller than the one they were in was the attic. However, it still possessed more than enough space for the two of them. Joey took to the restroom immediately and William began to unpack. Thank goodness it didn't take long. William took a seat in the kitchen, looking around. The flat was clean, and it smelled nice. But everything inside was indeed old and worn. Joey came out of the bathroom and said, "This place is so dull." William nodded in agreement. It was rather early in the morning still, and dawn was only beginning to break over the tree-line of the nearby woods. Joey said, "Well, what do we do on our first day?" William merely sighed and said, "I'm not too sure. We don't have a television or anything of that sort here right now. It is very cold outside, and we have quite a bit of work to do around here." Joey said, "Like what?" William scratched his chin and said, "Well, we have to get several forms of paperwork together. We can rest for a bit but within the next month we should be getting back to school. I don't start my job for another two weeks. Money is going to be very tight until then. At the moment, we have enough to sustain our food needs until the job starts. There doesn't appear to be a washing machine or dryer here either, so we may have to rely on a laundromat." Joey moaned like a child, not liking the sound of it. William merely gave him a glare, and Joey shrank back. William said, "Regardless, I say we use today to rest up. Since we didn't bring much, it didn't take long to unpack." Joey nodded in agreement. Joey took the pillow and blanket, lying down in the bedroom he claimed. William grabbed his black turnout coat and observed it, the white stripes reflecting the dim light from outside. It was the only item he had left from his grandfather, whom had passed away some time prior. He loved that coat. He put it on and went to lie down in his bed, across the hallway from Joey's room, and drifted off.