Rebel - Part One

Chapter One:
The Lonely Night

Richard Rigor stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt and continued to walk slothfully through the lonely streets of the small town he was currently residing in. A cool evening breezed danced around him, making his sandy bangs sway this way and that, depending on the winsome mind of the air, as it had a mind of its own.

He wasn’t from around here, and he knew that the narrowed glances he kept getting were from people who knew that he wasn’t, who could somehow sense the strangeness of him.

He didn’t care though; anywhere was better than the place he had come from.

His mother had died when he was six, and his father had taken to drinking. Unfortunately, he drank too much and liked to torture his kid. Richard still loved and respected the man, for he was his father, but enough was enough. He could only take so much. So he had fled three nights ago, and had hardly stopped walking since.

Now he was in a new town, unsure of who anyone was, unsure of where he was. He hadn’t had that much money to begin with. He’d only taken a little change from his father as he had been walking out the door for the last time, and now he could feel it deteriorating, for his pant’s pocket was light, no longer weighed down by the change.

With a dreadfully long sigh, he watched as his breath came out like a small puff of smoke, circling around him in the cool evening air.

A small café stood off to the corner, and he found himself being tempted to go in and find something to eat, something to drink. The little food he had taken was practically gone now, and he would soon have to refill his canteen in the nearest river. He contemplated over wandering into the café, wondering if it was such a good idea, what with his rapidly decreasing money supply.

His stomach gave an involuntary growl, and he sighed once again, deciding that he indeed needed to eat, if only a little to satisfy the hunger. He turned on his heel and began to matriculate toward the café’s doorframe.

Pushing the door open just enough for him to squeeze through, he entered and immediately felt the rush of warmth swim across his face, welcoming him.

The smell of coffee and food drifted into his nostrils, making his mouth water. He knew that café food was probably low on the menu, but he didn’t care; he was excessively hungry, and his stomach continued to growl even as he migrated to a table and sat down on the not-so-comfortable booth.

He glanced out the window and saw storm clouds high up in the sky, barely visible through the dim evening light as the sun sank away into the earth, where it would rest before rising once more to brighten the world in the wee hours of the morning.

“Good evening, sir,” a young brunette asked with a smooth, calm voice. He glanced at her, taking her in. She was on the beautiful side, with medium length brown hair and intense, bright green eyes. She was holding a small notepad and a pencil, looking at him expectantly. “May I take your order? Do you know what you want?”

He pondered over that for a moment, and then finally settled on this evening’s special. She nodded and asked him what he wanted to drink, to which he replied that he only wanted a glass of water.

She left, reassuring him that his meal would soon arrive for him to devour.

While he was left alone in silence, he found himself glaring at a stain on the table. The stain wasn’t very large, but big enough to catch his attention and give him something to glare at whilst he waited.

He heard a rumbling noise, and guessed it to be thunder as the first rain drops pelted the window he was currently residing by, rolling down and catching his attention as they slithered out of sight.

He shook his head and glanced around the café, for the first time noticing that he was not alone. There were four other people within the depths of the small building, eating and talking, and sipping their flaming cups of coffee.

Coffee.

He had never been very fond of coffee, though he had tried it once long ago. Perhaps his taste had changed by now, but he didn’t care enough to try it. What was the point? He shook himself mentally and focused yet again on the yellowish stain on the table.

Within ten minutes, the young waitress was back and placed his food on the table. It wasn’t much, just a fish. He didn’t care much for fish either, but didn’t much mind eating it when he was this hungry. He said thanks and ushered away, and then took a cautious sip of his water.

It was cold and felt like heaven as it trickled down his dry throat, and he immediately began to devour his meal, as if he were a ravenous wolf feasting upon its prey.

Within mere moments, the food was gone, and he had but a single sip of the cool water left.

With a small sigh, he looked at his bill. Not much, but enough to make his pocket that much lighter. He pulled the change out and counted out the bill, leaving him with a mere handful of change.

Maybe enough for a hotel tonight and breakfast tomorrow, but he didn’t dare take the chance.

He would have to find work.

He placed the bill and change on the table and rose to his feet, taking the last mouthful of water and swallowing hard to leave the taste of refreshment in his mouth, for he hadn’t the slightest idea as to when he would stop again.

Richard passed a river as he was walking out of the small village, and found himself walking along its edge, gazing in at the water as the rain made drops fly up and onto his shoes. The rain came down a little harder, but he didn’t mind; it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Thoughts occasionally raced through his mind, but he forced them back, not wanting to think about them. His ribs still ached from his last beating three nights ago, and he kept his groans and moans to himself as he counted the rocks along the edge of the river. There weren’t many, but enough to keep him busy for the time being, and that was just fine with him.

Ten minutes later, well inside the woods next to the village, he stopped and took a deep breath, choking back the frustration and emotion, blocking it within his throat.

While he was struggling with that, he heard what sounded like a twig snapping, but he couldn’t be sure. Spinning around, eyes narrowed, he looked for the source of the noise. “…Hello…?” he called softly. “…Is anyone there?” he hated that his voice sounded fearful, and quickly changed it. “Come out and show yourself.”

There was a chuckle, and he gave a shiver, but not from the cold. He heard a noise, like something running past him, but didn’t see anything.

Alone in the woods with something like this didn’t sound like his idea of fun, and he took a step back to run, but felt a hard surface there, and it was like running into a brick wall.

Gasping, he spun around and came face to face with a boy a few years older than him, with black hair and auburn eyes.

“Ack!” he shouted, jumping away from the boy, his heart jumping up into his throat. He heard a chuckle and spun around again, coming face to face with another boy, older than the first, with blonde hair and light green eyes.

He took a step back and looked around, noticing that he was surrounded and with nowhere to go. He was trapped.

For a long moment, it was silent.

No one said a word, and he persuaded his heart to slow down and return to his chest, and waited for it to do so, never once taking his eyes from the boy with the auburn eyes, who was smiling at him.

The smile wasn’t full of malign like he thought it would be, nor were his eyes; no, they were kind and caring. Richard huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at the boy. He was in no mood for games.

“Hello,” said the blonde in a smooth, easy tone. He jumped and looked at him. The blonde looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, as if taking him in for the first time. “Didn’t mean to scare ya there.”

“…Scared?” he murmured. “Who’s scared?”

The auburn eyed boy gave a small chuckle. “You were doing a pretty good impression of it.”

Richard growled in his throat. “I wasn’t scared,” he said stubbornly. “A little surprised maybe, but not scared.”

The boy shrugged. “If you say so, kid.”

“And who are you calling kid? You’re not much older than me.”

He laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

“…Why?”

“How old do I look?”

“…About seventeen.”

The boy smiled. “Why, thank you.”

Richard frowned. “Well, how old are you, then?” he had been uncrossing his arms, but now he crossed them once more, looking at the boy, expecting an answer.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“Fine,” he growled beneath his breath, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Then who are you?”

For a moment, no one said anything, and Richard was just about to repeat his question when the blonde spoke up. “I guess we can tell you that. I’m Samson,” he said softly, and stuck his hand out for Richard to shake.

Richard shook it slowly, still cautious. “I’m Richard.”

Samson looked at another boy with brown hair and hazel eyes, who was resting in the shadows. “That’s Daniel.” Daniel gave a brief nod as he averted his eyes to look at the ground. Samson moved to yet another boy, who had black hair and cobalt blue eyes that glared at him. For a moment, Richard froze, but then he quickly regained himself and kept a steady gaze on the boy with cobalt eyes. “That’s Shade.” Shade said nothing, only growled and continued to glare at him.

The auburn eyed boy laughed. “Never mind him. Don’t take it personally, we all get the look.” Shade’s gaze shifted to him. “I’m Aaron, by the way.”

Richard nodded. “Hi…”

Shade made a noise in his throat. Richard looked at him strangely, puzzled, but he seemed to be the only one. Everyone else was nodding and speaking in hushed whispers. “What about him?” Shade grunted, gesturing vaguely at him as if he were some sort of an object.

Samson looked at him. “Hmm, yes, this does seem to be a problem.” He frowned, pondering what to do.

Aaron’s expression was pensive. “Well, I could take care of it.”

For a moment everyone stared at him, but then Samson sighed. “I guess so. But we don’t have long; you’ll have to hurry.” Even as he said this, he was heading back into the cover of the trees, along with the others.

“Be careful,” said Daniel as a parting statement as he folded himself away into the night, into the cover of the trees and all its shadows.

Samson followed after him with an easy expression, and Shade began to follow. Before Shade disappeared into the shadows, he paused and looked back. He and Aaron made eye contact and something went without being said. Shade grunted and followed after the others.

Richard blinked. “What’s going on?” he asked, keeping his voice steady.

Aaron waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing that concerns you,” he said, looking around. “So, where do you live?”

Richard glared. “Why do you wanna know?”

“Okay, you win. I shouldn’t be asking.” He sighed. “But I still need to know where to take you for the night.”

“You’re not taking me anywhere,” Richard said hotly, his arms still crossed. Now he puffed out his chest in defiance.

Aaron shrugged. “Whatever. Suit yourself, kid.”

“Why do you keep calling me kid? My name is Richard.”

“Because to me, you are a kid.” He looked around for a moment, and settled his gaze back on Richard. “You wanna stay out here in the cold, fine with me. But I gotta go.” He turned on his heel and began wandering into the trees. Richard frowned, hesitating, but then followed after.

“Hey, wait,” he said. “I still have questions.”

“Yes, I bet you do,” said Aaron, his voice amused. “Sorry, kid, I don’t have time to answer your questions. Not tonight, anyway.”

Richard paused. “Tomorrow?”

Aaron shrugged. “Tomorrow night, maybe. I’ve got plans tomorrow. And right now I really have to go.”

“…Okay. I’ll meet you here tomorrow night, then.”

Aaron chuckled. “You really want those questions answered, huh, kid?”

“Yeah,” said Richard. “I want answers.”

“I’ve noticed. I have to go now, but I’ll be back here tomorrow night. Goodbye, kid,” he said, and went through the trees, out of sight. Richard sighed heavily and kicked at a small rock on the ground, thoughts battling in his mind.

“That was...strange....” he mumbled to himself. With a heavy sigh, he turned on his heel and began walking into the trees, listening to make sure that he didn’t hear anyone following him to surprise him again.

Within about a half an hour, he made it back to the café. It was still open, though it was getting pretty late.

He debated on entering and asking for directions, but then settled on walking around. He’d find a place to stay for tonight soon enough. The wind picked up, and he found himself shivering, hugging his jacket closer to him to shield him from the breeze.

With a heavy sigh, he continued onward, rounding a corner. He found a small hotel as it swept into his vision. Richard smiled to himself and walked toward it. Yes. He would stay here for tonight