f o u r
Dear Diary,
Yes, that was a good start. Now, what next?
Erm. . . I guess you already know who I am. . . except. . . I'm not the same person anymore.
What? No, that was so cliché. She scribbled it out.
Things have been rather. . . strained lately.
No, that just sounded stupid. Cross it out. Straight to the point, she thought.
Okay, to tell you the truth, I have no idea what's going on. Things have gone from bad to worse and at the moment I feel all alone in the world. Sure, I have my backup, but they're not exactly my friends are they? No, they probably hate me, and in fact, I hate myself too. Oh, why did I sign up for this? There's always been a thin line between what's good and what's evil, but latelyI've been wondering if there is even a difference.
…...
"Mick!" Joy yelled, running up and hugging the blond.
"Joy! I thought something had happened to you."
"N-no," Joy pulled abruptly away from the hug, "But the others were taken."
"They were?" he asked, "Where?"
"I d-don't know," her bottom lip trembled and a tear rolled down her cheek, "B-but I'm so glad you're here."
He hugged her again, tighter and with more feeling. Joy didn't deserve this. She may have done some bad things, but none of that meant that she deserved this.
"Cute," Shaiden scowled, breaking up the reunion, "We're staying here overnight. Me, Rielle and Bet will take the beds, you two take the floor."
"Why do we get the floor?" Mick frowned.
"Because I said so," Shaiden said, "Now get to sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."
…...
Sob. Sob. SOB.
That was the only sound in the cell that they'd been thrusted into the night before. The abandoned prison was dark, damp and freezing cold. The kids covered themselves with their jackets and the small pieces of sack-cloth that Rufus had begrudgingly thrown at them.
"Looks like Rufus has had an upgrade," Jerome had said, but his joke had been met with silence. Nobody was in the mood to laugh. They were barely in the mood to eat, especially with the tiny, disgusting portions of what looked like vomit that a guard had delivered to them at mealtimes.
"AAAAHHHH!" the scream echoed through the prison. A nearby guard came over to the cell they were being held in.
"What is it?" he grunted.
"I j-just saw a rat!" Amber squealed.
"So?"
"It's a RAT!"
"Yeah? And?"
Silence.
"Sit down and shut up," the guard growled menacingly at her, before returning to his post. Amber sat down slowly, shivering.
"Alfie," Amber whispered.
"Yeah, Ambs?" Alfie asked.
"Hold me?" she asked, and Alfie was happy to oblige.
…...
The night in the house was rough, to say the least. Whilst Shaiden and the others had the warm, comfortable beds, Joy and Mick were confined to the hard floor, which in theory should have been soft because of the carpet, but in fact was horribly scratchy and Joy found herself constantly wishing that she was somewhere else.
The morning was no better. Shaiden had insisted they wake up at the crack of dawn so that they could make an early start. Breakfast was a measly chocolate bar, and then they were off. The car came for them not long after they had woken up, and Joy had barely enough time to change her clothes. She was just thankful she'd had a shower the day before, otherwise she'd have been stinking up the whole car.
"Where are we going?" Mick asked.
"That is none of your business," Shaiden said, "But we're gonna be here for a little while."
"And then what?"
"Then we have to relocate."